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 Notes from Bishop Mark
● Trip Next Week to Haiti Conference and School Missions:
On Monday, the Rev. Canon Mark Furlow, the Rev. Preston Mitchell, and I will join the Rev. Roger Bowen for a large conference on Mission in Haiti in the capitol of Port-au-Prince. Roger is the Episcopal Church's Liaison for Mission Schools in the Diocese of Haiti. Following the 3-day conference, we will travel with Roger to visit potential schools where we might expand our mission relationships in Haiti. We will be hosted by the Rev. Noe Bernier whom Canon Furlow and I met with last fall when he was in our diocese visiting the Haiti Collaborative in the Lynchburg and Augusta Convocations. Part of my hope following the trip is to begin a new collaborative in the Abingdon Convocation with a view to another in the Roanoke and New River Convocations.
● Eastertide MessageHoly Week always seems to arrive suddenly. The procession from Palm Sunday to the darkness of Good Friday catches us off guard in the same waythat the bright yellow tangles of roadside forsythia burst into bloom to startle our winter weary eyes. We revel in the feel of warmer weather and the scent of spring, but are still somehow unprepared for the contrast.
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the mystery of our salvation; God's abundant and unqualified love for all us. The stark wooden cross is planted right into the midst of all of our human pain and suffering. As Christians we rejoice because we know that the cross of Christ is not a dead end. Rather it is, mysteriously and surprisingly, a doorway.
Easter Day blooms into our ordinary daily living and invites us once again to live into a joy that vanquishes all of our fears and uncertainties about life. As these beautiful mountains of Southwestern Virginia begin to bloom and fill with new life, we are invited by God's Holy Spirit to rejoice in the new life which surpasses our narrow vision and all our understanding. Death is not an end. Suffering will not defeat our souls. The healing spring of God's never-failing love is open to us in this very present moment. Alleluia! Christ is Risen!
● Emily Sproul To Be Diocesan Media Missioner: I am pleased to announce that Emily Sproul has accepted my invitation to serve as our new Media Missioner, curating and creating content for the diocesan Facebook page, website, and other social media. Emily will also work to raise up diocesan reporters to tell the many stories of the ways our parishes are striving to be newly engaged in the Jesus Movement. Read more.
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Connecting
. . . with Evans House
● Reminder to Canonically Resident Clergy: Today is the deadline to complete a Beirne Carter Education Grant application for 2016 grants. Find the application here, and email it, when completed, to aboyce@dioswva.org.
● Parishes are reminded that Certificates of Election for Annual Convention are due today at Evans House. These are particularly important as we seek to get information out regarding Spring Convocation meetings. Even if your delegates have not changed, please help us verify this data base for the current year. Send forms to LRobertson.
In addition, April 1 is the deadline for parishes to requests permission to use non-CPA audit. Although these will go to the Standing Committee, they, as well as the Certificates of Election, may be emailed to LRobertson for timeliness' sake.
● Senior Wardens: If you have not completed the survey regarding life insurance for clergy and lay employees, please do so as soon as possible.
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. . . with the Diocese
● Deb Norton (Christ, Martinsville) requests that parishes consider showing support for Lindsay and Tom McKinnon in an unusual, but meaningful, way. Read more and share the flyer with your parish.
● St. Mark's, Clifford, will celebrate the 200th anniversary of their church building on April 24, 2016. Holy Eucharist will be observed at 9:00 AM, followed by brunch. A special hymn has been commissioned to commemorate this celebration, and it will be sung for the first time at the Eucharist. This also has been designated as Family and Friends Day. We hope to see many of our family members and friends, both near and far, return for this happy occasion. Click here to find the location of the church.
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Remember to check out the diocesan
Bulletin Board. You'll find information about an Our One Word retreat with Martha Bourlakas, an interfaith pot luck dinner (at Christ, Roanoke), and a job opening at St. John's, Wytheville--as well as other news!
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. . . with the Wider Community
● "This world does not need another fairy tale," Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop and Primate Michael Curry said in his Easter 2016 Message. "This week's story of crucifixion and resurrection is not a fairy tale." Watch the video.
● "We reject the idolatrous notion that we can ensure the safety of some by sacrificing the hopes of others." The House of Bishops of The Episcopal Church, meeting in retreat, unanimously approved A Word To The Church. Read more.
● The General Convention Advisory Group on Church Planting has announced a design contest for a new logo to depict church planting for The Episcopal Church. A $500 cash prize will be awarded to the most inspiring title and logo for a renewed church planting movement across the church. Submission instruct6ions and image specifics are located here. Read more about the Church Planting Initiative here.
● Forward Movement Announces New Video Curriculum On Science and Faith:
Are science and faith compatible? Ordained scientists in The Episcopal Church offer insight on this sometimes controversial question through a new groundbreaking video curriculum offered by Forward Movement, now available for free download. The curriculum invites a sense of wonder and discovery to play a part in building care for creation in our faith communities. Read more.
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Resources and Links
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as of November 14, 2015
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Bishop Marmion Resource Center
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as of March 31, 2016
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St. Nicholas Day Appeal & more!
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www.dioswva.org
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Episcopal Diocese of Southwestern Virginia
1002 1st Street SW ~ Roanoke, VA 24016
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