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Coming up
Oct 16: 2013 Pre-Diocesan Convention Forum: St. Mary's Church, Newton Lower Falls, 7:00pm Oct 17: Diocesan Council, Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Boston, 5:30pm Oct 19: Eucharistic Visitor Training, Grace Church, Vineyard Haven, 9:00am Oct 19: Sustainable House of Worship (SHOW) Workshop, St. Mark's Church, Foxborough, 9:00am Oct 19: St. Bartholomew's Cambridge Benefit Dinner-Dance , Medford VFW Post 1012 , Medford, 4:15pm Oct 20: Poetry Reading and Song, Bethany House of Prayer, Arlington, 3:30pm Oct 22: Classical Guitarist Aaron Larget-Caplan, St. Peter's Church, Cambridge, 8:00pm Oct 23: 2013 Pre-Diocesan Convention Forum: Trinity Church, Topsfield, 7:00pm Oct 24: 2013 Pre-Diocesan Convention Forum: Christ Church, Plymouth, 7:00pm Oct 24: "Chasing Ice" Film Screening, St. John's Church, Jamaica Plain, 7:00pm Oct 25: Esperanza Academy Harvest of Hope Dinner and Auction, Andover Country Club Oct 25: Emery House Work Weekend, Emery House, West Newbury Oct 25: Global Mission Event: Music and Mission with South Africa, Church of the Good Shepherd, Dedham, 7:00pm Oct 26: Safe Church Training, Episcopal Divinity School, Cambridge, 8:30am Oct 26: Diocesan Altar Guild Workshop: Care of Your Altar Silver and Brass, Christ Church, Quincy, 10:00am Oct 29: Pianist Ned Rorem , St. Peter's Church, Cambridge, 8:00pm Nov 2: Diocesan Convention 2013, Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Boston (All day) Nov 2: Concert: Solstice Sackbuts , Trinity Church Melrose, 7:30pm Nov 5: Ensemble St. Germain , St. Peter's Church, Cambridge, 8:00pm Nov 9: Safe Church Training, Christ Church, Needham, 8:30am Nov 12: Opera Brittenica, St. Peter's Church, Cambridge, 8:00pm Nov 14: "Chasing Ice" Film Screening, Waltham Public Library 7:00pm Nov 16: Eucharistic Visitor Training, Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Boston, 9:00am Nov 16: Sustainable House of Worship Workshop, St. Cyprian's Church, Roxbury, 9:00am Nov 16: SSJE Workshop: The Gift of Discernment, SSJE Monastery, Cambridge, 9:00am Nov 19: Countertenor Cabaret, St. Peter's Church, Cambridge, 8:00pm Nov 20: Climate Change and Faith: An Ecumenical Discussion, Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Boston, 7:00pm Nov 22: Middle School Youth Retreat 2013, Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center, Greenfield, 7:00pm Nov 24: Blessing of Solar Panels, St. Andrew's Church, Framingham, 10:00am Nov 26: Love and Friendship Orchestra , St. Peter's Church , Cambridge, 8:00pm
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B-PEACE Resource Day informs, inspires
 | | The Celestial Infernos steel drum band from St. Cyprian's plays at Resource Day |
The B-PEACE Resource Day was held on Sept. 28 at Roxbury Community College. More than 350 Episcopalians from throughout the diocese gathered to learn, collaborate and discover new tools for preventing violence in their families, schools and communities. The Rev. Kathleen Adams-Shepherd, Rector of Trinity Church in Newtown, Conn., gave the opening plenary.
"The Gospel calls us to carry a cross of hope and peace and to care deeply for every human life, the lives of people we know personally and the lives of those we may never meet," she said. "We are called not to wash our hands of violence in this world but to raise our hands and our voices in protest against it." Participants selected two workshops to attend, on subjects that ranged from taking political action to hiring teenagers to preventing domestic violence. Middle and high school age youth attended interactive workshops where they created artwork and even stepped into the performance of Urban Improv, a group that uses theatrical improv to teach strategies for dealing with conflict and anger. More coverage of Resource Day: View photos from the day, here. Watch the video of Adams-Shepherd's speech, and enjoy this video clip of the Celestial Infernos Steel Drum Band of St. Cyprian's Church in Roxbury.
Read the Boston Globe's Oct. 8 front-page feature about Jorge Fuentes and antiviolence work taken up in his memory by the Episcopal Church in eastern Massachusetts. The Globe also featured the B-PEACE Resource Day in this Oct. 8 interview with Bishop M. Thomas Shaw, SSJE and the Rev. Kathleen Adams-Shepherd.
The Rev. Martha Hubbard, Rector of St. Paul's Church in Newburyport, shared her Resource Day insights in this Oct. 5 column in the Newburyport Daily News. |
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Celebrating new rectors and revitalized churches in Alewife Deanery
In one week in October, three new rectors were installed in the parishes where they have been serving three-year appointments as priests-in-charge: the Rev. Karen Coleman at St. James's Church in Somerville on Oct. 3; the Rev. Leslie Sterling at St. Bartholomew's Church in Cambridge on Oct. 6; and the Rev. Amy McCreath at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Watertown on Oct. 9. All are in the Alewife Deanery. All are women, and two are African-American women. Their installations triple the number of women of African descent who are rectors in the Diocese of Massachusetts.
 | | Karen Coleman, Leslie Sterling, Amy McCreath |
Perhaps most notable, though, is that in these three churches, it is possible to see a rekindling of lay ministry, revitalized connections amongst members and growing engagement with the community. These parishes are finding that by drawing on their core identity while also reaching outward, a congregation can strengthen its internal bonds as well as its relevance in the wider community, all toward the goal of growing in numbers, vitality and mission. Read about the new rectors and their growing parishes here.
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Diocese gathers in convention on Nov. 2
Climate change and environmentally responsible financial investing are among the issues that will come before the 228th annual convention of the Diocese of Massachusetts, as will a request to continue the antiviolence campaign it began a year ago. Clergy and delegates will also vote on an $8.2-million core and supplemental budget for 2014 and elect deputies to send to the Episcopal Church's triennial General Convention in 2015. The annual legislative gathering, which brings together about 600 clergy members and elected delegates from each of the diocese's congregations, takes place on Saturday, Nov. 2 at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston, with Bishop M. Thomas Shaw, SSJE and Bishop Gayle E. Harris presiding. Read more here. Pre-Convention forums: A series of four pre-convention forums is underway, offering an opportunity for convention-goers to learn about the issues and business to be decided at the convention. Find the forum schedule here. |
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Investment and the Church Conference raises tough questions on fossil fuels
 A group of Episcopalians is urging the Diocese of Massachusetts to vote with its dollars on the issue of climate change, sparking many conversations about the intersection of church investments and fossil fuels. It's part of a wider debate going on in universities, municipalities and faith communities: if an organization wishes to take a moral stand on climate change, should it make a statement by divesting completely from fossil fuels, or keep the investments and enact shareholder activism from the inside? This debate was at the center of the Investment and the Church Conference on Oct. 12, collaboratively sponsored by the Trustees of Donations and Episcopal City Mission (ECM). About 50 Episcopalians gathered at Christ Church in Needham for the day of education and conversation, all surrounding the question of how the church's investments should play a role in caring for creation. Read more. |
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South Coast mission hub honored
 | | Representatives from the diocese and the South Coast mission hub receive the honor from Partners for a Healthier Community |
Greater Fall River Partners for a Healthier Community recently honored the Diocese of Massachusetts for the work of the South Coast mission hub. The diocese was among several honorees at the Partners for a Healthier Community 20th anniversary celebration on Sept. 18. The South Coast is the first mission hub made possible by the diocese's Together Now fundraising campaign, and the hub has only been active since September of last year. "They felt that we really stepped up and were able to have a significant impact in a short length of time," said the Rev. Sam Rodman, Project Manager for Campaign Initiatives, who attended the celebration in Fall River, as did Canon to the Ordinary Mally Lloyd. Rodman said that the honor was a clear indication that the South Coast mission hub has made significant progress in building relationships with the community. The diocese was honored for interfaith engagement and for the South Coast hub's work with the homeless community at the Fall River Super 8 Motel. There were more than 200 members of the Fall River community in attendance, including the mayor, several members of the city government and five Episcopal Church leaders from the South Coast. Full story. |
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NewsNotes
 | | Architect's plan for retreat house |
Site of retreat house blessed at BCH: At the annual Clergy Day on Sept. 17, Bishop Bud Cederholm blessed the site of a future retreat house for clergy and lay ministers, located at the Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center. The house is being built in the retired bishop suffragan's honor. In recognition of Cederholm's commitment to environmental causes, the house will be built to be energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. Read more.
 Creation Care Season: The Diocese of Massachusetts observes a Creation Care Season during October and November, and members of the diocese are once again this year posting weekly reflections on how congregations and individuals can be stewards of God's creation. The first, "Are we living in harmony with nature" by Dawn Tesorero, senior warden at St. John's Church in Jamaica Plain, is available on the Creation Care Season page.
Mission Tithe Grants: The first round of Mission Tithe Grants have been awarded to parishes. The funding for the grants is from the Together Now fundraising campaign, and the money will be used by parishes for mission projects around the world. Read the complete announcement to see how the grants will be put into action.
Western Mass. campaigns for casino repeal: As gambling companies compete for the three resort casino licenses and one slot parlor license allowed by Massachusetts' 2011 expanded gaming law, Bishop Douglas Fisher and casino gambling opponents in the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts have joined with a coalition working to repeal the law. They need to collect 69,000 signatures by Nov. 20 as they attempt to get an repeal initiative on the 2014 ballot. Read more here. LDI offers fall abundance: In a busy fall schedule of programming, the Leadership Development Initiative has released this video about the LDI experience of Grace Church in Medford. It is also offering on Oct. 19 two simultaneous morning sessions in Allston, one a "Taste and See" workshop for those wanting to learn more about the program, and a "Sacred Chant" workshop. RSVP to duncan@diomassleads.org.
 Pet Blessings: Churches throughout the diocese celebrated the feast of St. Francis (Oct. 4) by holding blessings of the animals services the following weekend. There were dogs, cats, horses, hedgehogs and even bees! View the photo gallery.
All Hallows' Eve Liturgy and Dance Party: On Thursday, Oct. 31, young adults from four communities will gather at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul to celebrate an All Hallows' liturgy, followed by a dance party on the front steps of the church. Participants are invited to "dress as your favorite saint: past, present or future." "We're throwing a dance party because All Hallows' is a feast; it's a celebration," said The Crossing's Isaac Everett, "and doing it on the front steps lets us engage our neighbors. It's party evangelism." Click here for details.
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Parish Circuit
 Pumpkin patches take root: Fall means pumpkins at Epiphany Parish in Walpole. Since 2006, the church has been hosting a pumpkin patch, incorporating the entire community into this month-long, seven-day-a-week effort. The word is spreading, as well: this year, St. Mark's Church in Burlington opened its own pumpkin patch that also uses Pumpkins USA, the nonprofit that supplies the Walpole patch.
Both churches see that the pumpkin patches are a festive, relaxed event that make members of the community feel welcome at the church. "This project has brought many Burlington residents together who would never have known each other and who are all working for the same cause," said Shirley Estrella of St. Mark's Church in Burlington. "It has put our little church in the forefront."
St. Bart's Wednesday meal nourishes community: What started two years ago this month at St. Bartholomew's Church in
 | | St. Bartholomew's parishioner Wendy Crawford helps prepare the meal. |
Cambridge as "Feed the Hungry," a weekly meal for the homeless organized by a group of MIT students, has grown into what's now known as the Wednesday Evening Community Meal, serving anywhere from 30 to 100 people every week depending on the time of the month.
"The most important thing about the meal, besides honoring the Gospel imperative to feed the hungry, is that it is part of an enlivening of the parish. We've become known in the neighborhood for this meal," the Rev. Leslie Sterling, Rector, said. The weekly meal is also nourishing a new commitment to outreach among church members. Read the full story here. Bishop Cederholm blesses solar panels at Grace Church, Medford: Bishop Bud Cederholm, retired as bishop suffragan, blessed the new 25 Kw solar array at Grace Church in Medford on Oct. 2. The installation of the solar array is the result of years of work by the Grace Church community.
The gathering for the blessing service included prayers for the environment, songs and reflections. Cederholm was raised to the roof in a lift provided by the City of Medford, in order to sprinkle the solar panels with holy water. The blessing was followed by a dinner and a parish "Creation Care" celebration. Read the full story. |
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NewsLinks
"Worshipful Walk," an experimental 5 p.m. Sunday service in the Middlesex Fells offered by Grace Church in Medford, was covered in this Sept. 26 Medford Transcript/Wicked Local Medford post. The Rev. Scott Ciosek, the new priest-in-charge of St. Martin's Church in New Bedford and St. Peter's Church in South Dartmouth, was featured in this Sept. 28 SouthCoast Today story. The Brazilian ambassador visited St. Andrew's Church in Framingham last month to learn about its Portuguese-langauge program for children. Read more in this Sept. 30 Framingham Patch post and see the Metrowest Daily News's photos here. Among the coverage of animal blessings on St. Francis Day were SouthCoast Today's photos of the Rev. Christopher Morck of Grace Church in New Bedford at the Dartmouth animal shelter, and this Wicked Local video of the Rev. Richard Bardusch blessing pets at St. Thomas's Church in Taunton. |
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E-News
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