|
|
|
|
"Our vision for our diocese": Everyone's voice is needed in mission strategy listening process now underway
 It's time to create a new diocesan mission strategy, and everyone's voice is needed. Members of the diocesan community are invited to attend one of the open listening forums scheduled in January and February--opportunities to share insights and experiences and imagine the future together. An additional February session in Beverly Farms has been added to the series. Find the full schedule here.Members of the diocese are also invited to participate in the process via an online survey, available here, or a toll-free phone survey at 855-208-5877. "My vision for the Diocese of Massachusetts is that it is a large and diverse body of Christians who are nonetheless committed to listening deeply to one another and discerning together what God wants most from us at this time," Bishop Alan M. Gates says in a video introduction to the open forums. Watch a clip from the video here. |
|
All Our Children unites church-school partnerships across the nation
 All Our Children is a national network formed to support and inspire faith communities that have partnerships with public schools. The network was recognized by the 2015 General Convention in Resolution B005, which endorses church-school partnerships as a pathway to serve children, connect churches with their broader community and to reinvigorate congregations.
"This kind of partnership is bringing a new kind of life to local congregations," said Lallie Lloyd, director of the national network. "People don't go to church by accident anymore. People who are looking for a church are attracted to congregations that have meaningful relationships with communities, where they can be involved in service."
There are churches throughout the Episcopal Church that have partnerships with schools in their neighborhood, and All Our Children strives to connect these churches so they can support, inspire and educate one another.
"Our purpose is to lift up the places where local congregations are already in mutual transformative relationships with their local schools," Lloyd said. "Our experience is telling us that this is happening across the church, this is evolving out of very heartfelt understanding that our children are not getting the education they need to grow into the fullness of who God wants them to be."
"When we start out most of us feel like we're alone, and it's really good to know that this is a real movement in the Episcopal Church," said the Rev. Debbie Phillips, Rector of Grace Church in Salem, which has a partnership with a local elementary school. "I'm very proud of [General] Convention for supporting us so much in this endeavor. It's great to be part of a denomination that understands mission."
The All Our Children network is hosting a series of regional forums to promote sharing and inspiration among churches that already have school partnerships and those that would like to start a partnership. The New England regional forum will be held on Feb. 19 and 20 at the Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center in Greenfield, N.H. The gathering is sponsored by Province I of the Episcopal Church, and will have programming tracks for growing and strengthening an existing partnership and for starting a new partnership.
Read more about local churches with school partnerships and All Our Children's upcoming regional forum here. |
|
Cape area churches open doors to their homeless neighbors
As December's mild temperatures give way to single-digit January nights, new and longstanding ministries are responding to the issue of homelessness on Cape Cod and the islands. At St. Barnabas's Church in Falmouth, St. Andrew's Church in Edgartown, Grace Church in Vineyard Haven, and just off the Cape at Good Shepherd in Wareham, Episcopalians are offering meals, financial support, time, and the use of church buildings to their neighbors facing homelessness in the coldest part of the year. These ministries are supported by an array of houses of worship and community organizations, and have seen an outpouring of support. Read more. |
|
Do Not Stand Idly By equips citizens to advocate for safer guns
 With rapid-fire news headlines reporting the latest mass shootings in places such as Colorado Springs and San Bernardino, alongside news of school lock-downs and street shootings closer to home, a state of cognitive dissonance seems to have set in among us, as urgency comes up against complacency: "Something must be done; nothing can be done" is the loop many of us hear in our heads.
"The cascading episodes of gun violence in America threaten to render us hopeless. But Christians are ever a people of hope and compassion. So we do not lose heart, and we may not rest unresponsive," Bishop Alan M. Gates replied when asked where to look for hope.
"As much as gun violence is currently in the news, there's still a way in which folks feel disconnected from it as an issue," said the Rev. Liz Steinhauser of St. Stephen's Church in Boston and a lead organizer of the diocese's B-PEACE antiviolence campaign, now in its third year.In response, diocesan B-PEACE leaders are organizing local involvement in a national campaign called Do Not Stand Idly By, and Gates joins them in urging local participation.
Do Not Stand Idly By is a campaign of the Metro Industrial Areas Foundation (Metro IAF), a Washington, D.C.-based network of civic and faith groups--including the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization--which organize and undertake social action projects that they believe will strengthen local communities. This particular campaign takes its name from Leviticus 19: "Do not stand idly by while your neighbor's blood is shed."
The main premise of Do Not Stand Idly By is that, by organizing and speaking out, concerned citizens can leverage this public-sector purchasing power to encourage gun manufacturers to insist on responsible sales practices for all their dealers and to invest in "smart gun" technology to create safer guns. B-PEACE organizers will offer a local training for those who want to learn more about the Do Not Stand Idly By campaign on Sunday, Jan. 31 from 2 to 5 p.m., at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston. Steinhauser said the training is for anyone who is curious about potentially taking action. "You don't have to decide before you come. You come to find out more about the campaign and to see if there are ways that you or your congregation might like to get involved on a local level," she said. Read more. |
|
"Hunger for justice, thirst for peace": Bishops mark Martin Luther King Jr. Day with prayer and service
"Almighty God, we gather to honor and to give thanks to you for the life, ministry, words of justice and face of Martin Luther King, whose witness pointed to the fear and ignorance underlying prejudice and bigotry that leave people at the door of society and church and deny God among us and in each of us," prayed Bishop Gayle E. Harris in her invocation at Boston's annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day breakfast, co-sponsored by St. Cyprian's Church in Roxbury. Read the Boston Globe's coverage of the event here, and find the text of Harris's prayer here.
|
| | Bishop Gates at the Blackstone School, making a sign of encouragement to students taking the new standardized test that is replacing the MCAS test in Massachusetts. |
Bishop Alan M. Gates joined volunteers from the Parish of St. John the Evangelist in Hingham, Epiphany Parish in Winchester, Church of the Good Shepherd in Watertown and St. Elizabeth's Church in Sudbury for the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Action at St. Stephen's Church and the Blackstone School in Boston's South End. "It was an amazing day of 200-plus people painting hallways, preparing the greenhouse for science lessons, adding scores of new books to the library, making materials for classrooms and creating murals that represent Latino/Latina heroes of justice to inspire students to greatness," the Rev. Liz Steinhauser of St. Stephen's said. |
|
NewsNotes
YLA Mission Trip to Arizona and Mexico: Youth from the diocesan Youth Leadership Academy recently traveled to the U.S-Mexico border in Arizona and Mexico, where they met with undocumented immigrants, human rights activists, aid workers, indigenous leaders, clergy, a border patrol agent, and others who encounter life along the border first hand. Many photos and reflections from the YLA students can be found on their youth ministry blog.
|
| | Youth pose in front of a mural painted on the wall on the Mexican side of the border in Naco, Sorano. At far right is The Rev. Richard Aguilar, the Diocese of Arizona's borderlands missioner. |
Resources for keeping a holy Lent: Ash Wednesday is Feb. 10. Among the many devotional resources available for the Lenten journey:"Walk the Path of Lent" with Episcopal Relief & Development's 2016 Lenten meditations, available via daily e-mail or as a printed booklet, in English or Spanish (order booklets by Feb. 1 to receive them by Ash Wednesday). The reflections on spiritual practices are written by the organization's staff, partners and friends from around the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. Additionally, congregations are invited to observe an Episcopal Relief & Development Sunday during Lent (a designation made by the 2009 General Convention) to increase awareness of and support the organization's disaster relief, public health and economic development programs. Find more information here."Growing a Rule of Life" is a six-week series produced by the Society of St. John the Evangelist and the Center for the Ministry of Teaching at Virginia Theological Seminary. It offers videos, questions and readings to help individuals and groups design a balanced plan for growing into a deeper relationship with God, self, others and creation. Find more information, sign up to receive daily videos by e-mail and download the workbook at http://ssje.org/ssje/growrule. "Lent Madness" offers members of the voting public a light-hearted way to learn more about the saints during Lent. Vote online daily for favorites from among a select 32 saints who are paired off in a tournament-style bracket. The last saint standing at the end of Lent wins the game's golden halo. Sign up and vote daily here.
|
|
Churchwide
Bishops respond to Anglican primates' action: From their Jan. 11-15 meeting at Canterbury, England, the heads, or primates, of the Anglican Communion's 38 autonomous provinces have called for a temporary restriction of the Episcopal Church's participation in certain representative and decision-making bodies. The primates cited last summer's General Convention action to revise the Episcopal Church's marriage canon as the motivation for their request. The revision to make the Episcopal Church's canon gender neutral, the primates said, represents "a fundamental departure from the faith and teaching held by the majority of our provinces" that "upholds marriage as between a man and a woman in faithful, lifelong union."
Specifically, the primates requested that for a period of three years members of the Episcopal Church "no longer represent us on ecumenical and interfaith bodies, should not be appointed or elected to an internal standing committee and that while participating in the internal bodies of the Anglican Communion, they will not take part in decision making on any issues pertaining to doctrine or polity." The primates at the same time expressed a desire "to walk together" and have called for a task group "to maintain conversation among ourselves with the intention of restoration of relationship, the rebuilding of mutual trust, healing the legacy of hurt, recognizing the extent of our commonality and exploring our deep differences, ensuring they are held between us in the love and grace of Christ." The matter will come before the Anglican Consultative Council, the Anglican Communion's representative body of lay people, clergy and bishops, when it meets in April in Zambia. In a statement in response to the primates' action, the bishops of the Diocese of Massachusetts, the Rt. Rev. Alan M. Gates and the Rt. Rev. Gayle E. Harris, reaffirmed their commitment "to the full inclusion of all Christian persons, including LGBTQ Christians, in the life of the church-its fellowship, its leadership and its sacramental life." Read the full statement, which includes links to Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry's response and other coverage, here. |
|
NewsLinks
South Coast Today: Grief counseling center opens at St. Peter's, Dartmouth: In an effort to assist people in the community who are dealing with sadness and loss, St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Dartmouth is beginning a new grief counseling center that will be called "The Bridge: A Center for Hope and Healing." "We will never turn anyone away. The whole ministry of Jesus was to bring healing into people's lives," the Rev. Scott Ciosek said. "The phones are already ringing off the hook." Read more.
Fall River Herald: An interfaith conversation on the refugee crisis: South Coast Episcopal priests Matthew Stewart and Jim Hornsby discuss with Temple Beth El cantor Shoshana Brown their faith perspectives on refugees and resettlement. Read the full conversation here.
|
|
E-News
The Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts
Spread the word! Forward E-News to your fellow parishioners, family, friends and seekers and let them know they can sign up for future issues at: www.diomass.org/subscribe.
You are receiving this newsletter from the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts because you subscribed or are in our leadership database. To ensure that you continue to receive e-news from us, add enews@diomass.org to your address book. |
|
|
|
|
|
