Following Jesus Into Your Neighborhood:
Serving All God's Children
Province 1 and All Our Children will sponsor a New England Regional Forum reflecting on the Church's faithful response to public education on February 19 & 20 at the Barbara Harris Conference Center in Greenfield, NH.
You are invited to join Bishop Laura Ahrens and others from the Episcopal Church in Connecticut. Bishop Rob Hirschfeld of the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire is the keynote speaker.
The conversation will center on ways in which congregations may responsibly join the movement to address education inequality. The forum will aim to assist congregations begin or advance their journeys into partnership with a public school; form a community of support; and share resources of experience, tools, and materials. Registration is limited. Registration link here.
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Southern CT UBE Chapter celebrates MLK Jr. Jan 30
The Southern CT Chapter of the Union of Black Episcopalians (UBE) is honoring the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King., Jr. on Sat. Jan. 30 at 3 p.m. at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit, 28 Church Street, West Haven. The public is invited. Clergy of all denominations are welcome and invited to wear vestments of their custom with white, celebratory, or kente cloth stoles. For more information contact UBE President Steven R. Mullins at 203-824-4262. This liturgy was originally scheduled for Jan. 23 and changed due to the snowstorm. The Rev. Carl Howard, first black pastor of the First Congregational Church of West Haven will be the preacher, and the Revs. Lisa D. Hahneman and Richard D. Meadows will be con-celebrants.
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Communication & Media Office Updates
Website, eNewsetters, network, policies, database
The ECCT website is undergoing another upgrade, with changes in layout, presentation, and organization. Changes in eNewsletters will be tested out this spring as well. A revision of social media policies is also underway. A Digital Ministry Network has been started and two participants are working on a how-to plan that will get churches wired for Internet access from anywhere on their campus.
The ECCT database is being expanded. What do you want to know about other parishes and their ministries? Ministry information combined with Ministry Network information, in particular, could be helpful to collaborative work across ECCT. It would be governed by policies for its use that will be established.
The current ECCT database has focused on financial data and information about clergy since 2011, with a request for parish mailing lists September 2015. A database with information on parish ministries, lay leaders, and staff, among other content, is being rebuilt and parishes will be asked to complete a survey this spring. ECCT is also building its Asset Map, a project with Episcopal Relief and Development's Disaster Response Program, and hopes to integrate sections of these two databases.
Questions, concerns, and comments are welcome regarding the website, enewsletter, Digital Ministry Network, social media policies, database projects, data access and use policies, and other related topics. Send them to khamilton@episcopalct.org
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Absalom Jones Service at Christ Church Cathedral
The Hartford Chapter of the Union of Black Episcopalians (UBE) will hold a service of remembrance for Absalom Jones at Christ Church Cathedral on February 7 at 3:30 p.m. All are invited to attend.
The Rev. Wilborne Austin is the guest speaker for the evening. The Rev. Austin is Priest in-Charge at St Stephen's Episcopal Church in Bloomfield.
For further questions on the event, please reach out to Dorothy R Jackson, Chapter President, dorothydrj@comcast.net, (860) 247-5635.
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News and resources from Conventions available
- The original resolutions for the 2015 annual convention, including the 2016 ECCT Budget of Convention, are here.
- A report from the ECCT Convention including status of elections and resolutions are here.
- Bishop Douglas' Address, text and video, and the presentation by the Rev. Leng Lim, in two videos, are all here.
- The TREC-CT Final report, graphic illustration, and maps, for changes approved to ECCT structure and governance, are here.
- The revised ECCT Constitution & Canons may be downloaded from this folder.
- A Summary of Actions from General Convention 2015 is here.
- Marriage and Blessing Liturgies as approved by General Convention 2015 are here.
- The 2016-2018 Budget of General Convention is here.
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The Church Remembers Thomas Aquinas
This Thursday, January 28, the Church remembers the life and ministry of Thomas Aquinas.
Perhaps the greatest of the many medieval theologians, Thomas was the son of a prominent Italian count. He joined the Dominican Order against the will of his family. He studied at Monte Cassino and at the Universities of Naples, Cologne, and Paris, earning a Master's degree. Virtually his entire life was spent in teaching and writing.His greatest work was the Summa Theologica, a masterful systematic statement of doctrine. Learn more about Thomas Aquinas here.
The Collect
Almighty God, you have enriched your Church with the singular learning and holiness of your servant Thomas Aquinas: Enlighten us more and more, we pray, by the disciplined thinking and teaching of Christian scholars, and deepen our devotion by the example of saintly lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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TREC-CT 3.0 (T3): Transition Team starts its work
Changes to Episcopal Church in Connecticut (ECCT) structure and governance proposed by TREC-CT, adopted at the 2015 Convention, called for a Transition Team to convene parishes and individuals in each Region during the first six months of 2016. The T3 Team, with members from different Regions and from Ministry Networks, has now been identified, convened, and assigned tasks. Dates have also been set for a convocation in each Region, so mark your calendar now. Locations are TBD. Convocation content and process are expected to vary by Region. The Final Report from TREC-CT, along with a graphic illustration and a map showing Regions, is here. For a list of members and more information, visit the Transition Team website here. The date for the Ministry Network Convocation will be scheduled and announced later.
Region Convocation dates:
Northeast Region: April 22-23
South Central Region: May 6-7
Southwest Region: May 13-14
Southeast Region: May 20-21
Northwest Region: June 10-11
North Central: June 24-25
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Daring Greatly: Online Clergy Book Group 
The online clergy book group will meet again soon!
All clergy are invited to participate. Come join your colleagues for fellowship, conversation and continuing education.
The next meetings will be on January 26 at 2pm or January 28 at 8 am to discuss Brene Brown's Daring Greatly. The meeting will be held via Zoom video conferencing, which can be accessed via computer or mobile device.
For more information see the website here, or email Molly James at mjames@episcopalct.org.
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Positions Open
To submit a job opening to be included here, please fill out this form. Jobs will be reviewed and then posted once in the weekly enews and posted on the website for four weeks.
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Coming up soon
REGIONAL & DIOCESAN OFFERINGS - January
The ECCT calendar is located here. It allows you to filter events by category and includes a subscribe link at the bottom of the page. Events at The Commons in Meriden unless otherwise noted.
- Jan. 28, 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Standing Committee Meeting
- Jan. 31, Annual Meeting of the Cathedral with Bishop Douglas
- Jan. 31, Episcopal Church at Yale Confirmations
- Feb. 2, Camp Washington Board Meeting
- Feb 6, Community Garden Gathering, Register here
- Feb. 7, Run for Refugees, New Haven, details at irisct.org
- Feb. 9, Ordination of Nathan Ives to the Priesthood, Emmanuel, Killingworth
- Feb. 10, Ash Wednesday
BISHOPS' SUNDAY SCHEDULE - January & February
- Jan. 31 - Bishop Douglas - Christ Church Cathedral Annual Meeting
- Jan. 31 - Bishop Ahrens - St. Andrew's, New Haven
- Feb. 7 - Bishop Douglas - St. John's, East Windsor
- Feb. 7 - Bishop Ahrens - St. Andrew's, Northford
- Feb. 14 - Bishop Douglas - St. Thomas, New Haven
- Feb. 14 - Bishop Ahrens - St. Paul's, Plainfield
- Feb. 21 - Bishop Ahrens - Trinity, New Haven
- Feb. 28 - Bishop Douglas - St. John's, Washington
- Feb. 28 - Bishop Ahrens - St. John's, Salisbury
complete list of events is available on the website, for your consideration.
Jan. 30, 8 p.m. The American Boychoir, Christ & Holy Trinity, Westport
Feb. 7, 8 a.m. Souper Bowl Sunday, Christ & The Epiphany, East Haven
Feb. 7, 12:30 p.m.* Pipes Alive! Natasha Ulyanovsky, Organ, St. John's, West Hartford
Feb. 7, 4 p.m. Organ Recital by Sumner Jenkins, St. Michael's Parish, Litchfield
Feb. 9, 6 p.m. Shrove Tuesday Pancake Dinner, East Haven
Feb. 9, 6 p.m. Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper, Christ Church, Oxford
Feb. 12, Lenten/Easter Study Group, Christ Church, Oxford
Feb. 15, 6 p.m. Love, Biblical Style, Holy Trinity, Enfield
*please notice the time has been updated from the previous eNews
2016 SPRING CLERICUS MEETINGS
Clergy are invited to attend whichever of these meetings that best fits their schedule and location. Each line provides a link to the respective Eventbrite page. From there, you can find more details and register for the event. Each event is scheduled from 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m., and you are invited to bring your own lunch.
SAFE CHURCH TRAINING FOR LAITY
- Mar. 5, 2016, 9 a.m., St. James's, West Hartford
- Apr. 16, 2016, 9 a.m., Trinity, Collinsville
- Apr. 30, 2016, 9 a.m., St. Peter's, Cheshire
- May 7, 2016, 9 a.m., St. John's, Vernon
- May 14, 2016, 9 a.m, St. Paul's, Brookfield
- June 4, 2016, 9 a.m., Christ Church, East Norwalk
- June 25, 2016, 9 a.m , St. John's, Niantic
Safe Church Recertification - for Laity
- Feb. 3, 2016, 6:30 p.m., St. Andrew's, Madison
- March 7, 2016, 6:30 p.m. The Commons, Meriden
- April 9, 2016, 9 a.m. St. Mark's, New Canaan
- April 12, 2016, 6:30 p.m., Trinity, Tariffville
- May 21, 2016, 9 a.m., St. Paul's, Shelton
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