WEEKLY ENEWS

March 1, 2016

Opposing Casino Expansion 
 
There is a strong campaign underway in the Legislature to legalize off-reservation commercial casino gambling in Connecticut.  The campaign is initially focused on allowing the owners of Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun to jointly open a commercial "convenience casino" in the Hartford area, but if successful could well lead to the opening of additional casinos and the legalization of other forms of gambling in the state.

The Episcopal Church in Connecticut has opposed expanding casino gambling for the past twenty years, and is currently working with other concerned groups to defeat current expansion efforts.

For those seeking a better understanding of this important issue, we would highly recommend inviting author and former U.S. Congressman Bob Steele to speak at your church or possibly in a broader ecumenical community forum. 

Bob is currently on an author's tour of the Northeast, speaking at over 350 civic and professional organizations, libraries, churches, and colleges about the impact of casino expansion and the background to his book, The Curse: Big-Time Gambling's Seduction of a Small New England Town (Levellers Press).

The Curse, which has gone into its second printing,is a fact-based novel set against the explosion of casino gambling in Connecticut during the 1990s.  WBZ Boston's Dan Rea calls the novel "powerful" and Connecticut author Martin Shapiro describes it as "compelling and timely...a riveting story of history, money and politics that will make you wonder where America is headed."  There are extensive reader and audience reviews of the book and Bob's talks at www.rhsteele.com

Bob Steele can be reached at [email protected] or 860 767-8452 in Essex. 

Spirituality for Leadership
A Spring Retreat with the Most Reverend Frank T. Griswold

The Most Rev. Frank Griswold, Former Presiding Bishop of 
the Episcopal Church
"Come and see." Jesus invitation to potential followers is not confined to the pages of the Gospel accounts in the Bible. It is continually extended to us by the Holy Spirit. It is a call to a life of intimate companionship and encounter with Christ in order that Christ's own reconciling love may find expression, in and through us. Such is the nature of discipleship.

The retreat will focus on some of the ways in which persons of faith have responded to the tugs and pulls of the Spirit: what they have learned, and what they may have to teach us as we seek to respond to the invitation to "Come and see" in our own day.

Details
April 15-16
Friday dinner through Saturday lunch
Camp Washington
190 Kenyon Road
Lakeside CT 06758
860-567-9623

Cost
Private Room/Hall Bath: $265
Shared Room/Hall Bath: $205
Commuter: $145 


Announcements & Reminders
  • 2015 Parochial Report deadline: March 1
  • This year's Spring Training & Gathering is scheduled for April 2, 2016 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Lincoln Middle School, Meriden. Register here or Aqui 
Region Convocations

Locations and details are TBD by the T3 transition team (TREC-CT 3.0) and people within each region, and will be included here when set. A map of Regions is here.
 
Region Convocation                      Date

Northeast                                       April 22-23
South Central                                 May 6-7
Southwest                                      May 13-14
Southeast                                       May 20-21
North Central                                 June 10-11
Northwest                                      June 24-25

A Convocation for Ministry Networks is also in the works; a date is not yet available.

Positions Open
 
Job openings may be found here on the website.

St. John's, Essex is searching for a Full Time Parish Administrator, link here.

St. Ann's, Old Lyme is searching for a Half-Time Organist & Choir Director, link here.

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.   
Coming up soon
 
REGIONAL & DIOCESAN OFFERINGS, MARCH
 
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. 
  • March 5, Companions in Mission Conference, St. Paul's, Huntington
  • March 8, 10 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. ConnECA, St. Marks, New Canaan
  • March 8, 5:30 p.m. Bishops & Confirmands, Trinity, Southport, register here
  • March 19, Faith Behind Bars and Beyond Annual Forum, Hamden, details here
  • March 20, Palm Sunday
  • March 22, Renewal of Vows, Camp Washington
  • March 25, Good Friday (The Commons is Closed)
  • March 27, Easter Day
BISHOPS' SUNDAY SCHEDULE, MARCH
  • March 6 - Bishop Douglas - St. James, Higganum
  • March 6 - Bishop Ahrens - Good Shepherd. Hartford
  • March 20 - Bishop Ahrens - St. Paul's, Southington
     
PARISH EVENTS (Parish Events Calendar

Events are updated online once a week. Please submit your events here. A 
complete list of events is available on the website, for your consideration. 
 
Fridays - March 18, 6 p.m. Come Walk the Way of the Cross, Grace, Hartford
Fridays - April 15, 7 p.m., Lenten/Easter Study Group, Christ Church Quaker Farms, Oxford
March 1, 6:30 p.m. ARTWorks: Elisa Keogh "Beyond Horizon," 
March 2, 6:30 p.m. Iconography, Practicing a Living Tradition, Trinity, Southport
March 2, 12 noon, Midday Music, St. Paul's Norwalk
March 6, 12:30 p.m. Pipes Alive! St. John's, West Hartford
March 6, 4 p.m. Lenten Choral Music and Poetry, St. Michael's, Litchfield
March 6, 4 p.m. Tuck and Patti through the Arts, St. Matthew's, Wilton
March 9, 6:30 p.m. Iconography: The Spirituality of Praying with Icons, Trinity, Southport
       
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

Safe Church training sessions are now scheduled through June 2016. Register online - click here for page with registration links.
 
Basic Comprehensive Safe Church Training - for Laity 
  • March 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
  • 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
 

EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN CONNECTICUT
PARTICIPATING IN GOD'S MISSION


290 Pratt Street ı Box 52 ı Meriden, CT 06450 ı 203-639-3501  

The Episcopal Church in Connecticut | The Commons | 290 Pratt Street | Meriden | CT | 06450