Your regular eNews editor Joshua Bruner is on pilgrimage in Rome, then Canterbury, with his Berkeley Divinity School class. He returns March 27.
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Come, celebrate the Love of God this Easter
The Acts 8 Movement produced the video linked above ( and found on this page) and offers it to congregations in The Episcopal Church to promote their Easter liturgies. It can be posted as is, or customized. Also available here in Spanish, French, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Tagalog, Ilocano, and Dinka language versions. The Acts 8 Movement describes its mission as "Changing the conversation in The Episcopal Church from death to resurrection; equipping The Episcopal Church to proclaim resurrection to the world." More on them at their Facebook page.
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A meeting of New Haven parishes
Clergy and officers of eight New Haven parishes gather for the first of conversations about collaborative efforts to "seek the welfare of the city"
On March 17, clergy and officers from the eight Episcopal parishes in New Haven came to The Commons at the invitation of the bishops to talk about "the future of the New Haven churches and how collaboration can be enhanced."
The meeting, which was rumored by some to be a top-down announcement of closings, was not. Instead, it was a conversation about God's mission in New Haven along with truth-telling about finances. Decisions about next steps rest with parishes.
The evening began with Bible study led by Bishop Laura Ahrens that focused on the welfare of New Haven (Jeremiah 29:7). People teamed up with someone they didn't already know and talked first about a person or organization in New Haven they believed helped to make the city more peaceful and prosperous, then, shared a time when they were engaged in the ministry of seeking the peace of the city.
Bishop Douglas taught how the loss of dominance and power by the church as an institution in our society is offering a particular challenge and opportunity.
Canon Louis Fuertes presented detailed financial information on the eight parishes as a whole and separately (and anonymously), which he'd titled, "Perspectives on Parish Financial Sustainability." He'd done research using the admittedly imperfect parochial report data, over time, to get trends. Some parishes face challenging futures, he reported.
Next there was a check-in on feelings in response to what they'd heard during the evening; and finally, a question: What do you want to do next?
The choice was, and is, theirs. As they'd agreed to in a guideline adopted at the outset, there was "no shaming or blaming self or others." And no scapegoating. There was also no avoiding. Those in the room said they'd like to meet again and a tentative date of April 28 was proposed. A representative from each church was recruited to form the meeting's design team.
As they left, each parish was given a folder with parish-specific financial details that they could review before the next meeting. The New Haven parishes include: Christ Church, St. Andrew's, St. James', St. John's, St. Paul & St. James, St. Luke's, St. Thomas, and Trinity.
-- Reported by Karin Hamilton.
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Brief announcements and reminders
 EPISCOPAL CHURCH AT YALE STUDENTS ON A TOUR OF POLAND:
Twelve "Profiles in Courage Fellows," who were part of a collaborative seminar with the Slifka Center for Jewish Life and the Episcopal Church at Yale, have been studying Christian and Jewish resisters to the Holocaust all year and traveled to Poland to visit museums, the Warsaw ghetto, and Auschwitz. ECY's Chaplain the Rev. Paul Carling is with the group. Track their visit on ECY's facebook page.
Photo at right a mobile upload from the trip, posted on the FB page.
IN THE NEWS: THE REV. DAVID CANNON
The Rev. Cn. David Cannon, retired rector of St. James', Poquetanuck and longtime advocate for community colleges, received the David C. Knapp Award for Trusteeship from the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) at a dinner and ceremony in Boston on March 4. The bio written by NEBHE about him notes that he is "one of the longest serving members of the Board of Trustees for Connecticut's Community colleges and the system's longest serving chair." Read the writeup on him here. (scroll down) Photo from NEBHE page.
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Pilgrimage walk: St. Cuthbert's Way
Join St. James', Glastonbury on 9-day pilgrimage this September
St. James' Church Glastonbury is planning a nine day pilgrimage walk on St. Cuthbert's Way and has two spots open for others to join them. It is a 7-night, 8-day walk with an extra night spent on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne. It begins in Melrose, Scotland on September 21 and finishes on the Holy Island. Each day will start with a hearty breakfast, a morning worship service and a reflection to "carry" with you on your walk. The cost is roughly $1850 for a double occupancy. For more information contact the Rev. Denise Cabana, dcabana1@sbcglobal.net or at 860-633-8333.
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Positions Open
- NEW THIS WEEK: St. John's, West Hartford has an openiing for a part-time financial administrator.
- St. Peter's, Cheshire is seeking a part-time communications coordinator, and a part time parish office administrator.
- St. Stephen's, Ridgefield is seeking a full time associate rector for youth and family ministry.
- St. Andrew's, Milford (Devon) is seeking a part-time associate for parish communications.
- St. Mark's, New Canaan is seeking a pat-time director of children's ministries, and a full-time associate for digital and family ministry.
- St. Ann's, Old Lyme is seeking a half-time organist and choir director.
- Saint Luke's, Darien, is seeking a full- or part-time associate rector.
To submit a job opening to be included here, please fill out this form. Jobs will be reviewed and then posted in the weekly enews and posted on the website.
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Region Convocations 
Locations and details are TBD by the T3 transition team (TREC-CT 3.0) working with people within each region, and will be included here when set. Info will also be mailed to parishes, and emailed. A Region map 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
The date for a Convocation for Ministry Networks has not been confirmed.
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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 22, Renewal of Vows, Camp Washington
- March 22, Faithful Futures, Transitions
- March 29, Province I Bishops & Canons
- March 30, Deacons' Council (at Trinity, Hartford)
- March 30, T3 Transition Team
- March 31, ROC Gathering
- March 31, Standing Committee meeting
BISHOPS' SCHEDULE, MARCH
- March 22 - Both bishops will be at the Renewal of Vows at Camp Washington
- March 24 - Bishop Douglas, Maundy Thursday Service and Footwashing, New Haven Green; Bishop Ahrens, Maundy Thursday Service, St. John's, Stamford (with Iglesia Betania and L'Eglise de l'Epiphanie)
- March 25, Good Friday, Bishop Douglas, St. Paul & St. James, New Haven; Bishop Ahrens, Old St. Andrew's, Bloomfield
- March 26, Easter Eve, Bishop Douglas Easter Vigil and Confirmations, Cathedral; Bishop Ahrens, Easter Vigil and Confirmations, St. Paul's, Fairfield
- March 27 (Easter) Bishop Ahrens, Regional confirmations, Cathedral
complete list of events is available on the website, for your consideration.
Please review event details on this calendar, or the individual parish/worshiping community, for more specific locations and times. Please reach out to the specific parish for event updates and further details.
March 23, Mid-day Music, St. Paul's, Norwalk
March 23, Concert of Kyries, Christ Church, Stratford
March 23, Couperin, Leçons de Ténebrès, St. Thomas, New Haven
March 26, Egg hunt, face painting & more, St. Francis, Stamford
March 28, Brubeck Jazz Concert, St. Michael's, Litchfield
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 RECERTIFICATION FOR CLERGY IN 2016 (Link here)
SAFE CHURCH TRAINING FOR LAITY
- 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
- 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
REGIONAL CONFIRMATIONS
- Saturday, March 27, Easter Vigil at Christ Church Cathedral, Hartford at 7:30pm (Bishop Douglas) (currently participating Christ Church Cathedral; St John's North Haven 3C, 2R)
- Saturday, March 27, Easter Vigil at St. Paul's, Fairfield 8pm (Bishop Ahrens) (currently participating St. Paul's, Southport; Trinity Southport; St. Timothy's, Fairfield; Trinity/St. Michael's, Fairfield)
- Tuesday, May 3 Bishops and Confirmands Dinner at The Commons Register here
- Thursday May 5, at St. John's Vernon at 7pm (Bishop Ahrens)
- Saturday, May 7, at St. Luke's, Darien at 10am (Bishop Douglas) (currently participating St. Luke's 40C; Christ Church Redding)
- Saturday, May 14, at Christ Church, Greenwich at 10am (Bishop Ahrens) (currently participating Christ Church Greenwich; St. Paul's Norwalk 12C)
- Saturday, June 4, 2016 at St. John's, Essex at 10am (Retired Bishop Folts of West Texas) (currently participating: St. John's Essex; Christ Church Guilford 9C)
- Saturday, June 11, 2016 at St. Michael's, Litchfield at 10am (Bishop Ahrens)
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