6 - Labor Day (all diocese offices closed)

7 - Budget Subcommittee, 1 p.m.

8 - Budget Committee, 11 a.m.

9 - Finance Committee, 1 p.m.

10 - Church Foundation, 1 p.m.

10 - Deadline for Connections submissions

11 - Special Diocesan Council meeting

12 - UBE Sunday

14 - Deadline for proposed changes to Constitution & Canons

15 - Deepening Our Stewardship Formation webinar, 12 noon

25 - Convocation, "Proclaiming the Dream," 10 a.m.

26 - A Concert for the Human Family, 5:30 p.m.

29 - Deadline for proposed resolutions

The Rt. Rev. George Wayne Smith today issued the following statement regarding communion distribution during the continuing COVID-19 pandemic:

In response to the dramatic increase in the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19, and to avoid confusion, I am revising the previous guidelines and restricting communion to one kind, that is, the consecrated bread only. Unfortunately, sharing a common cup or dipping the bread into it (intinction) does not adequately prevent the spread of contagion. However, the celebrant may continue to receive the cup as previously recommended.

Episcopal Relief & Development’s US Disaster team is already in touch with the Diocese of Louisiana to assess immediate need and plan for long-term recovery. You can turn your prayer into action with a donation to ERD’s Hurricane Relief Fund. Your gift will help churches in southeastern Louisiana to quickly respond to the needs in their communities. 

All are invited to study Canon Stephanie Speller’s (our convocation keynote speaker!) new book The Church Cracked Open. We will meet on Zoom from 6-7:30 every Thursday in October (7, 14, 21, 28)

Click here to purchase the book from a local Columbus bookstore

Click here to purchase the book from a local Cincinnati bookstore

Click here to purchase from Amazon

Sometimes it takes disruption and loss to break us open and call us home to God. It’s not surprising that a global pandemic and once-in-a-generation reckoning with white supremacy―on top of decades of systemic decline―have spurred Christians everywhere to ask who we are, why God placed us here and what difference that makes to the world.

In this critical yet loving book, the author explores the American story and the Episcopal story in order to find out how communities steeped in racism, establishment, and privilege can at last fall in love with Jesus, walk humbly with the most vulnerable and embody beloved community in our own broken but beautiful way.

The Church Cracked Open invites us to surrender privilege and redefine church, not just for the sake of others, but for our own salvation and liberation.

Learn about refugees, resettlement, and how Christians might consider, and relieve, their plight in the course Responding to Refugees. Allison Duvall, from Episcopal Migration Ministries invites us to understand and come alongside those whom the Bible asks us to care for.

Click here to watch a webinar on the updated curriculum

Starting on Thursday, September 2 and continuing on September 9, 16, 23 and 30, all from 12 noon – 1:00 pm, we will be teaching how to practice Centering Prayer and providing opportunities to practice in a group. Because the Delta Variant has not been contained, we will do these sessions on Zoom.

If you are interested in attending these sessions, please email Jamie Massa and she will email you the Zoom link and send you training materials. We will be reading out of the book, Open Mind, Open Heart by Thomas Keating. Please purchase the book before Sept. 2 or you can borrow a copy from St. Stephen’s (Columbus).

Centering Prayer is a method of meditation used by Christians, placing emphasis on quieting down and opening oneself to the Divine Presence, putting on “the mind of Christ.” The Centering Prayer movement can be traced to the work of three Trappist monks of St. Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts in the 1970’s: Fr. William Meninger, Fr. M. Basil Pennington and Abbot Thomas Keating. The name was taken from Thomas Merton’s description of contemplative prayer, as centered on the presence of God.

St. Stephen’s has a group of folks meeting (since November) to do centering prayer on Zoom Wednesdays at 8 am and now Thursdays at 12 noon. All are welcome! Please join our friendly and welcoming group!

Please email me arielmillerwriter@gmail.com about what’s happening and what you’re doing, so these experiences can be shared through the diocese’s Becoming Beloved Community to inform the shared prayer and reconciliation work. 

Find all information, including how to propose a

constitutional/canonical change or resolution, diocesan

offices needing nominations and nomination forms at our convention website, dsoconvention.org, or find the link on the diocesan website.

Lay delegates elected for the 147th Convention should have been reported on your 2021 Annual Reporting Form. In the event that your church did not report your delegates for certification, use this form to request credentials for duly elected lay delegates. Note: Only those churches that have not previously reported their delegates are able to use the form.

For all other churches: If you have had a change or addition to your previously reported lay delegates, fill out a Change of Delegate form.

Chairs of diocesan committees, commissions and task forces are reminded that an annual report of the activities of your group is required to be submitted for publication before each convention. The 2021 Annual Reports are due by October 29, 2021. A link to the form can be found on the convention website.

Submissions for e-Connections must be received by noon on Mondays for inclusion in any weekly newsletter.

Submissions for e-Connections should be limited to short announcements. Items can be sent as text in an email or as an attached Word document. Flyers should be sent as .jpeg or .pdf files. A short press release or announcement of the event should accompany all flyers. Make sure to include the address of the venue and contact information.

Send submissions to editor Julie Murray at jmurray@diosohio.org.

Churches can now add their own events to the diocesan calendar*. Just click on the link at the bottom of the calendar page to get started!

To register for either speaker, please use this form. You will receive the pdf by email.

For more information, contact Pastor Rachel Tune, rtune@oesterlen.org

Tammy Kernodle and her Jazz Trio, live concert and talk: Freedom Sounds: songs of Resistance, Hope and Transcendence. This concert will explore how black music, represented in various forms, has served as an incubator of narratives of hope, resistance and perseverance that mark the long struggle for equality and social justice in America. The concert will be offered live, in-person and later through a link to YouTube on Holy Trinity's website and Facebook page. The concert is free to the public, masks required for attendees. This is the second of six concerts initiated by Holy Trinity during the pandemic. During the isolation and anxiety caused by the last 18 months music is something that soothes the soul, unites us all, and provides a way to stay connected. Attendees will experience diverse types of music performed by a variety of musicians. Stay tuned for news of the remaining concerts in November (5), February (11), April (1), and June (TBD). Learn more

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Parishes are invited to contact Crystal Jones at cjones@cccath.org or 513.621.1817 to have a supply of Christ Church Cathedral’s new 2021-22 Uplift Your Spirit music brochure mailed to them for their parishioners to pick up.

Music Live at Lunch, Christ Church Cathedral's weekly concert series, is celebrating its 50^th year! Music Live at Lunch will feature the performers listed below in September. These free concerts are presented on Tuesdays at 12:10 p.m. Patrons may bring their own lunch or purchase one at the cathedral. 

September 7: Lu Li (violin) with piano – Classical music

September 14: Rabbit Hash String Band – Old-time music

September 21: Queen City Sisters – 1940s music

September 28: Lieto String Quartet – Classical music

Anne and Michael Delfín present a recital that captures the Baroque spirit of chamber music and improvisation. The program, performed on flute, piccolo, harpsichord, piano, and organ, includes music by J. S. Bach, Telemann, and Hotteterre, as well as transcriptions by Busoni and the performers’ own transcription of a Vivaldi concerto. No admission charge.

If you are interested in participating, please contact the Farm Manager, Danielle Vogel, at dvogel@proctercenter.org. Please include the Sunday you wish to come help, and the number of people in your party.

Province V of the Episcopal Church is a wonderful networking resource to connect with Episcopalians from the Midwest who share interest in a same ministry area. Province V News also has information about webinars and other events of interest.