With Massachusetts COVID-19 cases continuing to decline, vaccination rates increasing and most statewide restrictions lifted on May 29, more and more churches and worshiping communities across the diocese are regathering in various ways for in-person worship and activities, according to the requirements and circumstances of their local contexts. Under diocesan guidelines, current indoor building capacity restrictions--limited to 60 percent until June 30--will be fully lifted July 1 unless statistics warrant otherwise. (Find the most recent guidelines, issued on May 20, here). Regathering snapshots from around the diocese include: (above, top) St. John's Church, Holbrook and (above, bottom from left) Grace Church, Newton and St. Stephen's Church, Boston. Courtesy photos via Facebook and parish newsletters

Above, top from left: St. Andrew's Church, Framingham; St. Gabriel's Church, Marion; (middle, from left): Church of the Good Shepherd, Reading; Emmanuel Church, West Roxbury; and (bottom, from left): St. Paul's Church, Natick; Christ Church, Needham. Courtesy photos via Facebook and parish newsletters

Celebrating Juneteenth and reckoning with racial injustice: All are invited to gather online with Bishop Gayle E. Harris for a virtual Juneteenth celebration on Saturday, June 19 at 4:30 p.m., commemorating the date in 1865 when word of slavery’s end in the U.S. finally reached Galveston, Tex. The Juneteenth event will also mark the Feast of Bernard Mizeki, Catechist and Martyr in Mashonaland in 1896. All are welcome; registration is required here.

In a pastoral reflection for Juneteenth last year, Bishop Alan M. Gates wrote, “This is a moment of intense national reckoning with our history of racism and racial injustice. It is a moment for introspection, repentance and re-dedication--both personal and communal. In such a moment, for any one of us to honor Juneteenth for the first time is of course a small gesture. However, I hope it will be understood as a manifestation of grieving for Black and Brown lives lost to racist violence; support of those laboring for enduring systemic change; and a signal of our intention more deeply to engage ourselves and our diocese in that hard work.” Read the full reflection from 2020 here.

After more than a year of pandemic-necessitated closure, the diocese’s Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center in Greenfield, N.H., is reopening for Family Camp Weekends this summer, with new interim directors at the helm.

The Rev. Deacon Helen and Rick Hargreaves arrived at the end of May to serve for six months as interim directors, following the departure in April of longtime executive director John Koch who took a new position at the Bishop’s Ranch retreat and conference center in the Diocese of California.

Instead of a traditional summer camp program this year, the Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center will be hosting six Family Camp Weekends starting July 2. Households can choose private lodge rooms or a cabin, and there will be both intergenerational and age-specific activities, along with evening childcare available.

After Labor Day, the center plans to host a full fall schedule--including an Oct. 22-24 “Haydays” celebration weekend of activities--and it is accepting group and retreat reservations through December 2022.

The Hargreaves found their way into interim camp ministry after serving for 15 years as executive directors of Camp Mitchell in the Diocese of Arkansas.

“At Camp Mitchell, we had kids come in second grade, and when we left, they were the adult leaders. To see the tremendous changes in their lives and the influence camp had on them was just awesome,” Rick recalled during a recent interview.

Helen added: “When we retired, we kind of looked at each other and said: We finally kind of know how to do this. What are we going to do with all of this knowledge that we have now?”

Soon after, they completed interim director training through Episcopal Camps and Conference Centers (ECCC), a professional development and support network. They’ve since served as interim directors at Sandscrest Conference and Retreat Center in the Diocese of West Virginia and the Cathedral Ridge Center in the Diocese of Colorado.

The Rev. Natasha Stewart, the president of the BCH Center’s board of directors, said the board is on a fall timeline for hiring a permanent executive director.

She said, during the interview with the Hargreaves, that the board has been engaged in a discernment process “to figure out where the Holy Spirit is moving the BCH Center next,” both in terms of program and sustainability.

“We’re going to finish up that work this summer to have a job description, we hope by August, for the kind of executive director we need to lead us in this next stage,” Stewart said, with interviewing and hiring to take place in the fall.

“We’re in really good hands” in the meantime, she said, with the Hargreaves in place. “They’ve already been incredible with the things they’ve been able to help us move forward with, and the ideas they have. We’re really blessed to have them.”

There's still time to sign up for Family Camp Weekends: Instead of a traditional summer camp program this year, the Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center will be hosting six Family Camp Weekends starting July 2. Households can choose private lodge rooms or a cabin, and there will be both intergenerational and age-specific activities, along with evening childcare available. Visit https://bchcenter.org/familycamp for Family Camp Weekends information and registration.

Save the dates for BCH Center Haydays: All are invited for a weekend celebration of fall, fun and friends at the Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center in Greenfield, N.H., Friday-Sunday, Oct. 22-24.

Planned activities for all include pumpkin chucking involving a medieval-style catapult, line-dancing to live music, campfire songs and s’mores, guided hikes, canoeing and kayaking on Otter Lake and a Sunday morning worship service. More details will be posted at https://bchcenter.org/.

Help make music at cathedral church's Ministry of the Steps: The Cathedral Church of St. Paul's Ministry of the Steps is getting ready for the summer with a special invitation from the cathedral's music director, Louise Mundinger: All are invited to come sing on the steps of the cathedral on Thursday, July 8 and Thursday, Aug. 12, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. If coming with a choir, participants can bring their own prepared music, or people can just come and sing familiar hymns with new friends from around the diocese. Those who come will sing for one another and the busy crowds on Boston Common. The group will pray together and have lunch provided by the cathedral.

Members of the cathedral congregation and staff recently painted the steps of the cathedral rainbow colors in celebration of LGBTQ+ pride. Courtesy photo

"The hard stone of the plaza and the granite steps in front of the cathedral soften as musicians stop and share," Mundinger said by e-mail. "Whether it is a strolling string trio, a brass band of student musicians, the string band from St. James's, Groveland or diocesan choristers, music on the Ministry of the Steps is sometimes completely spontaneous or meticulously rehearsed. Musical ensembles brighten their lives and ours by playing music old and new with professional performers and enthusiasts."

Sign up by July 1 (for July 8) and Aug. 5 (for Aug. 12) by contacting Mundinger at lmundinger@diomass.org.

After a pandemic year that took so much away from so many people, many are feeling that there’s no better time than the present to celebrate and be grateful for blessings. An occasion for focusing on the theology of gratitude is coming up this fall, as the Diocese of Massachusetts and the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston will be hosting (virtually and, it is hoped, in person) the second annual churchwide United Thank Offering (UTO) Theology of Gratitude Conference, Oct.15-17.

The United Thank Offering (UTO) awards grants to support innovative mission and ministry throughout The Episcopal Church and provinces of the Anglican Communion, and for the conference, scholars have been invited by the UTO to submit proposals for papers they'd like to present that engage in exploring expressions of gratitude while living in our current complex world.

In addition to the presentation of scholars’ papers, local organizers are aiming for a week of panel discussions, storytelling, art, music and more--building in different opportunities to reflect on gratitude. There will be chances for people to share stories of gratitude that will most likely center around a “Moth”-style evening of storytelling, and there will be opportunities for people to express their gratitude through the cathedral’s Ministry of the Steps activities.

People stopped by during the cathedral's Ministry of the Steps last summer to share what they were grateful for, and the cathedral hopes to offer a similar activity during the week of the UTO Theology of Gratitude Conference in Boston this October. Courtesy photos

“When I hear someone else’s story, it expands my awareness of the things that I should be grateful for and it also teaches me something about that person,” the Very Rev. Amy McCreath, the dean of the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, said in an interview. “We become who we are in community, right? So if we’re a community that’s sharing gratitude, that shapes us.”

Local organizers hope to offer some evening devotions centered around gratitude the week leading up to the conference, and to solicit art from children around the diocese along the same theme, to be displayed as an exhibit in the cathedral throughout the October conference. They also hope to offer a multicultural celebration of gratitude that will include song and food, storytelling and the sharing of cultural customs and folktales around gratitude--all focused on encouraging people to learn and expand their sense of how to give thanks.

The United Thank Offering encourages people to notice the good things that happen each day, give thanks to God for those blessings and make an offering for each blessing using a UTO "Blue Box” offering container. The UTO receives the offerings from people across the church, and distributes 100 percent of what is collected through its grants program, according to the UTO website.

Diocesan Missioner for Networking and Formation Martha Gardner said in an interview that, in addition to exploring the theology of gratitude, she hopes that hosting the UTO conference can help bring some awareness to the diocese about UTO and using those “little Blue Boxes” as a tangible way to develop a regular spiritual practice and habit of giving thanks.

“What I love about UTO is that money grows and then it all comes back to grants that support wonderful work that we’re grateful for,” Gardner said. “It’s just a win-win that our gratefulness gets somehow translated to be supporting these other ministries.”

To volunteer to help with local conference activities, contact Martha Gardner at mgardner@diomass.org.

New transitional deacons ordained: Seven transitional deacons were ordained by Bishop Gayle E. Harris on Saturday, June 5 at Emmanuel Church in Boston. They are (from left): The Rev. Kevin Gordon Neil (sponsored by St. Stephen’s Memorial Church in Lynn); The Rev. Marcia Chanta Bhan (Christ Church in Cambridge); The Rev. Lauren Banks Killelea (Grace Church in Newton); Bishop Gayle E. Harris; The Rev. Benjamin David Crosby (St. Paul’s Church in Malden); The Rev. Brett Randall Johnson (Parish of the Epiphany in Winchester); The Rev. Rowan Julian Larson (The Crossing, Boston) and The Rev. Hailey Robison Jacobsen (Trinity Church in Boston). Courtesy photo

Deacons preach across Diocese of Massachusetts: Seventeen congregations across the diocese--from Marblehead, Concord, Melrose, Dover and Medfield, to New Bedford, Duxbury, Hyannis Port and Edgartown, and numerous places in between--invited a deacon into the pulpit for “Diaconate Sunday” in the Diocese of Massachusetts on June 13--an occasion to learn about and celebrate the role and ministry of deacons. Several Diocese of Massachusetts deacons share their perspectives in a video available to watch and share here.

Martha's Vineyard Times: "May the barriers that divide us crumble": One year ago, George Floyd was killed at the hands of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, setting off a series of protests across the country, including on the Island.

Community members gathered at a remembrance held by St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church at the Tabernacle in Oak Bluffs. The Rev. Vincent (“Chip”) Seadale led the evening’s events, offering this hope: “May the barriers that divide us crumble.”

Several pastors from other churches were also present to show support: The Rev. Hyuk Seonwoo of the United Methodist Church of Martha’s Vineyard, The Rev. Stephen Harding of Grace Episcopal Church, and The Rev. Cathlin Baker of the First Congregational Church of West Tisbury. Read more here.

Lowell Sun: Westford church raises $10G for hunger relief: St. Mark’s Episcopal Church’s 5 Loaves, 2 Fishes Matching Gift Campaign for hunger relief raised over $10,750, which was equally split among five local organizations: The Westford Food Pantry, Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry in Devens, The Open Pantry in Lowell, St. Paul’s Soup Kitchen in Lowell and Merrimack Valley Interfaith Group’s family hunger-relief program in Lawrence.

Each gift from the general community was matched by St. Mark’s parishioners, doubling the impact of donations to organizations straining under an increase in demand for their services.

Representatives from St. Mark’s outreach team personally delivered checks of $2,150 to the five organizations to express support for their vital missions. Read more here.

Summer scheduling note:

June 17: Diocesan Council Meeting via Zoom, 6:00pm

June 19: Juneteenth Online Celebration with Bishop Harris, 4:30pm

June 20: Bishop Harris visits St. Andrew's Church in Edgartown

June 22: Canceled: Online Finance Forum for Congregational Leaders, 5:30pm

June 23: Online Clergy Professional Development Day Part II, 12:30pm

June 24: Children's Formation Online Gathering, 3:30pm

June 26: Program for World Refugee Day

Jul 2-5: Family Camp Weekend Session 1, Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center, Greenfield, NH

Jul 8-11: Family Camp Weekend Session 2, Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center, Greenfield, NH

Jul 8: Ministry of the Steps Music-Making, Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Boston, 11:00am

Jul 15-18: Family Camp Weekend Session 3, Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center, Greenfield, NH

Jul 22-25: Family Camp Weekend Session 4, Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center, Greenfield, NH

Jul 29-Aug 1: Family Camp Weekend Session 5, Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center, Greenfield, NH

Aug 5-8: Family Camp Weekend Session 6, Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center, Greenfield, NH

Aug 12: Ministry of the Steps Music-Making, Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Boston, 11:00am

Aug 14: Confirmation Services, Trinity Church, Topsfield, 10:00am, 1:00pm & 3:00pm

Aug 21: Confirmation Services, St. Barnabas's Church, Falmouth, 10:00am, 1:00pm & 3:00pm

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