All are invited to join the Cathedral Church of St. Paul and a group of partner congregations who are coordinating an online prayer vigil for the diocesan community on Monday, Nov. 2, at 7 p.m., to pray for our nation, for safe and fair elections, and for all candidates and voters. Bishop Alan M. Gates will offer the welcome and blessing.

Online prayer gatherings continue at 7 p.m. on the evenings of Nov. 3, 4, 5 and 6.

Click here to receive the Zoom link.

Congregations partnering with the Cathedral Church of St. Paul to make this possible are

The MANNA Community at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, All Saints Parish in Brookline, Christ Church and Iglesia de San Juan in Hyde Park, Trinity Church in Marshfield, Christ Church in Needham and the diocesan Young Adult Advisory Committee.

"Holding on to Hope" National Prayer Service: On Sunday, Nov. 1 at 4 p.m., Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry will partner with Washington National Cathedral to host “Holding on to Hope: A National Service of Healing and Wholeness.” The live-streamed service is designed to help the nation to share in confession, grief and hope in light of COVID-19, racial reckoning and the historic election. Stream from the Episcopal Church's Facebook and YouTube sites and home webpage.

#VoteFaithfully: Visit www.diomass.org/votefaithfully-2020 for more voting and election season resource materials and event and prayer offerings.

Signaling that the work of the church continues despite pandemic, this year’s annual Diocesan Convention moves online and will seek to respond to momentous issues of these times.

Racial justice and the climate crisis are the focus of resolutions to come before the Diocesan Convention at its virtual gathering next month—under the theme of “Embracing Brave Change” drawn from the multiyear diocesan mission strategy and particularly resonant in this unusual year.

The convention also will vote on the proposed $9-million diocesan budget for 2021, which sets aside $600,000 for targeted pandemic relief for congregations, and it will elect alternate deputies to the next Episcopal Church General Convention as well as members of other diocesan governing bodies and groups.

The one-day convention takes place on Saturday, Nov. 7.

In order to exercise voice and vote, delegates and clergy members of the convention will participate via the online videoconferencing platform Zoom. Registration is open until Oct. 30. A livestream of the proceedings, via YouTube, is planned for those who simply wish to observe.

Find the order of business, the full text of proposed resolutions and nominees for election in the convention Handbook. All links, materials and updates are posted at www.diomass.org/diocesan-convention-2020.

When many hear the word “discernment”--particularly in Christian contexts--they think of the process of exploring ordained ministry within the church, but a recent lay discernment event for young adults highlighted the importance of this spiritual practice for all, especially young people wrestling with questions of who they are called to be in the world.

On Oct. 3, about 40 young adults ages 18-39 gathered online via Zoom for a lay discernment program organized by the Young Adult Advisory Committee of the Diocese of Massachusetts, a group created by a resolution adopted by the 2019 Diocesan Convention in response to a report by the 20s and 30s Task Force on engagement with young adults.

Some of the participants on Zoom during the Oct. 3 discernment event. Screenshot

In an interview, the Rev. Isaac Martinez, a co-chair of the committee, said the Oct. 3 event came out of the months of listening that the task force participated in.

The need for discernment opportunities emerged from that process as a clear need, as did a strong desire to network with other young adults throughout the diocese.

“Having an event was at the top of our list, to bring people together from the incredible breadth and diversity of the diocese,” Martinez said. “Especially for those young adults who may be the only person under 40 in the entire congregation, just to give them a sense that there are more people who share somewhat of their life experience, who are Episcopalian, who are Christian, who take their faith seriously.”

The Oct. 3 event was built to be both a stand-alone event and a jumping off point for new discernment groups being formed by the Young Adult Advisory Committee. Participants at the event, as well as other interested young adults, are being invited to join ongoing discernment groups of six to eight people who will meet approximately once a month between November of this year and May 2021, bringing their questions about everything from careers to personal relationships to their roles in the church. The committee used funds from its budget to hire facilitators for these groups, to be trained in helping with this discernment process, and it hopes that this effort is just the beginning of a broader program about what discernment really is.

New “Discerning My Path” program launches in January: “Discerning My Path” is a new discernment opportunity launching in January 2021 for anyone yearning for a deeper relationship with God and wondering about what they have to offer the world and how to listen deeply enough to hear God’s desire.

The Diocese of Massachusetts joins other New England dioceses in Province I in partnering with Bexley-Seabury Seminary to offer this six-month lay discernment program. In addition to monthly online meetings in small groups, participants will engage with spiritual reading, videos and articles on discernment, spiritual practices and the ministry of the baptized.

Online informational meetings have been scheduled for those who would like to learn more: Saturday, Oct. 24, 9-10 a.m. and Wednesday, Nov. 18, 7-8 p.m.

For more information, contact Martha Gardner, Missioner for Networking and Formation, at mgardner@diomass.org or 617-482-4826, ext. 403.

"A Saint for All Saints": Emmanuel Church in Boston is presenting “A Saint for All Saints: A Conversation About the Life and Legacy of The Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray” on Sunday, Nov. 1 at 4 p.m., online via Zoom.

Pauli Murray (1910-1985), activist, lawyer, pioneer in civil rights and women’s rights law, professor, poet and writer, was the first African-American woman to be ordained a priest in the Episcopal Church (1977). Since 2018, the Episcopal Church has commemorated her on July 1. Emmanuel Church was her sponsoring congregation for ordination to the priesthood.

Speakers at the online event include Melissa Wood Bartholomew, JD, Associate Dean for Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging at Harvard Divinity School; the Very Rev. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas, Canon Theologian at the Washington National Cathedral and Dean of Episcopal Divinity School at Union Theological Seminary; and the Rev. Dr. Cameron Partridge, Rector of St. Aidan’s Church in San Francisco.

The conversation will be moderated by the Rev. Dr. Yolanda Rolle, Episcopal-Anglican Chaplain at Howard University, who, like Murray, was sponsored for ordination by Emmanuel Church. After the panel, there will be an opportunity for conversation in small groups facilitated by panelists.

The event is free and open to the public; advance registration is required, here. Find more information at https://emmanuelboston.org/a-saint-for-all-saints.

Join the conversation: 

A six-week online study of Jonathan Haidt’s book The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion got underway on Oct. 20, and continues on Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. All are welcome to join.

The Rev. John Beach of St. John’s Church in Saugus is leading the study, with the sponsorship of the local library, in hopes of starting a constructive community conversation in anticipation of the upcoming election and its outcome. For more information and to receive a Zoom invitation, e-mail johntbeach@comcast.net.

Additionally, a weekly online lectionary-based Bible study, led by the Rev. Chris Visminas at St. Paul's Church in Natick, is open to anyone in the diocesan community who wants to explore the Bible or hash out ideas for sermons. The group gathers every Wednesday at noon via Zoom. “This is an opportunity both to talk to others about what you read and to pick the brain of someone who considers reading fourth-century commentaries fun, but who loves even basic questions. It’s how we learn,” according to a publicity release. For more information and to get the Zoom link, e-mail cevisminas@juno.com.

Neighbor to Neighbor Launch and Learning: The diocesan Office of the Canon for Immigration and Multicultural Ministries and Episcopal City Mission invite congregations to consider a new way they can support asylum seekers in their own local context, with the launching of Neighbor to Neighbor.

Want to learn more? Join the Neighbor to Neighbor learning event on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 6 to 7:30 p.m. To register for the event, click here. E-mail the Rev. Cristina Rathbone, at rathbonecristina@gmail.com with questions.

Double golden jubilee: A special Oct. 1 service honoring Sister Ana Clara and Sister Maria Agnes of the Order of St. Anne—Bethany Convent in Arlington marked the 50th anniversary of their profession of religious vows and celebrated their faithful ministry of presence, prayer and service, from the Philippines to Massachusetts.

The sisters joined the order in 1963 through its branch house in Upi, in the southern part of the Philippines.

“Before we joined the order, Sister Maria Agnes worked in the sisters’ Embroidery Room. I was in my second year of college. Both of us found ourselves drawn to the presence and love of the sisters and to their life of prayer, silence and ministry,” Sister Ana Clara recounts in the order of service published for the golden jubilee service.

In preparation for their final profession, the two traveled to the U.S. in the spring of 1970 to get to know members of the order here, and on Oct. 1, Bishop Anson Stokes received their vows at St. Anne’s Chapel in Arlington. They returned to the Philippines the following day to continue their ministry.

“God has been good to us. It is a wonderful life,” Sister Ana Clara said in her published remembrance.

Blessings of the Animals: Despite challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, congregations across the Diocese of Massachusetts celebrated the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi by welcoming creatures great and small to receive a blessing during in-person, physically distanced worship services, at drive-by pet blessings and via virtual, online services.

Some of the congregations offering pet blessings included (top, from left): St-Anne's-in-the-Fields Church, Lincoln; St. Peter's Church, Weston; Church of the Good Shepherd, Reading; Christ Church, Andover; (second row, from left): St. Andrew's Church, Wellesley; St. Mark's Church, Southborough; Grace Church, Medford; St. Paul's Church, Newburyport; (third row, from left): St. Gabriel's Church, Marion; Trinity Chapel, Shirley; St. John's Church, Saugus; St Peter's Church, Osterville; and (bottom, from left): St. Peter's Church, Beverly; Wyman Memorial Church of St. Andrew, Marblehead; Trinity Parish, Melrose; Grace Church, Norwood. Photos courtesy of parish newsletters and social media

Boston Globe: Grace Church in Newton seeks preservation funds to restore bell tower: Grace Church in Newton is seeking nearly $1.5 million in community preservation grants to repair and restore its 19th-century bell tower, a landmark advocates say is at risk of collapsing and likely will need to be torn down without the city’s financial support.

Advocates said the tower at Grace Church not only poses a safety risk but also is important to locals for its visual appeal and the sound of its bells. The church hosts many events for public groups, they said, and was cited in the surrounding area’s nomination to the National Register of Historic Places.

“This is really a historic preservation project,” said Leah Gassett, a member of the church’s governing board, in an interview. “Like other historic preservation projects, it has the benefit of maintaining that landmark in the community, and the neighborhood, as a major defining feature.” Read more here.

Wicked Local Cambridge: Episcopal Chaplaincy at Harvard opens worship tent in Cambridge: On Oct. 4, the Episcopal Chaplaincy at Harvard held the official consecration of a tent constructed for outdoor and mobile worship.

Chaplain Rita Powell describes the tent as, “a structure ... which can point us both inward, to the sacred body each of us carries, the sacred body of the gathered ones and outward, to the world itself as the dwelling of God.”

Powell began to conceptualize the tent in fall 2019 as a way to “challenge churchgoers’ expectations of where they can encounter the divine.” A recent survey by the Harvard Crimson found that only 17% of incoming freshmen identified as Protestant in 2019, compared to 20% in 2017. It is the hope of the chaplaincy that the tent will offer an alternative for students who are “seeking meaning or connection to Christianity but feel alienated by traditional church settings.” Read more here.

Boston Globe: The Rev. James P. Breeden, civil rights activist, dies at 85: More than a decade before court-ordered busing pushed Boston school desegregation into national prominence, the Rev. Dr. James P. Breeden co-organized the Stay Out for Freedom one-day boycotts that led thousands of Black students to trade the city’s public schools for Freedom Schools to protest racial inequities.

Well-acquainted with using civil disobedience to right wrongs, he had been arrested in Mississippi three years earlier when he was among 15 Black and white clergy who entered a segregated restaurant at a bus stop during the era’s Freedom Rides.

Breeden, whose activism reached from the civil rights era through anti-apartheid demonstrations and beyond, died in his Easthampton home Sept. 20 of cancer. He was 85. Read more here.

Martha's Vineyard Times: Pandemic exacerbates homelessness issues on M.V.: The Martha’s Vineyard Hospital is looking to support homeless shelters on-island so they can open to the public.

Because of COVID-19 health guidelines, the warming shelters and overnight shelters provided by organizations like Houses of Grace require additional measures to be taken if they are to open this cold season.

According to the Rev. Vincent (“Chip”) Seadale, rector at St. Andrew’s Church in Edgartown, the first step to providing shelters to homeless people through the Houses of Grace Island Winter Shelter Program is to find a large enough space to accommodate everyone. Read more here.

NorthEndWaterfront.com: Old North Church welcomes new vicar: The Rev. Dr. Matthew Cadwell has accepted the call to serve as vicar-in-charge at Old North Church in Boston’s North End. He will begin his ministry at Old North on Nov. 16.

Cadwell succeeds the Rev. Stephen Ayres, who retired in December 2019 after 22 years at Old North. Cadwell comes from Emmanuel Church, Wakefield, where he has been the rector since 2008, coincidentally the same church where Ayres also served prior to Old North. Read more here.

Oct 22: Children's Formation Online Gathering, 3:30pm 

Oct 22: Diocesan Council Meeting, 6:00pm 

Oct 24: "Discerning My Path" Informational Meeting, 9:00am 

Oct 24: "Write the Vision" Celebration of Life Together Program, 5:00pm 

Oct 27: "Facing Our Racism: Becoming Conscious Partners" Online Workshop, 7:00pm 

Oct 28: Practical Aspects of Congregational Leadership Seminar: Clergy Compensation, 9:00am 

Nov 1: "Holding on to Hope" National Cathedral Service of Healing and Wholeness, 4:00pm 

Nov 1: "A Saint for All Saints" Online Celebration of Life and Legacy of The Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray, 4:00pm 

Nov 2: Diocesan Election-Eve Prayer Vigil, 7:00pm 

Nov 3: Diocesan Election Day Online Prayer Service, 7:00pm 

Nov 4: Diocesan Post-Election Day Online Prayer Service, 7:00pm 

Nov 5: Children's Formation Online Gathering, 3:30pm 

Nov 5: Diocesan Post-Election Day Online Prayer Service, 7:00pm 

Nov 6: Diocesan Post-Election Day Online Prayer Service, 7:00pm 

Nov 7: Diocesan Convention

Nov 8: "Facing Our Racism: Becoming Conscious Partners" Online Workshop, 12:00pm 

Nov 12: Children's Formation Online Gathering, 3:30pm 

Nov 18: Neighbor to Neighbor Launch and Learning Event, 6:00pm

Nov 18: "Discerning My Path" Informational Meeting, 7:00pm 

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