July 21 , 2020
ECCT eNEWS
ECCT Welcomes Newly Ordained Deacons

With great joy, Bishop Laura and Bishop Ian ordained six persons to the transitional diaconate on Saturday, July 18, 2020. We are pleased to announce that four of these newly ordained deacons will be serving as Missional Curates in the Episcopal Church in Connecticut beginning September 1, 2020.

A Missional Curate is a ministry of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut where a newly ordained clergy person, who plans to work part-time in parishes while pursuing other employment, is paired with a seasoned clergy person who is also working part-time in a parish. With funding provided by the budget of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut for one year, the Missional Curate works alongside the experienced priest to learn the gifts and challenges of part-time parish leadership in this new missional age. Following the curacy, after the transitional deacon is ordained priest, the new cleric will then be posted as a part-time Priest-in-Charge in a parish of their own.

Our four new Missional curates are Kate McKay-Dunar paired with Jane Hale at Trinity Brooklyn, Stephen Nagy paired with David McIntosh at Saint Marks Bridgewater, Matt Handi paired with Victor Rogers at All Saints Oakville, and Helena Martin paired with Kevin Olds at Saint Paul’s Southington. We give thanks to God for these new Missional Curates and the parishes and clergy who are helping to form them as deacons and priests of the future. 

In addition to the four transitional Deacons serving as Missional Curates, Tim O’Leary is serving as the full-time Assistant at Saint James’s West Hartford and Shancia Jarrett is working as a Commissioner for the Housing Authority in New Haven as she awaits placement in a parish. 

To watch this past Saturday's Ordinations, visit our Youtube page here .
LGBTQ+ Study Survey 

Professors of Psychology at Marist College are recruiting participants for a research study on LGBTQ+ ally development within religious and spiritual contexts. Anyone, including those who identify as LGBTQ+, is free to participate, even if they are not an active member of your congregation.

The purpose of this study is to survey individuals who identify as LGBTQ+ allies, religious, and spiritual in order to uncover the complexity of this intersectional identity integration process and the effects of religion and spirituality on ally development. We define LGBTQ+ ally as any person (including those who are members of the LGBTQ+ community) who actively supports or advocates for those who hold similar or differing sexual/affectional or gender variant identities.

The survey is online, anonymous, and estimated to take about 20-30 minutes to complete.  Here is the link to the study.  Please send any questions or concerns to  [email protected] .
COFFEE HOUR AT THE COMMONS
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ECCT EVENTS
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Parenting in the Wilderness: A Sacred Space for Connection & Fun
9am, Noon or 8:30pm the 2nd & 4th Thursdays of the month

Word on the street is that parenting and providing care for children of all ages has been a bit more (ahem) challenging in the last few months. While many of us have reached our Zoom limits, ECCT invites you into a sacred space of compassion and grace, hoping to provide some support and fellowship to those of us struggling to make it all work, as we care for children. We hope to have a little fun together, too. Each meeting, we’ll gather together with clergy and lay facilitators to hold one another up.


Please be sure your name in your Zoom “square” displays your name & your parish affiliation, so that we can safely be in conversation.
Fri, Jul 24, 2020 9:30 AM EST
Bishop's Book Discussion at Camp Washington - ONLINE
This month's Bishop's book discussion led by Bishop Suffragan Laura J. Ahrens will be on How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi. Info on the book can be found here .
Wed, Oct 14, 2020 8:00 AM EST
Annual Convention 2020
The 236th Annual Convention of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut, Wednesday, October 14 – Sunday, October 18

Visit ECCTConvention.org for all updates and upcoming deadlines regarding registration, submitting questions, resolutions and reports.
ECCT Convention Worship video and ECCT Virtual Choir

Annual Convention will be happening online this year, which means we will be creating a video for our Sunday worship. If you have any interest in participating by reading a lesson or a prayer, please reach out to your Region Missionary or email Benjamin Straley at  [email protected] .

If you would be interested in participating in a virtual choir, which will offer one anthem as part of the liturgy, please email Marianne Vogel at  [email protected] .
Digital Communications Office Hours: Thursdays, 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.

Join Canon for Mission Communications and Media Jasree Peralta and Digital Media Coordinator Alli Gannett for online office hours via Zoom. Bring your specific questions regarding all things communications and media. Registration is required, no limit on sessions. For July dates, please register here.
Other Events
Christian Discipleship & The Problem of Racism

Explore the connection between Christian discipleship and the problem of racism with an eye toward our collective and individual commitments to change these structures by aligning them with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This free, public seminar is offered by  St. Chrysostom's Church  in Chicago, in partnership with  Bexley Seabury Seminary . To register,  sign up here .

On Sunday July 26 at 11am, we will launch this program with a sermon followed by a coffee-hour presentation at 12:15 PM from the Rev. Dr. Nicholas Pearce, professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, founder and CEO of The Vocati Group, and assistant pastor of Chicago’s historic Apostolic Church of God. Dr. Pearce will also preach and present on Sunday, August 23rd; Sunday, September 27th; and Sunday, October 25th. We recommend you read his book The Purpose Path: A Guide to Pursuing Your Authentic Life’s Work and/or  this excerpt .
 
On Tuesday, July 28 at 6pm, the Rev. Dr. Reggie Williams, professor of Christian ethics at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, will be the inaugural speaker in a series of webinars that will help us break free from ideologies that hinder our Christian discipleship. Tuesday, August 25, the Rev. Dr. Jason Fout, Associate Professor of Anglican Theology at Bexley Seabury, will share his experience and theological take on the history and sin of racism. Tuesday September 29, Dr. Williams will moderate a panel conversation with faculty of Bexley Seabury Seminary, and Tuesday October 27, Dr. Williams will conclude the series with practical next steps. We recommend you read his book Bonhoeffer’s Black Jesus: Harlem Renaissance Theology and An Ethic of Resistance and/or   this excerpt .
 
Panelists Include:
  • Jason Fout - Associate Professor of Anglican Theology, Bexley Seabury; Chicago, Illinois
  • Nicholas Pearce - Professor, Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, Founder and CEO, The Vocati Group, Assistant Pastor, Chicago’s historic Apostolic Church of God; Chicago, Illinois
  • Reggie Williams - Professor of Christian Ethics, McCormick Theological Seminary; Chicago, Illinois
Please register here:  https://bit.ly/cdprregister
TENS - The Episcopal Network for Stewardship Workshops happening in July and August

Reserve your spot on Eventbrite for these workshops by clicking the link attached to the name of the workshop. More information and free resources membership to TENS available at tens.org.

RESOURCES
Are you a Warden within ECCT? Join this Facebook group to meet with fellow Wardens and share ideas, resources, and support!
Book of the Week: Raising White Kids, bringing up children in a racially unjust America Recommended by ECCT Racial Justice Resource Coordinator Kelli Ray Gibson

NPR's Michel Martin talks to Jennifer Harvey, author of Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America, about how to talk with white kids about racially-charged events. Listen Here

Dismantling Racism Youth Curriculum - The Absalom Jones Episcopal Center for Racial Healing
NEW THIS WEEK:
antiracismcovenant.org - This website invites all people of faith - lay and ordained individuals, parishes, dioceses, community leaders, businesses, etc. - to sign their names and make a covenant to move beyond "talking" about change to engaging in real transformative work. 

Resources from ECCT's Racial Justice, and Reconciliation Ministry Network

Opinion: What every American needs to know about White supremacy
When they filmed the fifth-season premiere of "United Shades of America" back in February, they had no idea that Covid-19, the killing of George Floyd and all the protests that followed would make an episode on White supremacy even more relevant. Read in CNN

Change Can Happen: Black Families On Racism, Hope And Parenting
In wake of George Floyd's killing and the Black Lives Matter protests, conversations about race in America have a new urgency. Here's how Black parents are having 'the talk' with their children today. Read in NPR 
 
An Interview with Merck CEO Ken Frazier About How Racism in The Workplace Holds Back America’s Progress
Harvard Business Review: Working Knowledge , posted a thoughtful interview with Ken Frazier, one of only four Black CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, about the search for a coronavirus vaccine, how racism in the workplace holds back America’s progress, and his own upbringing just one generation from slavery.

10 Quotes from Late Civil Rights Icon John Lewis
State of Connecticut Covid-19 Rental/Mortgage Assistance
click on the images below for PDF versions.
GRANT & SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
OPEN POSITIONS
Reminder: Parochial Report and Parish Survey due

Parochial Reports along with the  Racial Healing, Justice, and Reconciliation Addendum  were due March 1st. Please submit both forms if you haven't already.

The first part of Parish surveys (now updated annually) was due June 1st.  Please login here  to complete this part of your parish's Good Standing criteria.

Questions? 
Contact Matt Handi  
or 203‐639‐3501, ext. 107