February 20, 2024 E-News

February 20, 2024

In this edition of ENews:

Churches kick off Lenten Season with Ashes-to-go
Online Lenten Group on Spiritual Practices begins Thursday
Safe Church – not sure who needs which training?
Do You Like to Drive? Project (Re) Start Needs Your Help!

Around the Diocese

Ashes To-Go a big success

Last Wednesday, Ash Wednesday, saw several churches in the Diocese offer Ashes To-Go for folks who couldn't make it to a scheduled service. For the first time, the Office of the Bishop joined the effort, and imposed ashes upon visitors to our building and folks driving by.

Notice of Inurnment

The Rev. Charles Karoly (1925-2007) and Mrs. Marilyn Karoly (1930-2018) will be inurned at Faith Episcopal Church, Cameron Park, following the 10:00 a.m. service on Sunday, February 25.

Fr. Charlie served as interim priest of St. Michael's, Anderson, and also served as a civil engineer for the construction of Faith, Cameron Park. Marilyn was a member of the Society of the Companions of the Holy Cross. The Karolys were both active in Cursillo, various outreach ministries, and served the diocese as faithful examples of Christ's love.

Office of the Bishop

The Fearless Faith Revival is just over two months away! Registration opens March 1!

Revival Website: https://www.fearlessfaith2024.org/. In addition to the latest information, you'll find:

Frequently Asked Questions
Revival Survey
Flyers, Posters

Revival Worship Planning Team Seeks Video Testimony

As we prepare for our Revival, the Worship Planning team would like to hear where we are seeing love planted and hope harvested in our Diocese!

We are asking for short (2-3 minute) videos of how you have experienced God’s love and grace in daily life, in the church, or in serving others. We will review all the testimonies we receive for use at the Revival event or in other diocesan events and communications. Emails have gone out to the congregations with more details. Thank you!

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us:

The Very Rev. Tammy Smith-Firestone revtammy@saintpetersredbluff.org or The Rev. Daniel London daniel.london@gmail.com

Save the Date: Vestry Essentials

Saturday, March 16 | On Zoom | 9:00 am - 11:00 am

Workshops will cover the following topics:

What Every Vestry/Mission Committee Member Should Know
Pastoral and Spiritual Leadership
HR basics, Property, and Financial Matters

Click the link to register: https://form.jotform.com/240154966519160

Safe Church – not sure who needs which training?

In our Baptismal Covenant, we promise to respect the dignity of every human being. One way we do so is through our Safe Church policies. These establish and maintain standards intended to ensure our faith communities are safe places where all of God’s people are loved and encouraged to grow into the people God calls us to be. They provide specific requirements, recommendations, best practices, and guidelines that seek to respond in proactive and intentional ways to care for, be responsible to, and create safe and transformational spaces for everyone.

Click here to Learn More

More information about Safe Church can be found under the Resources Tab on our website

Missioner for Church Life

Online Lent Group on Spiritual Practices begins February 22

Co-led by four diocesan clergy, this series will focus on five different areas of spiritual practice: meditation, ministry, media, mind, and movement. We'll be using the book, Strength for the Journey: A guide to spiritual practice, by Renee Miller.

Leaders will be the Rev. Beth Gaines (Deacon in Benicia), Rev. Carol Luther (Priest in Kenwood), Rev. Mack Olson, and Rev. Julie Wakelee in the Office of the Bishop.

Thursdays – 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

February 22 - March 21

On Zoom

Want to connect with new people? Holy Week is a great opportunity!

Join this FREE CLASS full of exciting, easy, inexpensive ideas which have been used effectively in churches, and find out what might work in your context.

Wednesday, February 21 at 8am or 4pm Pacific time.

To register, go to: https://bit.ly/3UDUbLu

More information contact: KenKroohs700@gmail.com

2024 Stewardship Resources Available Now

TENS (The Episcopal Network for Stewardship) just released their 2024 stewardship materials. The theme for the year is Walk in Love, a celebration of the joy and gratitude we have for God and our community that lead us to share our stories, our journeys, and our gifts.

You can learn more at: https://www.tens.org/annual-pledge-campaigns/

The 2024 campaign materials are password protected, clergy and stewardship committee members can email me to get the password Mack@norcalepiscopal.org

Resources for Black History Month

February is Black History Month!

The diocesan website now has a page with resources for use as individuals, families, or congregations.

Be sure to check the page frequently, as more resources will be added in the coming weeks.

www.norcalepiscopal.org/site/black-history-month/

Episcopal Community Services

ECS 2024-2025 Annual Grant Cycle Begins

ECS is pleased to announce that the 2024-2025 Annual Grant Cycle has begun!

Episcopal congregations throughout the Diocese of Northern California can apply for a number of grants, including:

The Ministry Development Fund (1 year)
The Warren Dunning Memorial Social Justice Grant (3 years)
The Barry L. Beisner Multi-Year Grant (up to 5 years)
The Bishop Jerry and Jane Lamb Grant (1 year, youth and young adults)
The Healing and Health Ministries Mini-Grants
The Rev. David & Catherine Cavanaugh Memorial Grant (1 year, with option for 2 renewals)

Information about each of these grant opportunities can be found on the ECS website www.norcalecs.org.

Letters of Interest for these grants are recommended, but are not mandatory. Information about Letters of Interest are found on the ECS website. Letters of Interest are due to Steve Mershon, Grants Chair, by March 15, 2024 (steve.mershon@icloud.com)

The actual request for funding (Request for Proposals, or RFP) is due to the Grants Chair by May 1, 2024. The RFP document can also be found on the ECS website.

West Coast Collaborative

Solicitud del curso de predicación laica: cohorte de lengua española 2024

Las Diócesis Episcopales de El Camino Real, el Norte de California y San Diego están aceptando solicitudes para el grupo de lengua española de 2024 con el fin de preparar a las personas para solicitar una licencia de predicación laica. Buscamos estudiantes adultos de todas las edades y antecedentes educativos que participen activamente en el ministerio en sus congregaciones y demuestren dones en el liderazgo laico. Los participantes deben ser miembros de una congregación dentro de una de nuestras tres diócesis asociadas.

Las solicitudes deben presentarse antes del 15 de marzo de 2024.

Para obtener más información y aplicar haga clic aquí: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSda8fHJcXVVTjoHPeuGr654NzbOAgTfAlPvm-hXxY6y1h-01Q/viewform

Commission for Intercultural Ministries

I Will With God's Help: Journey Toward Racial Healing and Justice Workshop – Registration Now Open

This workshop is rooted in our baptismal identity and the promises we make in baptism. It focuses on how we can more fully live into our promise to be loving toward our neighbors, to address racism in our communities and build the Beloved Community. During the workshop we follow the path of the Becoming Beloved Community labyrinth.

This workshop meets the requirement for licensing for Lay Eucharistic Ministers and Lay Eucharistic Visitors in the Diocese. Other lay licensed ministries need to take Sacred Ground to meet Diocesan licensing requirements.

Saturday, April 20 | Ascension, Vallejo |9:30 am - 4:30 pm

Registration deadline: April 13, 2024

For questions, contact Jo Ann Williams: bjwilli@surewest.net

Saturday, May 11 | St. Michael's, Carmichael | 9:30 am - 4:30 pm

Registration deadline: May 4, 2024

For questions, contact Jo Ann Williams: bjwilli@surewest.net

Saturday, June 8 | Zoom | 9:30 am - 4:30 pm

Registration deadline: June 1, 2024

For questions, contact Bob Wohlsen: bob.wohlsen@gmail.com

Missioner for Disaster Resilience

Do You Like to Drive? Project (Re) Start Needs Your Help!

When disaster strikes, help is needed! Thanks to pre-planning in our diocese, we have resources that are ready for distribution as needs are identified following these winter storms and any other disasters we might experience.

However, we need your help in this important outreach ministry.

We are looking for volunteers to help us move resources from storage to where needed following disaster (we do not ask you to enter dangerous areas). Your mileage is reimbursed, and you become part of a team that has already made a difference in the lives of hundreds of people. Most importantly, you would (quite literally) deliver hope to the hopeless.

Do you:

Have a truck, van, large SUV or trailer?
Enjoy driving?
Want to follow Christ’s call to care for our neighbors?
Enjoy meeting new people and making their day better?

If this sounds like an outreach ministry to which you are called, please contact me at mark@norcalepiscopal.org or (530) 859-3267

Peace,

Mark

Upcoming Events around the Diocese

St. Timothy's, Gridley Community Garden Events

Saturday, February 24 | 2:00 pm

Composting 101 with Amy Roseman of Butte County Local Food Network, Janel Luke of California Alliance for Community Composting, and Grace Mahannah - an informative and hands-on introduction to composting.

All events are free and everyone is welcome! Events will take place in the community garden or the church fellowship hall, depending on the weather.

For more information email: st.timothy58@att.net

Holy Trinity Compline Choirs will chant Compline during Lent on five consecutive Sunday evenings

Holy Trinity, Nevada City | 7:00 pm

February 25 | Illuminare | family quartet

March 3 | Voces Angelorum | women

March 10 | The Compline Choir | men

March 17 | Unitas | combined choirs

Diocesan Lenten Civil Discourse Group

Thursdays, February 22 through March 21 | Zoom | 10:00 am

Back in November, Alan Yarborough from the Office of Government Relations came to our Diocese and led an evening workshop on how to have difficult political conversations - civil discourse. Participants found the workshop so helpful that a group wanted to go deeper with the full Office of Government Relations 5-week online class on civil discourse.

We would like to invite everyone in the Diocese to join us this Lent and this Election Year in reflecting on how we can listen to differing political opinions with grace and compassion. And how we can speak about our own values with truth and love.

Contact Rev. Alex Leach, Director of Formation at Trinity Cathedral, to sign up for this class.

Trinity Cathedral’s Sobriety Support Ministry Offers Spirituality and the Twelve Steps Zoom Book Group

February 22 - May 23 | Trinity Cathedral | 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Kenny Pierce and the Rev. Anne Dryden McKeever of Trinity Cathedral’s Sobriety Support Ministry will facilitate a thirteen-week discussion group of Richard Rohr’s book, Breathing Under Water: Spirituality and the Twelve Steps, meeting Thursday evenings via Zoom, 7:00 pm -8:30 pm, from February 22 through May 23, except for March 28, Maundy Thursday.

To register for the group and to receive your free books and the Zoom link, please email your postal address to the Rev. Anne Dryden McKeever at amckeever@wavecable.com.

When was the last time someone stopped everything to listened to you? They put down their phones, turned off the T.V., turned their bodies towards you, and listened intently to you? Listening is world altering gift. If you have the gift of listening I am asking you to join a Regional Discernment Group (RDG). We especially need people in the Russian River Deanery and Capital Deanery to join RDGs. We need people who are willing to listen and discern people’s calling. Deep listening acts as a mirror to help people see themselves and one of the greatest gifts you can give.

Please sign up here for the training on March 2nd.

Please contact The Rev. Anny Genato, pastoranny@staugustineepiscopal.com, if you have any questions.