I am delighted to announce that Hope Durot, a Marketing and Data Analytics double major at Mercy College and a cradle Episcopalian, has joined us as a Communications Intern, working on our InCommon newsletter, content for our website and handling social media. In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, she has discovered a longing to rededicate time and energy to church; and, in her own words, "draw closer to God again" after years of playing in AUU Basketball tournaments on weekends.

Serendipitously, Hope's desire to get back to church coincided with the Communication Committee's decision to bring an intern onto the team to help tell our church's story. Thanks to Pam Middleton reaching out to Mercy College, we found Hope and she found hope (no pun intended) in the prospect of bringing her professional passion and interests to our church. Belonging to church, from my perspective, gives shape and substance to what hope means in these difficult times of disconnection and ongoing "dis-ease."

In a desire to get to know our community and help the broader community get to know what we're about, Hope's initial project will be a weekly, "Community Connections" series, in which she will interview members about their passions, ideas, insights, and their relationship with God. Excerpts from these interviews will be featured weekly on our social media pages. There are details below on where to sign up and how to connect to our Social Media platforms in readiness of the project "going live."

Onwards,
Gareth