Following Jesus in Province II

The International Atlantic Province

December 2021

News from the Province

Save the Date!

The next meeting of the Provincial Synod will be on May 5, 2022.

The dates for this and for the monthy Provincial Council Meetings can be found on the website calendar.

The Report of the Clerical Representative to Executive Council - Fall Meeting October 25-28, 2021 is now online.

General Convention News

The 80th General Convention is scheduled for July 7–14, 2022, at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Maryland.

All the latest news is in the November Newsletter:

Actions of the October 2021 Executive Council Meeting
2022 Episcopal Church Budget Approved
Legislative Committees for the 80th General Convention
New Online Register of Church Services
2021 Parochial Report
FACT and EPIC Study News

News from our twelve dioceses

The Diocese of Albany

Christ Church Gilbertsville - Another exciting Sunday at Christ Church. We welcomed a new acolyte and our new class of confirmands, had another great time at our all-ages Advent program and the brass choir rehearsed! See more photos >

Diocese of Central New York

Cazenovia Welcomes Refugees, a community organization supported by the Episcopal Diocese of Central New York, is on track to welcome a New American family to the house they're renovating by spring 2022. They're also putting together welcome kits for newly arrived refugee families in partnership with St. Peter's Episcopal Church.

Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe

Convocation Welcoming Officer Thomas Huddleston (All Saints Episcopal Church, Waterloo) interviews Giulia Bonoldi and Piero Rijtano from the Joel Nafuma Refugee Center, the primary outreach ministry of St. Paul's Within the Walls in Rome Episcopal Church, Italy. Watch to find out about:

- how they have experienced reopening

- what new needs and new ideas on welcoming are emerging

- what their experience can teach us supporting Afghan refugees

- what recommendations and lessons learned they have for local groups that want to sponsor and welcome people fleeing persecution

La Iglesia Episcopal en Cuba

La comunidad de fe, San Andrés Apóstol de Manatí, Las Tunas en su fiesta patronal.

The community of faith, Saint Andrew Apostle of Manati, Las Tunas at their patron saint feast.

More photos >

Diocese of Haiti

Three months after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake and a tropical storm hit Haiti, Episcopal Relief & Development continues to support the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti as it aids impacted communities. Through this partnership, the Diocese of Haiti has selected 400 families in 21 communities for the first phase of the disaster relief response.

Episcopal Relief & Development is also working with Food For The Poor Inc., CWS(Church World Service) and other local partners to provide emergency assistance such as direct support, tents, medical care and other aid after the August earthquake.

Episcopal Relief & Development’s work in Haiti is funded, in part, by Trinity Church Wall Street.

Diocese of Long Island

LiHerald: Hewlett's Silver Bells ring in a revitalized senior group -

A seniors club that began years ago at Holy Trinity, Valley Stream has restarted at Trinity-St. John’s Episcopal Church in Hewlett. Read the news article >

The Diocese of Newark

Six Constance Region churches prepare to host Afghan refugees

by: Nina Nicholson, Director of Communications

It started with the images from thousands of miles away that dominated the news at the end of the summer. “I watched on TV, as we all did, when Afghan refugees were piling onto airplanes, struggling to get out of Afghanistan, and out of the terrible situation there,” said Don MacGowan, outreach chair at St. Peter’s, Mountain Lakes.

Read the whole story >

Diocese of New Jersey

Notes on a COP26 Experience - Contributed by Barbara O. Bach

I was honored and privileged to be selected as a delegate to the United Nations Climate Change conference COP26 representing the Presiding Bishop’s office.

The UN has granted The Episcopal Church official observer partner status and participation since 2015, appreciating TEC’s influence and climate policy priorities: to accelerate ambition, increase support for communities experiencing loss and damage, protect human rights and affirm climate and ecojustice in addressing adaptation and mitigation, and boost climate finance mechanisms.

Read the whole article >

Diocese of New York

From the Church of St. Mary the Virgin in NYC: We hope to receive donations of new or lightly used winter coats during the winter months. The coats should be clean. Their pockets should be empty, and the zippers, if any, should be in good repair . . .

At our monthly Drop-by Days, we distribute clothing, toiletry, and hygiene items—and Metro Cards when they are available—to those in need in the Times Square neighborhood. Our next Drop-by Day is scheduled for Friday, December 17. Volunteers work from 1:30 PM until 3:30 PM. Our guests are invited into the church at 2:00 PM, and we close our doors at 3:00 PM. We need six (6) volunteers for each Drop-by. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Marie Rosseels, MaryJane Boland, or Father Jay Smith. You may reach them by calling the Parish Office at 212-869-5830. The January Drop-by will take place on Friday, January 21.

Diocese of Rochester

After several years of people waiting on the steps of St. John's for the local bus, we began to investigate how we could provide them shelter while they waited. We worked which manages the Allegany County Access bus service. Ardent was willing to work with us because at that point St. John’s was the busiest bus stop in the entire County. Read the whole story by The Rev. Carol Stewart, St. John’s Episcopal Chuch, Wellsville >

Diocese of the Virgin Islands

Tiphanie Yanique is a novelist, poet, essayist and short story writer. She is also a graduate of the All Saints Cathedral School in St. Thomas, class of 1996. Congratulations to Ms. Yanique on the publication of her latest novel, Monster in the Middle. She is a professor at Emory University and lives with her family in Atlanta.

Yanique's essays, poems and fiction center around the theme of belonging and what it means to be an American; as well as how issues of race, gender and ethnicity impact belonging.

The Episcopal Dioceses of Western New York & Northwestern Pennsylvania

2021 may be receiving mixed reviews from humans, but at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Jamestown, New York, everyone agrees it has been a good year for dogs. Last spring, the parish partnered with the Mental Health Association (MHA) of Chautauqua County to create Father Bernard’s Blessed Biscuits, all-natural dog treats produced by a social enterprise that aims to create employment and training opportunities for people in recovery from addiction or mental health issues. The biscuits—made with gluten-free flour, oats, peanut butter, and water—debuted at the Jamestown Public Market in June, and since then, the initiative has expanded to include pop-up kiosks at local holiday events, a mail-order business that ships the dog biscuits across the country, and even t-shirts.

Read the whole story >

Opportunities, Grants and Resources

See the complete listing and information >

This is just a partial list of what you will find if you go to the webpage!

Opportunities

Applications open for General Convention Official Youth Presence 2022

Nominations are being accepted for the General Convention Official Youth Presence for General Convention next summer. Nominations are being received until December 23. Youth on this form need to be between 16-19 years old next summer and will need an adult to fill out a nomination form.

More information is found at this link (https://www.episcopalchurch.org/publicaffairs/applications-open-for-general-convention-official-youth-presence-2022/)

RenewalWorks Winter Cohort assembling now

Returning to actual presence after a long COVID hiatus we are finding a changed world and changed relationships to church. RenewalWork will provide your congregation a spiritual life snapshot of where your congregation is right now and what its best growth points going forward can be.

The FaithX Project in partnership with the Episcopal Church Foundation (ECF) is pleased to announce the launch of version 2.0 of the Congregational Vitality Assessment tool (CVA), available at no cost for immediate use. Find out more >

Grants

United Thank Offering grants - Deadline February 4, 2022

Resources

Upcoming ONLINE Offerings through VTS

See the December News for details >

Jan 6 Dwelling Places for God: Lessons from the Pandemic

Jan 14 Faith in the Future Talks (Part 2 released)

Jan 22 Godly Play Commuter Core Training Module 3: Supporting the Circle of Children and Liturgical Action Lessons (In-person) Register here

Jan 29 Dreaming with God: Discerning Vocation in Everyday Living

On-Demand digital offerings from Lifelong Learning at VTS

Symposium on the Spirituality of Children ($45-$75) Click here to access.
Faith in the Future: Conversations (Free) Click here to access.
How to be a Top-Notch Hybrid Church ($29) Click here to access.
eFormation’s Dwelling Places with God (Part I): Lessons from the Pandemic for the Future Church with Dr. Heidi Campbell ($15-$45) Click here to access.