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Mission Matters
News from the
Episcopal Diocese
of Western Massachusetts
CELEBRANDO LA ABUNDANCIA DE DIÓS
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RenewalWorks begins in the fall;
50% reimbursement if you go for it!
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RenewalWorks
is a great place to begin for congregational development.
This four-month plan is being used across The Episcopal Church to help congregations focus on spiritual growth for congregational growth.
What a great time to give it a try – as we emerge from our stay at home orders and emerge back together as “church”.
It begins on
September 20
, with the opening of the online survey. RenewalWorks advises you to register at least 4-6 weeks ahead of time in order to advertise and gather a leadership team. So, register by
August 10
to give yourself plenty of time!
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For Youth in the Berkshires
Building the Beloved Community:
Middle School Adventure in Community and Justice
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Jul 19 - Aug 9
Join St. Stephen's Pittsfield and the Cathedral of the Beloved on Sunday mornings for community service, reflection, and learning.
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Complete this Bingo board and return it to Northshire Bookstore at either location (Manchester VT or Saratoga Springs NY) by September 7th to be entered in a prize drawing for a Northshire Bookstore Gift Card. Prizes have been donated by the Episcopal Clergy of Berkshire County.
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From The Episcopal Church
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Season of Creation, September 1 – October 4, 2020 Devotions offered by four leaders
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Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop and Primate Michael Curry and the leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the Anglican Church of Canada and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada have prepared a series of devotions to observe the Season of Creation 2020, September 1–October 4.
The season, which begins on September 1 with the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, is a time to join with the global Christian community in renewing, repairing and restoring commitments to God, to one another and to all of creation.
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Traveling the Way of Love special episode: Triangle of Hope
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In this special episode, developed with The Episcopal Church Office of Global Partnerships and filmed in late 2019, Chris Sikkema, the Office of Communication’s manager for special projects, visits with the Tsedaqah community and others from the Diocese of Liverpool in England.
Tsedaqah is a community of young adults representing dioceses in locations that participated in the Triangle of Despair that fed and nourished the transatlantic slave trade. Through worship, communal life, and service to the community, they work toward reconciliation and transformation of the Triangle of Despair to a triangle of hope.
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art + soul:
The Secret Life of Bees
reading group
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Aug 2 - Nov 15
Zoom
"Sue Monk Kidd’s astonishing classic book
The Secret Life of Bees will be our center source, the big red heart we touch again and again as our own spiritual biographies unfold. Taking place in the the summer of 1964 in the Deep South, this story intersects questions of race, gender and life-giving spirituality, and unapologetically re-imagines them all...which is why this book needs to be dusted off and broken open right now."
Zoom conversations twice a month, and weekly reflection materials for you to work with as your schedule allows.
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Virtual Nuevo Amanecer 2020 Conference
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Aug 15, Sep 12, and Oct 10.
Zoom
Registration is now open for all 5 events of Virtual Nuevo Amanecer: June 13, July 11, August 15, September 12 and October 10. The registration is bilingual: Spanish/English. You only need to register once for all 5 events. Two days before the event you will receive the links for the Zoom meetings.
ESP: Nos reuniremos el 13 de junio de 1:00 pm a 4:00 pm, Tiempo del Este (Miami, Santo Domingo). Durante los próximos cuatro meses, del 10 de julio al 10 de octubre, nos seguiremos reuniendo mensualmente para más oportunidades de aprendizaje, conocimiento mutuo y oración.
ENG: We will meet on June 13 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm, Eastern Time (Miami, Santo Domingo). Over the next four months, from July 10 to October 10, we will continue to meet monthly for more opportunities for learning, mutual knowledge, and prayer.
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Webinars from the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center
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Jul-Dec 2020
Zoom
"LMPC announces the return of one of our more popular seminars:
Leadership and Anxiety in the Church (LAC)
on August 19, 2020 via Zoom video conferencing. This webinar is comprised of a series of PowerPoint presentations that look at the challenges posed by rising levels of anxiety in churches and in society as a whole.
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American Climate Leadership Summit
Thursday afternoons in August
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ACLS 2020 Live Online is the nation’s largest and most diverse virtual gathering of leaders dedicated to broadening and catalyzing action and advocacy for climate solutions. The dynamic and interactive 3-hour webcasts feature expert speakers addressing climate change and our compounded crises.
Engage with online features to connect with the sessions, speakers and each other. Learn strategies and ideas to help transform climate action into a true national priority centered in equity and justice.
If there was ever a time to make a difference on climate change, that time is now. Join us to move climate action in America forward now.
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Get the Creation Care Network newsletter in your inbox every 1st of the month
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Read this month's newsletter
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Missioner for Creation Care
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Social Justice Commission
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Episcopal leaders call death penalty ‘abhorrent to God’ as Trump administration resumes federal executions
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[Episcopal News Service] The U.S. government on July 14
executed an inmate for the first time since 2003
. Two more executions are scheduled this week at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, that holds the government’s 60 male death row inmates. A fourth execution is set for August.
The Justice Department is carrying out
a plan it announced last year
to end a moratorium on capital punishment for inmates who have been sentenced to death for murder under federal criminal law. The abrupt resumption of those executions this week was condemned by Episcopal leaders in Indiana, reflecting The Episcopal Church’s decades of opposition to the death penalty.
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Beloved Community Commission
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Register now for Becoming Beloved Community NOW, gathering leaders for action July 28-30
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Racial justice and healing leaders and practitioners across The Episcopal Church will gather to build community, craft strategy and equip each other for action during a series of “Becoming Beloved Community NOW” online gatherings at 4:00-6:00 p.m. EST on July 28-30.
Convened by the Presiding Officers’ Advisory Group on Beloved Community Implementation, the three gatherings will focus on three urgent themes:
- Truth – Telling the truth about participation in white supremacy and racial oppression. (Tuesday, July 28)
- Justice – Changing racist systems, especially “criminal” justice and public health/COVID response. (Wednesday, July 29)
- Healing – Breaking free of white supremacy via training and formation (Thursday, July 30).
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and President of the House of Deputies Gay Clark Jennings will offer prayer and reflections throughout the sessions.
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Find a Sunday service online
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Keep an eye on the calendar
here
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