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Mission Matters
News from the
Episcopal Diocese
of Western Massachusetts
CELEBRANDO LA ABUNDANCIA DE DIÓS
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Know someone who needs a Back To School Blessing? |
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This 20-minute prayer video was produced by Christ Church Cathedral for our diocese and led by our deacons and bishop. Listen to short reflections about this unusual school year and pray for teachers, students, and families.
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Creation Season begins today!
What will your congregation do this Creation Season?
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We observe this special season in the hope that caring for Creation will increasingly be woven into every aspect of congregational life. Through preaching and prayer, and in sacrificial acts of generosity and bold public witness, we hope to strengthen our Christian response to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.
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Tech Time
Wednesdays @ 7pm
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Ellen is interested in cultivating a community of digital ministers, and hopes that Tech Time becomes more than a place for Q & A. It can be a place where digital minister connect, share best practices and lessons learned, laugh about Sunday bloopers, and reflect on this technical ministry as evangelism.
Every Wednesday 7:00 - 8:30 PM
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 857 9084 1247
Passcode: 386237
Dial in by phone
+1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
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Call For Submissions for the Summer/Fall Issue of ABUNDANT Times
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Deadline: September 7, 2020
We're gearing up for the next issue of the magazine and looking for some specific content:
- Photos of Sunday worship adapted for the COVID-19 pandemic
- Text and images for ministries that have surfaced during the pandemic. Are you making masks? Addressing food insecurity? Adapting existing ministry to continue despite the pandemic?
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In the wake of George Floyd's murder and Black Lives Matter protests, has your congregation engaged any resources from Becoming Beloved Community? Have you been reading together? Structured conversation? Organized presence at local actions?
We are especially interested in hearing from lay leadership and ministry leaders. Be in touch with us if you have an idea that needs tweaking or if you just want some support in the writing process. If you'd like to write a piece or submit photos, click the button below to upload by September 7.
Don't forget to include your name and parish/town so we can credit you appropriately.
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Ministerio hispano
Latino/Hispanic Ministries
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Uno de los aspectos más difíciles de esta pandemia es la importancia de mantenerse separados unos de otros. Estamos a dos metros de distancia, nos ponemos en cuarentena de familiares y amigos, y también la escuela, el trabajo y la iglesia están en su mayoría en línea. Hacemos todo esto porque nos amamos. Nos esforzamos por protegernos unos a otros. Sin embargo, la conexión sigue siendo esencial para una vida plena y saludable. Todavía debemos conectarnos unos con otros y con nuestro Dios amoroso. No podemos olvidarnos unos de otros. Zoom y Facebook han sido excelentes, pero las opciones de baja tecnología son igualmente importantes. Las llamadas telefónicas, las cartas y las tarjetas postales son formas sencillas de recordarles a las personas que estamos pensando en ellos y las queremos. Los invito a ver algunas opciones a continuación para vincularse con las comunidades de su iglesia. Hay oportunidades para la oración, el estudio de la Biblia, la adoración y la conexión con los demás y con Dios. Espero verlos allí.
Para conectar con las actividades del Ministerio Hispano en Worcester visite el sitio web ministeriohispanoworcester.org o mande un email a jreyes@diocesewma.org.
Misa Dominical
La Catedral: 12:15pm en personal o por Facebook Live
Ministerio Hispano en Worcester: en nuestro sitio web ministeriohispanoworcester.org.
Oración Vespertina
Ministerio Hispano en Worcester: sábado, 12 de septiembre y sábado, 26 de septiembre as las 8pm por Zoom.
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One of the hardest aspects of this pandemic is the importance of staying apart from one another. We stand six feet away from each other, we quarantine from family and friends, and school, work and church are mostly online. We do all of this because we love each other. We strive to keep one another safe. However, connection still remains essential for a full and healthy life. We still must connect with each other and with our loving God. We cannot forget one another. Zoom and Facebook have been great, but low-tech options are just as important. Phone calls, letters, and post cards are easy ways to remind people that they are cared for and loved. I invite you to look at some options below for linking with your church communities. There are opportunities for prayer, bible study, worship, and connection with others and God. I look forward to seeing you there. |
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Oportunidades de adoración, oración y estudio.
Hay muchas oportunidades para adorar, orar y estudiar la biblia en español en nuestra diócesis.
- Santa Eucaristía en español en persona en la Catedral los miércoles a las 6 p.m. (comuníquese con el Dean Tom Callard (tomcallard@gmail.com) si tiene alguna pregunta)
- Los ministerios hispanos en San Marcos, Worcester y San Pablo, Holyoke están trabajando actualmente en un plan para que las misas en persona comiencen el próximo mes.
- Santa Eucaristía bilingüe del Ministerio Hispano en San Marcos, Worcester todos los domingos en nuestro sitio web hispanicministryworcester.org (comuníquese con el Rev. José Reyes (jreyes@diocesewma.org) si tiene alguna pregunta)
- Música y alabanza antes de la misa en la catedral a las 12 p.m. a través de facebooklive
- Santa Eucaristía en la Catedral a las 12:15 pm-1:15pm a través de facebooklive (comuníquese con el Dean Tom Callard (tomcallard@gmail.com) si tiene alguna pregunta)
- Estudio Bíblico y Oración, sábado 8 de agosto a la 1pm (contacte a Dean Tom Callard (tomcallard@gmail.com) si tiene alguna pregunta)
- Oración Vespertina en español a través de Zoom el 15 y 29 de agostos a las 8pm. (comuníquese con el Rev. José Reyes (jreyes@diocesewma.org) si tiene alguna pregunta)
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From The Episcopal Church |
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New Way of Love, Practices for a Jesus-Centered Life resources support Building an Intentional Small Group Ministry
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Inspired by the foundation laid by Arlin J. Rothauge’s work and booklet, Making Small Groups Effective, the Building Intentional Small Groups information packet can help congregations answer the questions of why, what, when, and how of Small Group Ministry.
Written and curated by formation and evangelism leaders across the church, the packet is an instructional tool to help churches as they begin or re-start an intentional faith-based small group ministry. This is not a curriculum, but instead a tool to help adapt existing curricula and other formation resources for a small group context.
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This is NOT Sunday School launches in September
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This free, weekly online resource is intergenerational, making it a perfect tool for families and people of all ages.
“Being away from church doesn’t mean we can’t continue learning about God at home,” said Melissa Rau ECF’s Staff Liaison to Forma and co-organizer of This is NOT Sunday School, “This is a dynamic opportunity for families to grow together in faith, especially around this terrific, weekly offering.”
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Donate to ERD's Hurricane Laura Relief Fund |
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"Please give today to our Hurricane Relief Fund and help our partners and dioceses reach vulnerable communities devastated by Hurricane Laura and other Gulf Coast storms. As we continue to assess ongoing needs in impacted areas, your urgent gift will enable us to respond now — and in the long run to aid in recovery."
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New newsletter from Walking Together |
August 31, 2020
"In the weeks since our last newsletter, a lot has changed, both in our country and in the life of Walking Together. We are all getting used to new practices and yet we mourn many of the changes, recognizing that we don’t know when, or even if, things may go back to what we did pre-pandemic. However, we have also seen things grow and change in new and wonderful ways.
One of the new joys has been the many ways individuals and communities have come together to support this ministry. During one of Worcester’s heat waves, the people of St. Francis Church in Holden did a water drive for us—bringing in more than 40 CASES of water for us to distribute."
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Vote for climate and get out the vote! |
From Massachusetts, we can support the Faith Climate Voter Campaign by reaching out to people of faith in the seven focus states, encouraging them to get more involved, and to vote in November. You will receive all the tools and training you need to volunteer remotely from home!
If you or your congregation is interested in volunteering to help the Campaign, please fill out this form and the Campaign will plug you into volunteer activities you can help with.
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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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Milwaukee bishop calls for ‘righteous anger’ after another shooting of a Black man by police |
[Episcopal News Service] In the aftermath of another shooting of an African American by police, church leaders in Wisconsin are expressing grief and outrage, but not surprise. Almost three months earlier, protesters in Milwaukee and elsewhere had taken to the streets in response to the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota. On the night of Aug. 23, protests and riots flared again in Kenosha, 40 miles south of Milwaukee, where earlier that evening police shot Jacob Blake in the back at close range.
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Beloved Community Commission |
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Thousands join three-part Becoming Beloved Community NOW webinars on racial justice
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[Episcopal News Service] The Episcopal Church’s Becoming Beloved Community NOW, a three-part series of webinars on different aspects of the church’s racial reconciliation work, was overwhelmed by interest in the Zoom sessions this week, both in registrations and in replay of the videos on Facebook.
The webinars were hosted July 28-30 by a church committee known as the Presiding Officers’ Advisory Group on Beloved Community Implementation, which sought to harness the momentum across the church generated by recent nationwide protests against racial injustice and police brutality. The webinars’ views indicate that momentum hasn’t subsided.
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Find a Sunday service online |
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Online Contemplative Prayer Group Continues |
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Every Sunday, 6:30pm
Zoom
Hosted by: Fr. Dave Woessner,
St. Michael's-on-the-Heights, Worcester
In addition to serving as a parish priest, Fr. Dave has many years of practice and teaching in both Centering Prayer (in Fr. Thomas Keating's method), as well as Samatha meditation (originating out of Theravāda Buddhism). He has offered many classes and retreats, as well as Spiritual Direction.
Join Zoom Video Meeting
Meeting ID: 835 6621 8541
Password: Stillness
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Keep an eye on the calendar here.
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If you would like to be removed from the Mission Matters distribution, but continue to receive other communications, please email: agamache@diocesewma.org.
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