NORTHEAST REGION MISSIVE

February 2022
Pictures From NE & NC: December & January
Region Missionary Musings:
Dear siblings in Christ,

How are you all doing these days? Now that the rush of the holidays is past, and even some of your annual meetings may be done, is it feeling like it's back to "business as usual"? Does anything feel like "business as usual" these days? It's good to see that our collect COVID positivity rate is going down, though the vast majority of our state remains in the red zone. It's been a trying time - nearly two years - of having to live in a space of extreme flexibility and gentleness with ourselves and with those around us. I am thinking of you all often. Please do reach out to me if you need anything.

There is much good work happening in the NE Region, even amid the pandemic! The NE Region Leadership Team is trying on something new this year - an initiative called Parish Partnerships, where we hope to build a stronger sense of unity between the RLT and the NE Region parishes, and each parish within the Region. If you have any curiosity about this project, please email me ([email protected]) and let me know. Spread throughout this months newsletter you will see some of the good things that are happening here, some of the places I've been visiting (across NE & NC), and some opportunities coming up for you to engage in. Please be sure to let me know if something is happening in your parish that you would like to share with the Region!

Until I see you next, be assured of my prayers for you and your communities.

Maggie
Calling All Wardens! If you are a warden in the NE Region, I want to make sure I have your contact information! This is especially important if you are *new* to being a warden. Likewise, if you are cycling off as warden this year be sure to let me know so I can remove you from any warden distribution lists. I hope to begin hosting meetings for the NE Region Wardens every other month, beginning Tuesday, 22 February, at 7pm. To make sure you are included in the invite, please email me!
Calling All Morning Prayer Leaders! If you have taken the Morning Prayer training, please complete the 1 question survey below. We could develop a nice community of worship leaders, while allowing those folks leading on any given Sunday a chance to practice reading the rubrics and flipping to all the different pages!
Would you be interested in participating in a monthly Morning Prayer practice time?
Yes
No
Getting To Know The NE Region: Ministries
Ministries In the NE Region - onsite at our parishes

Food - pantries/collections
Food - gardens
Food - meals/prep/delivery
Refugee work
International Ministries
Ecumenical Ministries
Clothing
Service/Justice

*If you are interested in learning about how to either get involved in one of these ministries yourself or try-on something at your parish, please email Maggie ([email protected]).
That there are several parishes in the NE Region that are doing REALLY GOOD WORK in the categories of service and justice? These initiatives include working with outside agencies in an effort to partner with people already engaged in this work. Some of these ministries are:



You can find out more about each one of these ministries by clicking on them. If you'd like to talk to one of the parishes here in the NC Region that is engaged in this work, be sure to let me know and I'll connect you! You can email me at [email protected]
Getting To Know The NE Region: Community Stories
Hosting Coffee Hour During COVID:

A friendly little birdie told me that our friends at Trinity, Brooklyn, have been hosting an outdoors coffee hour this winter, weather permitting. They share good conversation, hot cocoa, coffee, and other delicious treats.

Don't let the weather keep you from having some fellowship! Bundle up and maintain a safe distance!

Photo by Mekht on Unsplash
A Concert To Celebrate Love:

Join with the good people of St. Peter's in Hebron for a concert full of music featuring piano and harp, but parishioner Jason Castonguay. The concert starts at 2pm and will be available on-site and virtually on their FACEBOOK page. This concert will feature a re-dedication of the beautiful baby grand piano given to the people of St. Peter's from the people of the former Christ Church in Norwich. There will also be a lovely reception afterwards. Free-will donations accepted at the door.

Photo by Vince Veras on Unsplash
Upcoming Events & Opportunities:
Click here to find out about all the events happening in the NE Region (both parish & Region events) - just choose the month you want!
Click here to find out about all the events happening across ECCT - just choose the month you want!
LAY PREACHING CLASS TO BEGIN

Have you ever thought about preaching in your parish? Are you curious to see if you would like to preach? Are you already doing some preaching and want to learn more? Do you want to learn more about public speaking? We will have a class beginning in February to help you. You will not be committed to preaching after this course, we are simply exploring possibilities and learning more about talking about Scripture. There are no prior requirements, no reading assignments and just short preparations for each week's meeting. We will meet one evening a week for six weeks, on February 7, 14, 21, 28 and March 7, 21, 28. Please contact your Region Missionary or Ginnie Glassman at [email protected] if you are interested. 
Mutual Aid- changing the economic conversation and experience

Our faithful frustration of the economic disparities in Connecticut need not limit our efforts. We are aware of efforts toward political change. Are you aware of networks that aid people without reliance on political support? Mutual Aid is one such network.  Mutual aid doesn’t concern itself with politics, except for the shared recognition that there are needs created by a political system that the political system insufficiently addresses. Mutual aid says, “I see a need. How can we pool our resources to help each other out and share the load? We have more among us than we might know and we want to figure out a way to experience the abundance in our midst.” In mutual aid, people are both the giver and receiver, but often at different times. 

The Rev. Tracy Johnson Russell and The Rev. Whitney Altopp co-chair the Resource Pooling working group which plans to focus on Mutual Aid. We’re looking for ten people who would like to be on a working group with the ultimate goal of creating a tool kit for people to utilize when they see a need in their community and want to create a network to respond to that need. Mutual Aid networks are usually hyper-local. They are a powerful and inspiring way to change the economic experience of those within the network. 

Please contact Maggie Breen ([email protected]) if you’re interested in learning more about this working group. Our first meeting is February 9 at 7pm.
Feb 13-Mar 13 (Also Oct 2-30)
A six-week course with Mary Crist (Blackfeet)
Journey in a multi-media web quest to grasp the thinking behind the Doctrine of Discovery, how it was justified by Christian church leaders, what happened to the people it touched, how it continues to affect Indigenous people worldwide today, and what hope there is for Indigenous people in the future. CLICK HERE to learn more.

Are you curious about engaging in Spiritual Practices during your "ordinary" day? Do you wonder how you can engage with transformational work without having to take a lot of time or spend a lot of money?

I invite you to consider joining folks from the NE & NC Regions to explore The Way of Love together, a series of spiritual practices and conversations beginning in Lent and moving through Easter. We will meet weekly on Sunday evenings at 7pm, via zoom. This may be the perfect way to begin an evening routine!

Registration is required. Please register HERE.

We will meet the following Sundays: March 6, 13, 20, 27, April 3, 10, 24, May 1 & 8 - you can come for as many (or as few) as you wish. You will get all the materials before each week.
SACRED EARTH, SACRED SOUL - A PILGRIMAGE TO IONA WITH JOHN PHILIP NEWELL
 
We have a few spots available for Hartford International University for Religion and Peace (formerly Hartford Seminary)  students, faculty, alumni, and friends to join our pilgrimage to Iona, August 20-27, 2022. Iona is a tiny island off the southwest coast of Mull in the Inner Hebrides, a "thin place," which holds great meaning to people the world over. Iona has a long and illustrious history and is well known as "The Cradle of Christianity" in Scotland.
 
Our group will travel to Iona for pilgrimage, spiritual retreat, and renewal, and to study with John Philip Newell, our guide. Our study will focus on his new book Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul. John Philip Newell is an internationally acclaimed spiritual teacher, speaker, and author of several books, including Listening for the Heartbeat of God, and A New Harmony. The former Warden of Iona Abbey, he is the founder of Earth and Soul (a Celtic Initiative of Study, Spiritual Practice, and Compassionate Action) and teaches regularly around the world.
 
This pilgrimage is an extension of John Philip Newell’s presentation at Hartford International University in July 2019 and connects to his teaching in the School of Earth & Soul (formerly the School of Celtic Consciousness).
 
For more information or to reserve remaining spots on this trip, contact Mike Corey, [email protected]
 
Safe Church Training Information available HERE
ECCT COVID-19 Resources HERE (coming soon on new website!)
More detailed calendar information HERE
Meet Your ECCT Staff
From our ECCT website:
My primary responsibility is “to work with parishes in times of transitions to help bring about missional transformation.” I handle all technical aspects of clergy leadership transitions, supporting parish vestries from the time a priest departs until the new one arrives. I also work with the wider Episcopal Church in all transition matters and with candidates for parish clergy leadership positions.

My favorite part of my ministry is witnessing the Holy Spirit at work in the lives of clergy and parishes as they travel through their transition journey in today’s world.

I am a political junkie whose prior life was in politics and government, and I need live music as much as I need oxygen.

Contact Amber for:
  • Transition is the New Normal
  • Letters of agreement (clergy)
  • Priest-in-charge overview
  • Clergy licensing
  • Supply clergy
  • Transition process

Amber's contact information can be FOUND HERE.
You can reach Maggie Breen, NC & NE Region Missionary, the following ways:
US Mail: The Episcopal Church in Connecticut, The Commons, 290 Pratt Street, Box 52, Meriden, Ct 06450
PHONE: 203-639-3501 x154 (o) 860-214-0085 (c)

Please sign up for a Sunday visit HERE.
If you would like to schedule a private "office hour" time with me, please sign up HERE.
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