NORTHEAST REGION MISSIVE

Weekly Check-In:
19 September 2020
You can find the most recent COVID-19 update from our Bishops HERE (lots of info here, with access to archived things, too)

Need a little assistance with Zoom? HERE is a "how-to" that might be able to help!
Registration Now Open for NE Region Conovcation!
NE Region Convocation
Saturday, 3 October is our next NE Region Convocation. This will be a half-day workshop around racism with a two guest facilitators. We hope that you will join us!
A Word of Encouragment from your NE Region Missionary
Hello dear siblings in Christ,
 
The weather is turning a bit here in our Quiet Corner, and I've noticed the leaves changing. There are more blue jays and cardinals at the bird feeders now and I'll be taking the hummingbird feeders down and putting them away until next year. This is the cyclical nature of life.

I find that I have been reminded of beauty and sorrow this week. I had the opportunity to have a conversation with a friend on her birthday, which made for a beautiful start of my day (and hers too, I hope)! And I am faced with daily reminders of the suffering happening all across our nation and the world. As many of us do, I have family and friends on the west coast and find myself turning them over in my mind and heart. So often this week my prayers look more like lament and questions.

I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to hear anyone say that they are feeling quite full right now - too many emails, too many news articles, too much everything! So I will leave you with this little prayer I wrote to help in these times when I am feeling a little too full. May it be a balm to you.

Help me Lord, for I am troubled and a little stuck. I cannot easily figure out what I should be doing just now. Help my heart and eyes to see with your heart and eyes. And grant me a measure of your peace so to calm my mind and smooth out my sharp edges. Amen.

Photo by Maggie Breen
Crafting As Spiritual Practice: Being Community via Zoom
On Saturday, 12 September, 13 wonderful folks from across ECCT (and beyond) gathered for the NE Region Crafting as Spiritual Practice Day. We "gathered" via zoom, and welcome Rev. Hannah Anderson as our guest facilitator. Hannah is an Episcopal priest, former Canon to the Ordinary in NH, artist, and life coach. You can learn more about Hannah through her company Golden Thread Consulting.

We prayed together and reflected on Scripture together, all from our separate crafting spaces. Then, we had a lovely hour of doing whatever craft we wanted to. We could be silent, or not. We shared our crafts and lifted our voices in gratitude of having the time together.

During our sharing, Margaret Sirota of All Saints', East Hartford, read a poem to us that she was building a craft around. With her permission, I took a picture of the poem after worship service last Sunday, and am including it here for you to read.

As Long As We Believe
by Amanda Bradley

We all have our own separate pathways to take,
Our own destinations to choose,
We all have our own contributions to make,
Our own special talents to use -
We all have our own kind of life to pursue,
Our own kind of dreams to be weaving...
And we all have the power to make wishes come true
As long as we keep on believing.
May you always follow your cherished dreams,
may you reach for the highest star...
May you make the most of every day and find joy wherever you are.

The Crafting as Spiritual Practice planning team is hoping to be able to host an in-person gathering in Lent of 2021 if it is safe. So stay tuned to this Missive to see crafting updates!
Resources for Anti-Racism Work
If you are looking to get involved with Racial Healing, Justice, and Reconciliation and/or Anti-Racism work but aren't sure where to start, below are a few good resources for you to check out that have been curated by either myself or the good folks involved in the Racial Healing, Justice & Reconciliation Ministry Network:

  • HERE is an article from Self that talks about how the constant stress Black people are dealing with puts them at higher risk for health conditions. A condition known as weathering.


  • I just stumbled upon THIS LIST of 95 books written by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) authors. If you are looking to incorporate new books, here is a good place to start.

  • HERE is a sports article that addresses racism in America and Japan, and in particular how multiracial people have additional layers of racism to contend with.
Social Isolation: Staying Connected & Having Fun
This is the space of possibility! A space where we have time to explore what we are curious about. A space where we can figure out how to find joy when we must be apart.

So..........here are some things I've found interesting in the past week: music, projects, art, articles, etc. May they be of service to us so that we can be in service to others.


  • If you are interested in helping clean up some of our green spaces, Haddam Meadows State Park is having their annual Fall Invasive Plant and Trash Clean Ups on 26 Sep and 10 Oct. Contact Cheryl to RSVP or to get more information.


  • THESE KIDS did a great job on a cover of I'll Make A Man Out Of You from Mulan.

  • Bonus Content - An international collaboration on my FAVORITE tune by The Beatles
Some Webinars You Might Be Interested In


Resources & Important Information
  • Habitat for Humanity of Eastern CT has housing available in Willimantic in Danielson. CLICK HERE for more information.

  • If you are interested in including some Season of Creation or St. Francis Day materials into your worship services, please CLICK HERE to see what TEC is offering.

  • There are a number of new online Safe Church trainings happening in September and October. Please GO HERE to see the current schedule.

  • This month, CLERGY in the "eastern corridor" (that is, NE and SE Regions) have an opportunity to engage with "Evenings With Our Bishops" on Tuesday, 22 September, at 6pm. This is replacing the clericus meeting. Please CLICK HERE to register.

  • 2021 Budget of Convention Financial Review meetings are scheduled to be held via zoom this year, on three dates. Please click a date below for the time and zoom information:
  • September 23
  • October 1
  • October 6
  • Governor Lamont issued a press release stating FREE infared thermometers for houses of worship. CLICK HERE to read the release and apply for yours!

  • If you are looking for resources to egnage in work around Racial Healing, Justice & Reconciliation but can't find what you need, consider THIS FORM to help ECCT curate resources that fit your needs!

  • Are you signed up for the ECCT eNews? CLICK HERE to get it delivered to your inbox!
Mark Your Calendars: Upcoming Events
NE Region Warden Gathering

The NE Region Wardens will have their next monthly meeting on Tuesday, 6 October at 7pm. If you are a warden and would like to participate, send Maggie a note to be included in the distribtuion list!
CONVENTION IS COMING! CONVENTION IS COMING!

If you haven't already registered for our Annual Convention, please do! It might seem like a lot, since it's spread over several days, but it's only a few hours each day. You can see the schedule, look at the resolutions, and read the reports and see how else you can be involved by heading to the *brand new* ECCT Convention website!
Sacred Ground: A Region-Wide Anti-Racism Opportunity
Several clergy from across the NE Region have come together with a desire to facilitate and create sacred space to engage in Anti-Racism work as a Region. The planning group has decided to move forward in using The Episcopal Church's Sacred Ground materials, which is part of their Becoming Beloved Community initiative.

For a brief introduction of this program, please read this message by Rev. Stephanie Spellers and take a peek at the main webapge for introductory videos, including one from Presiding Bishop Michael Curry. You can also access the syllabus for this program, to get a general idea about time commitment and expectations.

Stay tuned for more information! This program runs for 10 sessions, and will begin mid-November and running through early-April, meeting approximately every 2 weeks via zoom. If this sounds like something you would like to participate in, please email Maggie.
The Way of Love & Global Mission: An Offering by the Companions in Mission Ministry Network
The Companions in Mission Ministry Network is offering a 7 week course following both TEC's The Way of Love and the book Questing: The Way of Love in Global Mission beginning on 6 October.

If you are interested in learning more about this opportunity, please contact Rev. Amjad Samuel for more information.
New Opportunities: Come and See
Digital Office Hour with your RM

Beginning later this month, Maggie Breen will be offering an hour long zoom meeting for any questions you have about what is happening in the Region. Please drop in and say 'hello' whenever the day/time works for you. Click on the day/time to join.

29 Oct at 4pm (coming soon)
24 Nov at 11am (coming soon)
15 Dec at 3pm (coming soon)
Crafting in proximity via Zoom

The virtual version of Crafting as Spiritual Practice was so much fun! Attendees loved being in the "virtual" room together, crafting in proximity. Please join your RM, Maggie Breen, for a monthly experiment in crafting via zoom. Join when you can and bring a little crafting JOY into your day. Click on the day/time to join.

27 Oct at 4pm (coming soon)
20 Nov at 2pm (coming soon)
17 Dec at 4pm (coming soon)
You can reach Maggie Breen, NE Region Missionary, the following ways:
PHONE: 203-639-3501 x154