The Episcopal Church

in Alabama

News & Updates | August 9, 2023

www.dioala.org

Once again I have been blessed to spend part of my summer in the ‘dish pit’ at Camp Cross, the camp of my childhood and where I served as the Executive Director. My dish pit ponderings from this season have brought forth an acute awareness of the interplay between the ‘back of the house’ and the ‘front of the house’.

Jonathan Daniels Pilgrimage 2023 

Please join us on Saturday, August 12, 2023, for the 26th Annual Jonathan Daniels Pilgrimage. We will gather in the courthouse square in Hayneville, Alabama, and begin our pilgrimage procession at 11 am. The procession will travel from the square to the old County Jail where Daniels was among those detained for a week after being arrested in Fort Deposit for picketing white-only businesses. The procession continues to the site of the old Varner’s Cash Store, where Daniels was killed. The procession ends in the Lowndes County Courthouse, where a service of Holy Communion will be celebrated in the courtroom where the man who shot Daniels had been tried and acquitted by an all-white jury. Register for the pilgrimage here.



Episcopal Parish Network (EPN) is pleased to offer a no-cost three-hour summit on facilities and property maintenance. Join us for this no-cost three-hour session with direct implications for your parish (or cathedral) and your facilities!

The panelists and presenters will discuss the following key components of effective facility maintenance and upkeep:

1. Establishing a Preventive Maintenance Plan
2. The Four Buckets of Church Facility Budgeting
3. Extending the life of your facility

Who should attend?

This is a great opportunity for administrators, facility managers and/or head sextons, Junior Wardens, Rectors, or members of your Property Committee. The summit is open to all and we invite your team to join us for this no-cost session.

Last chance to register!

At the Parish Growth Conference, church leaders will learn strategies for fostering a vibrant and thriving parish. Participants will leave inspired and equipped to take action. We strongly encourage clergy in charge and vestry leaders to attend this free event. Bring as many people from your parish as you like! Please register online by August 9. 

The 193rd Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama will be held in Montgomery, Alabama, on Feb. 8-10, 2024. The meeting will be held at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Montgomery.

Blocks of rooms have been reserved at the Renaissance Montgomery, Staybridge Suites Downtown, and the Doubletree Downtown. More information will be sent to parishes and included in diocesan publications in September.

Are you a caregiver of a loved one with dementia? This is for YOU and YOUR LOVED ONE.

Founders Place Community Respite is very pleased to present an opportunity for a 6-week program that combines respite with caregiver education and support. Registration and details, including eligibility for your loved one with dementia, are available here.

John Prine Music-Inspired Eucharist

Join Christ Episcopal Church in Tuscaloosa and the surrounding community at The Venue on August 30 at 6 PM for a John Prine Music-Inspired Eucharist! This special event will include music from All Saints in Birmingham's very own Danny Whitsett, Ben Ridlehoover, and Andrew Nelson. The night's worship will be a tribute to the music of John Prine as well as an opportunity for evangelism. All are welcome! For more information on the event, please contact Kathleen Franklin.

Led by The Rt. Rev. Henry Parsley

St. Mary’s Sewanee

Where are the wellsprings of hope for you? For us together? Such questions haunted T.S. Eliot as Europe hurtled into the darkness of World War II. They continue to face us in our lives and in our time. Eliot’s response was writing Four Quartets, his last and finest poems, which take us on a spiritual journey through the dark chaos of experience to a vision of unconquerable hope. In this retreat we will listen to these four poems, with the help of Ralph Fiennes’ recent reading of them. Through lecture and the contemplative practice of lectio divina we will engage with the Quartets and enter into their spiritual wisdom and transformational power.

Register here

Click here for more information about the conference and online registration

Clergy Updates

• The Rev. Cn. Massey Gentry has been called to serve as the Interim Rector of Holy Spirit in Alabaster, beginning in September. 
• The Rev. Jennifer Riddle has been called to serve as Rector of St. Simon Peter in Pell City, beginning in September.
• The Rev. Becky Bridges has been called to serve as rector of St. Aidan’s in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, beginning in September.
• The Rev. Cn. Tom Murray has been called to serve as Vice Dean at the Cathedral Church of the Advent, and began in July.
• The Rev. Adam Young has been called to serve as Canon Missioner at the Cathedral Church of the Advent, and began in July.
• The Rev. Michael Weeks has accepted a call to serve at The Falls Church Anglican in Falls Church, Virginia. 
• The Rev. Paul Elliott has been called to serve as the Interim Rector for St. Mary’s in Jasper.
• The Rev. Donna Gerold has been called as Associate Rector for St. John’s in Memphis.  

Holy Cross Trussville is in need of a part-time Parish Administrator. View the job description here. Resumes can be submitted here.

St. Timothy's, Athens seeks an Administrative Assistant to work 12 hours per week, including Wednesdays from 9-1 in the parish office and the additional 8 hours in a flexible location. For more information or to submit a resume and references email The Rev. Mary Catherine Akamatsu.

Holy Spirit, Alabaster seeks a part-time Director of Formation for Children and Youth. View the job description here.

St. John's, Decatur seeks a full-time Director of Communications. You can view the job description here.