A message from your Region Missionary:

Dear friends,

Alleluia, the Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia! Happy Eastertide to you all!

I don't know about you, but Easter this year was HARD for me. The celebration finally find me at the end of the day, but most of the day I was in tears and struggled to encounter joy and new life. I am grateful that Easter is not just a day, but a season we get to live into one day at a time, settling into all that it has to offer. New life and resurrection persistently find us, unfolding like the daffodils and tulips who begin to make their way into the world, slowly but surely.

It feels like we've turned the page in many ways beyond a new liturgical season--the rhythm of life at home is becoming more familiar, for better and for worse, and the question of reopening the world is echoing in all the news sources I read. The questions finding me this first Easter week are: Who are we as Christians called to be in the midst of the pandemic? What is asking to die and what new life is calling to us to be birthed post COVID-19? Who are we Becoming in this season? Questions with answers that will take time to develop, but I am certain those answers will come. (Check out this article "What could being church look like, post COVID-19?", if you want a wonderful perspective on some of these questions).

Along those lines, discernment about who we are as the SW Region and how we build a communal identity continue. The Region Leadership Team continues to host virtual community offerings (which you can find on our website), and our Region YouTube Channel is also up and running with recordings of past offerings. In the last newsletter I posed the question: “How are you willing to open your electronic doors to your Region?” In the next couple of weeks there will be a Google Doc Form in the newsletter that you can fill out with your offering. Hopefully we can start to move this theoretical question into something real and concrete that our Region can participate in. Looking froward to seeing your answers!

Until then, Easter Alleluias and Easter blessings to you!

Erendira

IMPORTANT DATES

April 30th, 4:30pm - SW RLT Meeting, Zoom

SW Region Convocation Cookout @ Sherwood Island State Park-- RESCHEDULED FOR FALL

FRIDAY CHECK-IN!

ECCT SW Region YouTube Channel

Racial Healing, Justice, and Reconciliation Request Form:

Even in the midst of COVID-19, ECCT remains committed to the Season of Racial Healing, Justice, and Reconciliation. If you would like assistance in moving forward with this work in your parish please be in contact with our Racial Justice Resource Coordinator Kelli Gibson. For more information please fill out this form here .

Food Safety guidelines from the City of New Haven:

Safety Precautions for Food Distribution

Volunteer Safety

ECCT Blog: Parishes and worshiping communities work together to lower electricity costs ( Read more ):

Join Bishop Ian and Bishop Laura for upcoming Zoom conversations:

The Communications Team at the Commons has also been working diligently to compile lists of resources that may be helpful to parishes and individuals--from how to live-stream a Sunday service to tools to help with anxiety, Christian Formation, and community resources.

Please refer to the links below to access all the various resources that are available:

Recordings of past conversations with the Bishops can be found at the link below:

Live-streamed Services Across ECCT

Christ, you are risen with the sun;

you are light in our darkness,

warmth in our cold.

You are peace and hope and joy,

for you went willingly to death.

You turned defeat and failure to victory for all.

You live eternally, and with you live the millions,

living and dead, who trust in you.

Due to new calls and self care calendar adjustments, we’re still looking for a few folks to join the team. Do you believe collaborative efforts among parishes and common ministry networks will continue to build the Region? If you do, p lease consider being part of the Southwest Region Leadership Team.

To learn more about what it means to be part of the team or if you would like to join, please contact Erendira [email protected]