Feb. 26, 2025

This newsletter is sent to churches, clergy, and lay leaders.

Updates and Announcements

REMINDER! RSVP by Friday, Feb. 28

Lenten Quiet Day for Clergy

Thursday, March 6, 9 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Saint James, Laconia

LEARN MORE AND REGISTER

February Wardens and Treasurers Meeting Recap

CFO Benge Ambrogi and Director of Finance Lauren Tennett would like to thank all who attended the February Wardens and Treasurers chat on financial reviews and internal controls. If you would like to review the recording, you can find it here. The presentation slides can be found here.

The March meeting will cover donated funds and their restriction as well as the diocesan investment fund. Benge and Lauren hope to see all interested church leaders on Wednesday, March 12 at 7 p.m. The Zoom link will be in the March 12 edition of the Call.

Communities for Spiritual Vitality Devotional and Online Gatherings

The Communities for Spiritual Vitality, a ministry for inter-parish formation born from a collaboration between the dioceses of Vermont and Massachusetts is offering a second inter-diocesan Lent-Easter Devotional.

This year’s Devotional (available March 1) focuses on the prophet Isaiah and features individual reflections from member of all seven Episcopal dioceses in New England, as well as artwork from Christian artists. This pamphlet spans Ash Wednesday through the second Sunday of Easter but can be used in future years or in other seasons. The hope is that this resource will be a benefit to individuals or to parishes seeking a text around which to ground adult formation.

In addition, the Communities for Spiritual Vitality will hold nine weekly gatherings via Zoom to reflect on the Devotional and the spiritual journey through Lent and during Easter.

An introductory session will be Thursday, March 6. Subsequent gatherings will take place on Wednesdays, March 12 through April 30, 6 - 7:45 p.m., via the Vermont Green Mountain Online Abbey. Participants are welcome to join the Abbey’s Compline at 8 p.m.

All are welcome to participate, and attendance at each gathering is not necessary, but registration is helpful. Please email communities@diovermont.org to register for the series and to access the Devotional.

Building Resilience and Community in the Face of Antisemitism

Sunday, March 9, 1 – 5:30 p.m.

Shir Shalom Vermont, Woodstock, VT

All are welcome for an afternoon of working together on cultivating a communal spiritual resistance. Susannah Heschel, Dartmouth College professor of Jewish studies and author, will be the keynote speaker. The event will also include breakout sessions and an interfaith panel with the Rev. Amy Spagna of St. James Episcopal Church and the Rev. Leon Dunkley of the North Universalist Chapel Society—both in Woodstock, Vermont; the Rev. Jonathan Hauze of Norwich Congregational Church in Norwich, Vermont; Rabbi Mark Melamut of the Upper Valley Jewish Community in Hanover, New Hampshire; and Rabbi Ilene Haigh of host congregation Shir Shalom Vermont in Woodstock.

Heschel's two keynote addresses, at 1:15 and 2:15 p.m., as well as the interfaith panel discussion at 4:30 p.m., will also be on Zoom.

JOIN THE EVENT HERE

Meeting ID: 219 902 8045

Passcode: Dg8WLC

Resources

Project Resource, Spring 2025

Sundays, March 9 – April 6, 5 – 7 p.m. on Zoom

Church leaders interested in transforming their approach to stewardship are invited to join a multi-week online training with Project Resource, a financial development initiative administered by the College of Bishops. Project Resource provides teaching, focus, and adaptable resources to equip clergy and lay leaders to develop their year-round annual stewardship campaigns and to plan, ask for, and receive major gifts. Learn more and register here. Download a flyer here.

Resources for Completing Parochial Report and Annual Reports by March 1

Churches can find helpful links for completing the annual parochial report and annual reports to the diocese here. Links to easily printable blank copies of each form to be used as worksheets have been added to this page.

Diocesan Convention Information for Delegates and Churches

Delegate information for the 223rd Annual Diocesan Convention, including the Delegate Handbook, can be found here. The page will be updated as updated convocation leadership and meeting schedules are shared with the diocese. Please email Kathy Traynor with updates and questions.

Lent and Holy Week Resources

Our collection of these resources on the diocesan website continues to grow; please check back often to see what's new.

We've recently added "Ashes: A Lenten Playlist" and a contemplative writing workshop—both from Lifelong Learning at Virginia Theological Seminary. You'll also find 40 Days of Welcome and Gratitude, "a call to giving thanks for the ways we are welcomed in the world and the ways that people offer welcome to us and to our communities"—a new partnership between United Thank Offering and Episcopal Migration Ministries; a Lenten Book Group; an alternate Good Friday liturgy; a link to resources from The Episcopal Church, and more. See all of the resources here.

Upcoming Events

Igniting Eastertide Worship: A Day with Jorge Lockward

Saturday, March 8, 9 - 3 p.m.

St. Andrew's, New London

What sparks your spirit? Anglican chant? “Our Father . . .” in Aramaic? Prayers of the People in harmony? Ancient texts read in new ways? Rhythm? Sending songs that make us apostles of hope? Congregations, choirs, and church leaders are invited to a day of refreshment, joy, and lively learning with Jorge Lockward, minister of worship arts at the Church of the Village in New York City and chair of the Worship and Liturgy Committee of the World Methodist Council. The $30 fee, payable on the day, includes lunch and childcare. Email St. Andrew's to RSVP by Tuesday, March 4. Download the flyer to share with your congregation here.

Countering Christian Nationalism Community Dialogue

Sunday, March 16, 4 - 6 p.m.

South Congregational Church, Concord and on Zoom

The first in a three-part series of events seeks to explain the origins, tenets, and impacts of Christian nationalism, particularly in the context of New Hampshire. Co-hosted by the Countering Christian Nationalism Coalition, the event will provide attendees with knowledge to understand and address this issue in NH. Panelists include leaders from the racial justice community, the LGBTQ community, and representatives from Muslim, Jewish, and Christian faiths, as well as a policy expert monitoring this issue in NH. Event co-sponsors include (at time of publishing): NH Council of Churches, American Friends Service Committee, Granite State Progress, Outright New Hampshire, Temple Beth Jacob, and others.

The CALL is a biweekly newsletter with timely news and information for clergy and lay leaders to help them fulfill their responsibilities.

Do you have a piece of news, business, or information for The CALL?

Let us know!

Job Openings

Emmanuel Church in Ashland seeks an organist or pianist to assist with Sunday worship by leading the congregation in hymns and service music. The church has a beautiful organ and a grand piano in a great acoustic space, and is a community that loves to sing. Pay is commensurate with experience. To apply, email your resume to Fr. Steve Rugg. Learn more about the position here.

Emmanuel Church—a seasonal chapel in Dublin—is looking for a priest in charge for the month of August to serve this spiritually vital summer community as priest, pastor, and teacher. A rectory is provided as well as a full array of recreational activities in the Monadnock region. Please see the job description, parish profile, and process for application here.

Is your church hiring? If so, email us with the information and/or a link to the job description on your church’s website.