In this edition: Dust to Dust: Thoughts on Ash Wednesday; New online this week; Bishop's Lenten Book Study; Sermon by the Rev. Sarah Nelson; Covid Vaccine Update; Black History Month Concerts and 2021 Racial and Social Equity Challenge; Fun Fact; Did You Know?; Check it Out!; news from our parishes and community; and more ...

"Whatever your thoughts are on Ash Wednesday, Lent, or Easter, there is something hauntingly honest and sobering about these words. They call us to pause. They stop us in our tracks and remind us of the blip that our lives are on the timeline of eternity. They also remind us of our connection to the rest of creation; we are made of the same chemical compounds as the earth, the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and the beast of the field. We are human because the Creator breathed the Spirit, the breath of life, into our lungs."

Read more of this article by Emily Bange here. [Confirmed at St. Thomas's Parish, Newark, Emily will become a student at Union Theological Seminary in fall 2021.]

Everyone is invited to attend this virtual concert. Guest musician R. Monty Bennett will play music of the Western Classical Tradition, Organ Music based on Spirituals & Hymns, then finish with Contemporary Organ Music from Africa. To view the concert, visit Saint Anne’s website here or Facebook page here.

Event Link here or Facebook Event Link here.

More information on how to sign up now for the 2021 Challenge, and check out the 2020 archive for all of last year’s challenge content!

The State of Delaware is offering multiple options for people to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Currently, health care personnel and long-term care residents/staff under Phase 1A, as well as individuals 65 and older and frontline essential workers under Phase 1B are eligible to receive the vaccine either through pharmacies, vaccination events, or medical providers. Learn more about how to register for each of these specific options by clicking the blue links or the DE.gov website here.

Go to de.gov/getmyvaccine to find a location for your second dose — but wait until your

second-dose due date approaches, to make sure opportunities are available. Your second

dose doesn’t have to come from the same place as your first. You can find one at a pharmacy

near your home, maybe from your own health care provider, or even from a state-run or

coordinated vaccination event. More information here.

This week (week of February 7), in our diocesan Cycle of Prayer, we hold up in prayer St. Anne's School,

Middletown, Mr. Barry L. Davis, Head of School; and Ms. Kathy Hanna, Chaplain. For the 2020-2021 diocesan Cycle of Prayer Calendar click here.

Special guest is Dr. Samantha Meints, Clinical Psychologist and Instructor from Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard School of Medicine. Dr. Meints is a pioneer in clinical research focused on the role of prayer in coping with and managing physical pain. She is also spearheading, together with the Rev. Dr. Marta Illueca, our novel church and academia research project on Pain and Prayer supported by the 2020 United Thank Offering Grant. You won’t want to miss this session - tell your friends and bring your questions! Zoom Link

This important source of information for every parish can be found on the diocesan website here.

The church's website offers an online visitor card just like the ones located in the pews in its sanctuary, and suggests that if members see someone new during the live stream Mass, they make sure to greet them as they would in person, and invite them to fill out a visitor card. You can see the form here.

What we may expect from the new administration on the Israeli-Palestinian Occupation and US foreign policy. Hosted by Delawareans for Palestinian Human Rights. Co-sponsors: Delaware Churches for Middle East Peace; Students for Justice in Palestine, University of Delaware. Registration here.

Each week Fr. Russ offers a worship service designed for children, including prayers, music, and age-appropriate sermons, viewable through the church's website here. See other parish's children's virtual worship resources on the diocesan website here. If your church offers children's worship programming, please let us know so it can be posted on the website.

Faith Efficiencies, administered by Delaware Interfaith Power & Light and funded by Energize Delaware, is currently providing comprehensive energy assessments to religious facilities throughout the state at no cost. Typically, these assessments cost $3,000-$4,000 and Energize Delaware covers 90% of that cost. But in light of COVID and strained economic times, they are able to provide these valuable tools at no cost through the end of June. The program includes virtual home energy presentations for members to help them lower their energy costs, increase comfort, create healthier indoor environments…and protect the planet. For more information, contact Lisa Locke, [email protected].

TODAY! The Episcopal Church and the Northern and Southern Provinces of the Moravian Church celebrate 10^th anniversary of full communion, Wednesday, February 10, 7:30pm

Episcopalians, Moravians, and friends are invited to gather for this celebration of Full Communion between the Episcopal Church and the Northern and Southern Provinces of the Moravian Church. While the welcome will be offered from Central Moravian Church by the co-chairs of the Moravian-Episcopal Coordinating Committee (MECC), the virtual service will include worship leaders from various places where Moravians and Episcopalians live and serve. Watch service here. More information here

Care of Creation Grants now available, Informational Webinar February 18, 3pm

The Episcopal Church’s Task Force on Creation Care and Environmental Racism is now accepting applications for its 2021 Grant Cycle. An informational webinar for those interested in learning more about the grants and the application process is scheduled for February 18th at 3 pm. More information in English and Spanish here

A conversation on socially responsible investing. Faithful investing, linking faith and finances. More information and registration here

Participate in a discussion about striving for justice and peace among all people. More information here

Join the most influential thought leaders in the Church today. Keynote Speakers include the Most Rev. Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop, and the Most Rev. and Rt. Hon. Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury. More information and registration here.

At the request of General Convention (2018-A088), The Archives of the Episcopal Church has prepared a set of recommendations for developing local policy on name and gender changes to Episcopal Church records. The Guidelines for Policy on Amending Church Records for Name and Gender Changes are available on the Archives Website with Spanish translation and supporting resources and links in English and Spanish here

Available on February 14, 2021. Traditionally celebrated on the last Sunday after Epiphany, this year World Mission Sunday is observed on February 14. More information

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry joined the Rev. Elizabeth Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, for a webinar on Christian nationalism hosted by the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, also known as BJC, on Jan. 27. The webinar provided an overview of what Christian nationalism is, how it is showing up in America and how Christians can address it. See the video and find more information here

The opening remarks of President of the House of Deputies Gay Clark Jennings at the Executive Council which met virtually through January 25, may be read in English or Spanish here.

During its January meeting, The Episcopal Church’s Executive Council pledged to assist cash-strapped dioceses during the pandemic, committed the church to “deradicalization” efforts after the U.S. Capitol riot,and received an update on a racial audit of church leadership, during a four-day meeting at which current events influenced much of the agenda. Read full ENS article here.

The Anglican Communion Office at the United Nations (ACOUN) has submitted a statement to the 20th Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, which will take place in April on the theme "Peace, justice and strong institutions: the role of indigenous peoples in implementing Sustainable Development". In addition, the January 2021 ACOUN newsletter is now available in Spanish and Portguguese, in addition to English. You can download all documents here.

The International Reformed–Anglican Dialogue (IRAD) published its latest agreed statement, Koinonia: God’s Gift and Calling in December 2020. To promote this important statement, the Anglican Communion and the World Communion of Reformed Churches are hosting an online webinar.

The subject of the report is koinonia, a Greek word found frequently in the New Testament and used to describe the essential relationships that are at the centre of the Christian life. The report may be downloaded free of charge from anglicancommunion.org/irad. All are welcome to join the webinar, and hear more about IRAD’s contribution to the unity of the Church, and why koinonia has profound importance for us all. To take part in the webinar, please register with Neil Vigers to receive access details: [email protected].