In this edition: BISHOP'S COVID UPDATE, appointment announcements, and Lenten book study. Also, the Celebration of Black History month, to include, spiritual sung at Trinity Parish, the Golden Thirteen, Check it Out, and Fun Fact.
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The Collect:
Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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Ash Wednesday Sermon
(pre-recorded)
by Shelley McDade
All Saints' Church & St. George's Chapel
Rehoboth/Harbeson
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Ash Wednesday: Regarding Sin
offering of the Episcopal Church
The sermon is written by the Rev. Josh Bowron and read by the Rev. Danae Ashley.
13:30 minutes
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From the Bishop
The Rt. Rev. Kevin S. Brown
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Bishop's Annual Lenten
Book Study
with Compline
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Sundays, February 21 - March 28
6:30pm - 8:00pm
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The book for study is Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life by Tish Harrison Warren. You can read more about this book here. To register for the book study and compline, please click here. Once registered, you will receive confirmation and a link from Zoom that will enable you to join the study. The same link will be used each Sunday. If you have any questions please contact Pam Smith at the Mission Support Office, 302.256.0374.
If you are able to join us, we hope that this will be a meaningful discipline as part of your Lenten practice this year.
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Bishop Brown's
COVID-19 Response #21
Regathering in Person, Again
Beloved of God in Delaware,
I am happy to announce that, given the continued improvement in COVID-19 community spread metrics, I am authorizing parishes to regather in person when they are ready to do so and when they have been certified to do so safely. (Parishes already certified to gather in person need not apply again.) Regathering safely includes following all public health guidelines,state requirements, and protocols put in place by the New Normal Task Force, as outlined in the Regathering Document. As was the case last summer and fall, no parish is compelled to regather in person during the pandemic. Each rector and vestry will make...
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Bishop announces two appointments
and gives thanks and celebrates
those who have previously served in these positions
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I am excited to work with Tim and Kay in their new leadership roles. As you see from their bios (below), they are each incredibly talented and professionally accomplished — what a blessing that these servants of Jesus Christ are sharing their gifts with and through the church. I look forward to our good work to come.
And yet as we celebrate the calling to ministry of a new chancellor and convention secretary, we also rejoice in the accomplishments and commitment of Anne Foster and D-L Casson, the faithful servants who are stepping down from these roles this year. Their transitions from ... continue reading here
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Secretary of Convention
Kay Keenan
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In 2019, I was diagnosed with cancer of the larynx and for many months had little voice. While receiving 35 radiation treatments, I would regularly pray for the people on my prayer list and it would include asking God to allow me to have a voice that could be heard. My hope was I would be able to return to the role of Lay Eucharistic Minister at Christ Church Christiana Hundred, I was able to do that but also have been called to serve in other ways--Vice President of Diocesan Council (2020-2021), member of the New Normal Task Force and now as Secretary to Convention. Clearly, God heard me. — Kay Keenan
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Kay Keenan is an accomplished strategist, marketer, business leader, and fundraiser. Kay began her career in Information Systems and Supply Chain management, so she uniquely understands how to make ideas work.
For 20 years she had her own consulting firm, Growth Consulting, where her clients included a capital campaign for Sts. Andrew and Matthew and serving as editor of the Delaware Communion for the Rt. Rev. Wayne Wright. She also was Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, where she led their repositioning to include donors, crisis communication, and their entry into new media. The repositioning was featured in the New York Times in January of 2011. Kay was the chair of the American Marketing Association’s 2012 Nonprofit Marketing Conference.
Kay’s volunteer work has included being the chair of the board of trustees of the Delaware Fund for Women, secretary of the board for Goodwill of Delaware & Delaware County (PA), board member of the Delaware Community Foundation, and a board member for the Caesar Rodney Rotary Club. She has been the president of Wilmington Women in Business and the Delaware Forum of Executive Women. Kay has also served on the vestry at Christ Church Christiana Hundred. Her bachelor’s degree is from Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, PA, and her MBA is from Syracuse University.
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Chancellor of the Diocese
Tim Willard
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I am honored that the Bishop asked me to serve as Chancellor. I look forward to working with the Bishop, learning more about the church at this level, and hopefully being helpful to the health of the church.
My church involvement has included serving on the diocesan Disciplinary Committee for several years as well on the vestry at St. Peter's in Lewes. I have also had the opportunity to chaperone several youth group mission trips (Florida, West Virginia, Navaho Country). I have also represented St. Peter’s on various legal matters. — Tim Willard
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Tim Willard holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs with a Minor in Economics from George Washington University and attended the America College in Paris. He is Juris Doctor from the Delaware Law School. He also studied international law in Europe through the Dickinson School of Law.
Before joining Fuqua, Willard, Stevens & Schab, P.A., Tim was a Deputy Attorney General, prosecuting criminal cases in Sussex County for approximately ten years.
He is also a former Chairman of the Sussex County Democratic Executive Committee and has worked in the past for Senator Tom Carper, then Congressman and formerly Governor of Delaware. For 15 years he served as a Senate attorney for the Delaware Senate Majority Caucus. He is now Managing Partner of the firm FWSS Law. He also is on the Preliminary Review Committee for attorney ethic violation and was appointed to the Delaware Sentencing Accountability Commission.
Tim practices in all Delaware Courts and represents adults and juveniles charged with Felonies, Misdemeanors, Traffic Offenses, and DUI. In addition, he represents clients that are hurt in automobile accidents and other personal injury claims. He also practices in the area of real estate including settlements and zoning.
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In Celebration of Black History Month |
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This African American spiritual was sung by Philip Simmons during the Sunday service at Trinity Parish, Wilmington. |
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A member of the
Golden Thirteen,
James E. Hair,
is the father of
Janette Dent,
a member of
St. Mark's, Millsboro
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For 146 years, the U.S. Navy had no Black officers until 13 Black men endured the pain and humiliation of segregation to blaze the trail for thousands of Black sailors.
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Below are excerpts from James E. Hair's obituary, as printed in the New York Times on January 11, 1992.
They provide some details about the experience of the Golden Thirteen. More can be found above.
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James E. Hair, one of 13 blacks who broke the Navy's color barrier by tutoring each other and winning record scores to become officers in World War II, died on Jan. 3.
Mr. Hair was the grandson of slaves. The Navy was still segregated when he enlisted in 1942, with blacks relegated to jobs like cooks and stewards.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt, prodded by his wife, Eleanor, challenged the racial policy. Reluctantly, the Navy selected some blacks for its officers' school at Great Lakes Training Station, near Chicago. But it kept them segregated and gave them only eight weeks of training -- half the normal period. Some candidates suspected they were being sabotaged.
They banded together as the Golden Thirteen, for the gold stripes they aspired to wear. The nightly lights-out order was their cue to cover the windows with blankets and keep studying. They taught each other. One was a lawyer, and drilled them on Navy regulations. Another was an expert signalman, and another had worked on fishing boats.
When their examinations were graded, the scores were so high that skeptical Navy officers ordered them retested. The results were even higher, averaging 3.89 out of 4 -- the best class score ever recorded there. No graduation ceremony was accorded the men, but they were commissioned as ensigns on March 17, 1944. They were featured in Life magazine.
Mr. Hair was assigned as the skipper of the U.S.S. YTB-215, a tugboat. In 1945 he was promoted to first lieutenant as the first black officer on the U.S.S. Mason, a landing ship with an all-black crew, which sailed in Asia. The black officers encountered some resistance in the Navy, and after the war all but one left for other careers.
Decades later the modern, integrated Navy flew Mr. Hair and others from the group around the country for speeches and recruitment. He was fond of telling Navy stories and took special pride in the Golden Thirteen.
Mr. Hair was born in Blackville, S.C., the 19th of 21 children of a Baptist minister. He grew up in Fort Pierce, Fla., and graduated in 1938 from Bethune Cookman College, a two-year school, where he was class president. In 1942 he earned a bachelor's degree from Xavier University in New Orleans.
After the war, he returned to Fordham University for a master's degree in social work.
Surviving are two daughters, Danita Brown of Stamford, Conn., and Janette Susan Dent of Dayton, N.J.; a son, James H. Jr., also of Dayton; a brother, Langley of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; three sisters, Carrie Elllis and Rose Emma Gilliam, both of Fort Pierce, and Carnell Williams of Santa Maria, Calif., and eight grandchildren.
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Presiding Bishop Curry
invites you to support
our HBCUs in
Black History Month
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Make your gift to The Absalom Jones fund for Episcopal HBCUs today |
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Fun Fact
Question: How many Black bishops have been consecrated in the Episcopal Church?
Clue: The first was consecrated in 1874.
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Georgiana Rose Simpson was the first African American woman to earn a PH.D. in the U.S. |
One hundred years ago this year, the first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in the U.S., Georgiana Rose Simpson, overcame racial prejudice and received her doctoral degree in German from the University of Chicago. More information.
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Audre Lorde to be inducted into American Poets Corner at Cathedral of St. John the Divine |
The Cathedral will celebrate the life and works of Audre Lorde, poet, essayist, feminist, educator, and activist, with a virtual induction ceremony into its American Poets Corner on Thursday, February 18 at 6 pm online via Zoom. More information
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Virtual Lenten programs and resources |
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Life Transformed - The Way of Love in Lent revised for 2021 |
Lent and Easter resources for dioceses and congregations available from the Episcopal Church, including: Updated Life Transformed – The Way of Love in Lent curriculum; Sermons That Work for Holy Week and Easter; a new podcast series, Prophetic Voices: Preaching and Teaching Beloved Community. More information In English, Spanish, and French here
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Episcopal Migration Ministries
daily Lenten devotional series
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Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM), in partnership with members of the Episcopal Asylum Ministry Network, is offering a daily Lenten devotional series. Written reflections will be released daily beginning Ash Wednesday, February 17, through Easter Sunday, April 4. Reflections will also be available on the EMM website blog. More information here
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A River Through the Desert -
A Lenten Pilgrimage
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Reflections for Lent from St. George’s College, Jerusalem consists of six sessions for groups and individuals exploring the geography of the Holy Land, following Jesus from Galilee to Golgotha. Each session will reflect on the theme with questions for exploration with links to short films from the Holy Land. Register to receive weekly sessions and for queries: [email protected]] |
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Women Worth Knowing - from
Episcopal Women's History Project
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The stories of six women who have made an impact on the Episcopal Church, with time for discussion and questions. The Rev. Dr. Jo Ann Barker, President of EWHP will be emcee. The sessions will be presented as a Zoom experience where there is room for all who wish to participate. The series will begin on Thursday, February 18. More information and registration
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A Film for Lenten Viewing |
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The People's Patriarch
A new film about H.B. Michel Sabbah
Patriarch Emeritus of Jerusalem
His Beatitude Michel Sabbah was Archbishop and Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem from 1987 to 2008. Born in Nazareth, Patriarch Sabbah was the first Palestinian to hold this position. For his entire career the Patriarch has fought for his people, with tireless energy and unfaltering spiritual clarity. He serves as President of Kairos Palestine and is a guiding spirit for the global movement that has arisen in response to the call of the Palestinian Christians. Take 25 minutes to view this beautifully produced film. To watch this film is to receive a lesson in the meaning of resistance. "We are between life and death." states the Patriarch. "We must raise our children to survive, thrive and love one another. Only this kind of love will enable them to face their oppressors." You may see film here. |
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Cycle of Prayer in the Episcopal Church in Delaware |
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This week (week of February 14), in our diocesan Cycle of Prayer, we hold up in prayer the Joint Leadership Team of the Episcopal Church in Delaware. For the 2020-2021 diocesan Cycle of Prayer Calendar click here.
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2021 Racial Equity & Social Justice Challenge series
The 2021 Challenge is an evolution of 2020's 21-Day Racial Equity & Social Justice Challenge in which over 8,000 Delawareans participated!
In a monthly journey of self-discovery to help Delawareans build more effective social justice habits, particularly those dealing with issues of race, power, privilege, and leadership, for five consecutive days each month through December, participants are prompted with a daily e-mail challenge such as reading an article, listening to a podcast, or watching a video. Then they are encouraged to reflect on that content and relate the situation to their own lives to build new understandings and connections and begin dismantling systemic racism in Delaware.
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!
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News from our parishes and community |
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Two Upcoming Concerts in Celebration of Black History Month
Organ Concert streamed from St. Anne's, Middletown, Friday, February 26, 7pm
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.
Stories of Freedom & Justice by the Choir School of Delaware, streamed from Grace Church, Wilmington, Sunday, February 28, 4pm
One of Wilmington’s most anticipated annual Black History Month events, the program features poetry from authors of color, including Paul Lawrence Dunbar and Jacob Lawrence, set to music. their stories of freedom and justice. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at the following:
Event Link here or Facebook Event Link here.
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Acceptance Process Review
In 2019, Diocesan Council created a task force to review the current acceptance process. Today, parishes accept a share of the costs associated with Council’s budget. These acceptances fund work that makes more sense to be done in a centralized way instead of each parish duplicating work. The current acceptance process was created back in the 1970s when the world was very different. Did you know that the diocesan budget (adjusted for inflation) was 12 times larger than it is today? Did you know that the diocese provided most program materials for all parishes at that time?
The Acceptance Review Task Force is holding a series of workshops in March. Their purpose is to get feedback from the entire Episcopal Church in Delaware on this topic. All of us are in this together. We want your reactions and thoughts. Nothing will change without broad support across the church and Convention's approval. These workshops are a way of understanding where the Episcopal Church in Delaware is on this topic. Register in advance for any one of the following meetings to join a discussion on this topic:
Thursday, March 11, 7 - 8:30pm registration here
Saturday, March 13, 10:30am – 12pm registration here
Tuesday, March 16, 7 - 8:30pm registration here
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
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"Build Back Better"? What To Expect From The Biden Team, by Sam Bahour, March 13, 1 pm
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. |
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Great window of opportunity for churches to do comprehensive energy audit at NO cost
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].
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News from the Episcopal Church |
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Project Resource Offers Spring Stewardship Training, 6 consecutive Sundays, April 18 to May 23 (begins two weeks after Easter) 5 - 6:30pm, via Zoom
Project Resource is the stewardship formation offering of the College for Bishops. At a time when many of our resources, both denominational and ecumenical, in this area are contracting, Project Resource has proven success in being an effective and enduring set of practices for changing the culture of giving in congregations. Being good stewards of the bounty God has placed in our hands has been our struggle from the earliest days of the Church. But if we have learned anything from the past year, it is that we cannot continue to do what we have done before. We must learn contextually appropriate strategies that reflect the diversity of our beloved community. We must learn to do a new thing. Project Resource is that new thing. More information here. |
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The Episcopal Church offers a new Global Mission Digital Toolkit, now available here
Launched on World Mission Sunday, which was observed on the last Sunday after Epiphany, February 14, this resource is a collaboration between The Episcopal Church Office of Global Partnerships (OGP), the Global Episcopal Mission Network (GEMN), and the Standing Commission on World Mission (SCWM). This toolkit explores the Episcopal Church teaching that the mission of the church is “to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ” (BCP pg. 855) in a global context and offers resources to help Episcopalians live into this teaching. The project collaboration is supported by a generous grant from the Constable Fund. More information in English and Spanish here.
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Task Force announces next round of missional investments, application deadline March 15
The Episcopal Church’s Task Force on Church Planting and Congregational Redevelopment announced that its sixth set of grants are now available for Episcopal dioceses and mission developers who are envisioning, planning, or growing new worshipping communities and missional enterprises throughout the church. The grants are part of a $2,500,000 initiative funded by the General Convention in 2018 that seeks to celebrate and strategically support emerging communities in The Episcopal Church and that builds partnerships within and beyond the church, expands our language of ministry, and creates new ways for the church to engage the people of God. More information in English and Spanish here.
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Becoming Beloved Community grants available for local/regional efforts, applications due April 12
The Presiding Officers' Advisory Group on Beloved Community Implementation is pleased to announce the availability of grants to catalyze the church’s work of racial healing, reconciliation and justice. Allocated by the 79th General Convention of The Episcopal Church, the intent for this funding is to build capacity and increase Episcopal engagement in four primary fields: telling the truth about our churches and race, proclaiming the dream of Beloved Community, practicing Jesus’ way of healing and reconciliation, and repairing the breach in institutions and society. More information in English and Spanish here.
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Care of Creation Grants now available, Informational Webinar, February 18, 3pm
Application deadline March 26
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
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Upcoming Virtual Conferences
Insights & Ideas, February 18
A conversation on socially responsible investing. Faithful investing, linking faith and finances. More information and registration here
Racial Reconciliation and the Baptismal Covenant, February 19-21
Participate in a discussion about striving for justice and peace among all people. More information here
For a Time Such as This: The Church as Witness, 2021 CEEP Network's Digital Annual Conference
March 3-5, 2021
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.
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Guidelines Developed for Amending Church Records for Identity Changes
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Presiding Bishop joins call for Christians to counter Christian nationalism
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
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News from the Anglican Communion |
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1 Peter: Real-Life Biblical Focus of Lambeth 2022
The First Epistle of Peter, a text that speaks to “immediate pastoral problems” while also “rais[ing] an utterly compelling and inspiring vision of the call of God” will serve as the Biblical focus of the 2022 Lambeth Conference, says Archbishop Justin Welby in a video introduction launched in early February on the conference’s website. The book, Welby says, helps the Church grapple with “real life” issues like “climate change, conflict, gender, identity, modern slavery, poverty.” He continued, “Many of our sisters and brothers experience these pressures on a daily basis. And when we meet in Canterbury, we must listen to the voices, to the testimonies, to each other.” You may see video here.
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Anglican Communion Office Restructuring Continues: new Deputy Secretary General appointed
The official statutory consultation with the staff about the restructuring of the ACO has been extended to the end of this week. On February 12, it was announced that a new Deputy Secretary General, the Rev. Canon Will Adam, had been appointed. Will, who had been part time Director of Unity, Faith and Order (in a post held alongside his role as Ecumenical Adviser to the Archbishop of Canterbury) now becomes full time. He is one of four directors in a new Core Group who are responsible for operational matters at the ACO. In addition, it was also announced last week that the work of gender justice will continue. Links to press releases containing further details of both announcements can be found here.
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Anglican Communion Office at the United Nations announces new publications
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.
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IRAD Webinar on “Koinonia: God’s Gift and Calling”, 1-2pm, Tuesday, February 16, 2021
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].
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