May 6, 2020
IN THIS EDITION : Bishop Brown's COVID Response #11 | Christ Church Christiana Hundred announces new Associate Rector | Stoicism in a time of pandemic: how Marcus Aurelius can help | There's an old tradition of finding Easter in nature and poetry
Your website is your narthex — the first impression
Can visitors find their way in?

While your Narthex may not be located at the west end of the nave (typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas), it is your entrance or lobby area of the church and creates a first impression.

This is also true with your website — now more than ever! When somebody is searching for a church or business, they are most-likely going to do an internet search to see what they can find — whether that be a phone number, physical address, worship times, or a new church altogether. A first impression occurs immediately when the seeker opens your website, just as it would if they were to walk through your church doors. Is your site welcoming? Informative? Easy to navigate without having to get around clutter? Are worship service times, and church phone number and address clearly stated at the top of the page? Is there an easy to find donate button? Are there engaging images?
 
Many of us go to great lengths to make sure that the front room in our home is perfectly arranged, clean, and welcoming before our guests appear. Is the same true for your website? A very wise business man told me that he wants the home-page of his website to be as welcoming as his lobby, and keeps in mind that if they have a negative experience on his website, it won’t even matter what his lobby looks like. This is a great way to think about it! And, if you don’t have a website, how will anybody even know you have a front door?
 
Bishop Brown believes that your website is one of the most powerful assets your parish owns, as it is very much at the forefront of inviting, welcoming, and connecting with our seekers, visitors, friends, and parishioners. He remarks, “Parish websites are stunning in their potential reach and their power is quite remarkable. A statistic has shown that 90% of potential church attendees will visit your website — some multiple times — long before they ever visit your building.” Something this powerful is certainly worth our time, effort, and expense. Think about how much money your church used to spend on putting their listing in the Yellow Pages or an advertisement in the newspaper. Your website is more powerful than either of those and can actually cost you less. ... continue reading to view a 12-step review for your website
“Your website is one of the most powerful assets your parish owns. Period. How powerful is yours? What is it saying to those who might be looking to yours for Good News?”
                                                                      — Bishop Brown
While there are many others,below are four websites from within our diocese that reflect welcoming, informative, simple, and easy-to-navigate websites with up-to-date content. You can click here to view all websites in our diocese.
St. Paul's, Georgetown
St. Martha's, Bethany Beach
Brandywine Collaborative Ministries
Christ Church, Milford
Bishop Brown's COVID-19 Update

Message & Task Force Updates
The Rev. Michael Kurth became the new Associate Rector at Christ Church Christiana Hundred, Wilmington on May 1.

Kurth has begun his ministry, and met many members of the parish at a lively Zoom meeting of 100 people on Sunday, May 3. A cradle Episcopalian, Kurth was raised in St. Louis, Missouri, and most recently served at Christ's Church, Rye, NY. His wife, Sara Wahlberg, has roots in Wilmington and they are both delighted to call Wilmington their new home.
Did you know?
There's an old tradition of finding Easter in nature and poetry
Finding Easter in nature can be seen in Christian poetry, perhaps most famously in Venantius Honorius Fortunatus’ 6th-century Easter hymn, Hail Thee, Festival Day :
"Lo, the fair beauty of the earth, from the death of the winter arising,
Every good gift of the year, now with its Master returns.
Daily the loveliness grows, adorned with the glory of blossom;
Green is the woodland with leaves, bright are the meadows with flowers.
He who was nailed to the cross is Lord and the ruler of all things;
All things created on earth worship the Maker of all."
You can see this charmingly in many saints’ lives: the otters who kept Cuthbert warm as he bathed in the frigid North Sea, or the stags that sought St. Godric’s protection and the snakes that warmed themselves by his fire. Read full Living Church article here .
Check it out!
Stoicism in a time of pandemic: how Marcus Aurelius can help
The Meditations , by Roman emperor, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, who died in the Antonine plague named after him, has much to say about how to face fear, pain, anxiety, and loss. During the last 14 years of his life he faced one of the worst plagues in European history. The plague was probably caused by a strain of the smallpox virus. It’s estimated to have killed up to 5 million people, possibly including Marcus himself.

In the middle of this plague, Marcus wrote a book, known as The Meditations, which records the moral and psychological advice he gave himself at this time. He frequently applies Stoic philosophy to the challenges of coping with pain, illness, anxiety, and loss. It’s no stretch of the imagination to view The Meditations as a manual for developing precisely the mental resilience skills required to cope with a pandemic. Read full Guardian article here .
News from the Episcopal Church
Third season of The Way of Love with Bishop Michael Curry podcast begins May 5
Season 3 of The Episcopal Church’s podcast The Way of Love with Bishop Michael Curry, is now available. These weekly conversations, featuring Bishop Curry, podcast host Sandy Milien, and a variety of guests, center on ways to live a life committed to living the way of God’s unconditional, unselfish, sacrificial,and redemptive love. Season 3 changes include longer conversations between Bishop Curry and his guests: faith leaders, authors, and thinkers who are committed to following the Way of Jesus in the world today. Framed by the Way of Love – those seven practices of turning, learning, praying, worshipping, blessing, going, and resting – listeners will hear stories and lessons about how they can grow closer to God in daily life. More information
Presiding Bishop Curry announces chief consecrators for the Ordinations and Consecrations of Bishops in the Episcopal Dioceses of Georgia, Minnesota, and Oklahoma
In March, during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and the decision to suspend large in-person gatherings, Presiding Bishop Michael Curry announced the rescheduling of ordinations and consecrations of bishops previously scheduled for April. Today, Curry announced his appointment of the chief consecrators for Ordinations and Consecrations of Bishops in the Episcopal Dioceses of Georgia, Minnesota, and Oklahoma. In making this announcement, Curry said, “In the midst of this COVID-19 pandemic, we are now at one of those threshold moments when important and significant decisions must be made on all levels of our global community for the good and the well-being of the entire human family. Federal, state, and local authorities continue to issue new guidelines on travel and in-person gatherings. I ask your prayers for the Church, our suffering world, and all dioceses awaiting consecration of their next bishop.” Read full announcement here .
From the Joint Standing Committee on Nominations – Deadline extended to May 31, 2020!
The Episcopal Church Joint Standing Committee on Nominations is accepting applications for several positions. Application forms and job descriptions are available on the General Convention website at https://www.generalconvention.org/nomineeapplication202 1 .  Applications can be submitted electronically, and nominees are able to apply for multiple positions on the same application. The deadline to submit application has been extended to May 31, 2020. Elections will be held at the 80 th General Convention in Baltimore, Maryland, scheduled for June 30–July 9, 2021. More information
An invitation for you, from Presiding Bishop Curry: Habits of Grace
"As we learn how to adjust our lives given the reality of the coronavirus and the request to do our part to slow its spread by practicing social distancing, I invite you to join me each week to take a moment to cultivate a ‘habit of grace.’ A new meditation will be posted on Mondays through May." Start watching here .
Cycle of Prayer in the Episcopal Church in Delaware
T his week (week of May 3) we hold up in prayer St. Mary's Church , Bridgeville, the Rev. Carl E. Mosley, Pastor, and the Rev. Deacon Dorothy Vuono. For Cycle of Prayer Calendar for 2019-2020 click here.
Announcements in the Episcopal Church in Delaware
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