July 22, 2020
"I do not believe people are afraid of change; they're afraid of loss."
— Bishop Brown
IN THIS EDITION : Becoming a Beloved Community, workshop and grant | A message from the Presiding Bishop | Fun Fact | Upcoming Programs in the Diocese
A Video Message from Bishop Brown
The Work of the Church Continues
Outreach - Mission
Racial Justice - Worship

Inviting, Welcoming, & Connecting through Online Giving
Could this help your parish? It made a difference for St. Anne's!
In April of this year, Saint Anne’s Church in Middletown signed-up with an online giving service. After launching their account, Saint Anne’s immediately began receiving financial contributions through a link on the church’s website and Facebook page. Because of non-pledge contributions made through the new online giving platform, Saint Anne’s ‘Plate & Special Offerings’ income as of July 1 of this year was greater than it was at the same time last year (despite no in-person Sunday worship since March).

As well as receiving financial benefits, Saint Anne’s, in inviting people to contribute to the church , has also been connecting with non-church members who have contributed to Saint Anne’s through the online giving platform. Every contribution made through this donation platform includes a name, email, and home address. Saint Anne’s has reached out to welcome everyone who has contributed. If you are interested in learning more about their experience with online giving, please contact Russ Bohner, Rector of Saint Anne’s Church, at: [email protected].
Be Careful Pulling Weeds

a homily by
Margaret Russ ,
parishioner at
St. James' Mill Creek
An excerpt from the live stream worship service at St. James' Mill Creek, July 19, 2020.
Live Stream Church Service: Now & Beyond
The diocese held a webinar, July 16, providing guidance, suggestions, and direction, as well as available grant options, for live stream services as we begin in-person worship. View the webinar video as well as examples and panel information that were provided throughout the webinar.
Becoming a
Beloved Community
July 28-30
Register now for
Becoming Beloved Community NOW!
Online

Racial justice and healing leaders and practitioners across The Episcopal Church will gather to build community, craft strategy, and equip each other for action during a series of Becoming Beloved Community NOW online gatherings at 4-6 p.m. EDT on July 28-30.

  • Truth – Telling the truth about participation in white supremacy and racial oppression. (Tuesday, July 28)
  • Justice – Changing racist systems, especially “criminal” justice and public health/COVID response. (Wednesday, July 29)
  • Healing – Breaking free of white supremacy via training and formation (Thursday, July 30).

More information English | Spanish
Rapid-Response Grants
Now Available
The Episcopal Church’s Becoming Beloved Community grants build capacity in the Church to do the work of racial healing, reconciliation, and justice. The grants may be used for work in these 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. Learn more and apply here.
Click on image to view message
A Message from
The Most Rev. Michael Bruce Curry
If you're still unsure whether to wear a mask or not, Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry offered some simple guidance in this two-minute clip from his Pentecost sermon at Washington National Cathedral: #WearAMaskSaveALife
Fun Fact
Question: In which church in our diocese is the stunning stained glass window "A Cloud of Witnesses", depicting over 100 saints and other worthy historical figures?

Clue:   A noted architect who had designed Trinity Church in New York City, using the Gothic revival style of architecture, was the church's original architect.

Answer: Here
Did you know?
Anniversary of the composition of America the Beautiful
On this date in 1893, academic, poet, and social activist, Katharine Lee Bates wrote the poem America the Beautiful. She recollected, "One day some of the other teachers and I decided to go on a trip to 14,000-foot Pikes Peak . We hired a prairie wagon. Near the top we had to leave the wagon and go the rest of the way on mules . I was very tired. But when I saw the view, I felt great joy. All the wonder of America seemed displayed there, with the sea-like expanse." The tune for America the Beautiful , called Materna , was written earlier at Grace Episcopal Church, Newark, NJ by the parish organist, Samuel A. Ward , in 1882.
Check it out!
Service of Confirmation of
New Archbishop of York
In a ceremony very different from those of the past 1400 years, on July 9 the Most Rev. Stephen Cotrell was confirmed as Archbishop of York , a position second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury . The service was held on the anniversary of a 1984 bolt of lightning hitting and setting fire to the Minster, which has been at the center of Christianity in the north of England since the 7th Century. Cottrell said of the virtual service: "This isn't quite how I imagined it would begin...Even though this ministry begins in a digital environment, it will be earthed in the world that Christ came to save." See videos here .
Upcoming Programs in the Diocese
Curriculum During Quarantine
Worship via Zoom
Saturday, August 22
10am - 12pm
Register here
Diocesan Stewardship Campaign
for your parish
2 Webinars via Zoom
Wednesday, July 29, 2pm
Saturday,k August 1, 10am
236th Annual Convention
Friday-Saturday
November 20-22
Online Gathering

Save the Date! 2020 Census Faith Weekend of Action | July 24-26, 2020 .
Greetings from the faith-based partnership team at the US Census Bureau's National Partnership Program. We appreciated your participation in the 2020 Census Interfaith Partner Summit last February. We are calling on faith leaders to share 2020 Census messages and to encourage your communities to respond to the 2020 Census over this Weekend of Action. Please stay tuned for new outreach material to be released in advance of this Faith Communities Census Weekend of Action. Thank you for your continued support in ensuring an accurate and complete count!
News from the Episcopal Church in Delaware
Province III Summer Newsletter invites you to a virtual C onversation on Race, July 27, 2-3:30 pm
Read full newsletter here.
Awakening to Racial Justice Webpage on Diocesan Website
A webpage has been posted on the diocesan website, delaware.church , entitled, Awakening to Racial Justice. This will be a hub for all information that relates to social and racial justice. More information and resources will be added, please check back often. We need your information!
We would also like to add programs that your church is sponsoring or any programs you may be aware of in Delaware that speak to racial/social justice and would be helpful to post on this page. Please let us know by email to [email protected]
Regathering Document, Version 2
We have been worshipping outside our church buildings for many weeks now. As we continue to shelter in place for our own health and safety and that of others, we are also entering a new phase and some parishes have prepared to regather in person. The bishop's task force has prepared guidelines and requirements for regathering in both English and Spanish .
Cycle of Prayer in the Episcopal Church in Delaware
T his week (week of July 19) we hold up in prayer St. Stephen's Church, Harrington , Vestry leadership and parish. For Cycle of Prayer Calendar for 2019-2020 click here.
News from the Episcopal Church
Breathing Life into an Unjust World
The world is gasping for breath. The novel coronavirus’s chief death-producing modality is to deny our ability to get oxygen. The world is gasping for breath. Unable to work remotely from home, large numbers of Black and Latino people work on the frontlines of the pandemic,without adequate personal protective equipment. Read full article by the Rev. Charles Wynder, Jr.,staff officer for social justice and advocacy engagement for the Episcopal Church, here
Habits of Grace
"The 4th of July weekend has concluded and a new week has begun, but the titanic struggles of the old world continue. The struggles to face painful truths of our racial past, the struggles to find ways to fashion a new future, the struggles for racial justice and human equality and true human reconciliation," said Bishop Curry, in his Habits of Grace. See these meditations any time in English here and in Spanish here . 
Episcopal leaders hail judge’s order to drain Dakota Access Pipeline for environmental review
The Episcopal Church has long supported the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in their efforts to oppose the Dakota Access Pipeline that threatens their source of clean drinking water and infringes upon sacred tribal burial grounds. Read full Episcopal News Service article here .
Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center receives grant
The Episcopal Commission to Dismantle Racism and Discrimination announced that the  Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center  received a grant from them, even while closed because of COVID-19.The Commission to Dismantle Racism and Discrimination promotes greater understanding, training, and the practice of dismantling racism, and works to further reconciliation and justice within the church and the communities it serves. Read full episcopal News Service article here .
The Episcopal Church is accepting applications for the position of Chief Legal Officer.
Major, Lindsey, & Africa has been engaged as the search firm for this position. The Chief Legal Officer will be responsible for assuring the reliable and timely provision of high-quality legal advice and services on secular legal matters to the Presiding Bishop, the President of the House of Deputies, the Executive Office of the General Convention, the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society, and Executive Council. More information
United Thank Offering 2021 Annual Grants - Two grant cycles offered
Application deadlines: August 14, 2020 and February 26, 2021
The United Thank Offering (UTO) Board is pleased to announce the availability of their 2021 United Thank Offering Annual Grants. These grants are awarded for projects in The Episcopal Church and throughout the Anglican Communion, each year with a different focus. For 2021, the focus is Recovering with Love and Gratitude: An Episcopal Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Local Contexts. The United Thank Offering will accept applications in two categories, Sustaining Ministries and Innovative Ministries, at two different funding levels through two granting cycles. More information
News from the Anglican Communion
Lambeth Conference postponed to 2022
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has sent a message encouragement to “walk together and be good news” to the bishops and spouses of the Anglican Communion today – in the month that would have seen the fifteenth Lambeth Conference hosted in Canterbury. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this decennial meeting of Anglican bishops and spouses has now been rescheduled to the summer of 2022. Read full Episcopal News Service announcement here .
Lambeth Award recognizes CARAVAN president for interreligious peacebuilding
The Rev. Paul-Gordon Chandler, an Episcopal Church mission partner serving in Qatar, is among this year’s recipients of the prestigious Lambeth Awards for outstanding contributions to the church and wider society. Chandler is the founder and president of CARAVAN , a nonprofit initiative affiliated with The Episcopal Church that uses the arts to build bridges between different cultures and religions around the world. The initiative is now in its 11th year of touring the world with peacebuilding exhibitions that showcase art.Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby announced a total of 32 international awards recognizing significant contributions in fields such as evangelism, safeguarding, ecumenism, theology, and interfaith relations. More information and full list of recipients here .
During this time of pandemic, parishes across the diocese are offering livestream services and virtual children's programs.
  • Worship opportunities offered include morning devotions, morning worship, noonday worship, evening worship, and Sunday worship.
  • A wide variety of children's programs are also available.
  • You may find details of all these on the diocesan website here. If your service is not listed or has changed, please let us know! [email protected]
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