In this edition: Nominations for diocesan office; Children's Program information needed; St. Mary's, Bridgeville making a difference; Camp Arrowhead groundbreaking; Stewardship Workshop this week; Prayers for Afghanistan; Fun Fact, Check it Out! Did You Know? News in the ECD community, Episcopal Church, and Anglican Communion
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Diocesan Offices
Nominations Due
THIS WEEK!
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As members of The Episcopal Church, we all share in its leadership and oversight, often by serving on parish and diocesan teams and committees. Any active Episcopalian in the Episcopal Church in Delaware may nominate someone to serve on a diocesan-wide body. You may nominate yourself as well. Please prayerfully consider a person you know who might be ready to serve at the diocesan level. If you have questions, feel free to contact:
Nominations due August 20 (in order to meet publication deadlines).
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Let Us Know!
If you are planning any type of children's program for the upcoming program year this Fall, please let us know so we can share your information on the diocesan website. Send all information to:
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St. Mary's, Bridgeville making a difference
working with local Methodist church
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POCA SUNDAY
Members of St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Bridgeville bring potatoes, onions, cucumbers, and/or apples, along with other veggies from their garden, to church on the first Sunday of each month — POCA Sunday. The abundant produce is taken to a food pantry at the local Methodist church.
This program is filling a need for many families in Bridgeville.
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Groundbreaking
Sunday, August 15, was a landmark day for the $5.5 million capital campaign to build the new Jane Clifton Ashford Center at Camp Arrowhead.
Pictured above, from the left: Paul Hurdle, capital campaign co-chair; the Rt. Rev. Kevin S. Brown Brown, bishop of Delaware; the Rev. Calhoun Wick, capital campaign committee member; Tim Ashford; Ted Ashford Jr., for whose wife, Jane, the center is named); Ted Ashford III; and Dominic DiFebo, capital campaign co-chair.
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Staff and volunteers cleaned out the dining hall and removed the outside bell, in preparation for asbestos abatement and demolition.
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WORKSHOP THIS WEEK!
You are invited to attend a diocesan stewardship workshop, via Zoom, for the upcoming annual giving season. We will be discussing content that can be found on the Stewardship page on the diocesan website. This will include a discussion of narrative budgets, which is new to this year's information. A full range of free materials is offered for individual parish use.
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For your convenience, we will offer the workshop twice:
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- Saturday, August 21, 10-12pm, and
- Wednesday, August 25, 7-9pm.
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Zoom links and more information can be found here
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Our prayers are with the people of Afghanistan
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Presiding Bishop Michael Curry offers a prayer for the people of Afghanistan
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"Eternal God, hear our prayer for the peoples of Afghanistan. There is a profound humanitarian crisis. Countless people, mostly women and children, are now fleeing and vulnerable. The lives of many are now endangered. The hopes of many are forgone. Send your Spirit, Lord, to rally the resolve of the nations of the earth to find pathways to save human lives, protect human rights, and to resolve the hardships of those seeking refuge, asylum, and safety. Hear our prayer for the peoples of Afghanistan. This we pray as followers of Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Amen."
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Episcopal Migration Ministries prepares to welcome families fleeing Afghanistan
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EMM and its affiliates are mobilizing to respond to an expected increase of people fleeing from Afghanistan to the United States after the Afghan government fell to the Taliban, expediting the end of the 20-year war in the country. EMM, is one of nine agencies with contracts to provide refugee resettlement services on behalf of the State Department. They also have helped resettle people through the special immigrant visa program, which is intended to offer sanctuary for Afghans and their families who fear persecution because of their work in support of the U.S. government. More information
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For the many people who have asked how they can support The Episcopal Church's efforts to resettle and provide direct assistance to Afghans seeking special Immigrant visas, please visit episcopalmigrationministries.org/give.
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Fun Fact
Question: Which Delaware bishop, on his way to work with the YMCA and American troops in France in WWI, escaped in a lifeboat when his ship was torpedoed and sunk?
Clue: Active in community affairs, he was a thirty-third degree Mason and a Rotarian.
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On this date in 1920, 19th amendment passed final hurdle to obtain agreement of three-fourths of the states
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The 19th Amendment guaranteed American women the right to vote after a long struggle. On May 21, 1919, the House of Representatives passed the amendment, followed by the Senate. When Tennessee became 36th state to ratify the amendment on August 18, 1920, the amendment was adopted. While decades of struggle to include African Americans and other minority women in voting rights remained, the face of the American electorate had changed forever. More information
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Episcopal Migration Ministries partners with Caravan in Roots: Exploring displacement, migration and identity
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Roots is an artistic exploration of how we find identity through our connection with our land of heritage. When we are uprooted or dis-placed, the effects can be long lasting and far-reaching. The search for a sense of connection with the new place can be successful or remain a longing for home. This journey often includes the challenge of transplanting elements that we bring with us, and incorporating them within the new reality of place and culture. For more information and to see exhibition, click here
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Cycle of Prayer in the Episcopal Church in Delaware
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This week (week of August 15), in our diocesan Cycle of Prayer, we hold up in prayer the Episcopal Campus Ministry. For the updated 2020-2021 diocesan Cycle of Prayer click here.
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You are invited to an opening reception for Sea of Stories, an exhibit of mixed media collage work by Caroline Coolidge Brown,The Delaware Contemporary, Friday, September 10, 5-8 pm
“What began as an exploration of moon and tide phases, evolved into dreams of sea life and sandy beaches, far away from the 2020 quarantine.” The exhibit is on view from September 3 - 26 and admission is free. The Delaware Contemporary is open Thursday - Sunday from 12 - 5 pm. More information
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You can protect yourself, those you love, and those who are vulnerable by getting vaccinated
With the rapid spread of the Delta variant, new cases are on the rise in Delaware. The CDC advises: "Getting vaccinated prevents severe illness, hospitalizations, and death. Unvaccinated people should get vaccinated and continue masking until they are fully vaccinated. With the Delta variant, this is more urgent than ever. CDC has updated guidance for fully vaccinated people based on new evidence on the Delta variant."
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News from the Episcopal Church and beyond
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Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD) is Supporting Partners in Haiti After the Earthquake
ERD is in close contact with long-term development partners in Haiti after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck the country on Saturday, August 14. The earthquake killed over a thousand people, caused structures to collapse and triggered landslides and flooding in the western part of the nation. Our partners, including the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti, have been assessing damage and checking in on the status of priests, parishes and community members. US State Department has estimated over 1.6 million people have been affected.
“We are deeply saddened by the reports coming from our friends and partners in Haiti,” said Abagail Nelson, Executive Vice President, ERD. “We are currently mobilizing to work with an array of development partners to meet the immediate and long-term needs of affected communities.” Please pray for our siblings in Haiti and all those affected by this earthquake. Donations to Episcopal Relief & Development’s Haiti Fund will support the organization’s continued emergency response efforts in Haiti.
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Episcopal Women's History Project Annual Meeting 2021, 12 noon, Friday, September 17, 2021
Listening, recording, and continuing to tell women's ministries stories. The meeting will be held on Zoom. More information
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COVID-19 Vaccination
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry encourages Americans to get vaccinated:
‘Do this one for the children’
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News from the Anglican Communion
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Anglican Church in Kenya appoints first two women bishops
In a predominantly Anglican region of western Kenya, a long-serving female priest has been elected an Anglican bishop, making her the second woman to hold that rank in a country where the consecration of women as bishops is still controversial.The Rev. Rose Okeno, 52, will lead Butere, a rural diocese where a majority of the faithful are small-scale farmers and traders. More information
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As fires rage across the world, World Council of Churches expresses solidarity with churches and survivors
In a series of pastoral letters, World Council of Churches’ acting general secretary, the Rev. Ioan Sauca extended prayers to millions of people who are struggling to come to terms with the trauma and devastation wrought by the recent wildfires.“It is becoming more and more obvious that the fires this year all over the world are not of the same scale as in previous years,” wrote Sauca. “They are part of the extreme phenomena increasingly observed as a consequence of the climate change.” More information
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In England, interactive churchyard trails become unexpected summer hit
A group of churches on Dartmoor is welcoming an increasing number of people over the summer after installing interactive prayer trails in churchyards. The impact of the prayer stations has since reached far beyond Dartmoor, with other churches across the country now adapting the creative prayer trails for use in their own church contexts. They are proving very popular with families. More information
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Church of England Target: Carbon Net Zero by 2030
As part of a long-term refurbishment plan, Lambeth Palace is undertaking essential repairs to replace expired services and improve accessibility. The Church of England’s General Synod has set new targets for all parts of the Church to work to become carbon net zero by 2030. Underscoring this project at Lambeth Palace is a commitment to achieve a zero-carbon outcome.
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