In this edition: Message from Bishop Brown, Discipline of Hope - a sermon by the Rev. Charles Cowen, AdventWord Calendar, Fun Fact, Did You Know?, Check it Out?, news from the diocese, more ...
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Honoring military veterans who have served in the United States Armed Forces. God bless each one.
A Prayer for those in the Armed Forces of our Country
Almighty God, we commend to your gracious care and keeping all the men and women of our armed forces at home and abroad. Defend them day by day with your heavenly grace; strengthen them in their trials and temptations; give them courage to face the perils which beset them; and grant them a sense of your abiding presence wherever they may be; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Vote Faithfully Series
with Bishop Brown
#4 in series
Beloved in Christ,
A month ago I wrote that, as our nation moved ever closer to Election Day, our call as Christians was first and foremost to prayer. I wrote, “I encourage you to pray for peace and justice and mercy and wisdom, pray for our elected officials and candidates and our proud country, and pray for yourself and your church and all those folks who agree and disagree with you.” Now that the election is done, this kind of prayer — with attention to our nation and those who disagree with us — certainly does not stop.
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"Discipline of Hope"
A sermon by
the Rev. Charles Lane Cowen
This sermon was delivered by
the Rev. Charles Lane Cowen
at Trinity Parish, Wilmington,
on Sunday, November 8, 2020
Click on image on right to view video
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Join an international community of prayer this Advent season.
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AdventWord provides visual and written meditations during the liturgical season of Advent. In 2020, Advent begins on Sunday, November 29. The written meditations will be provided in English, Spanish, Haitian Creole, and in American Sign Language on YouTube. Each morning during Advent, the meditations are distributed: on AdventWord.org, Email, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
Around the world, prayers ascend in response to the meditations. People post their reflections on their respective social media pages, tagging AdventWord on the platform. From there, AdventWord shares and reposts on each site – amplifying the prayers during this holy season.
Explore the different ways that people respond to the daily words, whether written meditations, drawings, photographs, or poems.
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New this year! #AdventWord offerings include a podcast for each day, voiced by Virginia Theological Seminary community members, and produced in partnership with Forward Movement. More information about how to sign up here.
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Fun Fact
In this centenary year of the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution,
and with our annual diocesan convention approaching, it is worth asking:
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Question: Who was the first woman delegate to a diocesan convention and was also the first to be elected to a vestry in Delaware?
Clue: Together with her mother she donated the funds for a new pipe organ at her church.
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Archbishop Justin Welby pays tribute after November 7 death of Britain’s former Chief Rabbi Sacks
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Archbishop Justin spoke of “deep sadness”, and that Rabbi Sacks had “devoted so much of his life to reflecting on God at the most profound level – and we are all beneficiaries of his wisdom... His sparkling address (see above) to the Lambeth Conference in 2008 is still remembered today." More information
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11 medieval monolithic cave churches in this 13th-century 'New Jerusalem'
in the heart of Ethiopia
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Situated in a mountainous region of Ethiopia, Lalibela is a high place of Ethiopian Christianity, still a place of pilmigrage and devotion. These unique churches were not constructed traditionally but were hewn from the living rock of monolithic blocks. More information on this UNESCO site here.
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Cycle of Prayer in the Episcopal Church in Delaware
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This week (week of November 8), in our diocesan Cycle of Prayer, we hold up in prayer the Social Justice Commission in the Episcopal Church in Delaware. For the 2020-2021 diocesan Cycle of Prayer Calendar click here.
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News from the Episcopal Church in Delaware and community
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Christian Council of Delmarva supports United States Global Leadership Conference's annual mid-Atlantic summit. Monday, November 16, 12-1:30pm
An excellent continuing education opportunity, this is ordinarily a major event held in downtown Wilmington. This year it will be virtual. With the forthcoming change in executive leadership, it is likely that international affairs and the role of the faith communities in this will become important again. More information
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Book of Numbers to mark the number of people who have died in the USA from Covid-19.
On All Saints Day, the Rev. Canon Mark Harris published this book and work of art. The number 1 repre-sents each person, with 2000 on a page. He wrote, "It has been a deeply spiritual thing to be working with this mound of numbers, recognizing them as each representing a person. Binding them all together, holding the book as a witness to their lives and deaths, and as a testament to these strange days, was sacra-mental, the book being an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace. That grace, it seems to me, is the grace of “1”, each person unique but all drawn together in this catastrophe." See video here.
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The Board of Trustees of St. Andrew's School, Middletown, is honored to announce the appointment of a new head of school
Joy McGrath '92 will be the fifth head of school and will be the first woman and first St. Andrew's alumnus to serve in the role. Her appointment will commence in July 2021. More information
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Time for some holiday shopping in a good cause!
In the September issue of Delaware Communion, we told you about the bazaar ladies of St. James Mill Creek, Wilmington who, undaunted by the pandemic, decided to maintain the 60+ year history of their annual bazaar by selling online this year. To support their efforts and shop their holiday bazaar, click here.
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News from the Episcopal Church
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How to bring together a divided nation
Bishop Michael Curry shares his message of how to hold onto hope in troubling times. See Good Morning America video here.
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Preparing to Become the Beloved Community curriculum revised for Advent 2020
New and updated Advent and Christmas resources for congregations, dioceses, and communities of faith are available, with additional resources coming soon. Available now: Preparing to Become the Beloved Community Advent curriculum; Way of Love Digital Invitation Kit; updated Journeying the Way of Love Advent calendar and curriculum; AdventWord 2020; Episcopal Migration Ministries Refugee Prayer Vigil. And be sure to sign up for daily Advent and Christmas emails. Find Advent and Christmas resources from The Episcopal Church here. More information here. Spanish here. French here.
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Episcopal Church announces 2020 Beloved Community “Rapid-Response” grant recipients
The Executive Council of The Episcopal Church has awarded thirty-three Beloved Community “Rapid-Response” grants totaling $187,800 to address the racial disparities laid bare by the coronavirus pandemic and for groups responding to racist violence and policing reform. Awards began in late summer and the final round were approved at Council’s October 2020 meeting. More information here. Spanish here.
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Special 2020 Parochial Report Form
Following the October 9-12, 2020 meeting of Executive Council, the Rev. Canon Michael Barlowe, Executive Officer of the General Convention, has announced that the form for the 2020 Parochial Report is now viewable on the General Convention website. More information here. Spanish here. French here.
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Fourth season of The Way of Love with Bishop Michael Curry podcast begins with guest Archbishop Thabo Makgoba (TBC)
Season 4 of The Episcopal Church’s podcast The Way of Love with Bishop Michael Curry, is now available. In this episode, Bishop Curry talks with the Most Rev. Thabo Makgoba [TAH-boh Mac-GO-bah], Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town and Primate of Southern Africa. Archbishop Thabo’s life is punctuated with stories of hope and oppression, joy and anger, truth and reconciliation. More information here.
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A chance backstage meeting between Episcopalian Chris Farrell and Presiding Bishop Michael Curry at a U2 concert led Farrell to later invite Bishop Curry to take part in the President Jimmy Carter documentary Farrell was producing. More information here.
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Episcopal Church joined with ecumenical partners in prayers for the Armenian Church of America
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United Thank Offering: $450,000 awarded for first cycle of Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion mission and ministry grants. Deadline for second round of grants: February 26, 2021
At its October 2020 meeting, the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church approved United Thank Offering (UTO) grants to support 21 Episcopal Churth and five Anglican Communion missions and ministries. 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. More information
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News from the Anglican Communion
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Living in love and faith
The culmination of what is thought to be the largest research and consultation project into identity and sexuality carried out by a Christian church has been published by the Church of England. Living in Love and Faith (LLF) is a collection of Christian teaching resources to help parishioners address issues of identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage. More information
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Archbishop Justin Welby pays tribute after death of Britain’s former Chief Rabbi Sacks
The Archbishop of Canterbury paid tribute to the former Chief Rabbi of Great Britain and the Commonwealth, Lord Jonathan Sacks, who died on November 7. Rabbi Sacks served as Chief Rabbi for 22 years before retiring in 2013. Archbishop Justin spoke of his “deep sadness”, and said that Rabbi Sacks had “devoted so much of his life to reflecting on God at the most profound level – and we are all the beneficiaries of his wisdom...His books, other writings, lectures, and media appearances were followed and admired not only by the Jewish community but by millions of Christians and people of all faiths and none. His sparkling address to the Lambeth Conference in 2008 is still remembered today ... His influence will endure for years to come through the many he inspired, influenced and touched with his warmth and wisdom." More information, including Rabbi Sacks’ address to the 2008 Lambeth Conference.
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The archbishop of Canterbury has announced revised dates for the 15th Lambeth Conference.
Hosted in Canterbury, Kent, the face-to-face conference will be planned for July 27 – August 8, 2022 (with the official conference ending on August 7 and departures on August 8). The conference has been rescheduled from the original 2020 dates due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The conference organizers will continue to monitor the implications of COVID-19 and follow official health guidance in the months ahead. More information
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