Download The VOICE Digest printable PDF with highlights from this issue.

"It takes constantly working to open one's eyes," says Bishop Hughes. "It takes looking sometimes at really difficult things – things that hurt. It takes being willing to disagree with others. And being committed to telling the truth – and the truth based on facts and science and history – a truth that is actually real. When we open our eyes to the complicated things, to the hard parts of the truth, then we can also open our eyes to see what God is trying to do in the complicated parts of our lives."

Click on the video to watch (time: 4:07), or click here to read the transcript.

Light a candle, wherever you are, and spend part of your evening with our diocesan community at prayer.

The Zoom link was sent in the What's happening this week email on Monday, Jan. 18. Click here to download the bulletin.

Scheduled for 90 minutes, this Zoom conversation is open to all members of the diocese. The Zoom link was sent in the What's happening this week email on Monday, Jan. 18.

Note: Due to Ash Wednesday and other scheduled events, there will be no Lay Conversations with the Bishop in February. Lay Conversations will resume on March 17 in Spanish and March 18 in English.

The disruptions of the pandemic have encouraged us to find new ways of being in relationship with one another. While the technology we use to connect may be new, Church tradition offers a model for relationships that is still relevant today: intentional small groups.

At our January gathering, held during our traditional Convention weekend*, our focus will be on “Faith Groups: Sharing our Lives, Growing in Faith,” which will offer a pattern for gathering intentionally in small groups to share times of prayer, reflection, and to grow together in faith.

We hope that every parish will be represented at this event. Find out more and register online by 5 PM on Thursday, Jan. 28.

Last year, the food pantry at St. Andrew’s, Newark rose to the challenge of addressing the exploding need caused by the unemployment that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic. Now they are looking ahead.

“When the pandemic is over, it's not like these people are just going to be employed right away,” said the Rev. Sylvester Ekunwe, Vicar of St. Andrew’s. “Why not teach people how we can actually use our hands to grow some fresh vegetables?” Read more.

A Lenten program created by a liturgy professor and diocesan priest offers a way for congregations to study the Bible within the context of worship and community in a quintessentially Anglican way. Read more.

A year ago, the sight of tripod mounted cameras, laptops, switching panels, and more in the church on a Sunday would have been a rare sight. Now, these technical tools are the gateway to spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ to a larger community, a new version of our familiar red doors.

Yet audio and video equipment is not inexpensive to obtain, and the increased bandwidth required to leverage them is often costly to install. Diocesan Council saw an opportunity to help the congregations of the diocese cross this technical divide. Read more.

The next issue of The VOICE Online will be published Wednesday, Feb. 3. Submit items for consideration by 10 AM Friday, Jan. 29 at dioceseofnewark.org/VOICE-submissions.

The Ward J. Herbert Board is excited to introduce the new online application process for Ward J. Herbert grants. This process will replace the long Word document with a simple three-step process. Find out more.

The application deadline for the first Ward J. Herbert grant cycle of 2021 is Tuesday, Feb. 16 by 12 noon.

These went into effect Dec. 14, 2020. All counties in the diocese are currently at a critical risk level, limiting in-person worship to those required to be present to lead worship or provide recording/live streaming support.

Please send changes to Nina Nicholson at [email protected].

A holy place in virtual space for mourning and memory.

Prayers can be sent to Canon Wright at [email protected] for posting.

EXPLORE! with Cross Roads this winter at our virtual youth retreats. Over the course of a few hours, kids and youth leaders will EXPLORE the ways God is present in our world and in our lives. There are three EXPLORE! retreat dates and times for different age groups. Find all information including registration here.

No matter what exactly next summer looks like, Cross Roads will need trustworthy and creative young adults as part of its staff.

Applications to work on Summer Staff 2021 are now OPEN! Learn more and apply on the Cross Roads website.

The next Wednesdays Away gathering will be held on Wednesday, February 17, and will explore the theme "What Will We Do Without Ashes?" The retreat is from 10 AM to noon on Zoom and the cost is $10. Register for this or other retreats on the Cross Roads website.

Your church can still join the Bold Transformational Faith (BTF) initiative. Join Cross Roads for weekly Sunday School at 11 AM or 4 PM or use our curriculum on your own time. Learn more here.

The Episcopal Church is launching a campaign, “From Many, One,” to promote a new spiritual framework for Episcopalians to engage in tough conversations with family, friends and neighbors, bridging the intense divisions that threaten to tear apart communities in the United States and beyond. Read more.