June 2023

Bishop Rob signs and wax seals ordination certificates for newly ordained deacons

at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Concord.

Updates & Announcements

221^st Annual Diocesan Convention Elections

If you are, or someone you know is, interested in being a candidate for one of the open positions which will be voted on during Diocesan Convention, click here for more information! The deadline to declare your candidacy is July 15.

For additional information about Convention, click here.

Bishop Names Trinity Claremont Pro-Cathedral

Bishop Rob has named Trinity Claremont the diocesan Pro-Cathedral.

What is a Pro-Cathedral, you might be asking? A Pro-Cathedral is a church named by a diocesan bishop to serve as a cathedral but which remains under local church governance. It is used as a cathedral for diocesan purposes.

Bishop Rob shared these thoughts about this new designation:

"Designating Trinity Claremont as Pro-Cathedral is an experiment, not a permanent designation. It highlights that the diocese is giving special attention to a church where we think that God is up to something important, powerful, and new. With this designation, we signify that we're paying attention to how the Holy Spirit is moving in this vital but sometimes passed-over part of New Hampshire."

Trinity Claremont will be host to the diocesan convention in-person worship service on Saturday, November 4.

Did you know that this is not the first time that Trinity Claremont has served as the diocesan Pro-Cathedral? Click here to read about how Trinity first became a Pro-Cathedral in 1844.

Stories From Our Congregations

Celebrating Ordinations

The Episcopal Church of New Hampshire recently celebrated a number of ordinations:

On Tuesday, May 30, Stephen Ekerberg was ordained as a priest at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Pittsfield. You can view photos from this celebration here.

On Saturday, June 10, Lisa Beausoleil, Frederick Chisolm, and Aaron Jenkyn were ordained as deacons at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Concord. You can view photos from this celebration here.

Congratulations to our new deacons and priest!

The Reverend Stephen Ekerberg and Bishop Rob

The Reverends Aaron Jenkyn, Frederick Chisolm, and Lisa Beausoleil with Bishop Rob

Archdeacon Participates in Suicide Prevention Walk in D.C.

Our Archdeacon, the Ven. Derek Scalia, recently participated in the Out of the Darkness Overnight Walk hosted by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in Washington, D.C. He shared the following update:

"The walk was one of the most inspiring events I have participated in. Thousands of strangers gathering in a location to shine light and love was the gospel in action. In total, Jason Burns, deacon from Western Mass, and I walked the 16.7 course miles. We were challenged to persevere in our struggle, made connections with others along the journey, and led to that everpresent hope and promise that love endures, always, as we crossed the finish line."

In The News

Ekerberg Ordination Featured in Pittsfield Post

The ordination of the Rev. Stephen Ekerberg was featured in the most recent issue of the Pittsfield Post, a community news magazine.

Incoming Curate in Berkeley at Yale Spring Newsletter

Chris Gregorio, class of '23 and incoming curate at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Hanover, was featured in a student profile in the Berkeley Divinity School's spring newsletter.

Learn more about Chris here

Clergy Transitions

The Rev. Kelly Sundberg Seaman has been called to serve at Trinity in Claremont in a part-time capacity. She will serve as the Dean of the Pro-Cathedral starting in early June. She will continue in her role as Dean of Formation for the diocese.

Celebrating Eibner, Atkinson, Hines, and Metzger

Four priests of the diocese recently completed their ministries with the following congregations:

The Rev. Susan Eibner at Trinity in Claremont
The Rev. Kate Atkinson at St. Paul's in Concord
The Rev. Caroline Hines at St. Andrew's-in-the-Valley in Tamworth
The Rev. Curtis Metzger at All Saints in Littleton

We celebrate them and thank them for their faithful service!

Pictured: the Rev. Susan Eibner opening gifts at her celebration

Hear from Bishop Rob

The latest messages from Bishop Rob

Bishop Rob and other New Hampshire clergy recently signed this letter highlighting that our faith compels us to stand for the worth and dignity of every human being, especially those marginalized and most vulnerable.

Two poems by Bishop Rob were published in the most recent Anglican Theological Review, and you can read them below (reprinted with permission).

Boundary Maple

Barbed wire

scarred with rust

protrudes from the maple’s rough flank

simply by living the tree

crosses the boundary

of the farmer’s fencing

with each season the sharp prongs

sink deeper

into the inner rings of memory

ancient wounds griefs unforgotten afflictions

subsumed first into bark

then xylem

finally the inner pith

I see an open hole

where split acorns and broken twigs

lie abandoned by squirrel or nuthatch

after their winter’s striving

beneath tiny spikes of steel

Holy Saturday

Beneath the frozen pond

rests the thick muck

blanketed by a new layer of ash leaves

sunk and new to the work of corruption

fresh springs course among them

sluggish silent lightless

shielded by gray and white ice

featureless but for expectant bubbles

first released from the dark murk

–an exaltation of decay–

now a trapped string of

oval beads of gas

seized in mid-rising

A. Robert Hirschfeld serves as the tenth bishop of the Episcopal Church in New Hampshire. He is the author of two books of pastoral theology, Without Shame and Fear: From Adam to Christ (2017) and With Sighs Too Deep for Words: Grace and Depression (2020), both from Church Publishing.

Upcoming Events

Lectionary Bible Study for Lay Persons: Old Testament Patriarchs

Wednesdays starting mid-June

9 a.m.

Online

When the "season after Pentecost" begins on June 11, the Sunday lectionary offers an option to read through the wonderful Old Testament patriarch stories that begin in the book of Genesis with Abraham and go through the stories of Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, and finally, Moses in Exodus.

The Rev. Celeste Hemingson is offering an online lectionary Bible study that will follow that track for a greater understanding of these ancient heroes and how their stories shaped both Jewish and Christian understanding of ourselves as God's people.

To join the online class, which meets on Wednesday mornings at 9 a.m., please email the Rev. Celeste Hemingson.

Earth Care Family Fun Day

Saturday, July 22

10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Elm Brook Park, Hopkinton, NH

Families of New Hampshire churches, join us for a Family Fun Day at Elm Brook Park in Hopkinton this summer!

Linden Rayton of Living Water Nature Programs and members of the diocesan Earth Care Commission Outdoors group are hosting this event. There will be games, water fun, outdoor worship, and a bring-your-own picnic lunch. There is no cost for this event but registration is required.

All families are invited: parents, guardians, aunties and uncles, family friends, and all beloveds. We can't wait to see you there!

Click here to register.

Pilgrimage in the Holy Land - Deadline Extended to August 15

The Episcopal Diocese of Vermont is sponsoring a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and invites those from the Episcopal Dioceses of New Hampshire and Maine to join them! The pilgrimage is to take place November 25 – December 5, 2023 and will be led by The Rev. Dr. Frederick P. Moser and The Rev. Kim Hardy, a priest couple, with local guides, Canon Iyad Qumri and Rami Qumri.

Fred and Kim are experienced pilgrimage leaders and have dreamt of taking a group to the Holy Land since experiencing their journey there on sabbatical in 2009. It opened their hearts to seeing the spiritual life as a pilgrimage and offered deep insights into Biblical stories from the Hebrew Scriptures and Gospels.

For full itinerary and details, click here. For questions and more information, reach out to the Rev. Kim Hardy! for more information.