Diocesan Convention, Oct. 13-14 at the Cathedral

Pre-Convention meetings will be held on October 3 (Church of the Epiphany, Clarks Summit), October 5 (Christ Church, Reading) and October 10 (St. Anne’s, Trexlertown), all at 7:00 pm. See three Convention-related items below: (1) Walk a Mile in Their Shoes, (2) Undies, Socks and Sweatpants, and (3) Bethlehem ECW and Kajo Keji Mothers’ Union.

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Walk a Mile in Their Shoes is an advocacy and prayer vigil project sponsored by AWE: Children’s Ministries that invites congregations throughout the Diocese of Bethlehem to join in a Sabbath Season of Prayer and Action for Children. It begins with the observance of the National Children’s Sabbath (sponsored by the Children’s Defense Fund, Washington, D.C.) and the Diocesan ECW’s collection of Undies for Children at Risk at our Diocesan Convention. In the months that follow Diocesan Convention, congregations throughout the Diocese are invited to unite in witness for children through prayer, education, worship and action using this Walk a Mile in their Shoes guide below for suggestions. Following this simple Walk a Mile in their Shoes guide will challenge you take off your slippers and really try on children’s shoes for size. You will likely find that the services afforded them don’t fit their soles or feed their souls.

Our Children at Risk Need Undies, Socks and Sweatpants -- Because there continues to be a great need for these items,the diocesan Episcopal Church Women (ECW) seeks your help and support in continuing the Undies Project until Diocesan Convention, October 13-14. The ECW has asked each parish to continue to collect basic necessities (new undershirts, briefs, undies, undershirts and socks) as well as a new item, sweatpants, for Children at Risk, sizes 2-26 years. Diocesan Convention delegates have been asked to bring from each parish one packet (two-gallon Ziploc bag) and to distribute the remainder of the collection locally to agencies of their choice. For additional information: Jane Nurse, nursejo@stny.rr.com, 570-965-2085 or Dorothy Shaw, flamingo@epix.net, 570-836-2049 or Marlene Hartshorne, mhartshorne@netcarrier.com, 610-395-2583.

Bethlehem ECW and Kajo Keji Mothers' Union turn to new crafts to support programs in Kajjo Keji [By Laura I. Chegwidden, ECW Board mission coordinator] New artistic renderings have arrived fom the Diocese of Kajo Kejji in Southern Sudan: finely woven baskets of millet, palm leaves and split bamboo (all renewable sources, ecologically speaking) and small carved pieces. Our diocesan Episcopal Church Women (ECW) will have a sample of these at Diocesan Convention, Cathedral Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem, October 13-14.

The diocesan ECW sends all proceeds, not simply the profit, to the Diocese of Kajo Keji to benefit their orphans and widows as well as the vocational education projects of the Mothers' Union such as sewing classes that include dress making and embroidery. The Mothers' Union is the counterpart to the ECW in many parts of the Anglican Communion.