Bulletin inserts regarding Haiti ... In Episcopal News Service Weekly bulletin inserts for January 31, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori addresses the needs of Haiti's people and its Episcopal diocese. Inserts for Feb. 7 include a litany and prayers for Haiti created for a Jan. 17 service at Washington National Cathedral. The full text of the litany and prayers may be found here. Formatted version of bulletin inserts, including photos and captions, may be downloaded here.
Fegley's Brew Works encourages diners to donate to Haiti relief via ERD ... Working with help from Grace Episcopal Church in Allentown, both the Fegley's Allentown and Bethlehem Brew Works are encouraging dining guests to make a donation to our brothers and sisters in Haiti. They will add on the donation to the bill. For every dollar diners donate, they will be given a form to register for a gift card drawing; each location will be drawing separately for a $100, a $50, and a $25 gift card. The drawing for the six cards will be conducted by a member of Grace Church on Sunday, February 14th. All contributions will be forwarded to the Episcopal Relief & Development Haiti Fund.
Mechanics (and pitfalls) of text-based giving ... There may be significant processing delays.
Recital for Haiti in Wilkes-Barre, Jan. 31 ... Canon Mark
Laubach, Organist and Choirmaster of St. Stephen's
Pro-Cathedral in Wilkes-Barre, will present a recital on
January 31 at 3:00 p.m. on the four-manual, 80+ rank Berghaus pipe
organ to raise money for Episcopal Relief and Development to provide
assistance for victims of the recent earthquake in Haiti. If you cannot
attend the recital, your prayers and contributions to any worthy
charity in support of the
suffering people of Haiti will be appreciated. Contributions may be
sent to St. Stephen's
(checks payable to St. Stephen's Pro-Cathedral, with "Haiti Earthquake
Relief" in the memo section) or made directly to ER-D at their website,
http://www.er-d.org/. ER-D is one of the highest rated charities in the
USA, with very low overhead expenses. All contributions made to St.
Stephen's or to ER-D are tax deductible. [Thanks to Debra Kellerman of St. Stephen's for sending this information.]
Episcopal Relief & Development Sunday is February 14 ... Posters in English and Spanish as well as resources, such as bulletin inserts, suggested readings, prayers and lectionary for observing World Mission Sunday, are available for downloading. [An earlier post incorrectly referred to this as World Mission Sunday.]
What could you live without? ... [By Nicholas Kristof, NYTimes] It all began with a stop at a red light. Kevin Salwen, a writer and entrepreneur in Atlanta, was driving his 14-year-old daughter, Hannah, back from a sleepover in 2006. While waiting at a traffic light, they saw a black Mercedes coupe on one side and a homeless man begging for food on the other. “Dad, if that man had a less nice car, that man there could have a meal,” Hannah protested. The light changed and they drove on, but Hannah was too young to be reasonable. She pestered her parents about inequity, insisting that she wanted to do something. “What do you want to do?” her mom responded. “Sell our house?” Warning! Never suggest a grand gesture to an idealistic teenager. Hannah seized upon the idea of selling the luxurious family home and donating half the proceeds to charity, while using the other half to buy a more modest replacement home. Eventually, that’s what the family did. [Read the rest here ... then a few of the nearly 300 comments here.
Situational or Sustainable? Read Tom Friedman's NYTimes column here, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/27/opinion/27friedman.html?em. H/T to Bishop Paul who posted this on "Bakery" with the note: "I have no thoughts or opinions about the politics reflected in this piece, but I think the distinction between situational and sustainable values is an important one for us as the Church steers through challenging times."
The commemoration of St. Brigid of Kildare, patronal saint of St. Brigid's Nazareth, is February 1. St. Brigid's held its first service September 10, 1995, in the basement community room of the Moorestown branch of the Nazareth National Bank, near the intersection of routes 512 and 946. It became a mission the following year. At the time, the Diocese of Bethlehem and the dioceses of Meath and Kildare were in a partnership relationship, hence the choice of the name. The congregation soon outgrew quarters in the bank and, with the help of a generous anonymous gift, bought the vacated Methodist church in Nazareth. Canon Jane Teter was instrumental in establishing the congregation and became its first vicar. Judith Snyder became its first full-time vicar in 2001. St. Brigid's was accorded parish status (previously a mission) at the 2005 Diocesan Convention. Dean Schenkel, who recently retired, again, had been priest-in-charge for the past six years. According to a column by Richard McBrien, "among St. Brigid's legendary, and stereotypically Irish, exploits were distributing butter (a sign of prosperity in Irish culture) to the poor and changing bathwater into beer to satisfy the thirst of priests who were visiting her monastery."
Don't look now, Rowan, but your people love it in LA ... In The Times, UK, Lucy Broadbent writes that the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Los Angeles did for her what the Church of England never could. [H/T to Jim Naughton, reporting at Episcopal Cafe]
ERD launches NetsForLife Inspiration Fund ... Read more here.
Have you checked your pockets? A survey released out of the U.K. reveals that in the last year, 4,500 memory sticks have been forgotten in people's pockets as they take their clothes to the local dry cleaners. The fact that this is fewer than the year before suggests another problem. Read about it here. [H/T to Kat Lehman]
The February 2010 issue of Diocesan Life may be downloaded here.
Jubilate ... Hymnody for Ash Wednesday to Easter 7 (Feb. 17 to May 16), published by the Diocese of Bethlehem for our diocesan community and for free distribution to the world, may be downloaded below as an Acrobat or MSWord file. Jubilate is a service of our Liturgy and Music Commission, specifically Canon Cliff Carr who has been doing this for more than 30 years. Download Jubilate here.
Preaching a green message ... When a San Francisco nonprofit was pushing a controversial California bill last year to remove the restriction on energy that residents can generate from solar and wind systems, the group needed supporters. So it turned to an ordained minister named Sally Bingham. Read the WSJournal feature, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703808904575025924209388434.html
Pray for our young men and women who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan, and for their families ... Anton R. Phillips, 31; Adam K. Ginett, 29; Michael P Shannon, 52; Paul Pena, 27; Thaddeus S. Montgomery, 29; Gifford E. Hurt, 19; Xin Qi, 25 ... for the fallen heroes also of our coalition partners, and for the citizens f Iraq and Afghanistan who have died, unnamed and unknown to us, and for those who mourn ... and for an end to this endless war.
For daily news, information and commentary, visit Episcopal Life Online and the Diocese of Bethlehem's newSpin blog. Follow the newSpin blog also on Twitter.
Got a question? Need some info? InfoLine can help you find answers and make connections to churchwide ministries, events and activities.
Plan Ahead ... Jan 29/30: Bishop's Bakery, Coffee House and Open Mic Night for Youth ... Friday, Jan. 29 (6:00pm) - Saturday, Jan. 30 (9:00am) at Good Shepherd Scranton. Poster and info here. Online registration is now open. Get more info and register online. ••• Jan. 30: Lay Eucharistic Visitors Training, St. Brigid's Nazareth, 9:00 to noon. More info here. ••• Jan. 31: Recital in W-B ... Canon Mark Laubach, Organist and Choirmaster of St. Stephen's Pro-Cathedral in Wilkes-Barre, will present a recital at 3:00 p.m. on the four-manual, 80+ rank Berghaus pipe organ to raise money for Episcopal Relief and Development. More info here.
••• Feb. 6: Grace Kingston will celebrate the new ministry of the congregation with Father John Hartman as their rector, 4:00 p.m. ••• Feb. 17: Ash Wednesday ••• Feb. 19: Organ Recital at Trinity Easton, 7:30 p.m. More info here. ••• Feb. 27: Dive In: A Day Exploring Christian Baptism will be held at Good Shepherd Scranton. This day of Christian Formation will offer
resources for parents, Christian educators, clergy, and anyone seeking
a deeper life in Christ. More info here.
••• March 14: ERD Sunday Fourth Sunday of Lent ••• March 25: Chrism Mass at the Cathedral, Bethlehem, 11:00 a.m.
••• April 4: Easter ••• April 9-11: Province III Youth Delight Event, More info here. ••• April 16-18: Christophany, Watson Homestead, Painted Post, New York. Registration will open February 12 online at www.diobeth.org. More info here. ••• April 24: Diocesan Training for MInistry at St. Stephen's Wilkes-Barre. Details will be available here when online registration opens on February 20. ••• April 30-May 2: Creating a Culture of Peace at the Cathedral Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem.
••• July 10: Bishop's Day with Kids at Good Shepherd Scranton.
[If you have a brief announcement about an event you'd like listed in PlanAhead, send it to Bill. Please keep it brief.]
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