newSpin 100201
February 01, 2010
Haiti ... • Check the Haiti page of The Episcopal Church for news, updates, resources, videos and important information. • Episcopal Relief & Development has info on Haiti as well as ways to donate here. • Episcopal Relief & Development has disbursed emergency funding to the Diocese of Haiti to help meet critical needs such as food, water and shelter for those affected. Donations can be made to Episcopal Relief & Development online or by calling 800-334-7626 ext 5129. ERD has a four star rating on Charity Navigator and meets all 20 standards of the Better Business Bureau. Some 92% to 96% of each dollar given to ERD goes directly to the program be it for disaster relief or for development. • A Haitian proverb: “God gives but doesn’t share,” i.e., “God gives us humans everything we need to flourish, but he’s not the one who’s supposed to divvy up the loot. That charge was laid upon us.” • Episcopal News Service Weekly bulletin 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. • Working with help from Grace 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 by way of Episcopal Relief and Development. 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 14.
Sounds like fun ... Trinity West Pittston brings national music program for children, parents to area. It was his own experience that led The Rev. John Major to bring the program to Trinity. He said when he and wife Sandy visit their nieces they become part of the girls’ lives in every way — including attending Music Together classes. “Seeing their delight in making music that day and experiencing the making of music with them convinced us that every child, parent, grandparent our aunt or uncle who loves them shouldn’t miss out on this experience,” Major said. But Major discovered that although the program is popular in other areas of the country, the closest class was at least an hour away from here. “One of our tasks as a parish is to assess community needs and respond in a helpful way if we can,” Major said. He got grants from the Episcopal Appalachian Ministries and The Episocopal Diocese of Bethlehem and sent Rickenbach to Scarsdale, N.Y., for four days of training so the church could become an accredited site for the program. Story and hotos at the Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre.
Celebration of New Ministry at St. Paul's Montrose ... Story and photos at Susquehanna Independent Weekender and St. Paul February newsletter.
Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17 ... "I need to surrender my control and allow the Spirit to move me forward. We so often subject ourselves to some sort of discipline during Lent. We may decide that in some way we are going to “get our act together” or we’re going to give up some little thing that will show our ability to exact discipline in our lives. It seems to me that what we should be doing in Lent is giving up control by allowing the Spirit to guide us in the right direction." [Mother Trula Hollywood, Trinity Athens]
Episcopal Relief & Development Sunday, March 14 ... Posters in English and Spanish as well as resources, such as bulletin inserts, suggested readings, prayers and lectionary for observing ERD Sunday, are available for downloading. [An earlier post incorrectly referred to this as World Mission Sunday.]
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.
Health ... In an 18-minute video, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori shares her views on health and the Church today with fitness expert Peter K, and tells of her own efforts to maintain good health. [H/T to Diana Marshall]
More proof exercise leads to healthier aging ... Just in case the world needed more evidence on the matter, along come four new studies verifying that exercise is indeed good for you, even critical if you plan to survive to a vigorous, hardy and tough-boned old age. [H/T to Diana Marshall]
A mindful eating program from NEHM ... Download it here. [H/T to Diana Marshal]
NYTimes Topics ... Each topic page collects all the news, reference and archival information, photos, graphics, audio and video files published on topics ranging from A to Z. This treasure trove is available free on articles going back to 1981. Check out what has been archived about the Episcopal Church here.
First Monday, South Bethlehem ... Read about tonight's program here.
A program like no other ... in Sacramento at Trinity Cathedral which offers shelter, food and more to those who are homeless. Read more here.
Integrity USA seeks Executive Director
... Integrity USA, a non-profit organization working for full inclusion
of LGBT persons within the Episcopal Church, seeks qualified candidates
for the position of Executive Director. The person who fills this
full-time position may be located anywhere in the United States and
will work from his/her own city. In concert with the Board of
Directors, the E.D. leads the organization strategically in advancing
its mission and in sustaining its support, tangible and intangible. He
or she serves as spokesperson, development officer and administrator.
The Executive Director is responsible for the day-to-day management and
execution of all aspects of the organization’s operations, including
programs, resource development, and administration. More here.
J.D.Salinger, literary recluse, dead at 91 ... Famous for not wanting to be famous, and for Catcher in the Rye. More info here.
Howard Zinn, historian, dead at 87 ... Author of A People’s History of the United States, a best seller that inspired a generation of high school and college students to rethink American history. Read more here.ABC challenges Wall Street on its home turf ... Read NYTimes article here. ENS story here.
God, Mammon and the ABC ... The Archbishop of Canterbury told this year's Trinity Institute that the global recession arose, in part, from a fundamental disconnect between economic activity and morality. His speech comes in the wake of the news that the Church of England will lose about $78 million invested in the largest real estate deal in American history as well as involvement in a controversial mining operation in India. Read more here.
Pot, meet kettle ... Canon Andrew Gerns pointedly reports at Episcopal Cafe that "some senior Church of England bishops have criticized the European Union, calling it an undemocratic and secretive bureaucracy run by elites. Sort of like the Church of England." More here.
God and Wall Street ... An essay by the ABC, Newsweek, Feb. 8. [H/T to Nick Knisely, reporting at Episcopal Cafe]
Bishop Chane plans to retire ... as bishop of the Diocese of Washington after the consecration of his successor in the fall of 2011. More here.
The February 2010 issue of Diocesan Life may be downloaded here.Preaching a green message ... Just when you thought that the Anglican Communion and the Episcopal Church spent all our time arguing about sexuality and biblical interpretation, the Wall Street Journal (of all places!) reminds us that we also care about mission, and mission to care for the environment. More at Episcopal Cafe.
Jury Reaches Guilty Verdict in Murder of Abortion Doctor ... Mr. Roeder told jurors that he had a growing sense of his own faith and opposition to abortion in the 1990s after watching “The 700 Club,” the evangelist Pat Robertson's television talk show. Mr. Roeder’s views on religion and abortion, he said, went “hand in hand.” Mr. Roeder acknowledged under cross-examination that he had, as early as 1993, thought about killing Dr. Tiller. More at the NYTimes.
Got a question? Need some info? InfoLine can help you find answers and make connections to churchwide ministries, events and activities.
Plan Ahead ... 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, And "the dreaded
change to Daylight Saving Time when we lose an hour of sleep," wrote
Barbara Caum of Trinity Athens. Don't be late for Sunday Eucharist
which, according to our body clocks, will begin an hour early. ••• 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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