Build New Churches t JANUARY 2009 t VOLUME 118 t NUMBER 1 Faithful Abundance Ten approaches to faithful stewardship in unsettling times By Patricia Bjorling It would be an understatement practical responses. We must move staff and your church’s members are to say we are living in unsettling stewardship to the center of our all praying for abundant funding Itimes. There is probably not a lives together as Christians, and we for the work of the church, they will single segment of society—from must make sure we are constantly open hearts, uncover new resources Enhance Conference Centers Enhance Conference individuals to institutions—that is educating about stewardship and and reveal unexpected possibilities. not experiencing a measure of fear using best practices in how we t and anxiety about the financial carry out the “mechanics” of annual 2 t Teach abundance. The media future. As Christians, our response stewardship efforts. bombards us daily with stories of must focus both on the spiritual Here are 10 basics for / Stewardship continued on page 6 and the practical. The Rev. Kirk approaching stewardship during a Kubicek, rector of St. Paul’s, Ellicott time such as this. City, Md., makes a good case for a spiritual response: “The current 1 t Pray intentionally crisis is a spiritual crisis of amnesia, for generous hearts. So of forgetting who we are and whose frequently we approach we are.” Giving and stewardship the vital undertaking are a faith response, and giving and of raising funds for Expand Youth Ministries Expand Youth stewardship can suffer when our ministry without asking t trust in God wavers. for the help of the Holy Achieving better-than-normal Spirit. Nothing is impossible stewardship results in less- with God’s help, and if your than-normal times also requires vestry, your prayer team, your The Church’s One Foundation Diocese to convene for 214th Annual Council By Emily Cherry Clergy, lay leaders and guests of The deadline to submit registrations, nominations, reports, resolutions and amendments the Diocese will gather for Annual is Wednesday, January 7. After that date, all submissions must be made on-site at CCouncil January 23-24 in Reston Council. Visit www.thediocese.net/diocese/annual_council_214.shtml. Reach Out to Neighbors in Need under the theme “The Church’s One Foundation.” The Most Rev. Dr. t Barry Morgan, archbishop of Wales be distributed at Council. Each and registrations is January 7. Unless and bishop of Llandaff, will join member of Council must print otherwise indicated, all of these attendees as Council chaplain. handouts from the Council Web should be submitted to Matthew site and bring them to Council. Farr, Council registrar, at mfarr@ Documents and Info Please wait until you see a “Safe to thediocese.net or 110 W. Franklin All Council documents and Print” designation on the Web site Street, Richmond VA 23220. information, including registration before printing the documents. This forms, nominees submitted to date, designation should be available by Registration: All registrations hotel information, details on how to January 9. should be postmarked by January submit resolutions, amendments and 7. After January 7, all registrations reports, and an agenda are posted Deadline-January 7! must be processed on-site. online at www.thediocese.net/ The deadline for nominations, diocese/annual_council_214.shtml. resolution and amendment Strenghten Existing Churches Strenghten submissions, report submissions / Council continued on page 3 No paper handouts will t INSIDE 4 Briefs from Around the Church 8 Eleven Ordained to Priesthood 9 Giving Thanks in Liberia 11 Bishop’s Letter 15 Fall Camp Stops the Hunger 18 Water, Water, Anywhere? 23 Operatic Episcopalians news of The diocese ‘Family Devotions for Lent’ Br. Leo Campos and Br. John Ogle, The participants in this project both of the Diocese of Virginia, have have been involved in a set of Bpartnered to create a multi-media retreats that Br. Campos and Br. January 2009 project called “Family Devotions Ogle have conducted for the past t VOLUME 118 for Lent.” This set of audio CDs five years at Roslyn and at different t NUMBER 1 includes a recorded Gospel reading churches throughout the Diocese. Circulation 23,000 for each day of Lent plus a short They hope families or individuals Published by The Diocese of Virginia meditation from priests in the will use these CDs to supplement Diocese, including the Rev. Bob their Lenten discipline. Learn more Bishop Friend, the Rev. Tom Simmons, the online at www.brothers-in-Christ. The Rt. Rev. Peter James Lee Rev. David Keill, the Rev. Lynne net. Washington, the Rev. Rhonda Baker To order “Family Devotions Bishop Coadjutor and the Rev. Bill Burk. The Rt. Rev. for Lent,” send your check for $10, The Rt. Rev. Shannon S. Johnston Shannon S. Johnston provides the made payable to Different Day introduction, and a companion Productions, to Br. John Ogle, 2727 Bishop Suffragan booklet offers other readings for Turner Road, Goochland, VA 23063. The Rt. Rev. David Colin Jones each day of Lent. Editor Henry D.W. Burt II Save the Date Managing Editor Emily Cherry A celebration of the Rt. Rev. Peter James Lee’s 25th anniversary of his consecration to the episcopate will take place on May 30 with a silver jubilee Design/Layout Tcelebration and Eucharist at Washington National Cathedral at 10:30 a.m. John Dixon More details will be published in future issues of The Virginia Episcopalian and online at www.thediocese.net. Advertising Assistant Karen Smith Mark you calendars for the following early-spring events: March 14: Vestry Education Day (location TBA) Copyright ©2008 The Virginia March 16-18: Educational Retreat for Parish Administrators, Roslyn Episcopalian. No article, column, photograph or illustration in The March 20-22: Shrine Mont Volunteer Work Weekend Virginia Episcopalian may be March 26-29: Benedictine Retreat co-sponsored with the Friends of reproduced or transmitted in any St. Benedict, Roslyn form without written permission from the editor. The Virginia Episcopalian (ISSN 15353621, USPS 019711) is published by the Diocese of Get in-the-Know Virginia, located at 110 W. Franklin Street, Richmond, VA 23220. It is Interested in receiving more news of the Diocese? published bimonthly six times per Visit www.thediocese.net to sign up to receive the weekly year. Periodicals postage paid in e-Communiqué electronic newsletter, as well as periodic Richmond, VA 23232-9998. news updates and notices from the Diocese of Virginia. Subscriptions: t $5.00 / year for communicants of the Diocese t $6.00 / year for non-communicants t $1.50 for individual copies Views expressed in this newspaper are not official statements of policy by the Diocese of Virginia. Editorial and advertising policy is set by the editor and Executive Board with the advice of the editorial advisory board. news of The diocese 3 Council continued from page 1 / nominations should be postmarked (nominations from the floor will Nominations: Nominations by January 7. After January 7, not be available on the Web site are being accepted for Standing all nominations must be made prior to Council). Committee, Virginia Diocesan from the floor. If you intend to Homes, Diocesan Missionary make a Standing Committee Resolution & Amendment Society, Trustees of the Funds and nomination from the floor, please Submissions: Guidelines on how to Bloomfield. A nomination form bring 700 copies of the nomination submit a resolution or a canonical can be downloaded online. All form for distribution at Council amendment can be found online on the Council Web site. After January 7, all resolutions or amendments Annual Council is the meeting of the leadership of the Diocese of Virginia must be submitted from the that convenes in January of each year. It serves as the legislative body of the Council floor. Council must Diocese. Council membership is made up of canonically resident clergy in the agree to accept any resolutions or Diocese as well as elected lay delegates from each parish. Lay representation canonical amendments from the is determined by a formula, detailed in the diocesan Constitution, that provides floor. If you intend to propose a for one lay delegate for every church and an additional lay delegate for each resolution or amendment from the 300 confirmed communicants in good standing, or major fraction thereof, floor, please bring 700 copies for above the first 300 reported in the last annual report. Other members of distribution at Council. Council include lay members of the Executive Board and Standing Committee, the chancellor of the Diocese, presidents of the regions, appointed youth and The Church’s one foundation collegiate delegates and the president of Episcopal Church Women. Typical Council business includes hearing reports from diocesan Is Jesus Christ her Lord, She committees, commissions, task forces, leaders and governing bodies of the is His new creation By water Diocese. Members of the Diocese may also submit resolutions, canonical amendments and nominations prior to Council, which may be voted on during the and the Word. course of Council. Nominations this year include the Standing Committee, among others. Members of Council also vote to approve the annual diocesan budget. From heaven He came The proceedings of Council are recorded each year in the Annual Council and sought her To be His Journal, which is distributed in electronic format to all churches in the Diocese. holy bride; With His own blood He bought her And for her life He died. Reports: All diocesan committees, commissions and organizations are Mardi Gras required to submit an annual report. The chair of your organization & Live Auction should file the report by January 7. When: Friday, February 6, 2009 This report will also be published in Where: NRECA Conference Center Arlington, VA the Journal of Council.