[edow] Church House News

[Church House News]

OCTOBER 9, 2008

*** The weekly bulletin for clergy, wardens, diocesan committee members,
convention delegates and church administrators in the Episcopal Diocese
of Washington ***

WASHINGTON NATIONAL CATHEDRAL ON WETA TV 26
WETA All Access will feature a new half hour program on the history,
architecture, people and activities of Washington National Cathedral at
8 p.m. Oct. 15. After the broadcast the program will be available at
http://www.weta.org/watchonline For more information, visit www.weta.org

CLERGY AS CAREGIVERS PROGRAM 
ESM Cares, the geriatric care management service of Episcopal Senior
Ministries, will offer a special program to the Episcopal clergy in the
Diocese who are caring for their older family members. The program, set
for 9 a.m. to noon Dec. 2 in the Undercroft of Grace, Silver Spring,
will offer support and resource information. For more information and to
register contact Mary Ann Buckley at 202/364-0020 or mbuckley at esm.org 

2008 CHILDREN TO CHILDREN ADVENT APPEAL
Materials are being mailed this week to parishes for this year's
Children to Children Appeal which will raise funds to purchase
anti-malaria bed nets for children and their families in Mozambique. The
mailings, which are being sent to "Directors of Sunday School/Christian
Education," contain an activity guide for use with your children during
Advent. Contact person is Cheryl Daves Wilburn at cwilburn at edow.org
 
ACOLYTE FESTIVAL ADVISORY
Participants in Saturday's Acolyte Festival at Washington National
Cathedral: Please note that photos taken at the festival may be used in
the Cathedral's print or electronic publications. By taking part in the
festival, participants agree to the usage of any image taken by the
designated photographer. Contact dmarks at cathedral.org with any
questions.
  
DAYSPRING CENTER OFFERS TWO RETREATS
The Dayspring Silent Retreat Center in Germantown is offering the
following retreats:
* Gathering Resources for the Journey, Oct. 17-19 led by Fred Taylor,
former director of For Love of Children. Retreatants will work with the
themes of the confidence that comes from faith; the energy that comes
with hope; the power of surrender that goes with love of God and
neighbor. 
* Encircling the World with Compassion and Love, Dec. 5-7 led by
Patience Robbins, a spiritual director and director of the Personal
Spiritual Deepening Program at the Shalem Institute for Spiritual
Formation. 
To learn more, visit www.dayspringretreat.org  

PLEASE REMEMBER IN YOUR PRAYERS
Please keep the following clergy and members of the diocese in your
prayers this week:
*  Bishop Bill Spofford - wife (Polly) in her final days
*  David MacDonald - brother's health (Johnny) 
*  Jessee Neat - personal health
*  Jeffrey MacKnight - father's failing health (Frank)
*  Susan Burns - personal health 
*  Leslie St. Louis and partner (Alice) - personal health
*  Donna Brown - personal health 
*  Michael Marrett - personal health
*  Sarah Duggin - personal health
*  Travers Koerner - personal health
*  Susan Keller - father's health (Thomas)
*  Claudia Tielking - son's health (Josh) - preparing for next phase of
treatment

>>> REMINDERS:

CLERGY PLEASE NOTE: CONFIRMATION SERVICES 
Confirmation services are set for 10 a.m. Nov. 1 at Washington National
Cathedral. Please respond to CathedralConfirmations at edow.org by Oct. 10
if you will, or will not, be bringing candidates to either service. If
participating, give an approximate count of how many candidates in each
category (confirm, receive and reaffirm). 
 
REMEMBERING BETHLEHEM THIS CHRISTMAS
The second annual Joint Simulcast Worship Service with the People of
Bethlehem is set for 9:30 a.m. Dec. 20 in Washington National
Cathedral's Bethlehem Chapel. Stand in solidarity with Bethlehem's
suffering Christians. The service is sponsored by the Ad Hoc Committee
for Bethlehem, the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation, Sharing
Jerusalem and Washington Interfaith Alliance for Middle East Peace. For
further information, contact Grace Said at gsaid at comcast.net or
301/951-5270.

NEW STEWARDSHIP WORKSHOPS 
* Money Management 101: Set for 6 to 9 p.m. Oct. 16 at Episcopal Church
House. Led by Gian Deguzman of Primerica Financial. The basics and best
practices for managing your own money. Topics include setting goals,
future planning, insurance and a basic overview of different kinds of
investments.  
* Values and Money: Set for 9 a.m. to noon Oct. 25 at Episcopal Church
House. Led by Patricia Bjorling, director of stewardship for the Diocese
of Virginia. Explore the relationship between spiritual life and
possessions. 
Both workshops are free; light refreshments will be served. Sign up at
edow.org/events

PALESTINIAN EMBROIDERY AND OLIVE OIL PRE-HOLIDAY SALE
The eighth annual Palestinian Embroidery and Olive Oil Pre-holiday Sale
is set for 5 to 8 p.m. Nov. 14 and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 15 at
Westmoreland Congregational United Church of Christ, 1 Westmoreland
Circle, Bethesda. The sale will include traditional and modern
embroidery from Palestinian refugee camps and cooperatives in Gaza, the
West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria and olive oil from the West Bank.
Please note that credit cards are not accepted. For more information
contact Gretchen Theobald at gheobald at mindshpring.com or 202/244-2753 or
Pamela Mertz at MertzMD at aol.com or 301/229-0973 or (cell) 301/512-4694.

AMERICA AND THE WORLD: PICKING UP THE PIECES
Foreign policy analysts Brent Scowcroft, Zbigniew Brzezinski and David
Ignatius will discuss how America can connect with a changing world
during a 7 p.m. Oct. 21 program sponsored by the Nancy and Paul Ignatius
Program Fund at Washington National Cathedral. Steve Lemons of New
America Foundation will offer an introduction. Responses from global
voices include Haili Cao, foreign editor of Caijing magazine, China;
Trevor Mwamba, bishop of Botswana, and Karim Sadjadpour of the Carnegie
Endowment for Peace, with a wrap up by New York Times columnist Thomas
Friedman. There is no charge, but registration is required at
www.nationalcathedral.org

DISCIPLES OF CHRIST IN COMMUNITY (DOCC) 
This fall, DOCC is offered in a new format of back-to-back weekends:
Oct. 24-26 and
Oct. 31-Nov. 2. This exploration of the heart of Christianity covers the
same material as the longer course, featuring small group conversation.
Call 202/537-2335 for information; register at www.nationalcathedral.org

2009 COLA INCREASE APPROVED
The Diocesan Council approved a 3.9 percent cost of living increase for
2009 at its September meeting. Updated compensation tables at
www.edow.org 
 
CLERGY: APPLY NOW FOR THE SUMMER COLLEGIUM
Applications are now being accepted for the Summer Collegium, a Lilly
Endowment project in support of small congregations. Twenty-five clergy
and spouses/partners from all Christian denominations will be invited to
Virginia Theological Seminary for "Body, Mind and Soul: Celebrating,
Strengthening and Sustaining Clergy Wholeness in Small Congregations"
from June 24 to July 1. Applications must be postmarked by Dec. 15. All
expenses for the event are paid for by the grant. For more information
and an application, visit  www.vts.edu/education/collegium or call
Marilyn Johns at 703/461-1760.
 
RACIAL RECONCILIATION WORKSHOP
Registration is now open for the Nov. 14-15 Racial Reconciliation
Workshop, which will be held at St. Paul's, Piney. Register at
www.edow.org/events "Racial Reconciliation Workshop"  

ARE YOU READY FOR THE DIGITAL CONVERSION? 
The Senior Ministry of Trinity, D.C. (7005 Piney Branch Road) invites
you to a program at 10 a.m. Oct. 21: "Preparing for the Digital
Television Transition." Francine Jefferson of the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration will speak and take
questions. The program is free and no reservations are required. Contact
Diane Robinson, director for senior ministry, at DLR814 at aol.com with
questions.

DISCERNING MISSION IN COMMUNITY   
The Rev. Sam Portaro will present the Fall 2008 endowed lecture,
"Discerning Mission in Community," cosponsored by the Episcopal/Anglican
Campus Ministry, UMD and St. Andrew's College Park, at 4:30 p.m. Nov. 2
at St. Andrew's, College Park. The Rev. Portaro, a noted Anglican
author, was Episcopal Chaplain at the University of Chicago for 25
years, and is former president of the Episcopal Society of Ministries of
Higher Education. All are welcome.

REPORTING BACK ON THE LAMBETH CONFERENCE 
Canon Jim Naughton will share his experiences at the Lambeth Conference
at 10:15 a. m. Sunday at St. Columba's, D.C.  
 
ADVENT SILENT RETREAT
The Diocesan Retreat Committee will hold an Advent Silent Retreat at the
Cathedral College on Dec. 5-7. The theme of the retreat will be "The
Lord said to Moses "Why do you cry out to me? Tell the people to get
moving!" The Rev. John Carleton Hayden, will lead the retreat. Drawing
upon the biblical account of Moses, Hayden will speak about a
discipleship that weaves together identity, conversion, freedom and
vocation. The fee is $195. Scholarships are available. To reserve a
space, applications and a deposit of $100 must be received by Nov. 7.
Visit www.edow.org/retreat for information and application instructions,
or call Joan Shelton at 202/232-1667.

ACCESSIBLITY GRANTS  
The Comis Foundation solicits proposals for projects to increase
accessibility within churches in the Episcopal Diocese of Washington.
The Foundation will award matching grants of up to 50 percent of project
costs and up to a maximum of $30,000 per award.  The deadline for
submission of proposals is Nov. 1. Instructions for preparation and
submission of proposals are at www.comisfoundation.org. Address
inquiries to ComisFoundation at aol.com

SPEAKERS AVAILABLE (JUBILEE OFFICER AND ERD REP)
Is your parish looking for a forum for this fall and winter? John Miers,
the diocesan Jubilee Officer and Martha Jenkins, diocesan coordinator
for Episcopal Relief and Development are happy to hold a forum for your
parish to discuss their respective roles and the organizations they
represent. Please contact John Miers at johngmiers at comcast.net about
outreach-oriented Jubilee Centers or Martha Jenkins at
mjenkins108 at aol.comto schedule a date on your parish calendar. 

FALL 2008 SAFEGUARDING GOD'S CHILDREN TRAININGS
Trainings for Safeguarding God's Children (prevention of child abuse)
will resume in September. This training is required for all paid
full-time staff and any volunteers who work with children and youth,
including Christian Education leaders and Sunday School teachers. All
training sessions are on Saturday unless otherwise indicated. 
* Oct. 25 (9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.); St. Peter's, Poolesville
* Nov. 8 (9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.); Transfiguration, Silver Spring
* Dec. 2 (Tuesday: 6 to 10 p.m., with dinner); St. Columba's, D.C.
* Dec. 13 (9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.); St. Mary's, D.C. 
Registration will be available soon at www.edow.org/prevention 

REGIONAL ASSEMBLIES 2008
Clergy, wardens and convention delegates are entitled to vote and should
plan to come to this year's Regional Assemblies. Other members of the
vestry are encouraged to come as well to participate in discussions. For
information on how to submit nominations, etc., visit
www.edow.org/regionals
* Region 1: 8:30 a.m. to noon Oct. 18 (Saturday) at St. Patrick's, D.C.
* Region 2: 8:30 a.m. to noon Oct. 18 (Saturday) at St. Patrick's, D.C.
* Region 3: 1:15 to 4:30 p.m. Oct. 18 (Saturday) at St. Luke's, Bethesda
* Region 4: 1:15 to 4:30 p.m. Oct. 18 (Saturday) at St. Luke's, Bethesda
* Region 5:  6:15 to 9:15 p.m. Oct. 22 (Wednesday) at Holy Trinity,
Bowie
* Region 6:  8:30 a.m. to noon Oct. 25 (Saturday) at St. Paul's, Waldorf

 BLACK MINISTRIES 8TH TRIENNIAL CONFERENCE
The Black Ministries 8th Triennial Conference, set for Oct. 19-23 at the
Intercontinental New Orleans Hotel, will bring diverse groups together
to explore both the challenges and best practices in black and
multicultural congregations, and for blacks in predominantly white
congregations. Conference fee is $650. To register, visit
http://www.conference.com/eventmanager/OnlineRegistration.asp?eventcode=
H1S
   
CONTRIBUTING TO THE BISHOP JOHN T. WALKER SCHOOL
Contributions for the planned Bishop John T. Walker School for Boys can
be sent to: The Bishop John T. Walker School, Episcopal Church House,
Mount St. Alban Washington, D.C. 20016 or visit
www.bishopwalkerschool.org

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