Clergy

At St. Paul's in Chatham, "daring to be missional" looks like their "Disability & Faith" program which proclaims that all of us, including the disabled, are created in the image of God. At St. Luke's in Montclair, it looks like engaging the congregation and the surrounding community to make disciples. And at St. Paul's in Englewood, it looks like a Choir School after-school program.

Three congregations open their doors to meet the needs of their respective communities. St. Agnes' in Little Falls has opened a food pantry that includes pets as well as people. St. John's in Union City is operating as a community center with arts, wellness and after-school programs as well as a thrift shop. Grace Church Van Vorst in Jersey City involves many volunteers in its Breakfast Plus program.

Bishop Mark Beckwith, Rabbi Matthew Gewirtz, and Imam W. Deen Shareef appeared on Ebru Today, a news and culture program on the cable channel Ebru TV, to talk about the Newark Interfaith Coalition for Hope and Peace and their interfaith trip to Israel/Paslestine.
 

The push for stiffer gun control measures has taken a front seat on the American consciousness after the deadly school shooting in Newtown, Conn. last month. President Barack Obama unveiled a $500 million gun violence package today aimed at reducing violence nationwide. That was good news to members of the Newark Interfaith Coalition for Hope and Peace, whose mission is to curb violence in New Jersey’s largest city.

Bishop Mark Beckwith said Obama’s proposal isn’t as much as he would want, but it’s a step in the right direction. He said aside from the Newtown shooting, there have been other acts of unspeakable violence with guns. The impetus for the interfaith coalition was the 2007 schoolyard shooting in Newark that left three teens dead and one wounded at the hands of gang members.

[Madison Patch] Jack Harter, a member of Grace Episcopal Church in Madison who loved animals and for whom the community rallied to raise money so he could have a service dog, died last week in his sleep.

The 6-year-old borough resident, who played a shepherd in the church's Christmas pageant this year, had an incurable disease that left him with little mobility and no way to consistently communicate.

[Episcopal News Service] What does a new beginning look like?

For many the New Year is for planning positive changes and forging new paths for wellness: heart-healthy diets, cardio regimens or new gym memberships. But what about the other “heart” health? How often do you need to be reminded to nourish and exercise the spirit?