Steven Boston, official photographer of Convention, has posted 249 photos from the 141st Annual Diocesan Convention in his online portfolio.
In this Mission Minute, Church of the Messiah in Chester/Long Valley relates how several years of parish mission trips have served a variety of neighborhoods. You’ll also see the Tri-parish youth of St. Alban's in Oakland, Trinity Church in Allendale and St. John’s in Ramsey bringing youthful exuberance and spirit to their mission program.
In this Mission Minute you’ll see how three congregations – St. Mary’s in Belvidere, St. Luke’s in Hope, and Church of the Redeemer in Morristown – brought issues of gun violence to the attention of their neighborhoods through creative observances of the Gun Violence Prevention Sabbaths in March and December 2014.
In this Mission Minute you’ll see how the three Jersey City congregations – St. Paul’s in Bergen, Grace Van Vorst and Incarnation – brought healing to their neighborhoods through a Good Friday Stations of the Cross that prayerfully visited the sites of violent crimes; how All Saints’ Church in Millington brought healing and support to their neighborhood after a neighbor went missing; and how the rector of St. Paul’s in Chatham led an impromptu public service of healing after a suicide in a local park left their neighborhood reeling.
In this Mission Minute you’ll see how two congregations used public prayer to build bridges in their neighborhoods: Church of the Good Shepherd in Fort Lee through an outdoor procession in which they learned about and prayed for neighboring organizations and entities; and Church of the Atonement in Tenafly by giving “Blessings to Go” to commuters on the anniversary of 9/11.
In this video, diocesan members who traveled together on a pilgrimage to Taize, France in July 2014 talk about their experiences.
On July 3 of this past year, I was scheduled to travel to Liberia as the Presiding Bishop’s representative at the consecration of my friend and colleague, Jonathan Hart, as Archbishop of West Africa.
On July 2, I received an email from Kit Cone, a member of Grace, Madison, who had lived in Liberia and has a long list of partnerships and relationships in West Africa. Kit had bundled together a series of emails from medical people in Liberia, England and the US indicating that the Ebola virus had not just spread to Monrovia, where the consecration was to take place; it was out of control.
“What is God up to” in our neighborhoods and communities? This question will be the focus of the presentations, workshops and discussions at the 141st Annual Diocesan Convention. Held once again at the Hilton Hotel in Parsippany, the two-day Convention will begin at 9 a.m. Friday, January 30 with registration, and is slated to conclude at 4 p.m. Saturday, January 31 (see the full proposed agenda).
Even if you’re not attending Convention in person, you can still follow it live on social media. Videos, photos, and updates will be posted on the diocesan Facebook page (facebook.com/dionewark), Twitter feed (twitter.com/dionewark) and the diocese’s new Instagram feed (instagram.com/dionewark). Our official hashtag for social media is #dionewark141.
Here are some highlights of what will take place at this year's Convention:
Do any of the following comments sound familiar to you? Has anyone seen my car keys? Now why did I just come into the kitchen? What’s his name again? Starts with an “R” – Robert, Roger? And have you ever said to yourself, “People are moving my things!”
