Six Aquidneck churches work together in New Orleans on Habitat for Humanity mission trip

In April Emmanuel Church sponsored its fifth mission trip to the Gulf Coast since Hurricane Katrina, collaborating with the Aquidneck Island church community to send seventeen volunteers to New Orleans. Six Churches participated in this ministry together; Channing Memorial, Emmanuel Episcopal Church, St. Barnabas Roman Catholic, St. Columba’s Episcopal, St. Mary’s Episcopal and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.

The Aquidneck group worked for Habitat for Humanity, who has coordinated over 100,000 volunteers since the storm, helping more than 400 families. Volunteers left the comforts of Rhode Island behind to work with others from across North America to bring hope to the people in New Orleans.

After almost six years, many people are still suffering from the effects of Katrina. Neighborhoods are still boarded up. Lives are still torn apart, but in the midst of it volunteers found people full of hope.

Volunteers participated in various projects. They put clapboard on a house for a New Orleans family of six, helped Episcopal Community Services sheetrock a home for a woman who has lived in a FEMA trailer for four years now, and worked for the Latino Farmers Cooperative as well as New Orleans Mission.

Each member of the group returned home with new friends from the Aquidneck church community and a feeling that is difficult to explain. What each member knows is that someday they will return to New Orleans. The need is so great.
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Celebration of the Volunteers Return- Sunday May 15, 2011 at 10 AM  The Episcopal service will include southern spiritual music and some members of the mission group will talk about their life-changing experiences.

Story Sharing & Slideshow- Sunday May 22, 2011 at 4 PM at People’s Café. Member of the group would like to share their stories of compassion, of giving, and of receiving with the Newport Community.

Donations of canned goods and non-perishable food items will be collected on May 15th and May 22nd to be donated to the Salvation Army, Newport food pantry. Services and events are free and open to the public. For more information call 401-847-0675.

State of the Congregations Follow Up Resources and Letter from Bishop Wolf

May 6, 2011

Dear Friends,

Thanks to those who were with us at the "State of the Congregations" meeting last Saturday. There were over 115 people there from more than 30 congregations. The presentation made by the Rev. David Lucey on behalf of the Program and Budget Committee was frank and clear; if we are to thrive as a diocese, each church must take an unvarnished look at its current reality, figure how it can best utilize its assets – financial, physical and human – in order to further God’s kingdom.

In addition, we need to talk to our neighboring churches and find effective ways to collaborate in such a way that the Gospel mandates are creatively fulfilled and needs are met in the local communities. This may lead to mergers, partnerships, shared ministry or other ideas that you generate.

We left the meeting committing to three things.

1. Each church will complete the form from Alban Institute and have conversation with their leaders and congregation about the financial future.
2. Each Deanery will meet within the next month inviting leaders –both clergy and lay – from each church to discuss what each church is currently doing and begin conversation about how groups of congregations can work together to enhance ministry, share resources and save money
3. Another meeting will be held in the fall to report back how the work has progressed.

If you were not at Saturday’s meeting, I ask you to view the material we distributed at Saturday’s meeting including Fr. Lucey’s PowerPoint presentation, 2009 Parochial Report Statistics, and the Congregation Budget Self-Test so that you can be part of this important dialogue.

Faithfully Yours,
Geralyn Wolf

Lookout, Your Church May be Flocked

Photo: Joey.Parsons 

Your church may soon be flocked by plastic flamingos, courtesy of the Rhode Island delegates to the Episcopal Youth Event (EYE) of 2011.

The Episcopal Youth Event is a gathering of high schoolers and their advocates from throughout the Episcopal Church, to inspire and empower youth as Christian apostles. It is a triennial event and this summer's meeting will be taking place at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Our delegates are a diverse group of high school students from various Episcopal parishes throughout Rhode Island, who have been selected for their leadership abilities and deep faith.

Together with a flock of plastic flamingoes they are trying to raise as much funding as possible to help cover the costs of the trip.

If you happen to be flocked, the general cost to remove the flamingos is $25.

For an additional:

• $10 they will remove them in 24 hours
• $25 you can choose their next destination, but play nice please.
• $15 insures that they will not return

**If you don’t want your church to be flocked at all you always can donate $50 to the EYE delegation in advance**

Contact Catherine (401) 258-9249 or Kate (401) 862-0142 with your requests. The youth of RI are thankful for all your donations!



The Bible beats Manchester United and Justin Bieber to top of the Facebook charts

[April 15, 2011 the Anglican Communion News Service]

Figures published by http://www.allfacebook.com/ this week revealed that more people are actively engaging with the The Bible than any other page on leading social media site Facebook.

With Easter only days away it seems that the world's best-selling book is also making a massive impact in the digital world. With more than 6 million 'fans' it has beaten other hugely popular pages including those of sports teams like Manchester United and celebrities like Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga.

The Anglican who oversees The Bible's Facebook page, United Bible Societies' Jane Pleace, expressed her excitement... Click here for the full article.

The Latest e-Risen- April 21st 2011

You can view the latest issue of eRISEN, our biweekly email events calendar, at the link below:

eRISEN April 21st 2011 issue

Want to subscribe to the eRISEN mailing list? Want to submit your event? Just visit eRISEN our website

Committee Nominations Open for Bishop Search and Transition Process

The Standing Committee and Diocesan Council of the Episcopal Diocese of RI, the groups that oversee the transition process leading to the ordination of the next Bishop of Rhode Island, are forming two committees to conduct the work of that process: a Search & Nomination Committee and a Transition Committee.

If you are interested in serving on one of these committees or you wish to nominate qualified committee candidates, please read the Ministry Description & Qualifications and use the Application for Appointment form to submit your nomination(s) to the Standing Committee and Diocesan Council at committees@episcopalrisearch.org.

If you have questions, feel free to send them to that same email address. Information about progress in the transition process will be posted periodically at http://www.episcopalrisearch.org/.

...click here for the full article at http://www.episcopalrisearch.org/

Youth raise over $3,000 for Haiti, at 2011 Dicoesan 30 Hour Famine

On the weekend of March 26th-27th, 31 youth and 14 adult chaperones gathered at St. Peter’s by-the-Sea in Narragansett to participate in the annual Diocesan 30 Hour Famine. Participants traveled from St. Paul’s Pawtucket, St. John’s Barrington, St. George’s Central Falls, and Christ Church Westerly to learn about world hunger, to stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Haiti, and to have some fun with Episcopalians across the state.

The 30 Hour Famine is a nationwide event coordinated by World Vision, and this year our donations will be sent to Haiti to continue to provide relief and support there. So far we know that participants raised more than $3,000.00, and we are still collecting the donations that were taken in!

A highlight of the weekend was when the Rev. Deacon Buck Close of St. George’s in Central falls visited to share his firsthand experiences of Haiti. Deacon Close founded 1000 Jobs Haiti  long before last year’s earthquake. He was in Haiti when it struck and has been back many times since with 1000 jobs, an organization that helps to create sustainable jobs at fair wages, and offers entrepreneurial assistance to Haitian artisans, cooperatives, and entrepreneurs.

The Diocesan 30 Hour Famine owes a special thank you to the community at St. Peter’s by-the-Sea, for their gracious hospitality. Our Saturday Eucharist was celebrated by their Rector, the Rev. Casey Shobe. Linda O’Neill was vital in the planning and implementation of the weekend’s activities, as she is both their parish administrator and youth leader. Some St. Peter’s parishioners even came to the church at 5:00am Sunday morning to get things ready for our breaking of the fast at 6:00am!
Thank you all for your prayers and support throughout the weekend.

A Blog for the Brown/RISD Chaplaincy

The Latest news from the Brown/RISD Chaplaincy is that their news now has its own blog!

Check it out, to keep updated on the latest happenings and other useful information from our Diocesan Chaplian to Brown & RISD, The Rev. Michael Tuck.


To view the blog go to http://brownrisd-episcopalians.blogspot.com/

Bishop's Search Process Begins: A Letter from Standing Committee and Diocesan Council

Diocese of Rhode Island,

The Standing Committee and Diocesan Council, the diocesan groups officially charged with appointing a Committee to conduct the nomination and election process for the XIII Bishop of Rhode Island, have started the process. The groups met March 15 and March 25, to learn about best practices for an episcopal transition from the Rt. Rev. F. Clayton Matthews, Bishop of the Office of Pastoral Development of the House of Bishops, and to make initial decisions about how to proceed.

At its March 25 meeting, the Standing Committee and Diocesan Council reached consensus about a methodology both for accepting names of people who are interested in serving on the Committee to conduct the nomination and election process and for seeking out other potential appointees; specific details and timing of that process are still being developed. Also in development is a timeline for the transition process, which is expected to conclude in late 2012.

The Standing Committee and Diocesan Council also commissioned three ad-hoc teams to begin work in areas that need immediate attention for the transition process:

• Finance — to begin reviewing potential expenses
• Communication — to begin developing an approach for timely and effective communication
• Organization — to begin drafting job descriptions and tasks

In addition to the ad-hoc teams, individual members of the Standing Committee and Diocesan Council are working to:

• Invite a priest in the Diocese to write a prayer for the transition process.
• Identify a consultant for the Committee to conduct the nomination and election process
• Identify a chaplain for the Committee to conduct the nomination and election process

The Standing Committee and Diocesan Council will meet again in early April. Watch for additional updates as the transition process moves forward.

Please pray for Bishop Wolf and for all those involved in our episcopal transition.


Scott Avedisian, President, Standing Committee
The Reverend James Bocchino, Vice President, Diocesan Council

The Latest eRISEN events newsletter: April 4th 2011

You can view the latest issue of eRISEN, our biweekly email events calendar, at the link below:

eRISEN April 4th 2011 issue

Want to subscribe to the eRISEN mailing list? Want to submit your event? Just visit eRISEN our website