Episcopal Diocese of Albany - Priests and Deacons Update

Business Office: 68 South Swan Street - Albany, NY 12210 - (518) 465-4737
Christ the King Spiritual Life Center: 575 Burton Road - Greenwich, NY 12834 - (518) 692-9550

Diocesan Update Addendum - January 4, 2008

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Your prayers are invited for Deacons Mary Carol and Alan Hart. Dcn Mary Carol’s mother died on Christmas Eve. Deacon Pat and Richard LaVine’s. Dcn Pat’s mother died on December 30.

Rest eternal grant to them, O Lord; and let light perpetual shine upon them.

Almighty God, Father of all mercies and giver of comfort: Deal graciously, we pray, with all who mourn; that, casting all their care on you, they may know the consolation of your love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen (BCP pg 505)

Your prayers for healing are invited for Jacqueline Wingert, wife of Fr John Wingert, interim rector, St. Paul’s, Albany. She fell and broke her ankle and is recovering at home.

Attached is the 2008 Intercessory Prayer List. It will be uploaded to the website this coming week and hard copies mailed to clergy and parishes.

Parish Leadership Conferences (PLC). Our first conference of 2007 is this Saturday at Christ the King Spiritual Life Center. For those who couldn’t make this one or the one scheduled for your deanery, you are most welcome to attend any other PLC; including the large parish PLC on Friday evening, February 1.

Jan 12 – Northern Adirondack and St. Lawrence Deaneries, sign-in/coffee at 8:30 am
Holy Family School, 12 Homestead Park, Malone 12953

Feb 1 – Large Parishes, registration begins at 5 PM
Advance registration required; limited seating capacity (cut off is Jan 29)
Site to be determined (Capital District) – working out details before announcing

Feb 2 – Susquehanna and Western Mohawk Deaneries
Anderson Theater, Hartwick College, Oneonta

Register at Diocese’s web page at http://www.albanyepiscopaldiocese.org/news/events/ and click on the PLC date you want to attend. You can also register by calling the Diocese at (518) 465-4737. The Saturday PLCs include lunch and the Friday evening PLC includes buffet dinner.

We apologize for the short notice on the changed schedule. We had to juggle the schedule to accommodate a change in the Bishop’s so he can attend the consecration and enthronement of the new Bishop of South Carolina, the speaker’s schedule (due to our changes), and site availability.

Boliva Mission Trip July 2008 - First interest meeting this Sunday, Jan 6, at 6 pm, at The Church of The Good Shepherd, 89 Hudson Ave, Green Island 12183. A meal of black beans and rice will be provided, to get use to missions type meals. This meeting will include a presentation on last year's trip and the focus of the upcoming trip. We will provide information for interested folks to pray about and to discern. Applications for the trip, and both Spiritual and Medical forms, will be distributed at the end of the meeting.

As of yet, we do not have an anticipated cost for the trip, but to give you a guideline, last year's trip was approx $1,350 per person which included all transportation (air, bus, boat, etc.), lodging, and all meals.

For more details, please contact Fr. Gus Calvo at (518) 828-3925 (church) or (518) 828-6016 (rectory)

Mission Team to Dominican Republic - Please pray for the St. James', Oneonta Mission to the Dominican Republic. Deacon Charlie Bailey and three other team members leave on January 7 to prepare for the rest of the team. Deacon Polly Bailey and the other 26 team members leave on January 9. While in the DR, they will construct a wall around the school in Sante Fe, build a basketball court, teach Sunday school, work with women in the village on sewing projects, provide medical support in the village, and pray with those in need. They return on January 18. This is the 11th year that St. James' Church has sent diocesan "missionaries" to the Dominican Republic, and each year is more spirit filled than the last!

Healing The Shepherds - a 24 hour retreat for clergy - Jan. 16 & 17 at Christ the King Spiritual Life Center. Led by Fr. Nigel Mumford, this program is open to clergy of all denominations who need Spiritual renewal or who are suffering from burnout. Cost is $100.00 per person and includes overnight accommodations and meals. Retreat begins Wednesday at 2:00pm and concludes on Thursday. For more details or to register, contact the Healing Ministry at CTK, (518) 692-3198.

Lenten Day Retreat – CTK SLC – February 9, 9am – 4pm. $25 per person. Register at Diocese website at http://www.albanyepiscopaldiocese.org/news/events/ and clicking on the Event Calendar entry for the Retreat. (Link will be available Thurs, Jan 10). This retreat is sponsored by the Diocese’s Christian Education team. More details to follow.

Pew Cushions available - St. John's Church, Johnstown is replacing its pew cushions. The old ones are available to any church that would like them. They are burgundy in color and are 88 inches long and 12 inches wide. Please contact Fr. Ted Monica at 518-762-9210 if you are interested.

2007 Parochial Report packages have been mailed by The Episcopal Church Center to our parishes and you should have received it by this week. They remind us that parishes are to file their reports with the diocese by March 1 and The Episcopal Church by May 31. By filing online at www.episcopalchurch.org/gc, you fulfill the requirement to file it with both of us. If you lose or forget your logon id or password, call Joan Ecker at (518) 465-4737 x206. For those who cannot file online, we will gladly assist. Please send the Parochial Report to the Diocese Office, attention: Joan Ecker, and she will file online.

This Lent on Saturday, February 23, St. George’s, Clifton Park will host a Renovaré Local Conference from 9 – 4:30. Cost is $25 per person if registered by Feb 1 and $30 per person if registered after Feb 1. To download a conference flier with the registration form and more details, go to St. George’s website: www.cliftonpark.org/stgeorges

Founded by Richard J. Foster, Renovaré (Latin meaning "to renew") is an effort that is committed to the renewal of the Church of Jesus Christ in all her multifaceted expressions. Renovaré is Christian in commitment, ecumenical in breadth, and international in scope.

Renovaré and other Local Steering Committees have held numerous conferences around the country in which Richard Foster, James Bryan Smith, and other team members bring the best teaching from six traditions--Contemplative, Holiness, Charismatic, Social Justice, Evangelical, and Incarnational--together into a practical strategy of small groups. Done in the context of worship and openness to God, participants experience dramatic spiritual growth and learn an effective way to continue their development into mature faith.

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