Diocesan Update - January 3, 2010
Update on Fr Nigel (Fri. Jan 1). He is improving each day. Yesterday he went to one of his doctors, his first time out of the house since his arrival home, and he was taken off of all of his heart medications. THANK YOU LORD FOR YOUR HEALING TOUCH. This is good because he will no longer be on blood thinners and he will not have to have an injection every day. So today is the first day since October 10 th, 2009 that he is needle free! Alleluia and Thanks Be To God!
Fr. Nigel continues to gain strength although it is slower than he would like. His mind is ready to do all sorts of things but his body is not strong enough. His oxygen dependency is decreasing. He only needs it during periods of activity. The bedsore is becoming less painful and is healing so the surgery that was scheduled for next week has been cancelled. Our Lord hears your prayers.
His mind and spirits are as quick as ever. A group of staff from the Spiritual Life Center went over to his home to sing carols outside of his window and Fr. Nigel greeted them with jokes and quips in between songs. It was uplifting for all.
Please pray for: Strengthening of his muscles, complete healing and renewal of his lungs, continued healing of the bedsore, Strength and patience for Lynn and Megan as they aide Fr. Nigel in his recovery
We give praise to our Lord for His healing of Fr. Nigel and of so many others. Thank you, thank you, thank you Lord Jesus.
“Here’s a different approach for 2010: Instead of focusing on what’s wrong with yourself or your circumstances, resolve this year to focus on God. Instead of making resolutions, resolve to do one main thing: Make your life the subject of gentle conversation between you and God on a Daily Basis. That doesn’t mean in the sense of, ‘God, I want…. I need… I wish.’ Rather, ‘God, I want to reflect Your glory in my life more in 2010 than in 2009. I want to live today in light of the end of my life. Speak to me and empower me to be conformed, gently but surely, more into the image of Christ this year.’ ” Dr. David Jeremiah.
Women’s Epiphany Retreat is this coming weekend (Friday evening – Sunday lunch). If you have procrastinated on registering, please register online or download a registration form for faxing at http://www.albanyepiscopaldiocese.org and scroll down to “Upcoming Events”. This year’s theme is Following the Star. The subsidized rate is $125 per person dbl occupancy. Scholarships available. Any last minute questions, please contact Retreat Leader, Deacon Justine Guernsey at jmg1014@aol.com.
St. John's Troy Mission Team for Haiti leaves for Lascahobas and the Church of the Holy Spirit in Haiti at 2 am , this Tuesday morning . Tim Schmehl and Bill Daniel of St. John's are the leaders of this engineering and construction mission. Please pray for the success of their mission and for their safe travel to the high plateau of central Haiti.
They will install solar power at the School of Holy Spirit Episcopal Church. This will provide dependable electric power to a large segment of the school. In addition, it will allow the charging of batteries for the operation of computers and cell phones. When this mission was envisioned last April 2009, we had no idea that we would be able to accomplish it. God answered our prayers! GE gave us the solar panels (shipped them as well) and RPI students (RPI Chapter of Engineers for a Sustainable World) provided all kinds of advice and support. The college itself donated 10 laptops and the students programmed them for the high school students at Holy Spirit. Getting these construction parts out to Lascahobas has been an amazing problem and the success of this engineering effort will bring the community (some 75 miles northeast of Port-au-Prince) needed communication and education facilities. Donations came in amounts that we never thought would occur and the mission now becomes a reality. Persons all over the diocese came forward. Thank you all for your support. The Mission Team feels truly blessed. The 8 member team is comprised of 3 engineers, 1 professor and 4 students.
This Saturday, January 9 at 11am , Fr Richard Lehmann will be instituted as Rector, St. Matthew’s Church , 129 Old Loudon Rd, Latham, NY. Clergy processing should arrive by 10:30 (alb with white stole).
On Saturday afternoon, January 9, at 4pm , the Reverend Scott Evans will be ordained to the priesthood at Christ Church , Rte 67 & High St., Ballston Spa . Clergy processing should arrive by 3:30 (alb with white stole).
Parishes are authorized to continue the use of the Book of Common Prayer Lectionary for this Church Year in lieu of the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL).
The Diocese Business Office will close the books on Tuesday, January 5 after the mail has been received and parish 2009 assessment payments recorded. Assessment payments after the 5 th will be recorded as prior year assessments.
CPG has announced that retired clergy can earn up to $33,000 a year in 2010 from church sources without seeking permission from CPG. Retired clergy serving in a congregation or institution from which he or she retired must receive permission from the Bishop and CPG. The new Application for an Exception to the Rules for Work After Retirement can be downloaded at www.cpg.org. Failure to comply can result in the cleric being returned to full time active service, the ceasing of pension payments, and the congregation/institution being assessed 18% of the cleric’s compenstation.
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