MyDiocese.net

[Episcopal News Service] For 125 years the Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil has been rooted in mission. What began as a mission church of the U.S.-based Episcopal Church has expanded its own mission fields into remote corners in what is the largest country in South America.

In the coming days, the church will gather in Porto Alegre, the birthplace of the Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil, to celebrate not only its 125th anniversary but also 50 years of autonomy and 30 years of women’s ordination.

“It is important to celebrate this milestone because it is imperative that the history and memories of the Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil are kept alive,” said Archbishop Francisco de Assis da Silva, Brazil’s primate since 2013, and bishop of the Diocese of Southwest Brazil. “It is also an opportunity to celebrate and give thanksgivings for the dedication and devotion of many generations and to make visible the Anglican presence in Brazil.”  Continue reading →

Here is her letter to her parish in May:

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

At the time of this writing I have been with you just over a month – and it has been a busy time to say the least. Taking a job as the new Rector of a parish only a few weeks before Holy Week presents one with a real challenge. I am happy to say that I was blessed to be a part of that time with all of you and I know that we experienced what is called “anamnesis” in worship. In other words, we truly recalled God’s saving deeds. On Palm Sunday we began with The Liturgy of the Palms outside, we heard about the events leading up to Jesus’ sentencing, and ended with the story of Jesus’ death on the cross.

The children learned to make palm crosses and that our palms are burned later to make the ashes for the next Ash Wednesday. At our Maundy Thursday service the choir sang, we washed each other’s feet, we shared the Eucharist; and we watched as the altar was stripped, the sacrament was taken to the Altar of Repose, the lights went dim and then we left in silence. From that time until noon on Good Friday, parishioners prayed in our sanctuary.

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Fr. Rodney, Carolina, Sophia and Alexa.

Fr. Rodney Roehner, the new rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, New Smyrna Beach, has a church full of active members who are eager to implement the next chapters in the church’s future, including a focus on the parish day school, parish hall and Resurrection Garden.

“As you are aware, there are many possibilities at St. Paul’s to reach to others in our parish and community,” Fr. Roehner said in one of his first church-newsletter messages.

“Fr. Rodney has some great ideas and a great enthusiasm for seeing them come to fruition,” said John Palmer, Senior Warden. “It is wonderful to see so many people excited about life here at St. Paul’s, and we have much to give thanks for, including our new Rector and his family.”

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Long-range planning is a key part of the ministry of the Rev. James Dorn III, his staff and his flock, as St. Matthias grows along with the city of Clermont.

From the Long-Range Planning Committee

The LRPC promised to report on the survey, which you responded to so effectively. Your responses and comments gave us the voice we so wanted to hear. Our initial take-away is that the St. Matthias community is pretty comfortable with its current status. The survey showed that most of us are in favor of growing St. Matthias and making it a welcoming place for Episcopalians and anyone interested in joining a community where God is worshipped, the Bible is preached and taught, and where people genuinely care for each other. However, there are some long-term developments that we, the LRPC, see that catch our attention. We would like to share our assessment with you and some proposals for positioning ourselves to navigate the coming changes.

We believe we have four strategic issues to address:
1. Making St. Matthias attractive to new members
2. Maximizing member participation in St. Matthias
3. Optimizing use of current facilities
4. Improving the fiscal health of St. Matthias

We grouped our survey questions around these four areas. The chart shows the results. One area that stands out to us and highlights the need for an ongoing awareness and change effort will be the service schedule analysis. This area had the lowest level of agreement, but it is a key area of resource optimization and space management. Continue reading →