Mark Your Calendar: 2007-2008 Region 1 Meeting Schedule

Sunday 11 November 2007 at 3:00 PM

St. George’s Church , Fredericksburg

Program: Diocesan Committee on Aging and Tri-Diocesan Council on Aging - The Rev. Marian Wendel

Follow-up discussion from Delegate 101

Sunday 24 February 2008 at 3:00 PM

Aquia Church , Stafford

Wednesday 30 April 2008 at 7:00 PM

Christ Church , Spotsylvania

From our President

Greetings to all of our Region I family.

The end of the year is fast approaching. As I write this, we are five weeks away from Advent. How quickly time passes. With this in mind, our program at the November meeting will address another aspect of this swift passage. The Reverend Marian Windel, Church of the Incarnation and Sophia House, will speak to us on the work of the Diocesan Committee on Aging and the Tri-Diocesan Council on Aging. This is a subject that affects all of us, be it personally or through our family members and friends.

After our November meeting, we will not meet again until we are already deep into Lent. However, we still have the Holy time of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany to go through. This is one of my favorite times. I like these early days of winter and the church seasons that fill them. The short days and early sunsets make a good time to reflect on the shortness of our lives in the great scheme of things, and the meaning of the events we celebrate in these short but highly significant seasons of the Church Year.

The Peace of the Lord be with you,
Jack Gaines, President

Introducing our Candidates for the upcoming elections…

The Reverend Brad L. Jackson , rector of The Piedmont Episcopal Church in Madison , seeks the office of Delegate to the Executive Board of the Diocese of Virginia . Mr. Jackson has been an ordained priest in the Episcopal Church for seventeen years and has spent the last fourteen in the Diocese of Virginia. As rector of Piedmont Episcopal Church for twelve years in Region I he has participated regularly in the clericus and Region I's meetings; serving as Secretary for the last seven to eight years. Mr. Jackson also served on the Missions Committee of Region I for several years.

Candidate for Region One's representative to the Diocesan Executive Board: the Reverend Jay Morris is assistant rector at Aquia Church , Stafford . He has lived in the Diocese of Virginia for 15 years, is currently the chairman of the diocesan Committee on Stewardship, and previously has served on the diocesan Commission on Lay Ministry. Mr. Morris genuinely believes that he is called to serve in this position; he loves the good work of this diocese that supported him for ordained ministry, and he wants to serve this diocese faithfully and actively in gratitude. He will vigorously endeavor to represent Region One's interests and concerns to the Executive Board and to keep Region One churches well-informed about the Executive Board's discussions and decisions. Mr. Morris believes that there is much good work for the people of this diocese to do together, and he wants to support Bishop Lee and other diocesan leaders with careful listening, good advice, and reasoning together. He has the commitment, time, and energy needed for serving Region One effectively in this position. Mr. Morris earned a double-major in philosophy and religion from Wake Forest University and a master's degree in religious studies from the University of Virginia ; he was working toward the Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Virginia and teaching philosophy to undergraduates there prior to being called to ordained ministry and earning the M.Div. from Virginia Theological Seminary.

The Rev. Dr. Christopher Agnew, priest-in-charge of Vauter's Church in Region I and St. Paul 's, Nomini Grove, in Region II, seeks the offices of General Convention Deputy, clerical order and Provincial Synod Deputy, clerical order. He serves as co-chair of the Diocese of Virginia Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations Commission, Chair of the Faith and Order Commission of the Virginia Council of Churches, and Ecumenical Coordinator of Province III of the Episcopal Church. He has taught as an adjunct professor of Church History at the Virginia Theological Seminary and is a former Associate Ecumenical Officer of the Episcopal Church. While on the Presiding Bishop's staff he was also responsible for the interfaith relations of the Episcopal Church. He is a member of the Boards of the Historical Society of the Episcopal Church, The National Episcopal Historians and Archivists, and the North American Academy of Ecumenists. Among his publications is Anglican Statements on the Church: Selected Documentary Sources for a Study of Anglican Ecclesiology (Forward Movement Publications, 1994). He is deeply committed to Christian unity, the unity of the Anglican Communion, and the unity of the Episcopal Church. He wishes to use his knowledge and experience in the area of ecclesiology in the service of the wider church at this critical time.

A thank you from Aquia Church :

29 October 2007

Dear Friends in Region One,

Please accept our thanks for your generous financial support and prayers for the mission trip that our parish, led by our EYC youth group, took this summer to New York . The assistance from Region One was very significant for our parishioners, one-third of whom participated in their very first mission trip!

For the last week in June, we served in Port Jervis, New York . Our mission trip was coordinated through Group Workcamps, a certified non-profit Christian organization that arranges such ventures for church groups each year in a wide variety of locations. The theme for the week, ‘ Renovate: Jesus Makes New,’ focused not only on the physical renovations of the homes and neighborhoods that we were assisting, but also on the spiritual renovations of our own hearts and minds as we committed ourselves more completely to serving others in Christ. Our mornings began with worship and a powerful video program prepared by the Group Workcamps staff, our lunches at the work sites included small-group devotionals with members of our work crews and with the residents whom we served, and our evenings ended with a large-group devotional, and discussion among the Aquia participants for Bible study, reflection, and sharing our ‘God-sightings’ of the day. Aquia’s teenagers and adults served alongside approximately three hundred participants total in Port Jervis, and all of us were shaped positively by this experience.

On our trip, we gave assistance to many elderly, disabled, and poor residents of Port Jervis with such home repairs as replacement of ceiling tiles, painting walls and decorative trim, light construction (for instance, repairing handrails and building porches), and yard work in a variety of places. While part of our work involved a variety of hands-on improvements, some of our work was also devoted to understanding better the people whom we were serving, getting to know them personally, and learning from their experiences. Port Jervis was once a center for manufacturing, transportation, and other industry, but over the last several decades the region has suffered devastating economic declines with the closing of many local factories and companies. This transition leaves homes and communities falling into disrepair for those who are left behind, and they have little or no means for making appropriate renovations. We came to make a good difference, and so we did.

Some interesting stories from our teenagers with this trip. One of our senior-most high school students participated in his fourth Aquia mission trip, and next summer he will be eligible for joining his fifth; he was one of our teenagers receiving financial assistance from the region this year and last, and his experience from past mission trips proved valuable. A number of teenagers in the lower grades of high school went on their very first mission trip, and now they stand ready to become active leaders in our EYC. One adult leader for our last several mission trips was able to serve on the workcamp’s general staff as a site coach, traveling from worksite to worksite and lending his expertise as a professional building contractor to crews from various churches. Another adult leader participated in her very first mission trip, and she is eagerly anticipating next year’s work assignment. Here is a moment on the bus ride back that was very telling about the commitment of our teenagers: When I asked them where they wanted to go on our parish-wide 2008 mission trip, they said unanimously: we don’t care where we go, so long as we can go to a place where there are very poor people and we can make a good difference for them.

As always, part of our budgeting for this trip included scholarship money for those who otherwise would have been unable to afford to join the journey. The mission grant from Region One provided some scholarship assistance for several teenagers and two adults and defrayed a bit of our travel costs for everyone, and we are most grateful for that support. Throughout the week, we saw vivid glimpses of good life-transformations taking place. On the Sunday following our return, I preached at all three of our worship services about the wonderful work I witnessed. A couple of weeks later, representative teenagers and adults shared their testimonies during our worship services and during our adult education program that morning, too. One direct benefit of this mission trip is that our EYC schedule for the current program year now devotes even more time and attention than before to service projects in our parish and around our community.

With all these good things in mind, we have already begun discussions within our EYC group about expanded forms of missions in the months ahead. We eagerly want to explore the possibilities of partnership with other Region One parishes in the process of discernment. As always, we remain available as one resource among others to our fellow churches in this region about our experience with past mission trips and about planning future ventures together.

Sincerely,

(The Rev.) Jay Morris, Assistant Rector

assistant@aquiachurch.com

AGENDA
Region 1 - Episcopal Churches
Agenda - November 11, 2007 , 3:00 - 4:30 pm
St. George's Church , Fredericksburg

Region 1:
In touch with the past
In step with the present
In anticipation of the future

Invocation - the Rev. Jim Dannals

Welcome and Introductions - Jack Gaines

Business meeting:

Dean's remarks - the Very Rev. Kent Rahm

President's remarks - Jack Gaines

Minutes of the April 25, 2007 , meeting - the Rev. Brad Jackson/ the Rev. Diane Carroll

Treasurer's report - Anna Lou Flynn

Proposed 2008 budget

ECW report - Jackie Drumheller

Diocesan Executive Board report - Don Metheny

Harbinger report - Deborah Poage

Mission Committee report - Bill Wick

Elections:

Clergy representative for Diocesan Executive Board and alternate

Endorsements of candidates for Diocesan elections

Program:

Diocesan Committee on Aging and Tri-Diocesan Council on Aging - The Rev. Marian Wendel

Follow-up discussion from Delegate 101

Benediction - the Rev. Jim Dannals

Next meeting - Sunday, February 24, 2008 , 3:00 pm , Aquia Church , Stafford

Region I Council Minutes
Wednesday, September 26, 2007 , 7-8:30 p.m.
Trinity Church , Fredericksburg

The mission of Region I Council of Episcopal Churches is to enable the local parish and the Diocese in carrying out their mission to the world as witnesses to God’s love and to be a visible and stable presence of the Body of Christ:
"In touch with the past, in step with the present, in anticipation of the future"

Attendance at the Meeting : Aquia, Stafford: Jay Morris; Christ Church, Brandy Station:; Christ Church, Spotsylvania: ; Emmanuel, Rapidan:; Hanover with Brunswick Parish, ; Incarnation, Mineral: Marian Windel; Little Fork, Rixeyville: Claude Gaston; Messiah, Chancellor: Tom Tower, Matt Small; Piedmont Church, Madison: Robert Nowak, Jr., Deborah Poage, Brad Jackson; St. Asaph’s, Bowling Green: ;St. Georges, Fredericksburg:; St. James, Louisa: Anna Lou Flynn, Jackie Drumheller ; St. John’s, King George: Jim Lynch; St. Mary’s, Colonial Beach: Jack Gaines, Ron Okrasinski; St. Paul’s, King George: David Gallagher; St. Peter’s, Port Royal: Fred Pannell, Bill Wick, Carolyn Davis; St. Stephen’s, Culpeper: Mary Jo Browning; Trinity Church, Fredericksburg: Kent Rahm, J. Walt Davis, Robert Laws; Vauter’s, Loretto: Chris Agnew.

September 26, 2007 : The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by President, Jack Gaines, with prayer led by The Very Rev. Kent Rahm.

Welcome and Introductions : Jack Gaines. Among opening introductions and comments we learned that The Rev. Clyde Angel, a long-time priest in the diocese, died on Sunday, September 23. Mr. Angel will be buried at St. Paul ’s, Owens. The Rev. Robert, Assistant at Trinity Church and Canterbury Sponsor was introduced to the Region. Welcome Robert.

Dean’s remarks : The Very Rev. Kent Rahm reported on Bishop Lee’s e-mail report on the House of Bishop’s meeting.

President’s remarks : Jack Gaines. Our November 11 meeting will be at 3:00 p.m. at St. George’s , Fredericksburg with Marion Wendel giving the program on Aging. Sunday, February 24 th’s meeting will be at 3:00 p.m. in Aquia Church , Stafford .

Business Meeting:

Approval of Minutes : April 25, 2007 minutes by Diane Carroll were approved.

Treasurer’s Report: The treasurer’s report was approved following a motion by Mary Jo Browning and second by Jackie Drumheller. The proposed 2008 budget for Region I was outlined for approval at the November 11 meeting.

Diocesan Executive Board Report : Don Metheny, delegate to the Executive Board was unable to be at this meeting.

ECW Report : Jackie Drumheller provided an attachment on the E.C.W. 116 th Annual Meeting, Tuesday, October 23, 2007 at All Saints, Richmond. The Very Rev. Martha J. Horne, Dean Emerita of Virginia Seminary, will be the keynote speaker on God’s Gift of Hospitality: "Feeding Our Spirit."

Missions Committee Report: Bill Wick. The missions committee would like to support a Region I mission trip to be discussed at the November 11, 2007 meeting. Jay Morris provided an exciting report on Aquia’s youth who rehabilitated homes in Port Jervis, New York . Cookie Davis reported on Ann Upshaw’s mission trip to the Dominican Republic .

"The Harbinger" Report: Deborah Poage requests that information be sent to: harbinger_r1@yahoo.com. Bill Wick requests that people send him new information for the new directory to be updated Jan/Feb 2008.

Nominations for the Region I officers and the Executive Board’s new term :

President, Jack Gaines - St. Mary’s, Colonial Beach

Vice-President, Mary Jo Browning - St. Stephen’s, Culpeper

Secretary, Diane Carroll - Hanover with Brunswick Parish

Treasurer, Anna Lou Flynn - St. James’, Louisa

Executive Board: Brad Jackson was nominated by the Executive Committee of Region I and Jay Morris was nominated by Chris Agnew.

Persons seeking Region I endorsement for the Diocesan Council

Meeting: Chris Agnew, Ecumenical Officer of Province III, asks for Region I’s endorsement as Deputy to General Convention and the Province III Synod. Don Metheny seeks endorsement to the Diocesan Standing Committee.

Program on "Delegate 101" given by Kent Rahm, Region I Dean.

After handing out Canon VIII Section 5 of the Diocesan Canons, Kent led us through a discussion of the role and duties of delegates to Regions of the Diocese of Virginia. Some ideas include:

1) To find and address areas of common concern.

2) Communicate between Region I and our churches

3) Formulate responses to current needs and programs

4) Support the work of churches along the lines of the goals of Region I

FutureMeetings:

Sunday, November 11, 2007 at 3 p.m. at St. George’s, Fredericksburg

Sunday, February 24, 2008 at 3 p.m. at Aquia Church , Stafford

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