Health Ministry Extends a Thank You!
Thank
you for completing the Health Ministry Assessment Tools in the last issue
of The Grapevine;
Thank you parishes for having support groups and counseling to assist
parishioners with coping following the attacks on the World Trade Center
on September 11, 2001;
Thank you for your inquiries about the National Episcopal Health Ministry
(NEHM) and the health ministries already in place in Province II;
Thank you Episcopal Church Women in the Diocese of New York for your invitation
to a Province II Health Ministry Representative to make a presentation
at your Thirty- Eighth Stony Point Conference on November 3, 2001.
Thank you to the Long Island Diocese Parish Health Ministry Committee
for inviting Province II Representation to distribute literature at your
booth at the Diocesan Convention on November 17, 2001. Several persons
expressed an interest and inquired about Health Ministries at the convention
and information was provided.
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Congratulations are also in order for those eight persons who completed the workshop series offered by the George Mercer Jr. Memorial School of Theology in Garden City, New York, entitled "Developing a Healing Ministry in Your Parish" this past fall. The ten weekly classes concluded on December 15th. Students completing the course were: Mary J. Collins, Carol Fehleisen, Melrose Johnson, Emma B. Lewis, Janet Morris, Seaton Radix, Joy Rose and Ruth Semple. The instructors were the Rev. Joel Harvey, PhD and Betty Carrington, RN, EdD. Thank you also to the several members of the Long Island Diocese Parish Health Study Committee who participated by sharing models of health ministry with which they have been involved. The persons who presented their parish programs were: Cauline Gillespie, Vera Levine, Norma Rudder, Ruth Semple, Daphne Small, Lauranne VanGonton, Oakley White, and Judith Wood.
Province II is now
fortunate to have two Representatives for Health Ministry. For information,
please contact either:
Betty Carrington, RN, EdD
119-31 220 Street
Cambria Heights, New York, 11411
718-527-6086, FAX 718-527-3950
Joycelyn Forbes, M.S.,
R.D.
1st Ave., Est. Thomas
P.O. Box7386
St. Thomas, Virgin Islands 00801
Phone and fax:340-775-7332
Information can also
be obtained from these additional sources:
Write to:
Jean Denton, Director
National Episcopal Health Ministries
10 West 61st Street
Indianapolis, Indiana 46208
Website: www.episcopalhealthministries.org
Submitted by
Betty Carrington, RN, EdD
January 4, 2002
As confirmation of the reality of the Internet in the conduct of church life, Province II has obtained its own domain name - www.province2.org. At the web address of <http://www.province2.org/> one can find the web site of the province, which includes contact information for the members of the Provincial Council, an archive of Minutes of the previous Synods, the Ordinances of the Second Province, and the Grapevine Online.
Actually Province
II has had a web site for a number of years, hosted on the Episcopal Church's
server. By choosing its own domain, now hosted on a commercial server,
the site can be found more easily by search engines, and our Provincial
Executive Coordinator, Grapevine editor, and
web site coordinator will be able to have distinctive email addresses.
In the near future, Driss Knickerbocker can be reached at <exec@province2.org>,
Jan Paxton, Grapevine editor, can be reached at <grapevine@province2.org>,
and John Rollins, web site coordinator, can be reached at <webeditor@province2.org>
So check out the new
Province II site and watch it grow. Expected additions include pages about
the work of the various networks, online registration for Synod and provincial
meetings, and publicity for upcoming events. Other suggestions for use
will be welcomed, too.
John Rollins
Secretary, Province II
Province II Episcopal Church Women
The Province II Episcopal Church Women's Annual Meeting will be held on May 3_5, 2002 at Mt. Manressa Retreat House on Staten Island, New York. The meeting is hosted by the ECW of the Diocese of Long Island. For further information please contact ECW President Barbara Schwarz, 251 Middle Road, Sayville, NY 11782.
We would like to have
as many women in the province involved in the activities of the ECW including
women from areas that have no organized groups. We are especially interested
in hearing from women from the Diocese of Rochester who would like more
information about our activities and annual meeting. Please contact Carolyn
Belvin, 241 Ship Avenue, Beachwood, NJ
08722 for further information.
The National Board of the Episcopal Church Women met in New York City at the National Church Center in early November. Province President, Carolyn Belvin, Diocese of New York President, Margaret Cash, and Diocese of New Jersey President Deborah Anderson were able to join them for lunch on Saturday November 10 and reported on the activities of the women in our province.
Carolyn Belvin
<cjb613@hotmail.com>
The mission of the United Thank Offering is to raise the consciousness of the whole Church to daily prayers of thanksgiving to God and outward and visible signs of those prayers which will benefit others.
Several calls have been received lately from male vestry members interested in promoting the UTO in their parishes. It was heartening to know that the word is out that blessings and prayers of thanksgiving are "not for women only." On February 23rd, a mailing will go out to every parish of ECUSA, a kit containing materials to energize and promote the United Thank Offering message for 2002. Materials can be obtained by contacting your parish office. More information can be obtained by contacting your Diocesan Coordinator.
The United Thank Offering Committee, through its Face to Face Subcommittee is offering a series of intensive, exciting weekend workshops for Diocesan Coordinators and future Diocesan Coordinators, to teach the basic facts regarding the United Thank Offering and to promote the goal of sharing blessings through prayer, thanksgiving, and offerings to help others.
Regional workshops are scheduled over the next year. Participants may attend any workshop of choice:
When: February 1-3, May 3-5, or September 27-29, 2002
Where:
February 1-3, 2002, Mercy Center, Burhlingame, California, from Friday
afternoon to Sunday afternoon 1 PM. The center is 10 minutes from the
SanFrancisco Airport
May 3-5, 2002, Detroit Marriott Hotel, Romulus, Michigan, Friday 6 PM - Sunday noon. The hotel is ½ mile from the Detroit Metro Airport.
September 27-29, 2002,
Duncan Conference Center, Delray Beach, Florida, From Friday afternoon
to Sunday afternoon. The center is 15 minutes from the West Palm Beach
Airport.
Costs: The UTO Committee will reimburse up to $600 per diocese
for travel upon presentation of original receipts documenting expenses.
A reimbursement form will be provided.
For information and questions regarding registration, please call or fax Muriel Sobers at 718-341-0712 - e-mail <murielsobers@aol.com>.
The Episcopal Feeding Ministry
The Episcopal Feeding Ministry provided food for Kadiatu Fofanah, a bilateral amputree and mother of 9 who came here to this country to be fitted for legs. Kadiatu came in September and has sucessfully been treated and went home on Saturday December 29th with her new legs. During her stay here The Episcopal Feeding Ministry made sure she was welcomed, arranged for sightseeing and, of course, saw to it that she had all dietary requirements.
We also provide food for the children from Bosnia who are here on Staten Island and being treated by the Shriner's Hospital for limbs. After treatment they return to Bosnia and more children are able to come.
The Episcopal Feeding Ministry, Joan Cupo, Executive Director, provided 560 Christmas meals to the less fortunate and toys to children whose mothers are in safe houses and recovering from alcohol and drug abuse. Christmas presents were also given to the ladies.
Joan Cupo
< JOAN617@aol.com>