ERD Weekly e-News: March 16, 2021

Your weekly update from the Elizabeth River District View this email in your browser

Weekly e-News
March 16, 2021

Each week we pray for a different church or ministry in the district. Please hold in your prayers this week:

Jolliff UMC and
pastors Brandon Nichols & James Jones

2020 Kits for Conference must be in by March 31, 2021.

If you have not turned them in yet please email erdkits@gmail.com
to arrange a time for drop off.

We are working at modifying the Kits for Conference program to Kits for the Community.

Anyone interested in working on a committee to start this new exciting mission? Please call Marta Pizzeck 757-739-6491
or email erdkits@gmail.com.

An important announcement from Bishop Sharma Lewis regarding District Alignment was announced yesterday, Monday, February 9.

Read the announcement and view the video by clicking here.

The District-wide Good Friday service will premiere on the District Facebook page at 7 pm on Friday, April 2, 2021. The service will also be available on the District's Vimeo page, as well as made available to all clergy to use. Many thanks to all the churches who have participated.

The Elizabeth River District will be hosting a webinar on Saturday, March 27 from 9 am to 12 noon for clergy and laity on being in Ministry in a Digital Age.

Rev. Dr. Michael Beck and Rev. Dr. Roz Picardo, authors of the new book "Fresh Expressions in the Digital Age," will be our speakers. They will share about the shift into digital ministry brought on by the pandemic and share practical steps to getting started.

Clergy who attend will receive 0.3 CEUs.

Click here to register.

Save the Date: Saturday, April 24 from 9 am to 12 Noon - Both/And webinar sponsored by the Elizabeth River and James River Districts.

Before the global pandemic, the majority of congregations who were streaming worship online were (more or less) creating an experience for the people gathered in-person in their buildings. Leaders would often (at some point) look into the camera and say, "And if you're worshiping with us online, we're glad you've joined us." They'd then look back at the people gathered in-person and continue on with a worship experience designed as a physical gathering.

This meant that the home audience were observers of what was happening in real time on-site. They could watch, but not truly participate. This model (arguably) worked because - at the time - we knew nothing different.

In March 2020, when congregations ended in-person worship and went online (many for the first time) the methodology for streaming worship completely shifted paradigms. Everything was about the home audience. There was no one in the room, and the people at home could feel that shift. They knew they were being talked to directly.

Now we face one of the most critical moves in the next iteration of the online worship experience. As we move back into our buildings, we mustn't return to making people at home observers after talking directly to them for so long. They'll feel that too.
We also can't take an approach where we treat the in-person crowd as the studio audience, providing the laugh or clap track, for the people watching at home. Neither of these audiences should feel secondary.
If we fail to think about how to create a BOTH/AND scenario as we go back to in-person worship, we will lose so much of what we've gained in these last seven plus months.

Join us for Both/And: Maximizing Hybrid Worship Experiences For Online and In-Person Audiences

This 3- hour workshop will delve into strategies for how to create powerful transformative worship where no one feels like they’re an afterthought.
It will explore:

• Re-imagining worship for both/and
• How to create interactive both/and experiences
• Bringing at home and in-person audiences together in real time
• Alternative opportunities for online audiences watching in-person livestreams
• Repurposing in-person worship for online audiences
• Strategies for adapting practices for both/and
• Avoiding letting your groove becoming a rut
• And more

Registration info below!
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJApf-Ctrj8sG9T-ik1j0SSrrmu8mzd58IwM

Virginia Beach United Methodist has 14 school tables available to a good home. Adjustable legs. Approx. 6'x 3'. Great shape. We also have two standard tables, laminate tops, folding legs available.
All are pick up only. We’ve renovated and no longer need them. Contact Chuck Cassidy, ccassidy@vbumc.org

Responding to COVID-19

Virginia is currently under a 10-person limit in response to the increase in COVID-19 case. This limit applies to any mission and ministry programs or other activities, limiting them to 10 or less. It does not apply to worship services.

Read the most current Technical Assistance Manual, updated November 9, 2020. Click here to read. Learn more about returning to church here.

All questions regarding reopening should be directed to DS Wayne Snead at elizabethriverds@vaumc.org.

2021

March 27, 9 am-Noon: Ministry in a Digital Age Webinar
Click here to register.

April 24, 9 am-Noon: Both/And Webinar

Read the latest edition of the Virginia Conference's e-Advocate here.

The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) responds to natural or civil disasters of such magnitude that they overwhelm a community’s ability to recover on its own. Through UMCOR, United Methodists extend loving care to people within the United States. When disaster strikes, it is local churches that provide the first response to their communities. This basic understanding—that disaster response is local—forms the foundation for UMCOR’s U.S. disaster training and response.

You may send a check to the Virginia Conference (PO Box 5605, Glen Allen, VA 23058) earmarked Advance #901670 to assist people in Texas and other states. Or you may make an online donation at https://advance.umcor.org/p-620-umcor-us-disaster-response-and-recovery.aspx

Specific questions about this Advance project may be directed to Lara S. Martin at lmartin@umcor.org

The Virginia Conference UMM is sponsoring a Zoom forum on Racism March 16 at 6:30 p.m. that will be moderated by Andrew Kissell.

Guest speakers will include

The Rev. Reason Chandler, Jackson St. UMC, Lynchburg;

The Rev. Brenda Laws, Greenbackville Charge, New Church

The Rev. Larry Jent, Grace UMC (Hartwood), Fredericksburg

The Rev. Jeff Mickle, Alexandria District Superintendent

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89824607164
Meeting ID: 898 2460 7164

Fellowships across the Commonwealth are also using a Virginia Conference video and curriculum series on Race Relations to explore the injustices of systemic, institutional racism available at https://vaumc.org/racerelationsvideos/

Lots of new job openings at churches on the Elizabeth River District have been listed on the website. Click here to see the list.

If you have placed a job opening and it is no longer needed, please email Denise Smith at elizabethriverdistrict@vaumc.org and ask for it to be removed.

The deadline for submissions to the e-Newsletter is every Thursday at 5pm. Email your information about your events and special programming to Denise Smith at elizabethriverdistrict@vaumc.org (Flyers in PDF or JPEG are preferred.)