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Highlights inside

  • Easter Vigil to premiere Saturday at 6 pm
  • Presiding Bishop's Easter message
  • Board of Trustees meeting recap
  • PPP news, Earth Day, event news and more

April 1, 2021

 
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Join El Camino Real for the Great Vigil of Easter!

The Diocese of El Camino Real will join together Saturday, April 3, at 6:00 pm for a joyful celebration of Easter! An online Easter Vigil will be presented that evening on the diocesan YouTube page. The multi-lingual service will feature English and Spanish sermons by Bishop Lucinda Ashby as separate options. Congregations across the diocese have joined together to create the Vigil, featuring fire and light, story and music, remembrance and hope. The service bulletin is available to download here.

Subscribe to the diocesan YouTube page today to get an alert when the video begins. Please note that a countdown and prelude will precede the service. Watch for an announcement with a premiere link tomorrow!

Bishop Lucinda visits All Saints'/Cristo Rey, delivers Holy Week message

Bishop Lucinda visited All Saints'/Cristo Rey, Watsonville, on Palm Sunday. The Rev. Lawrence Robles presided over the outdoor service while the bishop preached the sermon. The bishop's visitation schedule is located at her page on RealEpiscopal.org (photo by Bob McEvilly).

"Let us proceed into the Three Great Days, not averting our gaze or denying the existence of violence, but facing it head-on, learning its root causes and denouncing violence and hate in all their forms," wrote Bishop Lucinda in her Holy Week message on Tuesday. If you missed the message, it's available to view online.

View final "Tuesdays in Lent" prayers and reflections

On Tuesday, March 29, Bishop Lucinda and the diocesan staff completed a weekly series of brief noonday prayers for Lent, which were streamed live every Tuesday. Each prayer included an inspiring reflection from Bishop Lucinda and staff members; the most recent prayers can be viewed below.

Week 5: "Suffering," reflection by Kirstin Nielsen
Week 6: "Denial," reflection by The Rev. David Starr

Subscribe to the diocesan YouTube page to get alerts for future videos!

Presiding Bishop's Easter message


“Our work goes on. Our labor for love continues,” Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Michael Curry said in his Easter 2021 Message, “We will not cease, and we will not give up until this world reflects less our nightmare and more God’s dream where there’s plenty good room for all God’s children. Hallelujah anyhow.” View his message here.

Board of Trustees' meeting highlights


Below are three highlights from the March meeting of the diocesan Board of Trustees, held via Zoom:
 
Bishop Lucinda announced the formation of a new position of “ECR Community Trailblazer” to be funded jointly by the Bishop’s Appeal and a local community to-be-determined for the purpose of exploring new ways for us to connect to our communities and move toward being New Church.
 
The Board approved the sale of a portion of vacant land owned by St. George’s, Salinas, to be developed as affordable senior housing.
 
The Bishop will be scheduling monthly meetings on the “Storied Pilgrimage” on Race curriculum beginning after Easter.

Paycheck Protection Program update


Legislation was signed into law by President Biden on March 30 which extends the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) application period to May 31, 2021. More information is available here.

Celebrate Earth Day Sunday with a Creation Care service


The 51st Earth Day is Thursday, April 22. You might consider a Creation Care based service, educational event or activity as a way of encouraging conversation about the stewardship of creation in your congregation. The Diocese of El Camino Real's Creation Care team has compiled this list of resources and events to aid parishes plan events and services to commemorate this day. We hope you can use these resources to initiate or energize efforts to care for creation in our congregation. Celebrate Earth Day Sunday on either April 18 or April 25!

Episcopal Church Women seeks "Honored Woman" nominations

 
New submission deadline: The diocesan Episcopal Church Women “Honored Woman’s Day” is scheduled for Saturday, April 24. The event will be held virtually, using Zoom video conference tool. At that time, we will honor a woman from each of our congregations in the Diocese of El Camino Real — women who proclaim their faith through their lives and actions for their congregation, the diocese, and the community. The full announcement and a nomination form is available here. Clergy are encouraged to complete and return submissions by Monday, April 12 to Donna Seelbach, president of the diocesan Episcopal Church Women; email her at dsdonnaseelbach2@gmail.com.

Vestry Training slides posted on website


The slides for last month's training workshops are posted on the diocesan website, RealEpiscopal.org, on the Finance, Administrative & Legal Resources page. The workshops were recorded and videos will be posted on the site from each presentation. Watch for updates when the videos are posted.
In addition to working in the five major policy areas, the Office of Government Relations works to educate, equip, and engage Episcopalians through the Episcopal Public Policy Network. As a Church, we raise our voices to ensure that U.S. government policies align with our values as Episcopalians and Christians. Latest alerts are below (read full descriptions here):
 
Support Gun Reform to Strengthen and Expand Background Checks: Recent tragedies have generated more attention on gun violence. While addressing this issue, we must also remember the less visible but daily toll that gun violence takes on our communities through suicide, domestic violence, and more.
 
Tell Congress to pass the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act! Now is the time for Congress to reauthorize this important legislation and ensure it adds protections for women.
  
Register for Ecumenical Advocacy Days, April 18-21. The 2021 theme is “Imagine! God’s Earth and People Restored.”
 
Voting Rights for a Faithful Democracy: April 6. A digital workshop on protecting and guaranteeing voting rights.
 
Congressional Chaplains: Leadership in Divided Times: Tuesday, April 20. In partnership with the National Institute on Civil Discourse, the Washington National Cathedral welcomes Senate Chaplain Barry Black and House Chaplain Margaret Kibben.
 
Women Peacemakers Webinar: April 7. A virtual event with Churches for Middle East Peace featuring women peacemakers from Israel/Palestine.
Church of the Good Shepherd will host Mike Stake, wildlife biologist at Ventana Wildlife Society on April 14 at 12 noon as the Monthly Forum speaker. He will speak about “Trial by fire: California Condor recovery amid a turbulent year on the Central Coast.”
 
2020 started well for condors in Central California. But the Dolan fire ignited in late August, taking a tragic toll. Please join us for this interesting discussion! To join the Forum on Wednesday, April 14, visit the church's event web page. 

Seminarian financial aid available

 
The Diocese of California offers financial aid for postulants pursuing theological education at an approved seminary or the School for Deacons. Financial aid is available for students from DioCal and also, from designated funds, the Diocese of El Camino Real, the Diocese of Northern California, and the Diocese of San Joaquin. Specific eligibility requirements differ from fund to fund. Apply during April 1 – April 30 via this form. For questions, contact Whitney Wilson, Vocations Officer, at vocations@diocal.org.

Camp St. Andrew's postponed to 2022


 "It is with a heavy heart that we must inform our faithful supporters that once again we will not be able to run camp this year," wrote the organizers and staff of Camp Saint Andrew's, the annual summer camp for the Diocese of El Camino Real. "The safety of campers and staff is our priority. The current guidelines, which are necessary to ensure the safety of all against the spread of COVID-19, pose a difficult challenge to making camp the best week of the year." Camp Saint Andrew’s is scheduled to return in 2022. Read the full announcement.

Healing Hearts grief support group


"Healing Hearts" is a virtual grief support group led by clergy and lay people from Saint Andrew's Episcopal Church, Saratoga, and meets the second Wednesday of each month from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm. We provide a safe and compassionate place for you to feel supported, listened to and understood as you talk about your experience with stress, grief and loss. Our time together is designed to meet you where you are, whether you are dealing with a recent challenge or loss or from years ago. Please join us for one session or multiple sessions. For any questions, contact jwild@st-andrews.org or Pbryan@st-andrews.org.
 
JOIN ZOOM MEETING  
Meeting ID: 847 2087 0971
Password: 425708

Episcopal Church grant deadlines


Deadline approaching for Care of Creation Grants

Application deadline April 16
The Episcopal Church’s Task Force on Creation Care and Environmental Racism is now accepting applications for its 2021 Grant Cycle.
Read more (In English and Spanish)


Episcopal Church scholarship applications for 2021-22 academic year

Available in English and Spanish
Applications are now being accepted for educational scholarships from The Episcopal Church for the 2021-2022 academic year. Deadline is April 11.
Read more (In English and Spanish)

JOB OPPORTUNITIES

Good Samaritan Episcopal Church in San Jose is receiving applications for a part-time Priest-in-Charge. You may view their OTM Portfolio here and their Parish Profile here. For questions or to submit your resume and application for consideration, email kirstin@realepiscopal.org or call the office at 831-394-4465.

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Submitting news to RealEpiscopal


Real Episcopal is published on the first and third Thursday of the month. News and event submissions must be received by 12 pm noon on the Friday before publication date. Please limit submissions to 150 words in text format (unless agreed to in advance) and include the "who-what-where-when-why" information in the first paragraph.

Photos are welcome. Please send jpeg files with a minimum size of 1100 pixels wide (for phone images, select "original size" when sending).

EVENTS: Announcements must be in text form, no more than 100 words, and must be accompanied by a link to a web page with full information (flyers may be included with submission).
All submissions will be edited for clarity and space needs. Church-specific event submissions will appear in no more than three issues per event.

News and/or story ideas should be emailed to Elrond Lawrence, diocesan communications director, at elrond@realepiscopal.org.
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