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Bishop's Easter Letter

Bishop's Easter Letter 2009

My Dear Friends,
Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed. Alleluia! The message of Holy Week is not only that Christ suffered and died for us, but that he also rose from the dead for us. We remember the past, what the Lord has done for us; we celebrate it in the present; and we believe. In a world where so many people die in hopelessness, where people are poisoned by cynicism and defeated by disillusionment we have to tell our story, we have to sing our song. "We are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song" concludes St. Augustine. But being an Easter people means that resurrection is part of our life experience, part of who we are, part of what it means to be us. Easter celebrates how Jesus dies and rises in each of us, in our personal lives, in family, church, parish, community. It celebrates how Jesus dies and rises in our daily work, in our home life, in our relationships, in the joys and sorrows of the world. Confidence in the resurrection of Jesus is not based on wishful thinking. It is founded in truth and it is honed in experience - the experience of light following dark, of joy following pain, of hope out of defeat, of warmth beyond cold, of life out of death. We have a story to tell and a song to sing - the story of our risen Lord and a song of alleluia that should ring in the world's ears! The faith of Anglicans through the centuries is built on belief in the amazing grace of the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. May this reality of Easter morn be spoken not only on our lips but be the song of our hearts. In the midst of many conflicts - in our church and in our world - may this be the message we bring and bear witness to - Christ is risen. Let us rejoice as we celebrate throughout the fifty days of the Easter season this gift of new life in Christ. "Alleluia, Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!" As the Easter season unfolds consider how your daily living can be an act of greater life for others. How can you be the sacrament, the outward and visible sign, of the grace that you know in the resurrected Christ? In other words, how can your living let others live more abundantly? May God bless you and keep you and fill you with the joy and peace of his presence. ,
+Cy
The Rt. Rev'd Cyrus Pitman Bishop of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador

Bishop's Lenten Letter

Bishop's Lenten Letter 2009

My Dear Friends,
Lent, the journey to Easter, is always a new gift from God. The goal of Lent is not first and foremost about deprivations but more about softening our hearts so that they can be open to the realities of the Spirit and experiencing a secret hunger and thirst for mission with God. Lenten season is a time for meaningful prayer, reflection, self-examination, personal adjustment and renewal. There are no flowers in the church. The liturgical color is purple. Lent is the season when the Church prepares to celebrate Holy Baptism and the other rites of Christian initiation at Easter. Lent has come to be an important time for Christians and Christian communities to renew their commitment to Christ. Lent is a time of mission. What is Mission? In 1990, the Anglican Consultative Council adopted five "Marks of Mission" to give parishes and dioceses around the world a practical and memorable "checklist" for mission activities. The Five Marks of Mission tell us: · To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom · To teach, baptize and nurture new believers · To respond to human need by loving service · To seek to transform unjust structures of society · To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth While the Five Marks are not the only ways of doing mission, they are meant only as a guide to challenge us to think about all that we do in mission. By doing mission, we are living out our baptismal covenant. In the end, the Five Marks are a litmus test of our own mission work. You can read further on the Five Marks of Mission at the Anglican Communion website (www.anglicancommunion.org). During this Lent, I ask that you think about your own mission work. What can I do? How can I serve? Action is the measure of our response to Christ. The challenge, particularly during this time of Lent, is not just to do mission but to be a people of mission. As we work together to build the Kingdom of God, let us continue to journey, pray, and serve together, as we live out our faith in action. Every blessing,
+Cy
The Rt. Rev'd Cyrus Pitman Bishop of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador

Archived News

Bishop's January 2009 Letter

Click here for the printable version.

My Dear Friends,
As I look back on this past year I realize how blessed I am. In the summer, I had one of the most profound experiences of my life attending the Lambeth Conference in Canterbury, England. Bishops from all around the world were there. The stories of many of the bishops as they spoke of their church touched me deeply. There were stories of hardship and poverty, of churches being destroyed, and of churches being occupied by solders. All stories spoke of triumph, mission and hope.
In November, our own Diocesan Mission Conference was a time for us to focus on mission. We were challenged to commit, not just to do mission, but to become a people of mission. Active involvement in mission is at the heart of our baptismal and ordination vows. A significant part of God's mission in our diocese is a new Ministry Plan. I believe the plan is exciting, youth-focused and forward thinking. The plan, Living our Faith in Action, describes a journey: "Imagine a world where every human being would live in freedom and dignity. Imagine a world in which we would shed the same tears when a child dies in Darfur or Heart's Content. Imagine a diocese in which ordained and lay Christians work together collaboratively. Imagine a diocese which is fully engaged with the call of God to be a people of justice and peace. Imagine a parish where leadership and responsibility are shared. Imagine a parish where there is an abundance of gifted people who can become excited by a vision of what God can do with and through them. Our journey over the next several years will take us to places where all these things are possible." The Ven. Sandra Tilley will be leading mission development in our diocese. She will be supported in this new mission by our three territorial Archdeacons, the Ven. Gerald Westcott, Trinity-Conception, the Ven. John Dinn, Avalon East & West, and the Ven. Charlene Taylor, Labrador, as well as our clergy and lay leaders. I invite you to join with them as part of God's mission in our diocese. Please contact your pastor or the Synod office as we continue our work together in the glory of God's name. Also, please visit the diocesan website and check out our new Ministry Plan. The address is: www.anglicanenl.net
As we work together to build the Kingdom of God, let us continue to journey, pray, and serve together, as we live out our faith in action.
Every blessing,
+Cy
The Rt. Rev'd Cyrus Pitman
Bishop of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador

Official News Release: Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador Embraces Ministry Plan. January 10, 2008

Click here for the printable version.

Primate's Pastoral Letter

Click here for the printable version.

Youth Blog

http://www.emmausyouth.org

Presidential Address to the General Synod by the Archbishop of Canterbury - 26 February 2007

http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/gsabc2602.html

A CALL TO ACTION from the Religious Social Action Coalition:

A CALL TO ACTION from the Religious Social Action Coalition: Over the coming few weeks, Canada will be deciding on a course of economic stimuli. Most attention will be focused on two questions: How much? And how fast? But we also need to ask, "For whom?" While bail-outs are planned for large corporations, little is considered for those at the bottom of the ladder waiting for things to "trickle down". Many religious Newfoundlanders will phone, write letters or send e-mails to Members of Parliament asking them to promote social justice in the Economic Stimulus legislation and let the economic stimulus TRICKLE UP to those least in need. JOIN US. Phone, e-mail or send a letter to your Member of Parliament. Or send us your name at directors@candidatesagainstpoverty.ca and we'll add it to our letters to the five party leaders. Also, join us at the Basilica Library at 7:30 pm on Monday 12 January for a PUBLIC CONVERSATION between religious leaders and elected representatives about the session of Parliament that begins in late January.

Religious Social Action Coalition of Newfoundland and Labrador Website

http://www.candidatesagainstpoverty.ca

Official News Release: Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador Embraces Ministry Plan. January 10, 2008

Click here for the printable version.

Primate's Pastoral Letter

Click here for the printable version.

Youth Blog

http://www.emmausyouth.org

Presidential Address to the General Synod by the Archbishop of Canterbury - 26 February 2007

http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/gsabc2602.html

BISHOP JONES HOSTEL REUNION 2008

Bishop Jones Hostel, located at 55 Rennies Mill Rd. in St. John's, was an Anglican Women's Residence that operated from 1940-1967. Outport girls, who resided there, studied at MUN, Bishop Spencer College and Summer School. A reunion is being planned for July 2008.

If you are or know of a "hostel girl", please call 709-368-6180, e-mail bjh2008@nf.sympatico.ca or mail the information to BJH Reunion Committee, 67 Commonwealth Ave., Mount Pearl, NF, A1N 1W7. We need present name, maiden name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, year(s) as resident, name of school, hometown, and the graduating year if you are a MUN graduate
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Upcoming Refresh! Conference

Greetings!

Thank you for agreeing to post and/or email the information regarding our upcoming Refresh! conference. The info for this event is located at here.

If you also send out paper mailings to clergy in your diocese and allow promotional materials to be included, could you please let me know whether we could insert Refresh! brochures? Many thanks.

If you have any questions regarding this info, the conference, or general questions around Wycliffe College, please be in touch.

Thanks and Blessings,

Mark Regis
Recruitment and Admissions
direct line: (416) 946-3525
fax: (416) 946-3545

FACILITY MANAGER, LAVROCK CENTRE

THE LAVROCK CAMP & CONFERENCE CENTRE Is looking for a FACILITY MANAGER Contractual 8 Months Annually (April -November) The Facility Manager will be responsible for maintaining the physical facility to ensure it is in a condition of operational excellence, cleanliness and safety, so that full use of the facility may be made at all times. The Facility Manager will reside at the Lavrock Centre for the term of the contact. He/She will also supervise part time staff. The successful candidate will possess a High School graduation certificate or equivalent, strong inter-personal skills and the ability and willingness to work independently. Completion of a post-secondary program in general maintenance, or equivalent training or experience, is also required. A certificate of conduct, valid driver's licence and reliable vehicle are also required. Please apply in writing with a detailed resume to: The Lavrock Board of Management Selection Committee 19 Kings Bridge Rd. St. John's, NL A1C 3K4 Or by email to: ebarnes@anglicanenl.nf.net Deadline is February 16, 2007

Job Description

VALENTINE'S JAZZ CAFE

Valentine’s Jazz Café
Treat your sweetheart to a night of Jazz!
with The Jimmy Thomson Trio & Friends
The Third Annual Jazz Café
at St. Michael and All Angels Parish Hall
6 St. Clare Ave at LeMarchant Road
Saturday 17 February 8:00 p.m.
Admission: Adults $10 (in aid of the Parish Choral Fund)
(Includes cheesecake/coffee/tea.) Cash Bar Available
For advance Tickets telephone: 722-4511 or 722-2094

St. Thomas' Parish Celebrates 170 Years!


St. Thomas' Church invites old friends and new to join them on their
anniversary week-end, September 22-24, 2006 as they celebrate
and give thanks for 170 years of worshipping together.  A highlight of the
week-end will be a service of praise and thanksgiving
on Sunday, September 24, at 10:30 a.m.  With Bishop Cyrus Pitman as the
celebrant, Rev. Dr. Trevor Walters as the preacher,
and, in the presence of the Lieutenant Governor, hymns and music spanning
our 170 years will be offered to God's glory.

Further details will follow, but mark your calendars now!

Summer Camp 06

Summer Camps now accepting registrations. Please click here for details. For applications look under Resources: Forms

Memorial Services 2006

Kenmount Road
July 12, 2006 7:30 pm
Service to be conducted by
St. Augustine's

Forest Road
July 19, 2006 7:30pm
Service to be conducted by
The Cathedral

Diaconal Ordination June 12, 2006

The Bishop has announced a Diaconal Ordination for Monday, June 12,2006 at 7 p.m. at the Cathedral. The four Ordinands are: Amanda Cable, Julie Hiscock, Lynn Courage and Stella Evans.
The liturgical colour is red, the feast of St. Barnabas. The clergy are invited to robe. There will be a reception following in the Cathedral Parish Hall. Please keep the ordinands in your prayers.

Summer Student Positions Available

Synod Office, the Resource Centre and the Lavrock Centre have several positions available for students. For details on job descriptions and application deadlines please click here.

Spiritual Enrichment Time

Spiritual Enrichment Time, March 10 – 11, 2006
Sponsored by Cursillo Eastern Diocese
All Christians Welcome

More Info

Formal Installations

We are pleased to advise that on Sunday, November 13,2005 at 6:30 p.m. at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in St. John’s the Rev. Canon Shirley Noseworthy will be formally installed as Canon and The Ven. Geoffrey Peddle will be installed as Executive Archdeacon and Administrative Assistant to the Bishop.


Camp Awesome #3

The Anglican Youth Gathering in Labrador – Camp Awesome #3 – will take place September 2-4,2005 with young people from every parish in the Archdeaconry participating. It is being held at the Labrador Christian Youth Camp near Happy Valley-Goose Bay, and all the Labrador clergy will be there to lead the event along with our Bishop.


Upcoming Stewardship Conference

A Stewardship Conference will be held at the Lavrock Centre on September 19 & 20,2005. The conference is titled "Growing in Christ" and we are honoured to have Bishop William Burrill as our guest speaker for the conference. Bishop Burrill will also preach at two services on September 18th; 3:00 p.m. at St. Augustine’s in New Harbour and 7:00 p.m. at the Cathedral in St. John’s.


Upcoming Ordinations

The Rev’d Jean Smith will be ordained to the Sacred Priesthood at St. Marks Church, St. John’s, on Friday October 21,2006 at 7:00 p.m. The liturgical colour is Red.

Ms. Myrna-Loy Vey, Mr. Peter Hammond and Mr. Robert Short will be ordained to the Sacred Order of Deacons at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, St. John’s, on Tuesday November 1,2006 at 7:30 p.m. The liturgical colour is White.


New Playground Set for Lavrock Centre

We are happy to advise you that a very modern playground set is in the process of being installed at the Lavrock Centre free of charge to our diocese. The Easter Seals Society has donated this for the use of their families and all others who use the Lavrock facilities. The Lavrock Board of Management had already decided to remove the “mini-golf” due to its condition and the new playground set will be located on that site. The new playground is specifically designed for children with disabilities.


New Synod office hours

Synod office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., we will also close for lunch from 12:30 p.m. until 1:30 p.m. The Resource Centre will follow the same hours.