News & Announcements

It was high summer when the Rev. Angela Emerson became interim rector at St. Peter’s Church in Bennington. The COVID-19 pandemic was in full swing, complicating her desire to undertake a hospitality initiative. Still, the congregation had certain assets at its disposal. “One of the things that struck me was just how beautiful the church…

Dear People of God in the Diocese of Vermont, The COVID-19 pandemic is intensifying across our diocese, forcing us to observe new restrictions on our life together. Today Governor Phil Scott banned indoor and outdoor gatherings—public or private—by members of more than one household. Accordingly, I am suspending indoor and outdoor gatherings for worship in…

Delegates pass budget, resolutions, and hold elections Meeting virtually for the first time in its history, the annual convention of the Diocese of Vermont passed a $993,000 budget, requested a plan to move diocesan parishes and properties to renewable energy by 2030, and took steps to ensure all clergy have access to the benefits of…

An Anti-Racism Action book discussion will be held on the first three Thursdays of December and January, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Participants will discuss “A Scriptural, Ecclesiastical, and Historical View of Slavery” (1864) by John Henry Hopkins, the first bishop of Vermont, and the film “I Am Not Your Negro,” a documentary on the African-American writer James Baldwin. You can download…

We hope that you and your congregation are staying safe and healthy as we move into fall. The Restart Team is busy reviewing plans for re-opening our parish offices and for outdoor, in-person worship. All the members of the team are grateful for the thoughtful and careful efforts you are making in this regard. Our…

If this were an ordinary summer in Killington, tourists set on spending their vacations hiking, biking and fishing would be filling the hotels, restaurants and shops of the ski resort turned year-round tourism magnet in central Vermont. Instead, as the coronavirus pandemic stretches on, tensions between Killington residents and visitors from cities hard hit by…

On July 7, the 40 or 50 people who had been meeting twice each day for 17 weeks to pray with the bishop of Vermont on Zoom dubbed themselves the Green Mountain Online Abbey, and resolved to carry on without her. Not that Bishop Shannon MacVean-Brown was going anywhere. Participants would still sometimes see her…

It’s not as though the Rev. Ann Hockridge didn’t know there was a pandemic on. By March 15, she had already suspended the in-person worship service she leads for two yoked congregations in the United Church of Christ, as well as the one at Convivia/StJ, the Episcopal community she co-pastors in St. Johnsbury. But the…