Living Into Koinonia: Youth Reflect on Rock Point Retreat
From May 15 to 17, six youth from around the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont gathered for a retreat and service project at Rock Point. Youth and adults spent time in…
Diocesan Liturgy Commission Seeks Input
The Rev. Kim Hardy, chair of the Diocesan Liturgy Commission, is asking for input from music and liturgy leaders across the Diocese of Vermont. Last year, the commission offered Morning…
Vermonters on Sacred Ground
In mid-January, six members of the Diocese of Alabama and seven members of the Diocese of Vermont began a Sacred Ground circle on Zoom. Sacred Ground, an educational series about…
A Contemplative Prayer Ministry Grows in the Pandemic
The first time St. Peter’s, Bennington member Mary McGuinness was invited to practice contemplative prayer – a set of traditional Christian practices that include centering prayer and lectio divinia –…
Praying for the Restoration of our Humanity: Bishop Shannon’s Ash Wednesday Message
Create in me a clean heart, O God,and renew a right spirit within me.Psalm 51, verse 10 Like so many others, I’m especially concerned about Ukraine. I’m feeling powerless, frustrated,…
Diocesan Leaders Gather for Second Same Page Retreat
On February 5, Bishop Brian Prior, retired bishop of the Episcopal Church in Minnesota, led the members of the diocese’s governance bodies in a Zoom retreat. Bishop Shannon began the…
“Stepping Out of the Boat”: Introducing a Manual for Congregations in Discernment
Last week, Bishop Shannon introduced clergy and lay leaders to a new process for examining the future vitality and sustainability of diocesan congregations. The process is outlined in A Manual…
Widening the Circle: Northern New England Standing Committees Meet
On January 26, the standing committees of the Dioceses of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine met via Zoom to explore opportunities for collaboration and shared ministry. “We know that whatever…
St. Andrew’s, St. Johnsbury Opens Community Fridge
Before the pandemic began, the people of St. Andrew’s in St. Johnsbury provided a free monthly dinner for the community. This fall, as they considered how to resume their feeding…
THRIVE Leaders Seek a Balance of Innovation and Tradition
The impetus for THRIVE, the task force appointed by Bishop Shannon last summer, was an impending diocesan financial crisis. But in the last few months, the group of lay and…
Update from the Diocesan Covid Response Team
On January 6, the Covid Response Team sent the following letter to clergy and congregational leaders. Greetings to you and your congregations in this New Year and new season of…
Telling People What We’re About: A New Statement of Belief, Mission, Vision and Values
In 2021, as the leaders of the Diocese of Vermont began discerning the future of its ministry and its possibilities for collaboration with other dioceses, Bishop Shannon realized that the…
Diocesan Book Study: “The Church Cracked Open”
On Thursdays from January 6 to February 17 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. on Zoom, Bishop Shannon will lead a diocesan book study of The Church Cracked Open: Disruption, Decline,…
