Bishop Elect Mary Gray-Reeves wishes to thank each of you for your kind words, thoughts and prayers during the time of the loss of her mother, Florence.

Mary and her family arrived back in California last Saturday, and are settling into the home they are renting in Salinas. Mary has been busy working in the office since Tuesday of this week – getting oriented and meeting with members of the Diocese. You will be hearing and seeing her Along the King’s Highway…

Administrative items:

• Along the King’s Highway – The August edition is posted to the website. The pre-convention issue of AKH will be a wrap with Episcopal Life, arriving in mailboxes the first week of October.
• Our Bishop Elect - The Ven. Mary Gray-Reeves’ first day in the office in Seaside will be Tuesday, September 4th. Bishop Romero’s last day in the office in Seaside will be Tuesday, September 18th. Please pray for both of them and their families during this time of moving and transition in their lives.
• Deployment/Position Postings – Detailed postings for jobs can be seen by clicking on the following link: http://www.edecr.org/jobs.htm .
  • Rector, St. James the Apostle in Paso Robles
  • Director of Music, St. Barnabas’, Arroyo Grande
  • Youth Director, St. Paul’s Salinas
  • Director of Christian Education, All Saint’s Palo Alto
  • Religious Education Instructor, St. Luke’s, Los Gatos
• CONVENTION INFORMATION - Convention will take place Friday, October 26th and Saturday, October 27th!
  • Please mark your calendars and save the dates for our upcoming Diocesan Convention which will be held at Sherwood Hall in Salinas on Friday, October 26th and Saturday, October 27th. We will have a full agenda including Eucharist, diocesan elections, Constitution and Canon Changes to facilitate our transition to the collaborative model of governance, fellowship, celebrations and much MORE! There will be a Friday night banquet and display tables. Additional details will be mailed to all Delegates, Alternates and Clergy in September and will be posted on the Diocesan website as they become available. (Information with hotel information for those needing lodging Friday night is here.)
     

    DISPLAY TABLES AT DIOCESAN CONVENTION: If you wish to reserve a display table at the October Convention, please contact Dorothy Duckett at 408-293-2046, or email dorothyduckett@aol.com

     

  • To prepare for Convention, in September each deanery will be host to a combined presentation of the 2008 Diocesan Budget and review session of the currently proposed Constitution and Canon changes ((drafts of which can be found on the Diocesan website at http://www.edecr.org/candc.htm ).  Presenting the proposed 2008 Diocesan Budget (Rev. David Breuer, Ms. Diane Lovelace) and discussing the changes to the Constitution and Canons (Rev. Chris Creed, Chancellor Nancy Cohen)
    • SANTA CLARA VALLEY DEANERY -- Tuesday, Sept. 25, location TBD. Sign-in at 6:00 p.m., meeting 6:30 - 9:30 p.m.
    • MONTEREY DEANERY -- Saturday, Sept. 29, Epiphany Church, Marina at 10:00 a.m.
    • SAN LUIS OBISPO DEANERY – Saturday, Sept. 29, St. Luke’s Atascadero at 4 p.m.
  • A copy of the revised Constitution and Canons that you will receive in your Convention package has now been posted on the web site at http://www.edecr.org/candc.htm and will be sent to clergy and lay delegates. After receiving comments about the discussion draft posted in July, the Constitution and Canons Committee made a number of changes that are reflected in this new version and can be seen in a new "marked" copy also posted. Conversation continues with regard to some of the canons. Deanery presentations to explain and discuss the proposed changes are scheduled for the week of September 23. You are invited to review the newly posted draft prior to the presentations. Following the presentations there are likely to be further revisions. If so, a revised draft will be distributed before Convention. If you have further questions, please contact Chris Creed (FrCreed@aol.com ) and/or Nancy Cohen (ncohen@law.stanford.edu ).
    
     
• Urgent Message to all congregations from the Commission on Ministry: The Commission on Ministry (COM) spent last year revising ECR's ordination process and part of the changes involves congregations. In the past, when a parish or mission had a member considering ordination, the congregation formed a Discernment Committee to assist that member. Now that task has been transferred to Deaneries. We have asked that each congregation name 2 or more members to be trained to serve on a Deanery Discernment Committee. The committees trained last year are currently functioning but we have a back log of individuals waiting to be assigned. That is good news! Please join us in the work of discernment by letting Susan Altig know you are interested in one of the trainings. (831-394-4465 or susan@edecr.org )
  • Sept. 7 (1-8PM) & Sept 8 (9 AM-4PM) St. Stephen's, San Luis Obispo. Registration deadline 8/31
  • October 12 and 13 Holy Spirit, Campbell Specific time and registration deadline TBA.
     

Announcements:

• Ordination to the diaconate for Kathey Crowe – tomorrow, Sept. 8th at Trinity Cathedral in San Jose – 11am. Clergy vesting – red stoles.
  Appreciation Party for Bishop Sylvestre Romero will be held at the following location/time:
  • Saturday, September 8, 4PM at St. Timothy's in Mountain View.
• Saint Luke's Los Gatos will host the Mesgana Dancers, an Ethiopian dance troupe made up of girls ages 7 to 12, on September 8th. The troupe will visit the Bay area in September as part of their 2007 US performance tour. The group is a project of the Children of Ethiopia Education Fund (COEEF), a nonprofit organization promoting education for girls in that East African nation. The work being done by COEEF addresses the Millennium Development Goals of achieving universal primary education and promoting gender equality. The Vestry and Clergy have agreed that our parish should support the Mesgana Dancers’ visit. We’re planning several fun activities for them on Saturday, September 8, including: A TRAIN TRIP THROUGH THE REDWOODS ON ROARING CAMP RAILROAD, A SATURDAY NIGHT POTLUCK HOSTED BY THE DE SANTIS FAMILY, and the DANCE PERFORMANCES. Please see flyer here <archived> for more information.
• WOMEN’S OVERNIGHT RETREAT in SANTA CRUZ: SEPTMEBER 27-28, 2007. All women of the diocese are invited to the annual Mary Lou Thompson Retreat which will be held this year at Villa Maria Del Mar, in Santa Cruz. The focus will be on recognizing God’s presence in creation, in sacred writings, in ourselves, and in each other. There will be time for walking on the beach, reflecting on Scripture, meditating or practicing Centering Prayer, spending time with old friends and new ones, and sharing the ways in which we recognize God’s presence in our daily lives. The Retreat Leader will be The Rev. Karin White, who is the Priest at St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church in Milpitas. For information and reservations contact Diane Lovelace at DiLovelace@aol.com  or 408/ 263-8945 Arrival will be 3:00 on Thursday, Sept 27, with departure after lunch on Friday. See ATTACHED FLYER to register.

Ministry items:

• Youth Ministry –
  • Big Sur Camping Trip: Please note the dates for the St. Lucia Big Sur Youth Camp are Friday, October 5 – Sunday, October 7. If you are interested in attending this event, please contact the diocesan office at 831-394-4465 or susan[atecr]edecr.org .
• Attention Young Adults…"Camino: A Sacred Journey" is set for September 21-23 at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, California. Through provocative workshops, creative worship and an interactive urban pilgrimage focused on global peace and justice, participants of Camino will partake in an urban pilgrimage, exploring the cities many contrasts, paradoxes, eccentricities and challenges while discovering sites where the values of the Millennium Development Goals, Baptismal Covenant and Franciscan Spirituality are being practiced. Camino builds upon the work and consensus of the Young Adult Ministry Network consultations of the last three years to provide an opportunity for young adults (ages 18-30), and those designated by their parishes and dioceses as young adult ministers, to come together in community and discuss the place of young adults in the church. Cost for the three-day event is $340/Single; $195/Double; and $130/Commuter. The fees include all program fees, housing and most meals. To register visit … https://www.conference.com/eventmanager/OnlineRegistration.asp?EventCode=ROY . For further information, contact the Rev. Douglas Fenton, staff officer, Young Adult and Higher Education Ministries for the Episcopal Church, at 800-334-7626 ext 6323 or e-mail dfenton[atecr]episcopalchurch.org .
• St. Thomas Safe Haven Transfer Center: St. Thomas in Sunnyvale, in partnership with the Children’s Rights Council, will be opening a Safe Haven Transfer Center October 12, 2007. The center will be operating every other Friday and Sunday evening from 7:00-8:00PM. All research indicates that children generally do better in all areas of life if they have a close and continuing relationship with two caring and supportive parents. St. Thomas Safe Haven Transfer Center will allow children to stay close to both parents during the stressful time of family breakup. The center will assist the children of never married, separated and divorced parents by offering a safe and monitored place for children to be exchanged between the parents. There will be no charge to either parent for the use of the center. Centers like this one cut down the opportunity for family violence because they provide a monitored exchange. St. Thomas will be working with the Santa Clara County Family Court system. Training for the volunteer monitors will be held at St. Thomas August 17th and 18th with commissioning of the monitors during the August 19th Sunday service at 10:30. If you are interested in participating as a monitor in this ministry to children and parents, and are willing to commit to a minimum of one hour a month, please contact Pam Storrer at pam_storrer[atecr]yahoo.com  or 408-732-3002.
• Vocare International Conference 2008 will be held in the Diocese of Texas in May of 2008. Currently May 23-25 is reserved and the team is working on getting May 22 as well, to be used as a traveling day. For airport information please visit the VIC page on our website www.vocaretx.com .

Important Training / Dates to mark on your calendars:

• Let the Milk and Honey Flow: Our Stewardship of Abundance – Plan to attend a stewardship conference put on jointly by the Diocese of El Camino Real and The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America at St. Stephen’s Church in Gilroy on Saturday, September 15th – 9am to 3pm. The presentation will be led by Bob Sitze, Director for Hunger Education for the ELCA. Lunch is provided and the cost is $10 per person of a maximum of $40 per congregation in advance ($13 at the door). For more information and registration form, please see the attached flyer <archived> – or call the diocesan office at 831-394-4465.
• Basic Anti-Racism training takes place September 28-29 at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Yakima, Washington, hosted by the Diocese of Spokane. A second segment September 30 – October 1 is being offered to provide training for potential trainers. For information contact Darcy James at 208-983-9334 or email djames[atecr]camasnet.com 
• World mission conference to spotlight companion relationships with 'Everyone, Everywhere' Episcopalians active in global mission work will gather June 5-8, 2008, at the Maritime Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, for the church-wide world mission conference, Everyone, Everywhere. The conference is for individuals, parishes, dioceses, and mission groups committed to building and maintaining companion relationships with people around the world. Conference attendees will have the opportunity to celebrate existing relationships and nurture new ones, meet with others who have common interests and experiences in specific regions or mission topics, share personal mission stories, and learn how to engage in more effective world mission. To find out more about Everyone, Everywhere, visit http://www.everyone08.org  or contact Mary Brennan at mbrennan[atecr]episcopalchurch.org  or 212-716-6223.
   

Diocesan Office Meetings:

• Next Week:  Standing Committee – Thursday the 13th – (in Seaside); Convention Planning Meeting – Friday the 14th (in Salinas).
   

Grant us now, Lord, a vision of all that we might be and do to further your kingdom here in El Camino Real, and equip us to carry out your mission plan for us….Amen