VT Faith Community's Online News -January 2012

Other Faith Common Articles

Faith Common is the email newsletter of the Vermont Ecumenical Council & Bible Society (VEC). PLEASE POST IT in your house of worship. To be added to this newsletter mailing list or to submit news, please send an email to the VEC office at info@vecbs.org.

IN THIS NEWSLETTER:

• VIA Health Forum
• Retreat for Caregivers
• Week of Prayer service
• Spiritual Direction
• Colman McCarthy lecture
• Bangor Theological Seminary scholarships
• Taize service at St. Paul's, Burlington

PRAYER

Through every minute of this day,
be with me, Lord!
Through every day of all this week,
be with me, Lord!
Through every week of all this year,
be with me, Lord!
Through all the years of all this life,
be with me, Lord!
So shall the days and weeks and years
be threaded on a golden cord.
And all draw on with sweet accord
unto they fullness, Lord,
that so, when time is past,
by grace I may,
at last, be with thee, Lord.
John Oxenham, 20th Century

HEALTH CARE FORUM

This event, sponsored by Vermont Interfaith Action (VIA), will be held at Charlotte Congregational Church on Tues., 1/10 from 7 – 8:30 pm. Questions? Contact VIA at 802-651-8889.

CARE for the CAREGIVERS – RETREAT OFFERED

A spiritually based retreat is offered to those who've provided care for people affected by Tropical Storm Irene; it's sponsored by the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont. Each one is open to care- givers from any faith – or no faith tradition. The Rev. Charles LaFond, Canon for Congregational Life in the Diocese of New Hampshire, will be the retreat leader. He provided similar care to clergy in the Diocese of Louisiana starting on the second day of the Katrina disaster.

Retreats will be held:

• Fri., Jan. 13: St. Luke's, Chester (313 Main St.), 5:30 - 8:30 pm
• Sat., Jan. 14: Christ Church, Montpelier (64 State St.), 10 am - 1 pm St. Paul's Cathedral, Burlington (2 Cherry St.), 5 - 8 pm
• Sun., Jan. 15: St. Michael's, Brattleboro (16 Bradley Ave.), 1 - 4 pm St. Paul's, White River Jct. (749 Hartford Ave.), 5:30 - 8:30 pm

To register, contact the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont's main office at 802-863-3431 or adminasst@dioceseofvermont.org and let them know which retreat session you plan to attend.

Please forward this newsletter to caregivers who may want to attend a retreat.

WEEK OF PRAYER for CHRISTIAN UNITY

A Week of Prayer service will be held in Richmond on Jan. 22 at 4 pm at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Church. Members of several area congregations will come together for this service. All are welcome. Inquire in your area to find out if a Week of Prayer for Christian Unity service will be offered.

SPIRITUAL DIRECTION

In the midst of our busy lives, Spiritual Direction offers an opportunity to discover deeper meaning and purpose in our lives in relationship to the Sacred. Contact: Spiritual Director Sr. Ann Duhaime RSM at Mount St. Mary, 100 Mansfield Ave., Burlington, 802-862-2210 or mercycominghome@hotmail.com

THE CASE for NON-VIOLENCE

Colman McCarthy, a “grand old man” of American pacifists, will speak at St. Michael's College on Wednesday, Feb. 29 at 7 pm in Cheray Lecture Hall. For 25 years, he wrote articles for the “Washington Post” and he now directs the Center for Teaching Peace in Washington, D.C. He writes a column for “The National Catholic Reporter” and teaches at Georgetown.

BANGOR THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY SCHOLARSHIPS

Bangor Theological Seminary (BTS), located in Portland and Bangor, Maine, will award a select number of merit-based Presidential and Trustee scholarships to qualified, entering, full-time, Master of Divinity students in fall 2012. Scholar- ships will be awarded to individuals who have demonstrated high levels of academic achievement and exceptional promise for ministry and leadership.

Presidential and Trustee scholar- ships, recently created by the BTS Board of Trustees, will be awarded to a limited number of full-time students annually. The Presidential scholarships will cover full tuition up to 30 credits per year and Trustee scholarships cover half tuition up to 18 credits per year.

Both are renewable for three years provided the student maintains a high level of academic achievement. To be considered for either of these scholarships, applicants must submit a letter to the Scholarship Committee along with all required admissions application materials for the Master of Divinity Program to the Office of Admissions by the priority deadline of April 1, 2012.

Applicants should articulate in their letter to the Scholarship Committee how a seminary education at BTS will enable them to complete their goals and engage in ministry. Recipients will be notified by May 1, 2012. Contact the Office of Admissions for more information by calling: 1-800-287-6781 x 205.

REMINDER

Taize service at St. Paul's Cathedral, Burlington, Sun., Jan. 15, 7:30 pm. Contact: Mark Howe: 864-0471 x 15