Episcorific Needs YOU!

Submissions for the Lenten edition of Episcorific are now being accepted! Go here to contribute: http://episcopalcommons.org/episcorific/lent_2011_call/.

Episcopal Service Corps

The Episcopal Service Corps is a national federation of young adult service programs in the United States. Based in the Episcopal Church and managed independently, we provide extended service opportunities for young adults to:

* Live in intentional community with a simple, sustainable lifestyle,
* Work for social justice
* Deepen spiritual awareness and discern vocation
* Develop leadership skills in the paradigm of servant leadership

The ESC is now accepting applications for 2011-2012. You can apply HERE.

Gather Around the Table

Hey all,

If you haven't registered, it's not too late! It's going to be a super awesome event, and the members of ESLT are all so excited to meet everyone!

Here's just some info to help get you excited:

First, the dinner and dance on New Year’s Eve is themed “A Dedication to the Decades.” Thus, it is decade themed, and we request that, if you feel so inclined with the spunkiness of holiday spirit, to dress in the garb of your favorite decade. The themes are specifically as follows: 1940’s- Patriotic/War (please no blood and guts), 1950’s- Rock n’ Roll, 1960’s and 1970’s – Hippie, 1980’s – Rock/ Neon, 1990’s – 90’s (it was just a decade that seemed impossible to stereotype), 2000’s- Reality TV. Your outfit may be as fancy or as casual as you would like, we are not requiring elaborate outfits, nor must you be dressed in decade theme to attend. It’ll be more fun, but it is a completely individual choice. Also, we know initially we said that groups could make their own New Year’s hats to match their outfits, but now, hats, horns, and tiaras will be supplied. It should be a lot of fun, so get excited!

Also, we have arranged it so that the DJ has a song request list for before we even get to Gather! A request list will be open at the dance, but why wait? Get your tunes in early, and the DJ will be sure to play them.

Finally, if you have not signed up for skiing/ snowboarding/ snowshoeing yet, you should definitely do it! When is the next time you’ll get to ski or snowboard in the Rockies over New Year’s? The trails for snowshoeing are absolutely gorgeous. But, seriously, skiing and snowboarding in the Rockies? Check that one off the bucket list! If it is price that is turning you away, remember that as long as 20 people sign up, it will be the cheaper rate. And that is not 20 people for each skiing and snowboarding, it is a 20 person combination of skiers and snowboarders.

Go to https://www.signup4.net/Public/ap.aspx?EID=GATH10E to view more information and register! We look forward to seeing you there.

Sincerely,
The members of ESLT
The Episcopal Student Leadership Team

Episcopal 101: Advent

Advent (from the Latin word adventus meaning "coming") is a season observed in many Western Christian churches, a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. It is the beginning of the Western liturgical year and commences on Advent Sunday, called Levavi. The Eastern churches' equivalent of Advent is called the Nativity Fast, but it differs both in length and observances and does not begin the church year, which starts instead on September 1.

The progression of the season may be marked with an Advent calendar, a practice introduced by German Lutherans. At least in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran and Methodist calendars, Advent starts on the fourth Sunday before December 25, the Sunday from November 27 to December 3 inclusive.

Latin adventus is the translation of the Greek word parousia, commonly used in reference to the Second Coming of Christ. Christians believe that the season of Advent serves a reminder both of the original waiting that was done by the Hebrews for the birth of their Messiah as well as the waiting of Christians for Christ's return.

In Anglican churches the Sunday before Advent is sometimes nicknamed Stir-up Sunday after the opening lines of the Book of Common Prayer collect for that day. In the Roman Catholic Church since 1969, and in most Anglican churches since at least 2000, the final Sunday of the liturgical year before Advent has been celebrated as the Feast of Christ the King. This feast is now also widely observed in many Protestant churches, sometimes as the Reign of Christ. In consequence, the collect for the first Sunday of Advent in the Episcopal Church USA is no longer "stir up". Since the 1979 revision of the Book of Common Prayer that collect is read on the third Sunday of the season.

Saint of the Week: Nicholas Ferrar

In 1626 Nicholas Ferrar and his extended family left London and moved to the deserted village of Little Gidding in Huntingdonshire. The household was centred on the Ferrar family: Nicholas's mother, his brother John Ferrar (with his wife Bathsheba and their children), and his sister Susanna (and her husband John Collett and their children). They bought the manor of Little Gidding and restored the abandoned little church for their use. The household always had someone at prayer and had a strict routine. They tended to the health and education of local children, and Nicholas and his family produced harmonies of the gospels that survive today as some of the finest in Britain. Nicholas Ferrar died on 4 December 1637, but the family continued their way of life without him, and the religious life only ended in 1657 on the deaths, within a month, of John Ferrar and Susanna Collett.

The life of the Ferrar household was much criticised by Puritans, and they were denounced as Arminians, and their life attacked as a 'Protestant Nunnery'. However, the Ferrars never lived a formal religious life: there was no Rule, vows were not taken, and there was no enclosure. In this sense there was no 'community' at Little Gidding, but rather a family living a Christian life in accordance with the Book of Common Prayer according to High Church principles.

Collect: Lord God, make us worthy of your perfect love; that, with your deacon Nicholas Ferrar and his household, we may rule ourselves according to your Word, and serve you with our whole heart; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

ReadingsGalatians 6:7-10
Matthew 13:47-52
Psalm 15
or Psalm 112:1-9

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50 Buzzwords You Shouldn't Use on Your Resume

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Saint of the Week: Hilda

Hilda of Whitby (c. 614–680) is a Christian saint and the founding abbess of the monastery at Whitby, which was chosen as the venue for the Synod of Whitby. An important figure in the conversion of England to Christianity, she was abbess at several monasteries and recognized for the wisdom that drew kings to her for advice.

Hilda's original convent is not known, except that it was on the north bank of the River Wear. Here, with a few companions, she learned the traditions of Celtic monasticism, which Aidan brought from Iona. After a year Aidan appointed Hilda as the second Abbess of Hartlepool Abbey. No trace remains of this abbey, but its monastic cemetery has been found near the present St. Hilda's Church.

In 657 Hilda became the founding abbess of a new monastery at Whitby, then known as Streonshalh; she remained there until her death. Archaeological evidence shows that her monastery was in the Celtic style, with its members living in small houses, each for two or three people. The tradition in double monasteries, such as Hartlepool and Whitby, was that men and women lived separately, but worshipped together in church. The exact location and size of the church associated with this monastery, is unknown.

Bede states that the original ideals of monasticism were maintained strictly in Hilda's abbey. All property and goods were held in common; Christian virtues were exercised, especially peace and charity. Everyone had to study the Bible and do good works.

Five men from this monastery became bishops and two also join Hilda in being revered as saints - Saint John of Beverley, Bishop of Hexham, and St. Wilfrid, Bishop of York. They rendered untold service to the Anglo-Saxon Church at this critical period of the struggle with paganism.

Collect: O God of peace, by whose grace the abbess Hilda was endowed with gifts of justice, prudence, and strength to rule as a wise mother over the nuns and monks of her household, and to become a trusted and reconciling friend to leaders of the Church: Give us the grace to recognize and accept the varied gifts you bestow on men and women, that our common life may be enriched and your gracious will be done; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Readings
Ephesians 4:1-6
Matthew 19:27-29
Psalm 122
or Psalm 33:1-5,20-21

YA Delegation to UN Commission on the Status of Women

Be a part of this year's Episcopal Young Adult Delegation to the United
Nations Commission on the Status of Women.

Every year thousands of women and men from countries and non-pofits across
the globe gather to be a part of the United Nations Commission on the Status
of Women. Through debates, plenaries, workshops, and networking, you¹ll
engage with leaders worldwide in exploring this year¹s theme of Girl
Children and Women in Science and Technology.

Delegates will also interact with other faith based delegations from around
the world through worship, reflection and fellowship. You will also have the
support and guidance of Episcopal leaders and denominational staff in
navigating this life-changing experience.

Application and cover letter:
http://episcopalchurch.org/documents/EYAD_UNCSW_Application_updated_(2).doc

Blog from 2010 delegation:
http://geecsw.blogspot.com/

About the UN CSW:
http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/index.html

Saint of the Week: Margaret of Scotland

Saint Margaret was the daughter of the English prince Edward the Exile, son of Edmund Ironside. She was born in Hungary, and raised at its court where her father had settled in exile. Margaret had two younger siblings, a brother Edgar and a sister Christina. The provenance of her mother, Agatha, is disputed.

Margaret grew up in a very religious environment in the Hungarian court. The king of that time, Andrew I of Hungary, was known as Andrew the catholic for his extreme aversion to pagans, and great loyalty to Rome, which probably could have induced Margaret to follow a pious life. Still a child, she came to England with the rest of her family when her father, Edward, was recalled in 1057 as a possible successor to her great-uncle the childless Edward the Confessor. Her father died soon after the family's arrival in England, but Margaret continued to reside at the English court where her brother, Edgar Ætheling, was considered a possible successor to the English Throne. When the Confessor died in January 1066, Harold Godwinson was selected as king, Edgar perhaps being considered still too young. After Harold's defeat at the battle of Hastings later that year, Edgar was proclaimed King of England, but when the Normans advanced on London, Margaret and her family fled north to Northumberland.

According to tradition, after the conquest of the Kingdom of England by the Normans, the widowed Agatha (Margaret's Mother) decided to leave Northumberland with her children and return to the Continent. A storm drove their ship to Scotland, where they sought the protection of King Malcolm III. The spot where she is said to have landed is known today as St. Margaret's Hope, near the village of North Queensferry.

Margaret's arrival in Scotland in 1068, after the Northumbrian revolt, has been heavily romanticized, though Symeon of Durham implied that her first meeting with Malcolm III of Scots may not have been until 1070, after William the Conqueror's harrying of the north.

Saint Margaret was canonised in the year 1250 by Pope Innocent IV in recognition of her personal holiness, fidelity to the Church, work for religious reform, and charity. She attended to charitable works, and personally served orphans and the poor every day before she ate. She rose at midnight to attend church services every night. She was known for her work for religious reform. She was considered to be an exemplar of the "just ruler", and also influenced her husband and children to be just and holy rulers.

Collect: O God, you called your servant Margaret to an earthly throne that she might advance your heavenly kingdom, and gave her zeal for your Church and love for your people: Mercifully grant that we who commemorate her this day may be fruitful in good works, and attain to the glorious crown of your saints; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

Readings
Proverbs 31:10-11,20,26,28
Matthew 13:44-52
Psalm 146:4-9
or Psalm 112:1-9