Diocesan Prayer Cycle - 2008

View the Prayer Cycle online here
2008 Diocesan Prayer Cycle (PDF document)
2008 Diocesan Prayer Cycle (Word document)
Note: These are large documents and may take a few moments to download.

Missionaries who are affiliated with our Diocese need and rely on our prayer support. The Global Mission Commission of the Diocese asks all parishes and congregations to remember the following people during intercessory prayers at Sunday worship. Rotating names by month is one way to do this.

Jesse Zink has become a missionary of our own church, through our Young Adult Service Corps program, which helps people in their 20s serve overseas by lowering the amount of support needed and providing more structure for the experience than older, longer-term missionaries typically receive. (Greg Racine, below, of Christ Church, Rochdale, is also in YASC, making Western Massachusetts the only Diocese doubly represented in the program this year.)

Jesse’s e-mail address is jessezink@gmail.com. He writes about his mission work at mthathamission.blogspot.com.

Gregg Racine, age 20, who has been on 3 of the 4 short-term mission trips to El Salvador from our diocese, is spending a year in mission in El Salvador. He arrived safely on August 6th. He goes under the auspices of the Young Adult Service Corp from our Episcopal Church Center. He has a lovely place to live in Santa Ana with a retired Salvadoran couple in a quiet, safe neighborhood. He will be mentored by a priest from USA serving there. His ministry description includes helping young children in very rural villages succeed in school. Remember him in prayer. Email him with encouraging words: GregorySRacine@gmail.com

The Culver family continues to serve in China. They are helping very poor ethnic minority individuals attend lay training/bible schools in the rural southwest.

Peter Prewandowski, formerly a missionary in Tanzania, is now an important part of the Diocesan Global Mission Team.

Jane Torrey and her family continue their lifetime mission work in South Korea.

Sonja Hoekstra-Foss is serving her Lord in Israel.

Randy Giles continues his work in South India.

Daily Office - In English and Spanish

Daily Reading from Forward Movement's "Day by Day"

Weekly Essays from Molly Wolf's "Sabbath Blessings"

A resource for daily morning and evening prayer using the Book of Common Prayer, Daily Prayer

A short, daily meditation by various authors, Forward Day by Day

Daily Prayer Online Produced by the Irish Jesuits

Links and Outreach Opportunities

The Parishes of the Diocese of Western Massachusetts - Many of our congregations are online! Check them out with this link.

The Ark Five College Episcopal Center is a ministry of the Diocese of Western Massachusetts located on the campus of University of Massachusetts, dedicated to the development of alternative forms of Christian experience. Visit The Ark now!

Call your local Episcopal Church in your community to find your place to be known, loved, and sent out in mission.We strive to have every member be a minister, and every stranger welcomed and invited to join us as the People of God. To find a church near you, use this handy locator. The Red Book locator will find one for you!

Province 1, the seven dioceses of New England - www.province1.org

A web page for Latinos / Hispanics in the Episcopal Church:
www.episcopaleslatinos.org/nuestra.htm

Massachusetts Council of Churches

Lutheran Social Services of New England (LSSNE). Every day the 900 employees of LSSNE help and care for more than 2,000 clients regardless of race, creed, gender or age through 48 social ministry programs in New England.

National Episcopal Health Ministries:  www.EpiscopalHealthMinistries.org  Health ministry in a local congregation is an intentional ministry focusing on both healing and health, combining the ancient traditions of the Christian community and the knowledge and tools of modern health care. Liason persons from the Diocese of Western Massachusetts are Kathryn Fox, Mary Johnson and Lois Symonds.

Healing Ministry at St. Mark's, Leominster:  St. Mark’s Leominster has an active Healing Ministry, with a healing team available every Sunday during the 10:00am mass, including the laying on of hands, for prayer for yourself or on behalf of others. All prayer requests are treated with complete confidentiality.  For more information, click here.

Leadership Training Institute (LTI)

The Church Pension Group (http://www.cpg.org) provides clergy and lay pensions, health plans, retirement savings and planning programs, life and disability insurance, property and casualty insurance, and other products and services to the Episcopal Church through its affiliates: The Church Pension Fund (http://www.cpg.org/aboutus/thechurchpensionfund.cfm), The Episcopal Church Medical Trust (http://www.cpg.org/aboutus/medicaltrust.cfm), Church Life Insurance Corporation, and (http://www.cpg.org/aboutus/churchlifeinsurancecorporation.cfm), Church Insurance Companies (http://www.cpg.org/aboutus/churchinsurance.cfm).

Study Guide on the Environment This four-session study guide is based on the New England Bishops' Pastoral Letter on the Environment. The study guide is designed to assist churches in forming discussion circles through which each participant can examine the roots of his or her connectedness with God's creation both in Scripture and in our Christian tradition. The core content explores some of the issues of greatest concern for New Englanders and for people of faith everywhere for whom the degradation of the environment is an issue of justice for all.  Download the study guide from the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut.

Link 2 Lead is a web site for local church clergy and lay leaders. It is brought to you by The Diocese of Western Massachusetts and Percept, the leading information provider to religious organizations since 1987. Through Link2Lead.com we are dedicated to providing you and other leaders with the latest information about your community, hands-on tools to better understand and develop your own capabilities and a variety of additional resources to assist you in leading your congregation into the new world of opportunities awaiting us in the 21st century.

For information on The Education for Ministry Program in our Diocese contact: Joan Gilchrist at 978-838-0341 (home) or 508-271-3530 (work) or by e-mail.

The Recovered Alcoholic Clergy Association of the Episcopal Church has a gift for you. It is our simple web site at www.racapecusa.org.  You can help the hidden, frightened clergy, church wardens, spouses who are baffled by addiction in themselves or their priest by letting them know about RACA.

Church World Service - Building partner relationships with regional and national ecumenical bodies around the world, Church World Service works to provide disaster relief, social and economic development, and services for refugees. 

Five Talents International - Five Talents International is an Anglican initiative which is committed to combating poverty in the developing world.

www.TENS.org - The Episcopal Network for Stewardship  (FYI: TENS has a link on its homepage to Amazon.com, which provides TENS a percentage of the sale every time a sale comes through the TENS link.)

Looking for a nearby church anywhere in the US? The Red Book locator will find one for you!

The Episcopal Church (TEC) in the United States of America:

• The official home page of the U.S. Episcopal Church, The Episcopal Church, USA

• The new "Wecome Center" of the U.S. Episcopal Church.

• The web site for the Anglican (Episcopal) Church around the world, Anglican Domain

• The online weekly magazine, Anglicans Online

• The Anglican Communion Office in London, The Anglican Communion

• Numerous leadership resources for stewardship training, education and planning, The Episcopal Network for Stewardship (TENS)

• Designed for young adults and explorers checking out what the Episcopal Church has to offer,  Peek through the Window

• Anglican & Global Relations

• Congregational Ministries

• Please pass along any new or interesting links you think should be posted here. Or advise us if any of these links are broken!



(Submitted by Susan Howland, Diocesan ECW Treasurer - August 2006)

Women's Mininistries in Western Massachusetts

Many Women's organizations are represented on the board for the Episcopal Church Women. They are:

Diocesan Episcopal Church Women
The Mission of the Episcopal Church Women, Diocese of Western Massachusetts is to become a cornerstone of community, learning and ministry that seeks to invite all women into fellowship.
Diocesan Contact: Renee Beaujean, P.O. Box 82, South Lee, MA 01260. (413) 243-3123, RaesTaxi@aol.com.

Episcopal Church Women's Quilt Project (Formerly ABC QUILTS)
The mission of this group is to provide comfort to children who are in need. We invite all quilt makers.
Diocesan contact: Ginny Benoit, 33 Westbrook Road, South Hadley, MA 01075. (413) 533-2034.

The Order of the Daughters of the King
An order for women who are communicants of the Episcopal Church, or churches in communion with it, or churches who are in the historic episcopate. Members undertake a Rule of Life, incorporating the rule of prayer and the rule of service.
Diocesan Contact: Mariana Bauman: 47 Ruskin St., Springfield, MA. 01108 (413) 733-1208, Marianab@earthlink.net.

The United Thank Offering
A vital volunteer mission arm of the Episcopal Church reaching out to the whole church with a message of the joy and power of prayer.
Diocesan Contact: Susan Howland, 132 Osgood Road, Charlton, MA 01507. (508) 248-6112, howland@110.net.

The Girl's Friendly Society (GFS)
An international organization affiliated with the Episcopal Church for girls and young women. The purpose of GFS is to provide a support system for girls, helping them grow and mature into productive, healthy adulthood.
Diocesan Contact: Carol Bushmen: 9 Acrebrook Road, Springfield, MA. 01129. (413) 783-2635.

National Altar Guild Association
The purpose of the National Altar Guild Association is to unite all altar guilds, encouraging and deepening the spiritual life of all members so that worship to Almighty God may be offered in the beauty of holiness.
Diocesan Contact: Mary Alice Worden: 7 Leland Hill Road, South Grafton, MA 01560. (508) 839-7896, marialycew@aol.com.

Church Periodical Club
An Episcopal institution whose ministry is to supply books, magazines, tapes, videos and computer programs free to those who cannot otherwise obtain them, and to raise the money to achieve this.
Diocesan Contact: The Rev. Mary Gustafson, 183 South St., Southbridge, MA 01550. (508) 765-4973, gustafso1@earthlink.net.

Prayer Shawl Ministry
There are links on this Web site www.bshellhorn.com with directions for making prayer shawls, prayer links and prayer squares, suggestions for how to begin this ministry.

For a MapQuest map of Diocesan House at 37 Chestnut Street, click here.

For a Yahoo! map with driving directions from your address click here

(Please note when using the directions below, you can NOT turn left on Chestnut Street from State Street.  You must turn right on State at Dwight Street, then immediately bear left to get on Chestnut Street and proceed across State Street.)

for the Diocesan map to view on screen click here

for a Printable PDF (Adobe Acrobat) Diocesan map with parish locations, click here
(this is a great map of the Diocese ... but it is a large file and may take some time to download.)

From the SOUTH, take EXIT 5 (Broad St.) from I-91. You’re now on Columbus Ave., which parallels I-91.

Turn RIGHT at the second traffic light, onto Union St. Drive two blocks and, at the top of the hill, turn LEFT onto Maple Street. You’ll pass South Church on your right.

At the traffic light, you’ll go across State St., and Christ Church Cathedral is immediately on your right, at the top of the little hill. We share a driveway with the Quadrangle (Library & Museums Association), before the Cathedral building itself.

See Parking options below

From the EAST, use EXIT 6 from the MassPike. At the lights after the tollbooth, turn LEFT onto I-291.

In about 5 miles, I-291 divides, and you want the LEFT fork (marked for US-20 West and West Springfield). But immediately after the fork, take the little exit to the RIGHT marked “Dwight Street”.

At the lights at the bottom of that ramp, turn LEFT onto Dwight St.

Drive straight south on Dwight Street, about 5 or 6 traffic lights, and you’ll see the Civic Center on your right.

Right after you pass the Civic Center, you’ll cross State Street. Immediately get over into the left lane. You'll be reversing your direction by driving around a 180 degree left-hand curve.

At the traffic light, you’ll go across State Street and Christ Church Cathedral is immediately on your right, at the top of the little hill. We share a driveway with the Quadrangle (Library & Museums Association), before the Cathedral building itself.

See Parking options below.

From the NORTH, Use Exit 7 from I-91, marked "Columbus Avenue, Springfield Center." Turn LEFT at the first light (opposite Memorial Bridge) and go through TWO lights (crossing E. Columbus Ave. and Main St.).

After the Civic Center (on your left), turn RIGHT onto Dwight St., then get into the LEFT lane and reverse direction by driving around a 180º lefthand curve.

At the traffic light, you’ll go across State St., and Christ Church Cathedral is immediately on your right, at the top of the little hill. We share a driveway with the Quadrangle (Library & Museums Association), before the Cathedral building itself.

See Parking options below.

From the WEST, Use EXIT 4 (West Springfield) from the MassPike, come South on I-91, and follow the “From the North” directions immediately above.

On-street parking on Chestnut in front of the Cathedral property is allowed during Sunday worship hours only.

You can also park two deep to the left of the driveway on the South side of the Cathedral or in a limited number of visitor positions behind the Cathedral and Diocesan buildings.

Any portion of this web site may be translated into a variety of languages at this address:  http://babelfish.altavista.com/tr