“Restorative justice (RJ) is a way of thinking about crime that puts more emphasis on repairing the harm done by the offender to the victim and community than on punishing the offender.”

And it was done virtually. Laying on of hands, yes from afar. Voices praying, yes but from afar. Touching of hands, yes but not a physical touch but a spiritual touch. I felt a sense of peace like no other, a sense of His presence, and a stirring of my spirit.

More than Charlottesville, more than Richmond, perhaps more than any other place in Virginia, Emporia would appear on the surface to be a place ripe for violent protests.

Join us for the weekly Wednesday Healing Prayer Class - now in its 15th year. This is a unique opportunity to learn about praying for physical, emotional and spiritual healing with hands on training in small groups.

Church of the Holy Spirit will in conjunction with One Church Loudoun as we have an opportunity as believers in Jesus and the Christ-centered Church in Loudoun to come together to simply worship our Lord together and humbly call out to Him.

Our friends at Coracle are providing a service of lament on June 19th (Juneteenth) from 3-4pm broadcast from Corhaven Graveyard (a burial ground for enslaved persons in the Shenandoah Valley). We hope you will consider joining to listen, lament, and pray. Register here.

“One of our goals has been to help provide intercessory prayer cover for our church planters who are already “out in the field,” as well as praying in new planters for the Diocese. So, as churches are planted, we develop an ongoing prayer relationship with the planters and the churches, praying for each one on a regular basis.”

“Tragically, talking about racial division at this moment in our country is itself divisive. This need not be the case—especially not in the church. You all know the many reasons for this, as the issue is too often reduced to ideologies or politics. Politics has its role to play—and we pray for our political leaders weekly—but this is a kingdom issue. Let us do all we can to hear the heart of God on this issue.”

Like many experiences of great stress in our lives, this coronavirus season will make us better Christians or worse ones, but it won’t leave us unaffected. We will either trust the Lord more or we will give fear a greater hold on our hearts. We will either press in to Jesus or we will drift further away. We will come to realize how much we need in-person Christian community or we will conclude we do just fine by tuning in occasionally online.  

Enjoy beautiful art as you pray for brothers and sisters around the globe.

Ascension Day is the day celebrating the bodily ascension of Jesus Christ to heaven 40 days after His resurrection from the dead on Easter Sunday according to Mark 16:19, Luke 24:51, and Acts 1:9. Here is the list of services being offered online by churches in the Diocese, sorted chronologically by service time.

In preparation for Pentecost we are pleased to offer an introductory teaching time on what the scriptures say about the Holy Spirit - who he is, what is he like, what he does, and why you should have more of him in your life. We will go through a couple of teaching blocks with space for questions and discussion, and will end with prayer.

These theologians and artists found beauty in suffering.

In this pandemic, I believe this Book of Common Prayer forms the rule of prayer that our hearts need to order what feels unruly and ever changing. It teaches us how to come to God in grief and lamentation, in repentance, and in authentic joy for His great acts of salvation.

A couple of weeks ago, Epiphany delivered a trunk-full of break-room snacks and beverages for the 70+ employees at Arbor Terrace, along with a thank-you for their work.

Rock Recovery is a ministry based in Arlington, VA that provides clinical and community programs for people with eating disorders.

As Jesus' followers, we are called to remember the needs of our neighbors around the world, to love and serve them, to use our resources generously, and to pray. Incarnation's upcoming first-ever Global Week is an opportunity to do just that.

Truro Anglican (Fairfax, VA) has created a beautiful video devotional for doing the Stations of the Cross from home.

As individual Christians, churches and as a Diocese, let’s continue to think of creative ways of being a visible presence in our communities.