News, information, messages from Bishop Rob, and more about the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire.
Micah 6 Commission: A Year of Building Relationships for Local Justice
When the Most Reverend Michael Curry, 27th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, travelled to Portsmouth, New Hampshire last February to speak along with Bishop Rob at the Black Heritage Trail of NH’s celebrated “Tea Talk,” it was a perfect example of the power of the Micah 6 initiative and how it brings people and organizations together in the name of social justice. The event was held in a synagogue, was open to all, and drew a large audience who were thirsty for wisdom and encouragement. The Bishops didn’t disappoint. Their vastly different experiences growing up, their bond of friendship, and their shared faith made for interesting conversation, storytelling and ways to further racial justice. The crowd was mesmerized. This is one example of how the Micah 6 Commission – just one year into its existence – is shaping how the Episcopal Church of NH is taking action with partner organizations.
Now just one year since its formation in April 2025, the Micah 6 Commission is making strides. The Commission was formed as a way to streamline and empower parishes to take action against racism, economic inequity, and environmental degradation. The work is guided by the principles of Micah 6:8, which emphasizes the importance of doing justice, being kind, and walking humbly with God.
“Micah 6 is a guiding call for how we live our faith and baptismal covenant,” says Commission Chair Derek Scalia. “Our world is hurting, and people are yearning for points of light and relief. Through this work, we seek to embody the call to do justice.”
Created to combine our local efforts around reconciliation, earth care, educational equity, and reparations, Micah 6 has found a sibling in the Global Missions Committee, which focuses on international social justice work, while Micah 6 focuses on New Hampshire organizations already doing critical justice work.Rather than creating new programs, Micah 6 focuses on building relationships with these current initiatives. These partnerships reflect shared learning, mutual respect, and a commitment to long-term impact. Among its early collaborations:
Supporting Black Heritage Trail of NH “Tea Talks,” fostering dialogue on race and history
Partnering with the NH Fair Funding Project to advocate for equitable education
Advancing environmental stewardship through the New England Episcopal Path to Creation Justice initiative
John Rowntree, parish treasurer at Good Shepherd Church in Nashua, urges Episcopalians to consider joining churches in Claremont, Keene and Londonderry that are currently participating in the New England Episcopal Path to Creation Justice , a program which provides support and tools to parishes committed to addressing the climate crisis. Rowntree says the Micah 6 Commission contributed a three-year grant to support them. Says Rowntree, “We have done multiple projects to reduce our 148-year-old church’s carbon footprint, including insulation, improving our historic church windows, changing lightbulbs and implementing 35 solar panels. It feels really good to make a difference and helps us be strong financial stewards because we have reduced our energy costs.”
The Commission is made up of 12 members in addition to Bishop Rob. The Commission meets monthly and has held two major planning sessions over the last year.
It has also helped distribute $85,000 in Coit House funds, administered through the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, to support a wide range of community organizations – from childcare centers and summer camps to youth programs and family services.
At its core, the Micah 6 Commission is grounded in the belief that justice work begins in relationships.
“We are not here to solve every problem,” Commission leaders note. “We are here to listen, to accompany, and to support the work already unfolding in our communities.”
This relational approach is already strengthening parish life across the Diocese. By sharing stories, connecting congregations to opportunities, and deepening engagement, the Commission is helping Episcopalians live out their call to justice in tangible ways.
As the Commission enters its second year, it is building a more intentional structure to sustain and grow this work: strengthening communication, aligning resources, and supporting parishioners in integrating justice, mercy, and humility into every aspect of ministry.
Ultimately, the Micah 6 Commission is an invitation: to listen more deeply, to partner more intentionally, and to participate more fully in the work of healing and justice across New Hampshire. Commission members believe that justice takes root most fully when nurtured in parish communities that pray, learn, and serve together. They are committed to ensuring that the wisdom gained becomes a resource for congregations seeking to deepen their own ministries of justice. These faithful committee members believe that sharing stories and opportunities strengthens parish life and inspires local action rooted in the Gospel.
To share your stories of social justice work at your church or to find out more about Micah 6 please email Derek Scalia at dnascalia@gmail.com.
Top - Micah 6 Committee members at a planning meeting; bottom left - solar panels on the roof of the Good Shepherd complex in Nashua; bottom right - Tea Talk with Most Rev. Michael Curry, in Portsmouth.
The Rev. Jamie Hamilton's Sermon for the Ordination of the Rev. Kathy Boss
Joy is Divinity dancing in us. Amen
(Thank you’s on behalf of Kathy)- Bishop Rob Hirschfeld, the Revs. Curtis Metzger, Colin Chapman, Elsa Worth, Derek Scalia, Sandi Albom, the staff of the Diocesan house, the parishioners and priests and deacons throughout the diocese. The congregations of All Saints, both in Peterborough and Littleton, and St. James in Keene, the students, staff, and professors at Boston University, at the White Mountain school, the community at the Peterborough Food Pantry, your co-workers at Jellison’s Funeral Home, your three sons Jonathan (his partner Katherine), Adam (his partner Allison), and “Baby” Noah, and your parents and siblings, and your many friends, including Michal and Allison.
March 20, 2021, (Feast Day of Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, Bishop and Missionary 687)
The Rev. Kathy D. Boss ordination to the priesthood
White Mountain School, Bethlehem, New Hampshire
Numbers 11:16-17, 24-25 Philippians 4:4-9
Psalm 132: 8-19 Matthew 9:35-38
By the Rev. Jamie Hamilton
Joy is Divinity dancing in us. Amen
(Thank you’s on behalf of Kathy)- Bishop Rob Hirschfeld, the Revs. Curtis Metzger, Colin Chapman, Elsa Worth, Derek Scalia, Sandi Albom, the staff of the Diocesan house, the parishioners and priests and deacons throughout the diocese. The congregations of All Saints, both in Peterborough and Littleton, and St. James in Keene, the students, staff, and professors at Boston University, at the White Mountain school, the community at the Peterborough Food Pantry, your co-workers at Jellison’s Funeral Home, your three sons Jonathan (his partner Katherine), Adam (his partner Allison), and “Baby” Noah, and your parents and siblings, and your many friends, including Michal and Allison.
And for all the other invisible hands and hearts that have nurtured you, Kathy. With landscape weaving your theology, as you listen to the ice sing, pray the Camino, or dig in gardens, we acknowledge this land. This land is located on N’dakinna, the traditional lands and waterways of the Abenaki, Pennacook and other related Wabanaki Peoples past and present. We honor with gratitude the land itself and the people who have stewarded it throughout the generations. And finally, we pray for all those who are no longer with us, remembering especially Eunice Chalmers, your dear friend who died over four years ago, and today, March 20, is her birthday. She and so many are with all of us in spirit.
On the occasion of an ordination, all of us today-priests, deacons, bishops, laity, and this, our deacon, our soon to-be priest, Kathy, are trusting our lives, yet again, to our Beloved, the Ancient Heart of all Life, who beckons us daily into the dance of intimacy with our faith, as we live and move and have our being. Kathy, thank you for giving us this opportunity with you as you embrace your life as priest, to renew our own promises and our own vows.
“Rejoice in the Lord Always; again, I will say, Rejoice.”
When Paul writes these words to his fledgling church in Philippi, he is writing by candlelight from the cell of a dark prison in Rome. It’s difficult to imagine such hope and joy in the face of such possible despair, defeat, and ruin.
Actually, maybe it’s not so difficult to imagine as we have struggled mightily this past year during a global pandemic. Covid-tide is a season too long, too painful, with too much loss, too much uncertainty and too much distance. Imagine the irony (we’ve all talked about this… as minsters, parents, friends, co-workers, siblings) that our separation, our protection, our abundance of caution, our receiving of guided autonomy, our mask wearing, our acts of closing doors- to church buildings, homes, businesses, schools, community suppers, nursing and retirement communities….
Yes, CLOSED OFF…YET...
All of these “closing” actions are acts that are saving lives. These are acts of sacrificial love.
These things “shutting down” make absence, yet in the vacuum, the presence of LOVE emerges in a new way. The Holy Spirit is present, especially right now in our many acts of not doing, not being, not sustaining how we’ve always been. These strange ways of being, (disorientation, forgetfulness, confusions, sorrows, anxiety, etc.) are like seeds buried in the deep dark earth, and rather than being smothered, they are breaking open… strong enough to reach for the sky. So unlikely, so strange, yet so true.
Paul would say, “Welcome to the faith. Of course, everything is upside down. Remember, in the midst of your vertigo, to cling to the Sustainer of all Life, as your center which will always hold.” Paul would continue, “I greet you as you enter into the cell of my dark prison. Pull up a chair. Find your prayer beads. Strap yourself into your heart and know that God remains with us, even in possible horrors. Dead center. And by the way, this is where Joy resides!”
And before we even have a chance to resist, Paul writes, “Again, I will say, Rejoice,” even though he has no idea of his own fate. He has no idea whether he will be rescued, like he was before, with God unlocking inner cell doors by earthquakes and jailers converting to liberators before his very eyes,
OR…
whether he will waste away, tied to chains and to darkness and to a brutal end. For Paul, it doesn’t matter. He trusts he’s in God’s hands which gives him great joy. Rejoice, the Lord is always near.
“Don’t be anxious,” he tells us, “God is the next breath.”
Paul knows the peace of God which surpasses all understanding because this peace has nothing to do with his circumstances, and everything to do with trusting in the sustaining presence of this Living Love, the fire of the Holy Spirit’s belly. Paul wants to pass this joy, this gladness, this longing, this steadfastness, this reassurance to us, today…
Really??? Don’t you sometimes just want to break out of his prison? Or get off Noah’s salvific ark? Or be like the Israelites who complained to Moses about being brought out to the desert just to starve? (They had a point). Sometimes, I just want to quit/escape/give up/forget. I don’t think I’m alone in this feeling. (Right?)
But today, Kathy, there’s no escaping for you. No escaping for any of us. (Thank God). Because here we are, accepting God’s invitation to renew our vows on the Ark of Only God Knows. In the midst of sorrows, grief, lost and confusion, we find courage to make our claims of joy. We can find this gift of Joy when God is our center, our touchstone, our hope, our source, our breath, our north star.
Thomas Merton, mystic monk once said, “If at the count of three God stopped loving us, we would cease to exist.” Everything would end… the world, you, me, time, space, cause and effect, the whole kit and caboodle… Gone.
Love… the love that is over and beyond all doors to existence, is what calls us here today. Love is the underpinning of all we know. We can try to deny it… sure. But once you’ve heard Love, full of tender mercies and compassion, call your name, you can never shut it out. Love is here to stay the course, through thick and thin.
We need this Love to be able to make promises, to keep vows. We are responding to the Call of Living that came into the depths of our being. God-initiated. In our surrendering, we are recognizing God’s beckoning and sweet invitation to unveil through the everyday- ness of our own lives, our unique translation of Love, awakening each one of us to the deepest nature of who we are, to discover the wild possibilities of our precious lives.
Last week when the President addressed the nation, he shared with us that he writes on that back of his daily schedule, the new number of Covid deaths for that day, as a way to remember, to pray, to commit, and to let suffering shape his daily work, as a way to be united with fellow citizens of our nation in their grief. That card is tucked in the inside pocket of his suit jacket, next to his heart. I’m moved by that simple, yet profound gesture, and so now in the back of my Prayer Book, I am writing down the new number of Covid deaths as a ritual to enhance my own prayer life… 527,726, 531,001, 535,997, 536, 472, 537,649, 539,207
As I write down the numbers, day by day, I am moved by the exactness, the counting, the one in the midst of many, a life well lived, a life lost, a family’s grief. In a strange way, writing down such a large number helps me see the stark power of an individual’s death. By writing down the “statistic,” I am moved beyond the statistic to deep connection. I am praying. And in this act of prayer, I feel joy rising up within me. Paul’s kind of joy, not as the world creates, but as God gives.
If we have any doubt about God appearing in the world not as we imagine, then all we have to do is see a young virgin, unwed, teenager called Mary, alone, minding her own business, caught up in her own insignificance, becoming the divine vessel to deliver the Word to the World. In her “YES,” her womb will also become the tomb. A womb, at first empty, not yet touched by God. And then a tomb, also empty, because it has been touched by God. God always fills-in our emptiness, sometimes in our wombs, other times in our tombs.
Mary’s womb which becomes a tomb, which will then become our womb.
Just as God never appears as we imagine, God also comes to us disguised as our own life. And in that life, Love resides. We just get distracted and don’t see it. Kathy, your greatest gifts are that you risk loving deeply and that you are Real.
There’s a classic story about the great Rabbi Zusha, who was found agitated and upset as he lay on his deathbed. His students asked, “Rebbe, why are you so sad? After all the great things you have accomplished, your place in heaven is assured!”
“I’m afraid!” Zusha replied, “Because when I get to heaven, God won’t ask me ‘Why weren’t you more like Moses?’ or ‘Why weren’t you more like King David?’ God will ask ‘Zusha, why weren’t you more like Zusha?’
Kathy, you’re the real deal. You’re comfortable in your own skin. You understand in a deep and natural way, as poet John O’Donohue teaches us, that the soul does not reside in the body. Rather the body resides in the soul and the soul shelters and mediates and holds the air, our minds, and our bodies. “In this primal sense, the soul is imaginative.” (Anum Cara, p. 97).
The only barrier to our soul’s imagination is our sense of readiness.
Kathy, you are committed to readiness in all things. Mostly in your capacity to sit with sleeping tigers of fear that reside in the corners of all our hearts, and to not be afraid. You’ll wake them up if need be, knowing that it is prayer that will get us through the darkest night of our souls.
Prayer gives us the power to touch God’s heart-strings, and Kathy you are there, helping us to ground ourselves in God’s love affair with us. It is God who resides in our heart, and you are there as our guide, helping us to the Truth of who we are in God’s gift of our real Self, our own heart-strings, and in our own knowledge of joy.
We are the same, like Jesus, both wounded and resurrected, and we are side by side with each other in the wonderful mystery of the Body of Christ. Woven together in our open and empty hands. In the giving and in the receiving. In the suffering. In the joy.
With Mary and her YES, we are reminded, day by day, to trust that our simple lives will show forth the glory of God. God, who often works through what is not said by people who are not named, will take the wombs of our suffering and our joy to create something… to let us come to something… to let us redeem something.
And you Kathy, by the grace of God, you will be part of this joy as Priest in God’s Church. You are so called, and today, with God’s Yes, Your Yes, Our Yes, we lay our hands on you and make you priest. Trusting as Paul did… that our souls know the geography of our destination, which will always take us on the path of Love. AMEN
Celebrating Three Recent Ordinations
The past several months have been a busy period! The church in New Hampshire is excited and encouraged to see many people discerning a call to holy orders — including the Rev. Kathy Boss, the Rev. Greg Baker, and the Rev. Deacon Chris Potter — who were recently ordained. Watch their ordinations on YouTube:
The past several months have been a busy period! The church in New Hampshire is excited and encouraged to see many people discerning a call to holy orders — including the Rev. Kathy Boss, the Rev. Greg Baker, and the Rev. Deacon Chris Potter — who were recently ordained. Watch their ordinations on YouTube:
February 24, 2021, The Rev. Gregory Baker was ordained to the priesthood at Church of the Good Shepherd Nashua, where Greg is serving as curate. CLICK HERE to watch on YouTube.
March 19, 2021, The Rev. Deacon Christopher Potter was ordained to the diaconate at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church Manchester, where Chris is serving as deacon. CLICK HERE to watch on YouTube.
March 20, 2021, The Rev. Katherine (Kathy) Boss was ordained to the priesthood at All Saint’s Littleton. Kathy is serving as chaplain at the White Mountain School in Bethlehem, NH, and as curate at All Saint’s Littleton. CLICK HERE to watch on YouTube.
Survey From the Episcopal Church Regarding Sexual Misconduct
The Episcopal Church asks that parishioners complete a survey regarding sexual misconduct in the church. Data received in the survey will help the church "engage in truth-telling, confession, and reconciliation regarding gender-based discrimination, harassment, and violence by those in power in The Episcopal Church."
The Episcopal Church asks that parishioners complete a survey regarding sexual misconduct in the church. The survey is 100% anonymous and takes about 15 minutes to complete. Data received in the survey will help the church "engage in truth-telling, confession, and reconciliation regarding gender-based discrimination, harassment, and violence by those in power in The Episcopal Church." Please complete the survey by July 1, 2020. The survey can be found here.
Service of Solemn Memorial for those who have died as a result of COVID-19: Monday, June 1, 2020 at Noon
As we mark the death of over 100,000 people in the US from COVID-19, Presiding Bishop Michael Curry along with faith leaders across the country have called for a National Day of Mourning and Lament, Monday, June 1, 2020. Bishop Rob will preside over a Service of Solemn Memorial for those who have died as a result of COVID-19.
As we mark the death of over 100,000 people in the US from COVID-19, Presiding Bishop Michael Curry along with faith leaders across the country have called for a National Day of Mourning and Lament, Monday, June 1, 2020. Bishop Rob will preside over a Service of Solemn Memorial for those who have died as a result of COVID-19. The service will be held on Zoom, Monday, June 1, at Noon. To attend the service, please visit our website and click on the appropriate zoom link.
Bishop Rob's Address to Annual Diocesan Convention
With beautiful snowy vistas as a backdrop, attendees at the 217th annual convention worshipped together, passed innovative and impactful resolutions, commissioned lay leaders for congregations without a full-time priest, and held elections for committee positions and General Convention delegates. Click HERE to watch the moving address Bishop Rob gave during the worship service.
With beautiful snowy vistas as a backdrop, attendees at the 217th annual convention worshipped together, passed innovative and impactful resolutions, commissioned lay leaders for congregations without a full-time priest, and held elections for committee positions and General Convention delegates. Click HERE to watch the moving address Bishop Rob gave during the worship service.
200+ Attend Inspiring and Informative Spring Renewal Event
Over 200 people from across the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire (and beyond) gathered at Manchester Community College for a day filled with personal spiritual growth, ministry development, connecting, and renewal.
Over 200 people from across the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire (and beyond) gathered at Manchester Community College for a day filled with personal spiritual growth, ministry development, connecting, and renewal.
“It always renews my faith and strength in the Lord to be around people who are there for the same reasons,” said one of the attendees. “It is wonderful to think out-of-the-box, and the sessions I attended certainly helped me to do that. I have already been talking to people about ways to involve our mission in our community.”
Bishop Rob led everyone in worship, gave thanks, and rejoiced for a "loving, gracious, renewing, restoring, recreating God to be at work in the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire.” He prayed, "May we find our rising today."
30 presenters conducted a wide-range of workshops throughout the day, and Spring Renewal’s Keynote speaker, the Rev. Jay Sidebotham, Director of RenewalWorks, a ministry of Forward Movement, energized us with insights from his stories about the initial development and subsequent growth of RenewalWorks. He urged everyone to ask themselves “in what areas might you benefit from renewal in your lives and the lives of your congregations.”
“The quality of the offerings was very good” noted an attendee. “The keynote was thought-provoking and humorous.”
Workshops included The Way of Love, Green Guidance for Your Spiritual Home, Supporting Your Marriage and Family Life with the Five Love Languages, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Holding Courageous Community Conversations Across Difference, Parishes Welcoming Recovery, RenewalWorks, Vital Conversations, Crossing Boundaries as a Way to Encounter Christ, The Upside Down Week: Reclaiming Sabbath, Stories of Humble Chutzpah, Reflections on Spiritual Authority, and more.
“What a great day. I only wish I had been able to attend more of the workshops!”
Feedback about the event has been very positive. ”Overall over 81% of attendees said they were “very satisfied” with Spring Renewal, and over 93% said they were “very or somewhat satisfied.” When asked how likely they would be to attend Spring Renewal next year and recommend it to friends, 90% said “likely” or “most likely.”
“This was a great opportunity to get together and meet people from other parishes and to do something interesting and informative!” Most agreed that Spring Renewal strengthened their relationships with others in the Diocese, and almost half said that the workshops gave them “a lot” of practical spiritual growth tools they can implement now.
Spring Renewal created a wonderful sense of community and offered insightful tools for transformation. Stay tuned for Spring Renewal 2020!
Revival: Reimagined. Sharing Faith and Fun
“Insightful, playful, a real celebration,” Revival: Reimagined drew over 110 people in early May, 2019, for a day of spiritual exploration, discussion, and worship in a festive, music-filled setting.
“Insightful, playful, a real celebration,” Revival: Reimagined drew over 110 people in early May, 2019, for a day of spiritual exploration, discussion, and worship in a festive, music-filled setting.
Organized by St. Christopher’s in Hampstead and St. Peter’s in Londonderry, Revival: Reimagined featured
a Celebration Eucharist, six different presentations covering a diverse range of spiritual topics... and a jazz band, a bluegrass band, and an ice cream truck!
Presentations included the Intergenerational Church, Experiencing God in the World of Pop Culture, Becoming Beloved Community Through the Way of Love, Losing Faith and Finding It, Where the People are: Unexpected Christian Formation, On the Way of Love, and a conversation with Bishop Rob.
Revival: Reimagined featured special guest, the Rev. Dr. Tricia Lyons. She lives and teaches evangelism at Virginia Theological Seminary, and is finishing her latest book, “What is Evangelism?” (to be published in late 2020). “People raved about our guest speaker,” said the Rev. Colin Chapman, St. Peter’s, Londonderry. “She had an amazing ability to speak uncomfortable truths about sharing faith and evangelism in a way that was straightforward and genuine.”
People had fun and learned a lot about how to share their faith, share their stories, engage their communities, and work to find deeper peace and meaning in their lives. Many attendees commented on learning about the importance of “listening for the voice of God in their lives” and “meeting, talking, and listening to people where they are to establish a true, loving connection.”
Energizing and celebratory music was provided by the WildVine Jazz Sanctuary House Band and the New Revival Bluegrass Band.