St. Barnabas Berlin, NH, recently received a grant from the Our Kids Commission of the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire in the amount of $3,500 in support of the Berlin Recreation Hockey Development Program.
In 2016, Bishop Rob Hirschfeld convened Our Kids Commission to lead the church in learning about, and addressing, the opportunity gap facing low-income and vulnerable children in New Hampshire.
Ever since I was a small child, I’ve always lamented the day when the Christmas tree came down and the colored and white lights that glowed off the snow outside were shut off. My earliest years were in the cold and snowy towns of Minnesota, and somehow my soul attached the meaning of Christmas with these lights that shone in that deep darkness with the mystery of Jesus coming to be with us in our complicated world…
“For many years our family has had this image of Christmas on our walls. It's a simple painted woodcut that shows three figures, Mary, a donkey, and the child Jesus in a manger…
As reported in the Union Leader: Standing in the sanctuary at the Episcopal Mission of Franklin, the Rev. Kate Harmon Siberine recounts how a few months ago the building had been closed — doors locked, the structure empty. But like the city it calls home, the church is enjoying a rebirth and has again become a place for people to gather, worship and foster a Christian community.
During Advent, Bishop Rob participated in “Tucked In: Bedtime Stories and Prayers with Episcopalians and Others.” The Bishop read one of his favorite children’s Christmas stories, “The Donkey’s Dream.”
Recognizing the changing needs of the state's congregations and evolving trends in vocations for ministry, the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire has announced it is creating a School for Ministry. Its curriculum and educational design will focus on the local and regional formation of priests and licensed lay ministers.
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.
As reported in the Union Leader: If you’ve ever driven Route 117 up and over and through Sugar Hill — to see the lupines in June, perhaps, or the bright colors of fall — you’ve passed St. Matthew’s Chapel…
For this I thank God daily. Rather, I am a theologian and a pastor. My job, the one I took a vow to perform when I became your bishop, is to guide our conversations about what it means to follow Jesus. Who and what is God calling us to be and do, and how is God equipping us as citizens of God’s Realm in times such as these?
As reported by The Living Church: Something extraordinary is happening at Epiphany Episcopal Church in Newport, N.H. (pop. 6,500). Once a month like clockwork, since early this year, worship attendance jumps from 20 to nearly 40.
“America, love it or leave it.” — seen on a church sign in New Hampshire. Some six centuries before the birth of Jesus, a prophet burst on the scene in Jerusalem. Jeremiah was disgusted with the state of his nation which he saw was threatened, not so much by outside empires poised to invade and conquer, but by the loss of its soul.
Less than one week before the August 3 killing spree at Walmart in El Paso, I participated in a “Moral Monday” vigil at the border, coordinated by Rev. Dr. William Barber and several local organizations. I arrived in El Paso on Sunday, July 28, answering a clarion call to witness at the border.
As reported by the Episcopal News Service: Episcopalians may be familiar with Jesus’ assurance that “where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” Members of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Goffstown, New Hampshire, also know this: Two or three, however devout, are not enough to field a softball team.
“...let the whole world see and know that things which were cast down are being raised up, and things which have grown old are being made new...” Someone once told me that faith is simply a way of seeing. Arguably, persons of faith... any faith... are generally those constantly looking for a deeper or more compelling truth — truth that may not be obvious at first glance.
As reported in the Concord Monitor: When Barbara Burns plays the organ at St. Jude’s Church in Franklin, she thinks about her mother singing with the church’s choir 60 years ago.
Bishop Rob delivered an inspiring address at the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation's recent annual meeting. Carrying forward his message of spiritual weaving in our community, he set the tone for a moving and uplifting evening.
Please check out these wonderful articles featuring the Rev. Stephen Blackmer and Church of the Woods. The Dartmouth cover story details Steve's spiritual journey and the creation of the Church of the Woods and Kairos Earth
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.
“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.
Much has been written about our torn social fabric. So many in our society wake up feeling cut off from any sense of family, community or neighborhood. Belonging is on the wane. Isolation is on the rise.
