Disciple: New, Notable & Newsworthy

Toni Hagerman Announces Retirement

Earlier this fall, executive director of Galilee Ministries of East Charlotte Toni Hagerman announced her retirement. She served the ministry for six years, helping it grow from its infancy into the thriving ministry it is today.

“In early 2014, a group of Charlotte deacons spent a year in prayerful discernment,” said the Rt. Rev. Anne Hodges-Copple, bishop suffragan of the Diocese of North Carolina. “They were curious about how the facilities of the former parish of St. Andrew’s might have new life in east Charlotte. As a vision of hospitality for refugees emerged and a partnership of refugee services was forming, the prayer went up and the search began for a solo staff member who could help the new partnership hold the messiness of a new ministry with the clarity of God’s call to welcome, comfort and empower the less, the lost and the overlooked.

“Toni Hagerman was the answer to that prayer. She started as a program coordinator and retires as the executive director. Her patience, wisdom, kind heart and open spirit guided the first six years of Galilee Ministries of East Charlotte into an oasis of community, a sanctuary of hospitality and a springboard to capacity building. Toni’s daily presence will be missed, but her legacy of servant leadership will live on in the countless lives she has touched and changed for the better.”

An interim director will serve and continue Galilee’s mission as the search for a new executive director is conducted. Hagerman’s last day was November 18, and the Diocese of North Carolina gives thanks for her ministry, her dedication, her faith and her tireless efforts for and service to Galilee Ministries of East Charlotte.

The Rev. Deb Blackwood Announces Retirement

The Rev. Deb Blackwood, diocesan liaison for refugee ministries, recently announced her retirement.

“When Deb Blackwood retired from active service at Holy Comforter in Charlotte, she knew that retirement really meant vocational discernment and reorientation,” the Rt. Rev. Anne Hodges-Copple said. “Because once a deacon, always a deacon, she asked God to show her ‘What’s next?’ It was no surprise and really a perfect fit when she dreamed up the job description for diocesan deacon for refugee ministries.

“Deb has had a long involvement with refugees, most recently working with Galilee Ministries of East Charlotte. Her association with the organization Episcopal Migration Ministries meant that she could help local churches interested in refugees resettlement and support find the local on-ramp. Deb’s wisdom, energy and faithfulness will continue to course through our diocesan refugee ministries as we move into a new season.”

Help Our Afghan Allies

An estimated 123,000 Afghans will arrive in the United States during the next couple of months. According to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, our state can expect 1,169 new arrivals during the fall, with more coming during the next six months. Afghan arrivals fall largely into one of the following groups:

• Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) recipients,
• SQ/SI parolees (SIV applicants pending approval),
• refugees and
• humanitarian parolees.

Many will be granted refugee status, and all will need assistance getting settled and acclimating to their new home. Learn more about the situation, how you can help, tips for engaging with refugee ministry and how to connect with the organizations at the forefront of this humanitarian effort.

Christmas Reads: New Books from Members of the Diocese

If you are looking forward to some quiet time this holiday season and to enjoying some uplifting reading, check out these new releases by names you may recognize from their work in the Diocese of North Carolina. We are grateful to have in the Diocese such faithful leaders who now share their gifts with the wider world. We invite you to enjoy these two offerings and hope both will help you deepen your spiritual practices in the new year.

Seek and You Will Find by the Rev. Dr. Rhonda Lee

In Seek and You Will Find, former diocesan canon the Rev. Dr. Rhonda Lee explores the practice of prayer “from the Lord’s Prayer to praying with the psalms and in song, from the eucharist and the rosary to ‘moving’ prayers offered when walking a labyrinth, doodling, baking or devoting another activity to God.” (Forward Movement) The result is an accessible guide and companion for anyone on a journey to develop a deeper relationship with God. Seek and You Will Find is available on ForwardMovement.org.

Nature’s Sacrament by David McDuffie

Nature’s Sacrament: The Epic of Evolution and a Theology of Sacramental Ecology by David McDuffie, chair of the diocesan Chartered Committee on Environmental Ministry, takes a look at sacramental ecology. As shared in the book description, “In a sacramental ecology, divine grace is to be found in the evolutionary emergence of life. The ‘Epic of Evolution’ is the scientific story that reveals that we live in an approximately 14 billion year old universe on a planet that is approximately 4.6 billion years old and that we are a part of the ongoing process of life that has existed on Earth for roughly 4 billion years. Nature’s Sacrament focuses on the religious and ecological significance of the evolutionary epic in an effort to seamlessly connect the ecological value attributed as a part of an understanding of the evolutionary connectedness of life on Earth, with the Divine grace understood to be present in Christian sacramental worship.” Nature’s Sacrament is available on Amazon.com and other booksellers.

Dismantling Racism: Course Dates Available for 2022

In 2020, the diocesan Racial Justice and Reconciliation Committee updated, redesigned and renamed “Seeing the Face of God,” the previous diocesan anti-racism training program. A partnership among diocesan staff, the Racial Justice and Reconciliation Committee and notable consultants such as Dr. Catherine Meeks of the Absalom Jones Center in Atlanta, the new “Dismantling Racism: Reclaiming Our Baptismal Promise” is an interactive workshop designed to deepen spiritual commitment to dismantling racism as participants in the Jesus Movement. Through presentations, prayer, story-sharing, videos and small group discussion, participants explore how the sin of racism impacts all lives.

Beginning in January, there will be a $15 course fee. Available registration links for 2022 sessions can be found here.

• January 28, 5-8 p.m., and January 29, 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m., via Zoom;
• February 18, 5-8 p.m., and February 19, 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m., via Zoom;
• March 25, 5-8 p.m., and March 26, 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m., via Zoom;
• May 20, 5-8 p.m., and May 21, 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m., via Zoom;
• June 24, 5-8 p.m., and June 25, 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m;
• July 29, 5-8 p.m., and July 30, 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m., via Zoom;
• September 23, 5-8 p.m., and September 24, 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m., via Zoom;
• October 14, 5-8 p.m., and October 15, 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m; and
• November 11, 5-8 p.m., and November 12, 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m., via Zoom.

Vaccination at Home Program Available to Congregations

In an effort to reach those individuals who may have difficulty leaving their home to receive a vaccine, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, in partnership with the Piedmont Triad Regional Council, has set up a phone number, 1-866-303-0026, and web form through which anyone can request medical personnel come to their home to provide a COVID-19 vaccination. Requests will be answered within three business days.

Churches may be the best means of helping people connect with these resources, so please consider becoming a partner in this effort, or share the resource with family and friends who may benefit from the service.

Find more information, access to the web form and resources to answer frequently asked questions.

Winter Children’s and Youth Events

The diocesan children, families and youth department has several offerings available this winter, for everyone from middle school youth to adult leaders.

Bishops’ Ball—the Diocese’s largest annual event for middle and high school youth—returns in person to Camp Walter Johnson February 11-13, 2022. This is an opportunity for youth to engage with our bishops, attend workshops, and have fun and fellowship with the youth community around the Diocese. Learn more and register.

A new offering will take place on February 26, 2022, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., in Durham. Called Durham for the Day, the event will explore the city’s key role in Civil Rights history. Details are still being planned, but the day will include a walking tour of Durham’s Civil Rights history, learning about the Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray, and perhaps a cultural event at the Hayti Heritage Center. Keep an eye on Please Note for more information.

For parents and other adults who work with children and youth, the children, families and youth department is hosting a webinar with the Rev. Traci Smith, author of the bestselling book Faithful Families: Creating Sacred Moments at Home on January 27, 7-8 p.m., via Zoom. The webinar will help participants find fun and easy ways to fit faith into our daily lives. Smith is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and a mother of three. Register.