The 81st General Convention of the Episcopal Church will be held in Louisville, KY June 23-28. This year is especially monumental, with the election of a new Presiding Bishop. If you'd like to know more about how General Convention works and what happens there, we are fortunate to have an excellent primer, written by freelance reporter Melodie Woerman and Cynde Bimbi, director of communications and public relations for the Episcopal Church in Delaware. Learn more Other helpful links: General Convention resources: https://www.episcopalchurch.org/public-affairs/gc81/. Governance: https://www.ep ..read more

Trinity Church Claremont’s temporary shelter was featured in a story published by the Valley news and NHNPR, “Upper Valley winter shelters keep dozens warm and dry.” From the story: “The shelter’s volunteers provided meals and overnight monitoring. Several Claremont churches, including First Congregational Church, St. Joseph and St. Mary’s provided monetary donations or volunteers to support the project. Elizabeth Moriarty, a pastor at Trinity, said they are currently seeking a new building to house the shelter, as the church is not an adequate space for a seasonal or year-round program. In ad ..read more

Creative Redevelopment of Episcopal Church Property Will Further Church’s Mission To Serve The Community On the front steps of Christ Church, Portsmouth, from left: Portland Housing Authority Executive Director Craig Welch, HAVEN Executive Director Kathy Beebe, and Bishop Rob Hirschfeld | Photo by Kathleen Soldati The Episcopal Church of New Hampshire has announced plans to redevelop its Christ Church property on Lafayette Road in Portsmouth. The Episcopal diocese, which owns the 3.5-acre plot, has partnered with the Portsmouth Housing Authority (PHA), HAVEN—the state’s largest organization p ..read more

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In the Episcopal Church and in the Anglican Communion, the last Sunday in Epiphany each year is designated as World Mission Sunday, a time when the church comes together to focus on the global impact of our call to “seek and serve Christ in all persons” (Baptismal Covenant, Book of Common Prayer, p. 305), and on ways congregations can become involved. This year, World Mission Sunday falls on February 19, 2023. In New Hampshire, Bishop Rob asks every congregation to join him in prayer for our global partners in Angola and in the wider Anglican Communion on February 19, incorporating the “Angol ..read more

What is a Pro-Cathedral, you might be asking? A Pro-Cathedral is a church named by a diocesan bishop to serve as a cathedral but which remains under local church governance. It is used as a cathedral for diocesan purposes.  Bishop Rob shared these thoughts about this new designation: "Designating Trinity Claremont as Pro-Cathedral is an experiment, not a permanent designation. It highlights that the diocese is giving special attention to a church where we think that God is up to something important, powerful, and new. With this designation, we signify that we're paying attention to how t ..read more

This evening, Presiding Bishop Michael Curry kicked off his visit to New Hampshire with a stop at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Hanover for the event “Building an Anti-Racist America: Becoming Beloved Community” hosted by the School House Anti-Racism Coalition of Dartmouth College. Said Bishop Curry at the event, "All are one in Christ: that is Beloved Community ..read more

Church warden Karen Zurheide of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in New London shares this update about a program they are passionate about at their church: "Did you know that practically all dairy farms of substantial size in the northeast employ migrant workers, mostly from Mexico? These men and women live where they work, and due to their mostly undocumented immigration status, they remain in the shadows, largely invisible to the rest of us who consume the products of their labor. What’s more, in a dirty, dangerous, and demanding environment, they are without the rights and protections afforde ..read more

Lent, when observed in the spirit for which it was intended, will always fly in the face of our culture. We hear repeated and incessant calls to fulfill our appetites, to obey our ever-expanding compulsions to keep up with our neighbors’ attainments, achievements, or acclaim.  What little I saw of the recent Super Bowl was enough to convince me of how much our society—at least a large and popular segment of it—celebrates the “me” over the “we:” a famous player’s sideline abusive and shoving outburst at his own coach; commercials that urge us to “buy like a billionaire” things that will e ..read more

Click on the video link below for an Easter message from Bishop Rob. You can click here for the transcript ..read more