The Episcopal Diocese of Ohio

An interfaith Thanksgiving service for all three Abrahamic faiths will be held November 24 at Trinity Cathedral at noon. Bishop John Hopkins from the East Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church will preach. All are invited. Bulletin inserts may be downloaded here.

Before Convention, Bishop Hollingsworth asked churches around the diocese to collect clean, folded t-shirts from their parishioners and bring them to Cleveland for Diocesan Convention. Thousands (two van-loads-full) of t-shirts were collected and taken to the Toledo Area Ministries in Toledo and to St. Columba Cathedral in Youngstown, where they will be distributed to the homeless and to youth with Toledo Urban Missions.

Find out what happened at the 193rd Annual Diocesan Convention:

• Bishop Hollingsworth's Address - Download the PDF or mp3
  
• Proposed amendments to the Constitution and Canons
• Resolutions
  
• Elections

Volunteers from the first day of Convention at 2100 Lakeside. Over 150 people from 50 parishes around the diocese participated in the work day.

If you attended Convention, please fill out a survey about your experiences here.

With regret, the Diocese of Ohio and Trinity Cathedral announce that Trinity Commons Books and Gifts, formerly known as Sacred Path Books and Art, will close permanently at the end of 2009. The bookstore, a ministry of the Diocese of Ohio, has been part of the life of Trinity Commons since 1999. Unfortunately, despite a decade of excellent work from founding manager Katherine Pinard and her successors, including the current manager, Michael Lawrence, as well as many dedicated volunteers and employees, the bookstore has been unable to remain self-sustaining.

Last spring, Bishop Hollingsworth posted a letter on this website about precautions for the Swine flu and Communion practices. We are reprinting it here, since many people in our diocese have asked about best practices.

Dear colleagues,  

I write to offer a word in response to concerns about Swine Flu and public gatherings, especially for worship. The most important encouragement I can give you is to be sensible and responsible. If one is feeling ill or experiencing flu-like symptoms, it is best to remain at home and inform your health-care provider. The single most effective way to protect yourself and others from spreading any virus is to wash your hands frequently and thoroughly with soap and warm water. Alcohol-based hand sanitizer is very effective, and I suggest that Eucharistic ministers use it after the Peace and before handling the elements at Communion.

The open enrollment period for diocesan health and dental plans through the Medical Trust will end on November 23. Materials were mailed to all eligible participants from New York on November 2. The letter contains your username and password. The open enrollment website will be available November 9th to November 23rd to make your health and dental plan selections for 2010. If you have any questions, please contact Brenda Koenig or Sue Leishman in the Finance Office at 216-774-0461 or 216-774-0450.

The Agape Campus Community, a Lutheran/Episcopal campus ministry in Cleveland serves both Cleveland State University and Case Western Reserve University as our only denominational presence for university students in the area. The Rev. Dr. Joe Kovitch, a Lutheran pastor who is housed at Trinity Commons, is asking for prayers to provide a spiritual home for students, time and talent to help feed students on Thursday nights at 7 p.m. at Trinity Cathedral, and financial support to provide worship, study and retreat opportunities for students. Call Pastor Joe at 440-477-7255 or email him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it with any questions.