We are called by Christ, whose power transforms us into a new community. Together we strive to express that transformation in the world around us. The Diocese of Newark collaborates with God in the mission of Jesus in the 21st century, providing opportunities to grow spiritually, serve and advocate for those who are marginalized and to receive expressions of healing and care.
The Justice Ministries of the Diocese, comprised of the Commission to Dismantle Racism, the Oasis (a mission to the GLBTI community), and the Bethsaida Team (a mission advocating accessibility and inclusion for people of all abilities), have led the way for the Diocese to reduce separateness and bring wholeness to the people of God. What makes these ministries unique is their combination of inreach and outreach, acting to heal our own separateness as we witness to the community beyond our Diocese – an act of leading by example. Through workshops and services to the people of the Diocese, these ministries have increased awareness and created a pathway toward full inclusion of all people in the life of the Church.
Diocesan and parochial outreach ministries are active in serving the poor and disenfranchised in our Diocese. It is notable that the poor are not confined to recognized urban areas. Bergen County, one of the most affluent areas of the state and country, has a significant level of poverty amidst plenty and more than 5,000 homeless persons. Agencies, some under diocesan administration, as well as community development corporations (CDCs), and other programs organized by individual churches include homeless shelters, housing initiatives, food pantries, clothing distribution, furniture distribution, advocacy and asylum for refugees, after school programs, and a variety of other projects. These programs not only provide direct assistance to people in need, they also advocate by educating the public and interacting with government agencies.
The Diocese of Newark also has programs that focus on the concerns and needs of an array of other groups including seniors, the deaf community, and people living with HIV/AIDS. Through retirement communities, Heath Village and the House of the Good Shepherd, the aging receive housing and care. Christ Hospital in Jersey City was founded by and continues to be part of the work of the Diocese. Youth Consultation Services began as an outreach of the Diocese in 1918 and is now the largest provider of youth services in the state, offering sheltering, education, advocacy, and treatment programs.
Ecumenical and interfaith ministries abound in the Diocese. The Ecumenical and Interreligious Commission and Officers represent the Bishop and Diocese in formal ecumenical bodies such as the New Jersey Council of Churches, the New Jersey Religious Leaders, the New Jersey Ecumenical Officers and the Bergen County Council of Churches, and in interreligious organizations such as the North Jersey Christian-Muslim Project and other Muslim dialogue groups, and Interfaith Brotherhood-Sisterhood Committees in Bergen and Hudson Counties. Many congregations have planned and participated in local ecumenical and interreligious education programs and joint projects.
Numerous organizations and programs serve to develop spiritual, educational, and leadership resources of the Diocese: the Christian Formation Commission, the Bishop Anand Resource Center, Celebrating Creative Congregations workshop day, Church Development Institute (CDI) among others. Renewal ministries (such as Cursillo, Vocare, Happening and Christophany), and the Education for Ministry (EFM) program encourage and deepen lay ministry. The Community of St. John Baptist, a religious order for women in the Episcopal Church, has its mother house in Mendham and provides spiritual direction, retreats, and other educational programs to many clergy and laity in the Diocese. Interweave, housed at Calvary Church, Summit, is a regional, inter-religious, community-based organization offering programs that integrate the insights of psychology, health, spirituality, and the environmental movement.
The Commission on Ministry works to develop all orders of ministry: the laity, the vocational diaconate, and the priesthood.
The re-establishment of the vocational diaconate is helping to foster ministries of care that are sorely needed. The diaconate assists the Church in recognizing the need to more actively bring Christ to the world, particularly to people in our communities who are sick, poor, imprisoned, hungry, and otherwise marginalized. Additionally, the diaconate helps interpret the needs of the world to the Church.
Lay leadership is a blend of professional quality and hearty activism and is a frequent source of new directions in ministry. A Lay Ministry Subcommittee of the Commission on Ministry focuses on expanding the awareness and effectiveness of baptismal ministry.
In addition to the organizations mentioned above, the Diocese has a number of commissions and boards that support the mission of the Diocese in meeting the specific needs of congregations. Assisting with clergy recruitment, functioning, and welfare are the Commission on Ministry, Clergy Compensation Commission and the Ecclesiastical Court. The Diocese is in the beginning stages of attending to matters related to lay compensation and the responsibility of the Church to lay employees. ACTS/VIM provides seed money to congregations for new ministry endeavors, while the Ward J. Herbert Fund helps churches pay for necessary and critical repairs to church facilities.
Jesus came to earth with some radical ideas (“. . . just as you did it to one of the least of these . . ., you did it to me,” Matthew 25:40; “. . . let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it,” Mark 8:34-35; “Many who are first will be last, and the last will be first,” Mark 10:31; “Love your neighbor as yourself,” Matthew 22:39, among others). The people of the Diocese of Newark strive to express these ideas in our actions.
Full information on our Diocesan organizations and programs is available at Coffee Hour (appendix) >>