Alexandria’s First Coronavirus Case Linked to Spread Through Faith Community

From Virginia-

Alexandria, Virginia, has reported its first "presumptive positive" coronavirus case in a resident who likely had contact with a patient at a Virginia seminary.

The patient is doing well and recovering at home, the Alexandria Health Department confirmed.

Officials believe the case was spread when the Alexandria resident met another patient who lives in D.C. at the Immanuel Chapel of the Virginia Theological Seminary, which describes itself as the flagship seminary of the Episcopal Church. Health officials have contacted several people who may have been exposed there.

Church officials said a D.C. patient, an organist at Christ Church Georgetown, played at the chapel and attended another event there. Anyone who visited Immanuel Chapel from February 26 to March 4 is asked to self-quarantine and monitor themselves for symptoms for 14 days. Several people voluntarily isolated themselves upon learning the news.

More here-

 https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/alexandrias-first-coronavirus-case-linked-to-spread-through-faith-community/2238510/

God Is in the Details of this Chapel

From The Wall Street Journal-

In October 2010, a raging fire destroyed the landmark Immanuel Chapel (1881) of Virginia Theological Seminary. This venerable Episcopal institution was established in 1823; its founders included Francis Scott Key, the author of America’s National Anthem.

Electing for a new chapel, the seminary chose Robert A.M. Stern, the dean of Yale’s School of Architecture and the head of the internationally esteemed firm Robert A.M. Stern Architects (RAMSA). Mr. Stern and his design team for the project, headed by partner Grant Marani, would realize the chapel, recently consecrated, with the Archbishop of Canterbury, the head of the global Anglican Communion, in attendance.

More here-

http://www.wsj.com/articles/god-is-in-the-details-of-this-chapel-1446591189

VTS Plans More Housing

From The Living Church-

Carol Kyber writes for Virginia Theological Seminary:

During its February meeting, the Board of Trustees for Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS) approved the project proposal from a task force formed in the fall of 2013 to proceed with the building of additional on-campus housing for VTS seminarians.

The underlying concerns regarding housing were driven by the financial impact to the Seminary due to rising rental costs in the Alexandria area and whether satisfactory rental housing would continue to remain available in near proximity to the campus. The first recommendation to build on-campus housing for married students was considered in the 1980s. Then the monthly rent for a two bedroom apartment was $610. Today that same apartment rents for $1,738 a month with every expectation that rental prices in the Alexandria area will continue to increase each year. The decision by the board reflects that the time had come to address the matter.

More here-

http://www.livingchurch.org/vts-plans-more-housing

Shutting down the Sunday school

From VTS-

What would you do if:

the families in your parish were exceptionally regular in their attendance at worship, but only a few were committed to church school;

the well of prospective teachers was truly dry;

you had a Vestry who was willing to take risks and try new things, and a Rector who had your back at all times and in all places; and

Virginia Seminary’s Digital Missioner Kyle Oliver and CMT Director Lisa Kimball dared you to try something different (and promised to help)?

What did we do? We shut down Sunday school. Let me clarify: We adopted a pilot program of online faith formation, and we suspended our Sunday morning classes. St. Andrew’s FISH program

At the Forma Tapestry Conference in Albuquerque last winter, “The Church, Post-Sunday School” was a topic much discussed in workshops and after hours, including in my conversations with Kyle Oliver. Many of us struggled to discern whether the church school model had served its purpose in a changing church and world. I came home with a head full of ideas and the energy to try something new.

(Families Integrating Sunday and Home) began in September.

More here-

http://www.keyhallonline.org/profiles/shutting-sunday-school/

Atheism-combatting academic to speak at St. James Episcopal

From North Carolina-

Despite a sharp drop in national membership and much-publicized controversies, the dean of the Episcopal Church's Virginia Theological Seminary thinks the denomination's future is bright.

"It's a good, healthy robust church," said the Very. Rev. Ian S. Markham, dean and president of the 193-year-old seminary in Alexandria, Va. "I think the future of the (American) Episcopal Church is the future of Anglicanism," the communion of churches with historical connections to the Church of England.

Markham will bring this message to Wilmington on Thursday for a free lecture at 7 p.m. in the Great Hall at St. James Episcopal Church, 25 S. Third St.

The public is invited.

Markham, who has headed VTS since 2007, is recognized as a scholar in Christian ethics with a master's degree from Cambridge and a Ph.D. from the University of Exeter in England.

More here-

http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20110817/ARTICLES/110819692?Title=Atheism-combatting-academic-to-speak-at-St-James-Episcopal

Praying for Demolition Episcopal Seminary wants to scrap 70 percent of historic chapel.

From Virginia-

In the Book of Exodus, God appeared to Moses in a burning bush and appointed him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. According to the ancient text, the bush was on fire yet not consumed by the flames. If only the same could be said about the Immanuel Chapel at the Virginia Episcopal Seminary.

Back in October, a fire destroyed the entire wooden roof of the historic chapel, which was consecrated in 1881. Although the fire left a majority of the solid masonry walls and tower intact, leaders at the seminary want to demolish 70 percent of the remaining structure to create what they call a "Prayer Garden." According to an application for a demolition permit, the Prayer Garden would be a place for meditation and outdoor services.

"There’s a sense of regret in having to make this presentation," said land-use attorney Duncan Blair, who also serves as chancellor of the seminary. "But, at the same time, there’s a sense of celebration because of what is being proposed."

The prayer-garden concept would employ the same technique of adaptive reuse that was used at Old Sheldon Church in South Carolina, Church Ruins in Port Arthur, Texas, and St. Catherine’s Church in Nuremberg, Germany. A more local example of the outdoor chapel and garden ruin is the St. Thomas Parish Episcopal Church near Dupont Circle. Much of the opposition to the seminary’s plan is based on the extent of the demolition proposed, which would scrap the iconic tower of the chapel.

More here-

http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?article=350079&paper=59&cat=104

VTS chapel fire ruled accidental

From ELO-

The Oct. 22 fire that quickly destroyed the chapel at Virginia Theological Seminary has been ruled accidental.
The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) announced its findings Oct. 28. ATF's National Response Team, along with ATF special agents from Falls Church, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., worked with the Alexandria Fire Department to investigate the cause of the fire. The federal response is routine when a fire of this size occurs in a house of worship, the seminary and the ATF said.

The fire began in a trash can left near a heater in the sacristy, Susan Shillinglaw, VTS director of communication, told ENS.

The team of investigators removed the debris from the heavily damaged structure, took photographs, recovered fire debris from the scene for laboratory analysis and conducted more than 40 interviews throughout the campus, according to the ATF.

"It is clear that the fire was not caused by any deliberate or criminal act," the Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, VTS dean and president, said in a message posted on the VTS website. "Although the fire was caused by human agency, those involved took 'steps that any responsible person would have taken.' However, these steps were not sufficient to stop the catastrophe that followed."

More here-

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79425_125486_ENG_HTM.htm

VTS Faces $1 Million Budget Cut

Faced with significant losses to its investments, the board of trustees of the Virginia Theological Seminary has ordered the largest Episcopal seminary to cut $1 million from its budget.

For the past four months, the seminary, which draws 67 percent of its operating income from its endowment, has had the value of its portfolio decline 36 percent, from $144 million to $97 million. The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, dean and president, has been asked by the board to produce a restructuring plan in time for the next meeting of the board’s executive committee on March 11.

While some immediate steps to cut personnel costs already have been taken, such as the suspension of faculty and staff searches and the launch of an early retirement plan for seminary employees, additional steps are likely to include plans to revive focus on the school’s annual fund and other legacy gifts, the seminary said in a news release.

http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2009/2/24/vts-faces-1-million-budget-cut