Regions, Deans, Presidents

The Charlottesville region includes 21 parishes in five counties. Activities include monthly clericus meetings, the sharing of information, and annual giving from parish pledges to over a dozen designated charities throughout the region.

The Northern Neck Region of the Diocese of Virginia is composed of twelve church communities and the Rappahannock Westminster-Canterbury. The Region holds four meetings annually, with additional sessions of the Executive Committee, the Collaborative Ministry Task Force, and the Shrine Mont teaming initiative with the Northern Neck Boys and Girls Club, which recently resulted in our Region’s contribution to a Shrine Mont retreat for the Northern Neck Boys and Girls Club staff.

Recent accomplishments include the Safe Church Training events via the hybrid training program that provided in-person training using the Praesidium training modules and a facilitator to guide and assist participants. In May, three scholarships were awarded to youth attending Shrine Mont Camp this summer. In 2023, the Region hosted a Sacred Ground Dialogue Circle via Zoom.

The Northern Neck Region Collaborative Ministry Task Force continues to pursue its mission to nurture the robust continuation of the rich faith traditions of the Episcopal community in Virginia’s rural Northern Neck. The three tiers of the task force include region training initiatives, fostering the timely sharing of information and resources, and pursuing strategies that support more collaboration.

The Northern Neck Region congregations continue many outreach ministries, including year-round yard sales, thrift shops, support for local schoolchildren and teachers, monthly food pantries, market days, community dinners, and more. Special events and fellowship opportunities are hosted at our churches throughout the year, including vacation bible school, blessings of the fleet, oysters & oldies, Octoberfest, Celtic walking, strawberry festival, monthly “Friday Night Live” entertainment, celebration of St. Francis month, “Ashes to Go” on Ash Wednesday, homecomings, and bluegrass Sundays. Finally, we recently celebrated the 175th Anniversary of St. Peter’s, Oak Grove, with a weekend full of activities.

Abby Kesling Back at Shrine Mont as a Counselor

Abby Kesling of Cople Parish, Hague, received multiple Northern Neck Region scholarships to attend Shrine Mont Camps as a camper. In 2024, she took her love for camp and decided to give back, serving as a camp counselor. When not chasing campers around Shrine Mont, Abby is a student at Longwood University.

The Upper Tidewater Region works to support our respective congregations by hosting semi-annual training sessions for lay leaders.  Topics include best practices in congregational development, conflict resolution, systems theory, and finance.  The Regional Council gathers twice a year to plan these sessions and then collaborates to facilitate the gatherings.