"Every Sunday when I go to church, one of the first things I say as I open the service is, what a joy it is to be together face to face," says Bishop Hughes, reflecting on the past two-plus years when COVID made gathering difficult or impossible. This Advent is especially joyful because our gatherings are starting be restored. And so, she urges us to cherish the gift of relationships, and spend some time discerning how to take care of them going forward. Read the transcript at: https://dioceseofnewark.org/bishops-vlog/cherishing-gift-relationships

Discernment, says Bishop Hughes, is not just for people considering ordination or churches calling their next priest. It is the responsibility of all faithful people to ask themselves, and their community, "How is God trying to lead me into the thing that God has prepared me for in this life?"

Read the transcript at: https://dioceseofnewark.org/bishops-vlog/what-does-god-want-me-do

Bishop Hughes returns to the topic of her last vlog post, beginning anew, and addresses two ways we can approach it: as a diocese, which we will do together through our strategic visioning and planning process; and as individuals, discerning what it is God has created us for and striving to mature in our faith and spiritual life. Transcript: https://dioceseofnewark.org/bishops-vlog/two-ways-we-can-think-about-beginning-anew

We are socialized that when September comes, we feel we should start  thinking about beginning anew, says Bishop Hughes. And this year in  particular the whole world is trying to figure out how to begin anew,  due to the changes brought by the pandemic. Given all that, she  encourages us to talk to one another about this time that we're in, and  how we want it to reflect the priorities that, individually and  collectively, we have come to know and value.

Read the transcript at: https://dioceseofnewark.org/bishops-vlog/beginning-anew

After her first General Convention in the House of Bishops, Bishop Hughes reflects on the power of community and of listening.

Read the transcript at: https://dioceseofnewark.org/bishops-vlog/power-community-general-convention

After multiple shootings over the Fourth of July weekend, including the horrific mass shooting in Highland Park, Bishop Hughes reflects, "We have protested, we have written letters, we've stood firmly, we've prayed. And if there's a thing that I feel that is missing, and it is not ours to do alone, it is when a community comes together and works for the common good."

Read the transcript at: https://dioceseofnewark.org/bishops-vlog/finding-middle-ground

As we continue to work through the change and challenges of this time,  says Bishop Hughes, that inspiration that led us to the faith in the  first place and that keeps us going in the faith is going to be  important to us.

Read the transcript at: https://dioceseofnewark.org/bishops-vlog/blessing-professing-ones-faith

When we honor people through these awareness months, says Bishop Hughes,  it is to help us see that we're all actually part of one another. We  are all more of who we are because of all of us being part of the same  family, that is the people of God.

Read the transcript at: https://dioceseofnewark.org/bishops-vlog/may-asian-american-and-pacific-islander-awareness-month-why-do-we-celebrate-awareness

Sometimes we get so caught up with our own needs being met at church that we forget that we're part of something bigger, says Bishop Hughes. And when we gather like we did at Convention this past Saturday, we remember that we are part of something bigger: God's work.

Read the transcript at: https://dioceseofnewark.org/bishops-vlog/we-are-part-something-bigger

The enormity of the miracle that is resurrection is one that takes time  for us to celebrate. It's also one that takes time for us to reflect on,  to learn, about to think about, to explore, in order for us to live  fully as resurrected people. To live as people who claim the  resurrection, and claim the special relationship it gives us with God  through Jesus Christ.

Read the transcript at: https://dioceseofnewark.org/bishops-vlog/celebrating-50-days-easter