Events

All are invited to a Celebration of New Ministry, with Bishop Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows presiding and preaching.

The day will include practical workshops and opportunities to share ideas about leadership for rectors, priests-in-charge, wardens, vestry members and other congregational leaders. Lunch is included. The deadline to register is February 21 (in order to prepare materials). Register online.

Workshops will include:

Essentials of Parish Finance

The ability to read an income statement and a balance sheet is vital for congregational leaders making decisions about how to allocate resources, and the way a congregation handles money and communicates about its finances says a lot about its priorities and the trustworthiness of its leadership. Longtime diocesan Canon for Administration Marsha Gebuhr returns to teach the essentials of recordkeeping and financial controls.

Bylaws and Canons and Why they Matter

Governance documents can seem like arcane legalese, but properly used, they form the architecture of leadership’s life together. They guide when and how we gather, make decisions, communicate transparently, mediate conflict, handle misconduct, respond to emergencies, and facilitate shared authority among clergy and lay leaders. Canon Brendan O’Sullivan-Hale will provide an introduction to the rules that guide us, including how to change them when they no longer serve a changing church. Bringing a copy of your congregation’s bylaws may be helpful.

The Beauty of Holiness: Developing Lay-Led Liturgy

The worship offices of Morning and Evening Prayer are the heartbeat of the church, offering a distinctive spirituality and intimacy with God. This hands-on workshop will explore how congregations can offer creative and beautiful lay-led services. Participants will learn how to use supplemental liturgical materials to build upon the Book of Common Prayer texts to develop services that fully reflect the richness of congregational life. Canon Brendan O’Sullivan-Hale facilitates.

Faithful Innovation Learning Communities

“When you consider the needs of the world and the unique gifts you have been given, what future can you imagine the God wants to bring forth in our midst?” The Faithful Innovation initiative offers congregational teams tools and methods to see God at work in the world around them, ask questions, experiment, and adapt. Participants will learn by doing – starting by engaging with scripture and spiritual storytelling. This workshop begins a journey that includes additional in-person gatherings on June 6 and at Diocesan Convention on November 6-7. The Rev. Holly Rankin Zaher facilitates. Congregations should ideally have a team of 3 or more participate in this workshop, but individuals and pairs are encouraged to join.

Leading Effective Church Meetings

What makes the difference between a church meeting that feels productive and energizing, and one that causes you to start scrolling social media? Join Canon Kristin White for a workshop that will prepare you to facilitate meetings that move congregations toward your goals while nurturing participants and building relationships in the process.

Real Communications for Real Congregations

Today’s congregations have a dizzying array of communications tools at their disposal:  websites, social media, email, media outreach and print publications. It’s impossible to do it all, and not even advisable to try. Join Rebecca Wilson, partner in Canticle Communications,  for a workshop about how to craft a strategic and sustainable communications plan for your congregation that keeps members informed, increases your visibility, and shares the Gospel beyond the walls of our churches and the boundaries of our communities.

Safeguarding

The goal of our new Safeguarding policy is to develop greater awareness among leaders and people in direct contact with children and vulnerable adults of the best practices to keep our church safe for all people. Join Jennifer Phelps, our new diocesan transition minister, for a workshop that focuses both on practical aspects of the Safeguarding policy and the reasoning at the core of these provisions.

Stewardship & Annual Giving

“From beginning to end, fundraising as ministry is grounded in prayer and undertaken in gratitude.” Henri Nouwen wrote those words in his book The Spirituality of Fundraising. How might Nouwen’s words inform your congregation’s next Annual Giving campaign as something more than a necessary collection, but as essential ministry? The Rev. Dr. Gray Lesesne and the Rev. Suzanne Wille will lead this workshop on stewardship and fundraising in the life of the church today.

Newcomers & Member Incorporation

The primary task of the church is to gather people in as the Body of Christ we are called to be, prepare opportunities for God’s transformation, and send ourselves out as light and leaven to a world desperately in need of both. But how do we best gather God’s people in, especially those who are new to the church – or unaware of it? Canon Kristin White will lead this workshop on practices of inviting people to our congregations, greeting them well when they arrive, orienting them to life in our particular churches, and ultimately finding ways to help them feel like your church is their church, too.