Greetings friends,
Who has ever heard of the Emergent Church? This was a term that I had heard mostly associated with more Evangelical (perhaps bordering on Fundamentalist) Churches and with Churches that preach the "gospel" of prosperity (blah! notice the lowercase "g" and the quotation marks, please). I heard a lot about this movement at the Consortium of Endowed Episcopal Parishes - some good, some bad.
I wonder what a positive emergent church experiment might look like in the Episcopal Church. I know that the Cathedral of St. Mark's in Seattle is doing compline every Sunday evening and drawing hundreds of college and young adult people. This service looks very much like a compline/evensong service that might have been sung hundreds of years ago. The nearest I can figure, this is an emergent church movement that draws from what we already know and love about the Episcopal Church and Anglican history - and it works. I am intrigued, to be sure.
Here is an article that was recently on the Episcopal Life webpage.
If you have any ideas about this model or comments on this article, please email them to me at: leopold@stpaulschatt.org.
Yours in Christ,
Bob
Showing posts with label Continuing Education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Continuing Education. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
Consortium of Endowed Episcopal Parishes Report
Greetings friends,
Aside from bringing back quite an illness (hopefully not a Voodoo Curse) from New Orleans, I also brought back many great ideas and a whole lot of creative energy from the Consortium of Endowed Episcopal Parishes Conference.
The conference, as a whole, was great. I got to meet a lot of movers and shakers in the Episcopal Church world. What I learned is this: everyone cares deeply about our generation. Young Adults were on every one's mind at the conference.
The biggest amount of energy for me has to do with the amount of great work that the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Louisiana is doing for the people of NOLA. Perhaps the most impressive is the Jericho Road project. In one of the areas heavily flooded in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, The Diocese has purchased 50 or so plots of land. On these plots, they are building sturdy, good, affordable housing for the residents of that area. More can be read at the Jericho Road housing website here. For a great picture of the bishop of Louisiana standing in front of one of these homes, see this great article.
Another highlight was the Keynote Address, given by Ray Suarez - an Episcopalian and Senior Corespondent for PBS's the News Hour with Jim Lehrer. We have been given permission to share this speech with our congregations. I really think that would be worth a good reading. It is funny and uplifting and speaks volumes about just how poised the Episcopal Church is to reap the benefits of a changing world. Here it is.
Perhaps my biggest aha moment of the conference was that St. Paul's is doing so much right already. Not that I didn't think we were, mind you, but I was surprised to find that people from sister parishes had heard of the YAMs group here and were excited to hear what I/we had to say about ministering to and with Young Adults. Thank you all for that.
Yours in Christ,
Bob
P.S. Here are some pictures. The first is my friend Peter Gray (we stayed in his house. He is married to Giulianna Gray, also an Episcopal priest). Lisa is pictured on the front porch of their house. The stained-glass window is in one of the churches to which Peter ministers. We were able to see some live music on Frenchman's Street (where the locals hang out). A Mardi Gras Indian Chief named Big Chief Monk Boudreaux came on stage and sang a couple numbers with them. The aforementioned voodoo curse may have come from the little store on Bourbon Street that we entered for fun - they had votive bingo candles.
P.P.S. I also got a chance to see former St. Paul's parishioner, Nicole Sieferth. She is the communications person at Trinity Church, Wall Street these days. Here is an article that she wrote about the conference.
Aside from bringing back quite an illness (hopefully not a Voodoo Curse) from New Orleans, I also brought back many great ideas and a whole lot of creative energy from the Consortium of Endowed Episcopal Parishes Conference.
The conference, as a whole, was great. I got to meet a lot of movers and shakers in the Episcopal Church world. What I learned is this: everyone cares deeply about our generation. Young Adults were on every one's mind at the conference.
The biggest amount of energy for me has to do with the amount of great work that the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Louisiana is doing for the people of NOLA. Perhaps the most impressive is the Jericho Road project. In one of the areas heavily flooded in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, The Diocese has purchased 50 or so plots of land. On these plots, they are building sturdy, good, affordable housing for the residents of that area. More can be read at the Jericho Road housing website here. For a great picture of the bishop of Louisiana standing in front of one of these homes, see this great article.
Another highlight was the Keynote Address, given by Ray Suarez - an Episcopalian and Senior Corespondent for PBS's the News Hour with Jim Lehrer. We have been given permission to share this speech with our congregations. I really think that would be worth a good reading. It is funny and uplifting and speaks volumes about just how poised the Episcopal Church is to reap the benefits of a changing world. Here it is.
Perhaps my biggest aha moment of the conference was that St. Paul's is doing so much right already. Not that I didn't think we were, mind you, but I was surprised to find that people from sister parishes had heard of the YAMs group here and were excited to hear what I/we had to say about ministering to and with Young Adults. Thank you all for that.
Yours in Christ,
Bob
P.S. Here are some pictures. The first is my friend Peter Gray (we stayed in his house. He is married to Giulianna Gray, also an Episcopal priest). Lisa is pictured on the front porch of their house. The stained-glass window is in one of the churches to which Peter ministers. We were able to see some live music on Frenchman's Street (where the locals hang out). A Mardi Gras Indian Chief named Big Chief Monk Boudreaux came on stage and sang a couple numbers with them. The aforementioned voodoo curse may have come from the little store on Bourbon Street that we entered for fun - they had votive bingo candles.
P.P.S. I also got a chance to see former St. Paul's parishioner, Nicole Sieferth. She is the communications person at Trinity Church, Wall Street these days. Here is an article that she wrote about the conference.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Consortium of Endowed Episcopal Parishes
Greetings friends,
As many of you know, Episcopal Clergy are expected to undertake continuing education opportunities. I embark upon one such opportunity in the coming week. A small delegation from St. Paul's will be attending the Consortium of Endowed Episcopal Parishes. This is a group of sister churches of similar means in similar situations. St. Paul's will be attending as a guest parish. The topics for classes that I hope to attend include: Young Adult Ministries, Creating a Culture of Call, and The Draft Anglican Covenant Agreement. Additionally, I will be able to see some very fine speakers, engaged in making the Episcopal Church all it can be. There will also be a fair amount of networking - in the good sense of the word. I will be able to hear what other churches are doing for their Young Adults and College Students.
Did I mention that the conference is in New Orleans, LA? There will also be a chance to tour NOLA and see the efforts that the Episcopal Church has made to help after the devastation of Katrina - and those efforts are great from what I understand.
When I return, I shall post a brief report.
Yours in Christ,
Bob
As many of you know, Episcopal Clergy are expected to undertake continuing education opportunities. I embark upon one such opportunity in the coming week. A small delegation from St. Paul's will be attending the Consortium of Endowed Episcopal Parishes. This is a group of sister churches of similar means in similar situations. St. Paul's will be attending as a guest parish. The topics for classes that I hope to attend include: Young Adult Ministries, Creating a Culture of Call, and The Draft Anglican Covenant Agreement. Additionally, I will be able to see some very fine speakers, engaged in making the Episcopal Church all it can be. There will also be a fair amount of networking - in the good sense of the word. I will be able to hear what other churches are doing for their Young Adults and College Students.
Did I mention that the conference is in New Orleans, LA? There will also be a chance to tour NOLA and see the efforts that the Episcopal Church has made to help after the devastation of Katrina - and those efforts are great from what I understand.
When I return, I shall post a brief report.
Yours in Christ,
Bob
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