Leadership News (Page 48)
Nominations are still needed for diocesan positions; online nominations close September 14
Nominations are needed for positions in the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth that will be filled at the 2014 Convention in Arlington, Texas, on November 14 and 15. You’re invited to read, pray, and discern if you are called to offer yourself or someone else in nomination for any of these elected positions: The Standing Committee – one lay and one clergy member Trustee for the University of the South – one clergy person Disciplinary Board – one clergy and one lay member You may…
Demi Prentiss authors piece in Vestry Papers
Demi Prentiss, until recently Ministry Developer/Stewardship Officer of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, has written an article in the September Vestry Papers, a publication of the Episcopal Church Foundation (ECF). “As we grow beyond the narrow understanding of stewardship as an annual fundraising exercise – or as the late Terry Parsons used to call it, the ‘annual beg-a-thon’ – God begins to reshape our concept of what ‘gift’ and ‘giving’ actually mean. “Back in the days when spiritual gift assessments were…
Bishop High sets guidelines for Covenant Blessings
On Tuesday, August 19, 2014, the Rt. Rev. Rayford B. High, Jr., bishop of Fort Worth, sent a letter to the clergy of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth setting out guidelines for the blessing of covenant relationships between people of the same sex. He did so to offer pastoral guidance to the priests of the diocese to enable them to offer “a generous pastoral response” to members of their congregations. His action comes after two years of prayer, thoughtful…
Bishop High’s Letter on Covenant Blessings
Tuesday, August 19, 2014 Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, I write you all to follow up on a promise I made at our June “Common Call” clergy gathering. At that meeting, I shared with you all my prayerful deliberations on how we should move forward as a diocese regarding the covenant blessing, which was initiated at our General Convention 2012, and I promised to offer guidelines for you and the congregations we serve. As I have come to know…
New book of daily prayers – ‘Daily Prayer for All Seasons’
A new book of daily prayers developed by the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music of The Episcopal Church is now available. Episcopal News Service announced Daily Prayer for all Seasons, “a daily office for the 21st century,” suitable for individuals, small groups, and congregations. This prayer book offers much for a daily prayer discipline, including a variety of images of God, inclusive and expansive language for and about God, and a rich variety of language, including poetry, meditation, and prayers from the broader…
Steinke resources offered free
Did you miss Peter Steinke’s April and June workshops here in the Diocese of Fort Worth? Does your congregation need help finding its way through anxious times? Steinke’s DVD When Anxiety Strikes and his book How Your Church Family Works are both available through the diocesan office for use in your congregation.
Is Cursillo worth a weekend? Yes!
Why give up a long weekend for Cursillo? Because the rewards are enormous and lifelong, according to people in the diocese who have attended. Here is what some Fort Worth Episcopalians say about their Cursillo experience and its impact on their lives: Marti Fagley, St. Francis of Assisi – the Episcopal Church in Parker County: “I made my Cursillo weekend in 1992. There was nothing about the weekend, that I hadn’t heard before, but it changed my ministry profoundly. What my heart…
Are you called to be a lay pastoral caregiver?
Community of Hope is a pastoral care training program for laity. The mission of Community of Hope is to create and sustain Christian communities of volunteer lay pastoral caregivers around the world. Community of Hope communities are united in prayer, shaped by Benedictine spirituality, and equipped for and serving in pastoral care communities. Bishop Rayford High has been part of Community of Hope for many years, and has asked Annette Mayer, pastoral intern St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, Arlington, and the Rev. Amy…
Nominations open for positions to be filled at 2014 Diocesan Convention – UPDATED
Nominations are open for positions that will be filled at the 2014 diocesan convention on November 14 and 15. Qualified candidates are invited to read, pray, and discern if they are called to offer themselves in nomination for any of the elected positions described below. Nominations may be by the candidate on their own or by another person with the candidate’s permission. The deadline for online nominations is September 14, 2014.
College chaplains seek help contacting recent grads
“Attention rectors and youth ministers! If you have students heading off to college in the fall, help keep them involved in the Church by sharing their names and email addresses with the Episcopal chaplains at the colleges they will be attending.” This is the heartfelt request of the Rev. C. Matthew W. Wise, Campus Missioner, Texas A&M University, of diocesan clergy and youth ministers in the Episcopal Diocese of Texas and elsewhere. He talked about what those doing college ministry…
Catch World Cup fever!
St. Elisabeth’s and Christ the King congregations in Fort Worth are inviting all soccer fans to join in a big-screen live-streaming watch-party for the World Cup finals, Sunday, July 13 starting at 1pm. The excitement will ramp up with the kickoff at 2pm, and food, drink, and games will be available throughout the party.
What if we create ‘sticky faith’?
Check out the latest Forma blog entry, written by Emily Givens, director of children and family ministry at St. Michael and All Angels, Dallas. Givens asks us to carry the intensity and intentionality we bring to our annual vacation Bible school (VBS) offerings forward into our broader congregational lives. “What if …?” she wonders, asking us to seize opportunities for being the church in many contexts. “What if there was a spiritual component that could be shared with the parents/grandparents/adults for evening conversation?” “What if families were given faith in the home resources as a thank you for participating [in VBS]?”
Final free stewardship telecast June 25
St. Christopher Episcopal Church in Fort Worth will host the third of three free stewardship telecasts at 7pm June 23. Nancy Davidge, editor of the Episcopal Church Foundation’s Vital Practices blog, will present “Communicating Stewardship Year ‘Round.”
Watch Steinke’s ‘How Your Church Family Works’
Need to brush up on the wisdom Peter Steinke offered to congregation leaders back in April, when he presented “How Your Church Family Works”? Want to get a quick crash course in family systems in the church? We have an app for that! (Well, really, a link.)
Plan your annual giving campaign – ‘A Path Ahead’
Come to St. Christopher Episcopal Church in Fort Worth for the second of three webcasts on stewardship, Wednesday, June 18, 7-9 p.m. That evening Laurel Johnston, executive director of The Episcopal Network for Stewardship (TENS), will be the featured presenter, offering ” A Path Ahead.” This nuts-and-bolts session will be especially helpful to stewardship chairs, stewardship committees, and clergy, for engaging the congregation in the work of forming good stewards.
Why go to ‘Growing in Faith Together’?
Why would you want to spend Friday and Saturday, June 20 and 21, at Trinity Lutheran Church with Peter Steinke and Ana Hernandez and lots of other leaders from the Diocese of Fort Worth?