Digital Evangelism: Sharing the Good News |
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By: Jim Duke, St. Margaret's in Palm Desert |
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To me, the ministry of evangelism is, quite simply, to share the Good News of Jesus. It is what we are all called to do when we are asked the question in our Baptismal Covenant, “Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ?” As evangelists, our role is to help fill the God-shaped holes in people’s hearts as we meet them along the road of life, just as Jesus did in his.
I’m Jim Duke, a former broadcast journalist and retired educator. I live in the beautiful Coachella Valley in Southern California and attend St. Margaret’s in Palm Desert, a parish in the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego. At St. Margaret’s, I serve as the principal licensed worship leader, and my team offers Daily Office services twice a week on the church Facebook page and YouTube channel. I also lead our Mission Possible! evangelism group. And I am a #christiantiktoker!
Earlier this year, I was a student in the first cohort of the Evangelism Leadership course from Bexley Seabury. When one of my classmates used TikTok to share a story, it piqued my social media curiosity, so I decided to explore it. Of course, I knew people danced and posted funny videos on TikTok, but I never imagined that I would use it. Prayer is an integral part of my personal life, so as I explored this new (to me) social media platform, the notion of using it to share prayer developed, and One Minute of Prayer with Jim was born. When I posted my first TikTok, I didn’t know what to expect, so imagine my surprise when it had over 300 views in the first 12 hours! A few videos have been viewed more than 800 times, but the average is somewhere between 100 and 200. Here is one of my posts: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMd519Fp9/. While my original plan was to post once a week, I’m now posting twice a week.
I don’t have millions of followers, or thousands, or even hundreds (yet), but I know I am reaching people near and far and bringing them a message of Good News. And isn’t that exactly what evangelism is all about?
You’re welcome to connect with me on TikTok or Twitter (@praywithjim) or on Facebook. And don’t be afraid to try something new!
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A Message from PB Michael Curry about Cuba |
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To Bishop Griselda Delgado Del Carpio, to my brothers and sisters in the Episcopal Diocese of Cuba, and to all of God’s children in your country, I greet you with the ancient words of the Apostles, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
I stand in solidarity with you during this time of sickness, food insecurity, economic suffering, and civil unrest. I am praying for you, and I stand for the human rights of all peaceful protesters.
When I saw you early in March of 2020, I said then, and I mean now: “We love Cuba and all her people.” In 1 Corinthians, St. Paul reminds us that in the Body of Christ, “When one member suffers, all suffer together with it,” and we share in your pain with the loss of lives due to the pandemic.
Even in the face of despair, Jesus walks with us and gives us strength as we strive to serve others, preserve dialogue, and protect hope. We also encourage humanitarian agencies and the international community to be supportive of Cuba at this moment of suffering and need in order to help you move toward a society of justice, peace, and health.
To all people in The Episcopal Church, I beseech you to pray for our Cuban brothers and sisters and to hold them in your hearts and minds in the days to come.
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Keep the faith,
The Most Rev. Michael Bruce Curry
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church
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Don't Miss Virtual Vacation Bible School |
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Vacation Bible School is a time to grow in Jesus’ love. Each Sunday at 3 pm, a new 20-30 minute episode will premiere on YouTube to watch as a family or with your church family. Featuring leaders from across our diocesan family we’ll use Treasured from Group Publishing as a springboard to explore Jesus’ love through stories, songs, scripture, and more.
The VBS team is excited to continue to unwrap God’s future together and look forward to an exciting summer of learning about Jesus’ love for us. Learn More
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Photos by: Susan Forsburg |
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[KOGO Local News] “St. Paul’s Cathedral has been an open and affirming congregation as long it has been a cathedral, which goes back 40 years,” says the Very Rev. Penny Bridges, Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral. “It was open and affirming in a quieter way until maybe 12 years ago when a situation arose when a well-known gay man died and needed to be buried and St. Pauls’ stepped forward to do that. It sort of opened up our name to the LGBTQ community.” Read More
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Susan Jester, who handles media and public relations for St. Paul's Cathedral, said, "The March turnout of 10,000 gave a visual definition of the 'power to return to original form after being bent, compressed and stretched' as our LGBTQ community has survived and thrived through many years of adversity. The support and participation of allies like the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego are vital. The partnership between St. Paul's Cathedral and San Diego Pride in producing the Light Up The Cathedral Interfaith Celebration has strengthened our mutual mission and vision to respond to the challenges of inequality and social injustice in our region. The partnership has offered the LGBTQ+ community of all faiths a safe haven and the knowledge of many affirming faith practices and organizations in San Diego. It is also a visual statement to civic leaders that the LGBTQ community are people of faith.
"I am personally honored and blessed to be a part of both communities and am grateful to Dean Penny, whose idea it was to "light" the Cathedral seven years ago, and to the Cathedral staff who have supported the event each year as it has grown to over 400 this year. Together we are resilient, and I am very blessed o be a part of the courageous love community that welcomes and affirms all God's children."
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Pride Forum Series at St. Paul's Cathedral
Sundays in July, 9 am, In-Person & Via Zoom
In recognition of San Diego's Pride month, we are host Pride-centric forums each Sunday morning!
July 18, San Diego Women’s Chorus - Linda Morrow, President of the San Diego women’s Chorus will talk about how this non-profit community has provided a safe space that encourages women’s creativity, celebrates diversity, and inspires social action.
July 25, Bob Leyh, Program Manager of San Diego Pride
Bob has been active in San Diego’s LGBT community since moving here in 1997. He has been involved with Front Runners and Walkers, an LGBT running club; Special Delivery, a meal-delivery service for people living with AIDS; Scouting for All; and AIDS Walk San Diego.
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On December 3 - 4, 2021, the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego will welcome Presiding Bishop Michael Curry to Southern California for a celebration of good news. With interactive outreach projects, workshops, live discussion panels, youth offerings, and an evening of celebration at the beautiful Town and Country Resort, this is the perfect time to get away and enjoy some good news.
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Join us in prayer for the Good News Festival.
Loving God, Author of life, in You we live and move and have our being. We ask that you revive us again in your mighty Spirit as we prepare our hearts for The Good News Festival. Inspire us to reach out to those who do not know you, and welcome them with open arms, without judgment, so that all may embrace your Good News, answer your call, and dance together with joy. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen
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Who's your "One?" Inviting friends, family, and neighbors to the Good News Festival is an important part of making this event a true celebration of good news. Join us in committing to invite your "One," one person you know who needs to hear the good news of Jesus. You can find materials to help invite "your one" to the Good News Festival on the website. The flyers are available for download, but printed materials will also be provided to churches for broad distribution.
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"I Am Greta" Film Screening and Discussion |
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Thursday, July 22, 6:30 -8:30 pm, FREE, via Zoom |
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You are invited to a virtual screening and discussion of the documentary "I Am Greta", a biopic about youth climate activist Greta Thunberg. The film and discussion are a collaboration of SanDiego350 Youth4Climate, the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego, St Bart’s Episcopal Church, and St. Paul's Cathedral's Simpler Living ministry. View Trailer
The discussion will be led by youth, and we will be invited to listen to their responses to the film, allowing for questions from others as time permits.
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All Souls' Hiring for Communications and Admin Position |
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All Souls’ Episcopal Church invites you to consider joining them in ministry. All Souls' is looking for an office administrator/communication team member to join our fun, faithful, and dynamic staff. The Administrative Assistant provides administrative support to the priests, staff, and congregation in support of the ministries of All Souls’ Episcopal Church. Learn More
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ECS Hiring for Communications Marketing Manager
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The Communications and Marketing Manager will serve as a primary ambassador for the ECS, this position is skillful and effective at building relationships, internally and externally, to drive broad awareness and support for the organization for all primary audiences, including donors, clients, volunteers, churches, partners, advocates, and community members. This position collaborates extensively with diverse stakeholders, including the Leadership team, to lead the development and implementation of marketing and communications strategies, and measures and reports on the success of marketing, communications and public relations efforts designed to elevate ECS’ brand and expand and enhance audience engagement. Learn More
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School for Ministry: Registration Now Available |
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The School for Ministry is now accepting registration for Fall and Summer courses, and now offering Hermeneutics this summer! Register today and don't miss out on this amazing opportunity.
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School for Ministry's summer students will be exploring the basic principles used by scholars to read and interpret the Scriptures. Texts are never self-explanatory and reading Biblical texts, in particular, is an exercise that is fraught with potential pitfalls that requires patience and nuance on the part of the student who seeks to hear the “Word” of God in the words of these ancient manuscripts.
Through a series of multimedia exercises that are intended to be provocative and engaging, SfM students will be exposed to many of our explicit and implicit preferences and prejudices that impact and shape acts of interpretation, and the instability and fluidity of the idea of an objective “meaning” of a text.
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Diocesan Staff Returns to the Office |
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And feel free--as always--to call Bishop Susan, Canon Gwynn, Canon Christian, or Chris for any reason.
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Beware of Phishing Attempts |
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If you receive a suspicious email from an address that seems to be Bishop Susan, but it is not from an @edsd.org email account, it is a phishing attempt. Bishop Susan will never email you asking for funds or financial support by way of gift cards. Nor will the bishop's emails be filled with grammatical errors. Every official email from the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego comes from an @edsd.org email address. |
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Phishing is a cyber attack that uses disguised email as a weapon. The goal is to trick the email recipient into believing that the message is something they want or need — a request from their bank, for instance, or a note from someone in their company — and to click a link or download an attachment.
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Faith to Go: Your weekly formation resources |
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A Weekly, On The Go Resource for Parents and Non-Parents Alike
Hosted by the Faith To Go team in the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego, David Tremaine and Charlette Preslar. Joined each week by a special guest, the Faith To Go team highlights themes from the Sunday Gospel reading for you to take into your faith discussions and reflections throughout the week. More Here
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EDSD.org Under Construction |
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404 Error: Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.
EDSD.org is going through some changes. You may find that your bookmarked or saved links are now broken, or that information you're used to finding has been moved.
Please be patient as we work to update EDSD.org to better serve you into the future. If you have questions or come across a broken link, please email Director of Communications, Chris Tumilty. Thank you for your help while we work to better our digital presence.
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Resources for Emotional Support |
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The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak is changing life for all of us. You may feel anxious, stressed, worried, sad, bored, depressed, lonely or frustrated in these circumstances.
You’re not alone!
Find resources to connect with real people that can help, here.
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