This year we are entering Lent after learning that President Jimmy Carter, at 98 our longest-living former president, has entered hospice care. Bishop Hughes reflects on the example he has set of living one's faith out loud as an unabashed Christian and urges us to consider what this would look like for each of us.

Delegates Barbara Hamilton, Militza Diaz, and Rosa Jackson, joined Pastor Lorraine Harris at the 149th Annual Diocesan Convention on Friday and Saturday, February 3 and 4, 2023. The theme of the convention, “Beginning Anew: Seeking God’s Vision Together”, invited us to do things differently in our post pandemic world.

In her sermon Saturday morning, Bishop Hughes talked about ways we can work together to be God's church in a changed world. Utilizing online resources to bring church together, going into the local community to meet the needs of all those who struggled during the pandemic, and centering ourselves on what God is calling us to do, were different ideas that were explored. Workshops were given on topics from grant writing, prison ministries, to working with young people. 

A focus of the weekend was working within our Regional Ministry Networks (RMNs), of which the Church of the Epiphany and Christ Church belongs to the Florence Li Tim-Oi Regional Ministry Network. Working lunches on both Friday and Saturday asked us to discuss ways we could work together as a region and had us share bold ideas about what we could accomplish together. A key report during the convention was from the Strategic Visioning Team on the Listening Sessions that occurred with churches and faith communities in our Diocese that commenced September 2022. Based on those findings, the team came up with the following four priorities for the Strategic Vision: Children, Families, Youth and Young Adults – evangelism and formation, Congregational Collaboration – particularly to strengthen our smaller congregations, Communications and Technology – explaining who we are to the outside world and connecting better internally and finally Justice for People and Planet – working together on gospel-driven justice issues. Look for further news about this great initiative in the coming months. The convention was both informative and a great way to connect (and reconnect) with members of our Diocese.