July 5, 2022 E-News

July 5, 2022

In this edition of ENews:

The Rev. Mack Olson named Missioner for Church Life
The Rev. Sr. Kathy Lawler, OEF, named Dean of School for Ministry
Two diocesan Clergy to teach for CDSP through CALL program
General Convention update

Office of the Bishop

The Rev. Mack Olson, currently rector at Church of the Epiphany, Vacaville, will join the staff of the Office of the Bishop August 16 as Missioner for Church Life. Mack will work with the Canon to the Ordinary in the following areas:

Evangelism – helping us tell our story as Christians, as individuals, churches and as a diocese
Formation – working with churches to provide curriculum, programs, and resources to grow in our faith.
Congregational Development – with the Canon and Congregational Development Team members, partner with churches of all sizes with tools for thriving.

In addition to his nearly 10 years as rector in Vacaville, Mack has worked as a hospital chaplain and as an administrator at Sonoma State University. We are thrilled to welcome Mack as a new member to the team!

The Rev. Mack Olson

Missioner for Church Life

Office of the Bishop

Around the Diocese

The Rev. Sr. Kathy Lawler, OEF, currently an Associate at St. Mary Episcopal Church, Elk Grove, has agreed to be the Dean of The School for Ministry in the Diocese of Northern California.

Under the oversight of the Bishop, she will launch and maintain the new School for Ministry as part of the Iona Collaborative, working closely with partners in the Dioceses of El Camino Real and San Diego.

Kathy will work collaboratively with Bishop Megan, Canon Julie, the Commission on Ministry and the Archdeacons to provide curriculum that meets the formational and canonical requirements for those discerning a call to the Vocational Diaconate.

Longer-term plans are to provide programs for lay ministry. The collaboration with the two other Dioceses will be vital in all this work.

An MDiv graduate of the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, Kathy has a strong background in education, and experience with the use of online methods of providing academic formation, having taught at various colleges in the greater Sacramento and San Francisco Bay areas. She is a long-time Franciscan with a deep interest in spirituality, theology and science.

The Rev. Kathy Lawler

Dean | The School for Ministry

Two diocesan Clergy to teach through CALL program at CDSP

The Rev. Alex Leach, rector of St. Luke's, Woodland, and The Rev. Dr. Daniel London, rector at Christ Church, Eureka, will be teaching courses for Church Divinity School of the Pacific (CDSP) beginning in Fall 2022. The courses are scheduled to run September 12 — October 31. Both courses are online. Registration for CALL courses open July 20th.

Navigating Conflict:

Speaking the Truth in Love

The Rev. Alex Leach

Reconciliation is the mission of the Church; and reconciliation is not the absence of conflict but rather the navigation of it. When approached with skill and grounded in Christ’s love, conflict is a healthy process through which we fully encounter our neighbor, we learn about ourselves, and ultimately leads to unity amidst difference. In this course, you will learn concrete skills and tools that help keep conflict healthy and safe. You will also explore the spiritual practices which form the bedrock of this work. Over the seven weeks, you will be asked to read, listen, reflect, and practice skills.

Anglican Identity

The Rev. Dr. Daniel London

In this course, students will explore Anglican identity by practicing spiritual disciplines associated with key luminaries in the Anglican tradition. Students will be invited to pray Matins from Thomas Cranmer’s first prayer book, read the poetry of George Herbert and John Donne, sing the hymns of Charles Wesley, study Scripture with Charles Gore, practice contemplation with Evelyn Underhill, lament with C.S. Lewis and Desmond Tutu, and pray the Night Prayer from the New Zealand prayer book. Students will not only gain an understanding but also a personal experience of Classical Anglicanism, Evangelical Anglicanism, Anglo-Catholicism, and expressions of Anglicanism from around the world. The pressing issues of the Anglican Communion will be analyzed as students engage in the spiritual discipline that ultimately forms one’s identity as an Episcopalian and Anglican: the practice of common prayer.

CDSP’s Center for Anglican Learning and Leadership (CALL) works actively with partner dioceses across the Episcopal Church to develop curricula and continuing education courses that support local formation for ordained ministry and complement diocesan-based retreats and formation experiences.

Any lay or ordained person can take courses through CALL. Participants do NOT need to go through CDSP’s degree program admissions process.

2022/2023 Best Skills,

Best Churches Program Registration is Open

Click here for the schedule and additional information.

Click here to register.

General Convention

Toward GC80: Watch Episcopal Church 80th General Convention on Media Hub

July 1, 2022 | Office of Public Affairs

All are welcome to watch livestream worship and legislative sessions of The Episcopal Church’s 80th General Convention in Baltimore, July 8-11. The sessions—in English and Spanish—will be available on the church’s GC80 Media Hub. The sessions of the House of Deputies and House of Bishops, as well as media briefings from the Office of Public Affairs and #GC80 Daily Show videos, will also be available on demand on the Media Hub for those not able to watch the livestream. Worship services will take place in each house, with pre-recorded sermons shown in each.

Daily livestream schedule (all times are Eastern):

Friday, July 8

8:30-10 a.m.: Opening Eucharist
10 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Legislative Session
2:30-5:30 p.m.: Legislative Session
7:30-9:30 p.m.: Legislative Session (as needed)

Saturday, July 9

8:30-9:30 a.m.: Morning Prayer
9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Legislative Session
2:30-5:30 p.m.: Legislative Session
7:30-9:30 p.m.: Legislative Session (as needed)

Sunday, July 10

8:30-10 a.m.: Sunday Eucharist
10 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Legislative Session
2:30-5:30 p.m.: Legislative Session (includes Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget and Finance budget presentation to a joint session of the House of Bishops and House of Deputies)
7:30-9:30 p.m.: Legislative Session (as needed)

Monday, July 11

8:30-9:30 a.m.: Morning Prayer
9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Legislative Session
2:30-5 p.m.: Legislative Session

The #GC80 Daily Show, produced by the Office of Communication, showcases the good work of Episcopal leaders and initiatives from around the church.

Find additional information and helpful links on the Office of Public Affairs’ GC80 page; the General Convention Office GC80 resource page; the House of Deputies website; and the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland’s gceighty page.

Please pray for our General Convention Deputies

CLERGY DEPUTIES

The Rev. Br. Simeon (Lewis) Powell | Clergy Deputy 1 | St. John's, Chico

The Rev. Matt Warren | Clergy Deputy 2 | Christ the King, Quincy

The Rev. Robin Denney | Clergy Deputy 3 | St. Mary's, Napa

The Rev. Canon Cookie Clark | Clergy Deputy 4 | Epiphany, Vacaville

LAY DEPUTIES

Ms. DonnaJo Woollen | Lay Deputy 1 | Emmanuel, Grass Valley

Ms. CeeCee Coleman | Lay Deputy 2 | St. Matthew's, Sacramento

Mr. Peter Juvé | Lay Deputy 3 | St. Mary's, Napa

Mr. Jay Elmquist | Lay Deputy 4 | Trinity Cathedral, Sacramento

ALTERNATES

The Rev. Jim Richardson | Clergy Alternate 1 | Trinity Cathedral

Canon Charles Mack | Lay Alternate 1 | St. Luke's, Woodland

Mr. John Miller | Lay Alternate 2 | All Saints, Sacramento

Ms. Anne Seed | Lay Alternate 3 | St. Paul's, Benicia

Mr. Jerry Paré | Lay Alternate 4 | Trinity Cathedral, Sacramento

CLERGY

The Rt. Rev. Megan Traquair | Bishop

The Rev. Canon Julie Wakelee | Canon to the Ordinary

STAFF

Katie Braak | Director of Operations | Office of the Bishop

Michelle Karimi | Executive Staff Support | Office of the Bishop

From the Episcopal Foundation

$100,000

Foundation Grant Fund –

Application Deadline Extended to August 1!

The deadline to submit a Foundation Grant Application is now August 1, 2022. Grants will be awarded in the month of August.

Click here or visit the EFNC page on our website to find out more, and to download an application!

Spiritual Formation

July 10, 2022, Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

Luke 10:25-37

The parable of the Good Samaritan is so well known and loved that it is easy enough to lose the shock value of Jesus’ story as we read or hear it. We don’t easily remember thar hatred that existed between Jews and Samaritans. And we imagine that the story is an important lesson in morality, which it is, but we fail to see that these is a good deal more here. A key to understanding the story at a deeper level is to focus on the questions asked by the lawyer and by Jesus.

The Lawyer’s first Question: The way he asks it shows his misunderstanding of inheriting eternal life. An inheritance is not something earned, but something given. This sets us up for the deeper theological significance of the story Jesus told.

Jesus’ first question demonstrates his great skill as a teacher, who does not simply give an answer, but asked the lawyer to recite the commandments he knows. The power of Jesus’ teaching is not only in the wisdom he imparts, but also in the questions he asks.

The Lawyer’s second question: Who is my neighbor? Again, Jesus did not answer with a statement but a story -and a shocking one at that. The helper from outside who brought rescue by a costly demonstration of unexpected love was a hated Samaritan. He risked his life to help the man and to bring him to an inn in Jewish territory and to give sacrificially. At this point we begin to hear echoes of the cross, on which Jesus rescued us from our plight by his costly, unexpected, undeserved love.

Jesus second question: Which of these three, do you suppose, proved to be neighbor (Kenneth Bailey) turned out to be neighbor (N.T. Wright) to the man who fell among the robbers?”

The Lawyer answered that it was the one who had compassion. He could not bring himself to say “the Samaritan.” He thus showed that he, like many of us demonstrated that we have only just begun to allow the power of God’s love in Christ to transform our lives to become more like Jesus.

– The Rev. Peter Rodgers