The Episcopal Diocese of

North Dakota



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Welcome to our email Newsletter!

A few highlights from this issue:

• Canoeing the Mountains Book Study
• The Rev. Charles Cherry Retirement Celebration
• Small Congregations Webinar Series
• UTO Thanksgiving Resources
• Episcopal Church Advent and Christmas Resources

Read on for other announcements and the calendar!

Did you miss a copy of the Prairie? The past four editions of the bi-monthly Prairie are now online! Click the button below to be taken to the webpage!

Samuel Seabury

November 14, 2025

Consecration, 1784

We give you thanks, O Lord our God, for your goodness in bestowing upon this church the gift of the episcopate; and we pray that, joined together in unity with our bishops and nourished by your holy sacraments, we may proclaim the Gospel of redemption with apostolic zeal; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

*Read about Samuel Seabury here.

First Lesson: 1 Samuel 8:1-22

Psalm: Psalm 110:1-4

Second Lesson: Acts 1:15-26

Gospel: Matthew 9:35-38

Canoeing the Mountains Book Study

By: Ashley Hubbard | Diocesan Missioner

Canoeing the Mountains - Book Study Weekly Schedule

Youth Event - Summer 2026

Denver, Colorado

Missionary Diocese of Navajoland:

Bishop Nominees

Bishop Slate | Navajoland Bishop Search

Friend of the diocese, The Rev. Alyssa Stebbing, has put her name forward in the bishop search for The Missionary Diocese of Navajoland. The Rev. Alyssa was with us in May during The Diocese of Texas visit! Please keep our siblings in Christ in The Missionary Diocese of Navajoland in your thoughts and prayers as they journey towards electing their 1st Bishop Diocesan.

Small Congregations Webinar Series

Invite Welcome Connect | Webinar Series

Walking the Way of Love Together

Wed., Nov. 19, 1 p.m. Central

Register Now

The Invite Welcome Connect Small Congregations Webinar Series continues Nov. 19 with a session on Walking the Way of Love Together. The Webinar will show how Invite Welcome Connect's guiding principles, tested practices, and real-life stories help small congregations create meaningful pathways for newcomers to become fully engaged members of the household of faith.

This session continues the series that began in September with Hospitality as Our Compass, our first webinar of the Small Congregations Series. Canon Jenni Faires joined Mary MacGregor for a practical, hope-filled conversation about welcome ministry. If you missed it, you can watch the full recording on this page.

All registrants who opt-in to our mailing list receive a recording of the session along with downloadable resources to help grow their ministries.

Registering for one session also registers you for upcoming Webinars in the series. You'll also receive a reminder link the day of each session. Join us to help empower your smaller congregation's ministries of evangelism, hospitality, and belonging.

"Invite Welcome Connect is something we as Episcopalians can do. It's a way of evangelism that reflects who we are, that doesn't have us trying to be somebody we aren't, but actually calls us to be exactly who we are in Jesus Christ, and to invite, welcome, and connect others to that life-giving reality."

—The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry

United Thank Offering

Mary Massad | UTO Co-Coordinator

Greetings from United Thank Offering!

In case you haven’t hosted an ingathering, now would be a good time to hold a fall ingathering! If you have questions, please let me know.

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, here is the link to Thanksgiving resources for your parish and families. I haven’t tried the gratitude dice game yet, so we will try it this year. I did download and print them out. Just need to cut and glue or tape them.  I hope you are able to do the same. It should provide us all with opportunities to share and be thankful together. If you have stories from your thanksgiving table this year and would like to pass them along, I would love to hear about them and possibly share them with you all if that is okay with you.

If you are interested in applying for a UTO Grant for 2026, UTO will fund projects focused on justice and bridging divides.

When you hold your ingatherings, please send your checks to Jess at the diocesan office. Jess will forward them on to UTO. If you rather send them directly to UTO please send them to:

United Thank Offering

DFMS – Protestant Episcopal Church US

P.O. Box 958983

St. Louis, MO 63195-8983

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families!

With much gratitude for each of you and all you do,

Mary Massad

Gracious God, we come before you in the knowledge that although we are varied in our gifts, we are united as laborers in your harvest. With grateful hearts, we give thanks for the blessings and challenges that inspire the work of the United Thank Offering. May the offerings given to UTO as an expression of gratitude go on to address the needs of our ever-changing world. All this we ask through Jesus Christ, whose life is a blueprint we strive to follow. Amen.

International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day

Dr. Julie Blehm, Barb Hanson | American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, ND Chapter

International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day is designated by the United States Congress as a day when the friends and family of those who have died by suicide can join together for healing and support. This day always falls on the Saturday before American Thanksgiving.

In 1999, Senator Harry Reid introduced a resolution to the United States Senate which led to the creation of National Survivors of Suicide Day. Reid was a survivor of his father's suicide. 

Every year, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention sponsors International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day, a program that unites survivors of suicide loss across the world. These events help survivors cope with the tragedy of losing someone to suicide. This year, the AFSP North Dakota Chapter will host activities for you to safely connect, support one another, and share stories on Saturday, November 22 and on other dates.

We are hosting Survivor Day across North Dakota and we invite you to join us!

This event is intended for adult suicide loss survivors. 

Registration please visit afsp.org/NorthDakota

There will be gatherings in the following cities: Bismarck, Carrington, Dickinson, Wahpeton, Williston, Fargo, Minot, and Virtual.

Episcopal Advent and Christmas Resources

AdventWord | Episcopal Church

In Luke’s telling of the Christmas story, startled shepherds are the first to hear that good news of great joy given to all people. Since then, through generations and generations, across the world, we keep sharing this Good News, receiving signs from God that, in the coming of Jesus Christ, we have received the greatest gift of all.  

The Episcopal Church wants to help you and your congregation share that Good News with each other and your neighborhoods, especially this Advent and Christmas. Find our free resources based on invitation, the Way of Love, racial reconciliation, faith formation, and more below.

Plenty Good Room

Annual Stewardship 2026-2027 | The Episcopal Network for Stewardship

In God’s house there is always room for more: more ideas, more people, more ways to share, more stories to tell. And in the world that God created, there is more needed: more love, more connection, more peace, more creativity. Plenty Good Room reminds us that there is always room in God’s house; we just need to make ourselves at home and invite others to join us. The ways we steward our relationships, resources, and responses to grow ministry and serve our neighbors are the ways we connect our gratitude to our generosity. There’s Plenty Good Room in God’s House; pull up a chair and sit down.

The Plenty Good Room is based on Year A in the lectionary cycle and is for the Church Year Advent 2025 – Christ the King 2026. All materials are in English and available in .pdf and .docx. The materials include:



• Seasonal Reflections - Advent 2025 through Christ the King 2026
• Campaign Materials
• Timeline for a successful campaign
• Pledge cards
• Sample letters from Clergy, Wardens, and Campaign Chair
• Sample thank-you letters
• Prayers of the people and other liturgical resources
• Testimonial Scripts (*new this year)
• Small-Group Study Guide (*new this year)
• Youth/Family Stewardship Activities (*new this year)
• Logos and artwork
• Ten Weekly Reflections for your campaign (released in May 2026)

If you need the password and login information, please email Jess in the Diocesan Office.