Some email servers shorten our eNewsletter - click here -> "View as Webpage" to see the full eNews | | Photos: (A) 175th Anniversary reception at St. John's, Keokuk; from the 173rd Diocesan Convention (B) Weaving a prayer loom; (C) Small group discussions; (D) Dance party. | | |
Bishop's Upcoming Visitations:
- Dec. 7: Trinity, Waterloo
- Dec. 14: St. Timothy's, West Des Moines
- Dec. 21: Grace, Boone
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Dear siblings in Christ,
What a tremendous weekend we had earlier this month at our annual diocesan convention! Together, we were able to connect, pray, learn, imagine, and have some fun. It is a privilege and a great joy to serve as your bishop, and I am grateful for everyone who came and who helped make this event happen.
I also want to make you aware that I have contacted clergy via the listserv to ask about congregations' feeding ministries and how I can support them. With increasing food insecurity and the cuts to SNAP benefits, our call to feed the hungry is as important as ever. If your clergy person-in-charge did not receive my messages in the listserv with the link to the brief survey about your congregation's feeding ministry, please have your person-in-charge email: officeofthebishop@iowaepiscopal.org
May we all continue gathering and sharing the love of Jesus, bringing life and love to the world around us, Together in Christ.
+Betsey
The Rt. Rev. Betsey Monnot, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa
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SYA Lessons & Carols
Check out this event from one of our partners in youth ministry. Simpson Youth Academy's (SYA) Lessons & Carols event at Simpson College is a chance to hear from the students themselves about the transformative experience of SYA, spend some time with students and allies, and partake in a beautiful Advent service. For tickets email eric.rucker@simpson.edu by November 21.
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From The Episcopal Church
Individuals, congregations, and small groups can download Advent- and Christmas-themed graphics, a customizable video, curriculum, children’s offerings, podcasts, and much more from The Episcopal Church’s annual resource page. Click HERE.
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'Tis (Almost) the Season
Find links to daily Advent calendars, "Advent Word 2025" from Forward Movement, a bunch of free resources from The Episcopal Church, Advent Toolkit from Episcopal Relief & Development, & more! Click HERE.
| | | Upcoming Events & Opportunities | | | | Advent invites us into the spiritual discipline of waiting. But what does it mean to trust in “God’s time?” How do we practice stillness and intentionality in a world that tells us slowing down means being left behind? Come explore these and other questions Saturday December 13 from 10am-3pm at All Saints Retreat House, Omaha, NE. | | Individuals & churches that are interested in applying for a 2026 UTO grant should notify Bishop Monnot who will want to receive all applications/ proposals by December 15, 2025, at officeofthebishop@iowaepiscopal.org | |  | | | | | How Congregations Can Save Lives | Why are congregations essential in preventing suicide? What are the myths and truths about those who attempt suicide? How can congregations become better at recognizing suicidal desperation and responding in life-saving ways? | | The Beloved Community Initiative (BCI) hosts a book club that meets monthly via Zoom. In December, we'll begin discussing “(RE)PRESENT – Racism & Resistance in Iowa,” written by historians, community leaders, activists, & educators to teach, inspire, & equip readers. All are welcome! | | | | | | | 9th-12th graders are invited to a weekend where they can unplug and find respite with youth from around the diocese. Come and take a break from social media, school and your phone while we rest, rage and recharge. Cost: $40 (Scholarships are available). | | The Beloved Community Initiative (BCI), a mission of the Diocese of Iowa, is offering this learning module on the Doctrine of Discovery to support the dismantling of racism. It combines individual study materials with group discussion guides into five, 45-minute sessions and will be available in January. | | | |
- January BHMT Lunch & Learn - January 20, Noon-1pm on Zoom, with the Rev. Joseph Yoo, Mosaic Episcopal Church
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Youth Ski Trip (4th-12th grade) - February 6-8 at Seven Oaks (in Boone) and St. John's, Ames. Learn more here.
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New Beginnings (6th-8th participating, 9th-12th leading) - February 27-March 1 at St. Andrew's, Des Moines.
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Young Adult Retreat "Hoping for Hope" - March 6-8 at Creighton University Retreat Center in Griswold. Learn more here.
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Creation Care: "Called to Climate Action" conference - March 21 at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Cedar Rapids, sponsored by Iowa Faith and Climate Network.
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Diocesan Lent Offering: Queering Lent: using the book "Hearts Ablaze: Parables for the Queer Soul" by Dr. Rolf Nolasco Jr., we'll explore how looking at church, the Bible, and ourselves through a queer lens can expand our relationships with God and each other. Wednesday evenings in Lent on Zoom, all are welcome! More to come.
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Creation Care: National Faith and Climate Forum by Blessed Tomorrow - Saturday, April 25, 2026. Learn more here.
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EPIC Youth Summer Camp - June 15-19
- Provincial Youth Gathering (in lieu of EYE 2026) - July 8-10; for ages 15-18, hosted by the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado. Registration will open in January, more to come.
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Holiday Choir Concert with CISS
December 6th at 12:30pm
Join clients from Central Iowa Shelter & Services (CISS) in partnership with St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Des Moines for a festive holiday concert, open to the public on December 6th (the Nov. 29 date noted in the flyer is for CISS clients only). Learn more about this partnership in the GILEAD Grants section below.
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Grants Awarded
We are excited to announce that the diocese has been awarded 2 grants from The Episcopal Church:
2025 Church Planting Discernment Grant ($5,000): St. Thomas’ Sioux City's Dinka Worshiping Community. As this worshipping community grows, it is time to engage in international community discernment. The discernment of the vision for the community will be guided and supported by the Rev. Jacob Deng Aleer, who has been appointed by the bishop as our Dinka missioner as he works to support this new worshipping community in Sioux City. This grant money will provide meals for the discernment team meetings, colleague coaching and support from Dinka colleagues in The Episcopal Church, as well as a colleague leadership summit with interpretation.
2025 Beloved Community Impact Grant ($15,000): Iowa Freedom School. To develop, pilot, and share a Freedom School model for middle school students in the tradition of the 1964 Mississippi Freedom Summer Schools that saw education as essential for social change. The curriculum and pilot is being developed by a diverse group of partners in response to a series of state laws limiting an honest teaching of our racial history in grades K-12, banning books, and removing diversity, equity, and inclusion offices and programming in public schools and universities.
| | | | | St. Luke's has prepared and served meals at CISS (Central Iowa Shelter & Services, a homeless shelter located in Des Moines) for many years. Our familiarity with the staff and clients sparked the idea of seeking a choir from the clients to provide an opportunity to experience Jesus via song, filling a gap in clients' spiritual component. CISS has sponsored interest groups for their clients in such things as art, books and other areas, but they have never had a choir made up of the shelter’s clients; they are very excited about this project. We anticipate having one performance for CISS clients, and one performance open to the public. Grant funds will be used to provide a stipend for Paul Cort, St. Luke's music director, acquire sheet music for the choir members, and purchase shirts and trousers for the client choir, which they’ll be able to keep after the performances. | | | | | The Diocese of Iowa is one of six sponsoring dioceses of the Bishop Kemper School for Ministry (BKSM). BKSM has a well-developed presbyter and diaconate tract, as well as a lay certification program of 6-10 classes each (Catechist, Evangelist, Preacher and Pastoral Leader), all of which are currently being used by Iowa students. Anyone is encouraged to enroll in any of the classes for personal enrichment or continuing education. We plan to develop lay leadership in the Diocese of Iowa by using grant funds to develop promotional materials and subsidize tuition + books for Iowa lay leaders in the diocese. It will provide a cost effective, unique opportunity for laity in their personal journeys to learn and become strong and effective witnesses to the gospel of Jesus Christ. | | | From Our Formation Partners | | |
Lay Leaders: Learn and Explore Your Call to Ministry
Have you wondered about your call to ministry? Would you like to preach, teach,
evangelize or become a pastoral leader? Would you like to explore whether you are
called to be ordained as a deacon or priest? Are you interested in topics that are
offered online at Bishop Kemper School for Ministry – ex: theology, Christian formation, preaching, environmental mission, Christian ethics, Anglican history and more? Check out the BKSM website for a full list and more about the school itself.
Exciting news! A GILEAD Grant was approved for the laity in the Diocese of Iowa to
attend Bishop Kemper School for Ministry, with partial tuition and books reimbursement starting October 2025.
Courses are one month at a time with students meeting on zoom twice a month. While students are encouraged to attend the focus weekends in Topeka for instruction; you can also attend by zoom. Then students gather for praxis on zoom from 7:00-8:30 on Tuesdays following the focus weekend.
2025-26 Tuition (per course)
- 80% of the first course ($192), plus books
- 70% of the second course ($168), plus books
- 60% of future courses ($144), plus books
Books: $50 - $70 per course
There is also the option of auditing the course for $100. This would be
reimbursed at the same percentages, plus full costs of books.
The choice is yours – one or more for your personal inquiry, a committed lay certification program, or exploring the call to ordination. This grant reimbursement is for the laity only.
How it works:
- Obtain one-time approval from your congregation (via senior warden, clergy, or the regional missioner) to participate in the program. You should get this in writing (could be an email, copy of vestry minutes, or a letter) saying that they’ve approved you as a lay person to attend BKSM for tuition/books reimbursement from the GILEAD Grant.
- Enroll at BKSM, pay for the course and purchase the books.
- Complete the application for reimbursement on the website HERE. You’ll need to upload: (1) Receipts - to demonstrate proof of payment(s). (if you are unable to complete the application and upload the receipts online, you may instead download and fill out the application, and mail it to the diocesan office); and (2) A copy of your one-time approval
- Once the application is approved, the diocese will mail you a reimbursement check.
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Courses meeting December 13-14, 2025 (choose one)
- Environmental Mission: The Venerable Betsy Bennett
- Preaching for Lay People: The Rev. Dr. Bill Fasel
- Pastoral Care: Dr. Jim Beck
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Courses meeting January 10-11, 2026:
- Christian Ethics: Dr. Matthew Frizzell
- Christian History 1: The Rev. Dr. Sean Kim
- Polity and Canons: Mr. Mike Morrow
| | | | | Check out the latest short video series from the Contemplative Underground (a branch of The Benedictine Way community) about the basics of Centering Prayer. Centering Prayer is a practice that helps us to live a Contemplative Life, to “listen with the ear of our heart.” They also provide an online “sit” via Zoom six days per week for Centering Prayer and Visio Divina. Learn more about Contemplative Underground and The Benedictine Way. | | | | | Sing in the season of Advent at our online Advent Taizé Service on Thursday, Dec. 4 at 7pm CT, premiered on our YouTube Channel. Join us in the stillness of the evening as we begin the season of Advent with contemplative poetry and music. After the premiere, the video will remain on our channel and the Contemplative Underground website as a worship resource. | | | |
A reminder to be cautious of emails you receive from the bishop, staff, clergy or other church leadership asking for money, gift cards, or church directories. We will NOT ask you to handle it discreetly, or tell you not to call. Contact our office directly for verification if you're ever unsure. Office: 515-277-6165
Unfortunately, there isn't anything we can do from the diocesan office to prevent these as this isn't someone being "hacked." Scammers are trying to make it look like their emails are coming from us, and they're getting more clever with how they do it. So stay vigilant, and get in touch with us if you're unsure.
| | | From Episcopal Relief & Development | | | |
Planning Calendar
Includes seasons, the lectionary, observances and planning reminders for our life together. You will find it on the Episcopal Relief & Development website HERE.
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ENews Submissions:
Content is due the 2nd Thursday of the month and submission information can be found here. This eNewsletter comes out monthly on the 3rd Thursday of each month.
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