Episcopal eNews from Northern Indiana |
|
Episcopal Migration Ministries
Neighbors Welcome: Afghan Allies Fund
|
|
As Episcopalians, as followers of Jesus, as people of faith, we mourn the recent loss of life in Afghanistan, the ongoing chaos and instability, and the risk that many Afghans face, in particular women and girls.
The situation in Afghanistan is changing quickly with many lives lost and thousands more at risk. The current crisis leaves over 5 million displaced Afghans in the country, in bordering nations and many more around the world who have been evacuated, who are trying to find long-term safe solutions.
As Afghans arrive to the U.S. with the hope of safety, The Episcopal Church, through the work of Episcopal Migration Ministries, is assisting our new neighbors through the Afghan Parolee Support Program.
This new U.S. program, dependent on private resources and community-led welcome and support, will provide security and foundation necessary for arriving Afghans to begin life in the U.S.
The ministry of offering welcome to those fleeing violence is nothing less than God's work—one that calls us to walk the way of love as Jesus of Nazareth taught us, through compassion, through practical care, showing to our newest neighbors that we are neighbors.
Episcopal Migration Ministries has launched a special appeal—Neighbors Welcome: Afghan Allies Fund—to meet the financial and in-kind needs necessary to provide adequate housing, basic services, and long-term support.
The needs are great and will require our communities and congregations to come together to contribute financially, offering housing, volunteer, and pray.
You can also stay involved in the work of advocacy in ensuring that the
government of the United States honors its commitments to our Afghan allies.
Included with this video, there are links and information sources that can assist you in participating in any way that you can.
As Episcopalians in the late 1930s rose up to respond to allies, primarily Jewish allies fleeing tyranny in Europe, at the advent of the Second World War, as Episcopalians have continued to rise up wherever and whenever there has been human need, joining hands with other peoples of faith and people of goodwill, so now I invite you to rise up again for our Afghan friends, to stand with them in their time of need.
Thank you for all that you do.
Thank you for this work.
Thank you for anything that you can do.
God love you.
God bless you.
And may God bless the people of Afghanistan wherever they may be. Amen.
To contribute financially to provide for housing, medical and financial support, and expanded community sponsorship to serve our Afghan allies, visit bit.ly/supportafghanallies to make a secure donation online, or text “EMMALLIES” to 41444.
|
|
Everyone loves a good story. Storytelling captivates and captures the imagination when told well. Through storytelling, humans are able to connect with one another via shared experiences. Because storytelling connects us so powerfully, it only makes sense to use the power of good storytelling to share our faith stories.
There are many kinds of faith stories. Some of them begin with our birth and bring the listeners to the present moment. Others relate a time of difficulty when the storyteller received God’s grace to walk through a hardship. Some faith stories tell of times of divine intervention in our lives. A well-crafted faith story has the power to rekindle the embers of listeners’ faith.
That is the purpose of the Dove Faith Cafe. It is the fulfillment of a vision that was divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Dove Faith Cafe is an event that brings together storytellers and listeners who share their faith stories in an evening of hope. The Dove Faith Cafe answers the call to evangelism that we, as members of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana, of the wider Episcopal Church, and as brothers and sisters of our Savior are committed to embracing.
|
|
Dove Faith Cafe Events
$10 per person
|
The Dove Faith Café is a storytelling event that brings together storytellers and listeners who share their faith stories in an evening of hope. Storytelling sparks connections between people. It creates a vulnerability that listeners step into compassionately. It allows us to see others as God sees us: as God’s children.
Each Dove Faith Café event includes live music, an emcee, and our storytellers who will invite you to share their journey of some incredible moments in their lives. There will be an intermission with food and drink for sale. Each ticket allows the holder into the event and also entitles them to a drink of their choice.
While this is a faith-based event, we hold no illusions that we all have the same faith, or any faith at all. All are welcome. We are reaching out to all of God’s children to help us each identify God’s fingerprint in our lives and to recognize our similarities. Faith-sharing demonstrates God working in our lives and can rekindle cooling embers of our faiths through the gentle power of the Spirit.
Audience Warning: Dove Faith Cafe presents real stories from real people that might contain sensitive material for some audiences. There are references to substance abuse and sexual abuse. Dove Faith Cafe strongly recommends that children under the age of 18 be accompanied by an adult.
|
|
 |
Dove Faith Cafe - Angola
Sept. 17, 6-9 p.m.
Cahoots Coffee Cafe
218 West Maumee Street
Angola, IN 46703
|
|
|
|
Dove Faith Cafe - South Bend
Nov. 12, 6-9 p.m.
LangLab
1302 High Street
South Bend, IN 46601
|
|
|
|
|
Dove Faith Cafe - Kokomo
March 11, 2022, 6:30-9:30 p.m.
Rhum Academy of Music
500 W. Superior Street
Kokomo, IN 46901
|
|
|
|
Dove Faith Cafe - Muster
May 13, 2022, 6-9 p.m.
Cloister in the Woods
1101 Park Drive
Munster, IN 46321
|
|
|
|
Book Study: Braiding Sweetgrass
Date: September 15, October 20, November 10
Time: 7-8:30/6-7:30 p.m. (EDT/CDT)
Where: Zoom
Facilitators: Tamisyn Grantz, Steven Slaubaugh, and The Rev. Nathaniel Warne, PhD
Please join us for three sessions as we read and discuss Robin Wall Kimmerer’s insights into our relationships with creation, our history with Indigenous peoples, and how we might begin to transform our relationships with both.
“Drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist, a mother, and a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings—asters and goldenrod, strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass—offer us gifts and lessons, even if we’ve forgotten how to hear their voices. In a rich braid of reflections that range from the creation of Turtle Island to the forces that threaten its flourishing today, she circles toward a central argument: that the awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings will we be capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learn to give our own gifts in return.”
Reading Assignments (ideally to be read prior to each session):
September 15: sections 1 & 2 (Planting Sweetgrass & Tending Sweetgrass)
October 20: sections 3 & 4 (Picking Sweetgrass & Braiding Sweetgrass)
November 10: section 5, epilogue & introduction to new edition (Burning Sweetgrass)
Books should be purchased on your own from your favored (hopefully independent or used) bookseller. Available directly from Milkweed Publishing in paperback for $18 milkweed.org. If you prefer audiobooks, it is read by the author which is a real treat! If purchasing the book is a financial hardship, please email the diocesan office at info@ednin.org and they will contact facilitators.
|
|
Holy Hikes Northern Indiana September Saunter
Date: September 18
Time: 10/9 (EDT/CDT)
Where: Tippecanoe River State Park
Facilitator: The Very Rev. Brian Grantz
Join us for the September Saunter! Holy Hikes Northern Indiana returns to Tippecanoe River State Park on Saturday, September 18 for an easy 1.2 mile walk featuring prayers and meditations from Celtic Daily Prayer. Follow signs from the park entrance towards Tepicon Hall. We'll meet at 10 a.m. (EDT) in the parking lot at Trail 8 (Bluestem Trail). Anyone wishing to walk longer is invited to join us for a riverside hike down Trail 5. Bring bug spray
|
|
United Thank Offering (UTO)
2022 Annual Grants
Applications Due: January 21, 2022
The United Thank Offering (UTO) Board is pleased to announce the availability of their 2022 UTO Annual Grants. These grants are awarded for projects in The Episcopal Church and throughout the Anglican Communion, each year with a different focus. Applications are due via email to the Diocesan office by January 21, 2022.
For 2022, the focus is Care of Creation: Turning love into action by caring for God’s creation to protect the most vulnerable — who will bear the largest burden of pollution and climate change — through justice, advocacy, environmental reparations, and the development of formational materials.
The United Thank Offering was founded to support innovative mission and ministry in The Episcopal Church and to promote thankfulness and mission in the whole church. One hundred percent of UTO thank offerings are granted the following year. These awards have supported everything from staff positions to conferences, creation of educational resources, and building projects.
Application information and forms are available here. Please note: The application deadline is earlier this year due to General Convention and Executive Council schedules.
|
|
Interested in applying for a United Thank Offering grant? Join UTO on September 21, 7/6 p.m. (EDT/CDT) for an information webinar on the 2022 focus of Creation Care. The Rev. Melanie Mullen will be the facilitator. |
|
Attention Knitters, Crocheters, and Crafters |
|
Would you like to have your crocheting or knitting projects help a mariner celebrate Christmas while away from their loved ones?
Join us to meet Joanne Bartosik, Senior Manager of Development and Christmas at Sea, who is giving an overview of the Christmas at Sea volunteer knitting/crocheting program on Wednesday, September 15, at 12:00 noon Eastern via Zoom, hosted by the Diocese of Northern Indiana. Everybody interested in learning more about Christmas at Sea, or making items for the program, is invited to join us. Register here.
The program is part of The Seamen’s Church Institute (SCI), affiliated with the Episcopal Church, which began in 1834 with concerned citizens—people who saw a need and worked to meet it. Fostering relationships between mariners, shipping companies, and international governments, SCI’s staff and volunteers effect change in our complex world. Through ministries of chaplaincy, education, advocacy, and its volunteer knitting/crocheting program, SCI supports seafarers with what they need to make a difference in their lives and the world.
Today, men and women of the maritime industry improve our lives with the sacrifices they make to deliver goods from around the world to our homes and workplaces. As they have for centuries, hazards and difficulties remain characteristic to the mariner’s unique work and way of life. We do not act alone. SCI relies on and deeply values the support of faith-based communities who make our mission possible.
|
|
Missioner Michelle Walker Diocesan Sabbatical
Greetings Diocese.
It is with great pleasure that I share my eligibility for Diocesan sabbatical. As you know, time for renewal and refreshment is important to each of us. I am blessed and excited for this first sabbatical experience, even as I continue my half-time responsibilities as Priest in Charge at St. Paul's in LaPorte!
In an effort to work my sabbatical time around the needs of the Diocese, the time will be broken into 3 separate periods: September 19 - October 23, 2021 (plus one week of previously scheduled continuing education); January 16 - February 19, 2022 (plus one week of vacation); and June 5 - July 9, 2022 (plus one week of vacation). Please do your best to either reach out to me prior to September 18th with any needs for this first sabbatical period. Thank you in advance for your prayers and your understanding.
Blessings,
Missioner Michelle Walker
|
|
The Rev. Matthew Cowden candidate for Bishop Coadjutor in West Virginia
As was previously announced, The Rev. Matthew Cowden, rector of Saint Michael and All Angles (South Bend) is a candidate for Bishop Coadjutor in the Diocese of West Virginia. Please continue to pray for Matthew and Melissa and their family throughout this discernment process. Please also continue to pray for the people of Saint Michael and All Angels as well as all involved in this process of discernment and election in the Diocese of West Virginia. The Electing Convention is scheduled for September 25, 2021.
|
|
Installation of The Rev. Nathaniel Warne, PhD
Date: September 28
Time: 6:30 p.m. (EDT)
Where: St. Paul's Episcopal Church (Mishawaka)
|
|
Fall Clergy Retreat
Date: October 4-6
Where: Lindenwood Retreat Center (Donaldson)
All EDNIN clergy are invited to join us for our Fall Clergy Retreat! The Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, former presiding bishop of The Episcopal Church will be our facilitator. Check-in begins at 3 p.m. Monday; wrap up after Eucharist/Lunch Wednesday. Our retreat will be focused around the theme "how can our shared grief and lament become a source of hope."
|
|
St. Margaret's House
Kathryn A. Schneider Endowment Fund
|
|
St. Margaret's House 30+1 Anniversary Celebration, Dinner & Auction
Date: September 23
Time: 6/5 p.m. (EDT/CDT)
Where: Gillespie Conference Center/Hilton Garden Inn (South Bend)
Please join us in celebrating 30+1 years of opening doors to our community! This exciting evening will also honor our outgoing Executive Director, Kathy Schneider, for her 30 years of service as she begins her retirement. We will also welcome our next Executive Director, Katie Elliot, who will lead us into the future.
St. Margaret's House works hard everyday to support women and children living in economic poverty by providing individual attention to their immediate needs, breaking the bonds of isolation and helping them acquire skills to better their lives. We believe that each woman is talented and gifted and deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. It is our vision that by fostering healthy, positive relationships in a safe space, along with the services and programs needed, we help women take their next best step forward. We believe by building this sense of community, all of our lives are changed for the better. Click here to learn more.
|
|
Kathryn A. Schneider Endowment Fund
After 30 years of dedicated care and service to the guests and staff of St. Margaret’s House, Kathy Schneider recently announced her retirement, effective October 2021. During her tenure, Kathy has fully embodied St. Margaret’s House’s mission to provide loving hospitality to women and children in need, creating community and changing lives. Because of Kathy’s leadership, St. Margaret’s House is a shining light in the community of greater South Bend, allowing staff and volunteers to provide a place of respite; to supply women and children with food, clothing, laundry and showers; and to offer programming that helps women work toward their own success.
With gratitude for Kathy’s work, the staff and board of St. Margaret’s House have established the Kathryn A. Schneider Endowment Fund. The purpose of this fund is to provide ongoing staff enrichment opportunities, as well as to hire a summer intern annually. The endowment matches your gift dollar for dollar, resulting in a sustainable stream of income to ensure the mission of St. Margaret’s House will be fulfilled in the years to come. Contribution to this fund helps St. Margaret’s House to welcome the stranger, feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, tend the sick, and free the imprisoned from the bonds of poverty. (Matthew 25)
|
|
Fall Youth Retreat
Date: Friday, October 29 at 7 p.m. - Sunday, October 31 at 11 a.m. (EDT)
Where: Wawasee Episcopal Center (Syracuse)
Cost: $10 per person
All Jr./Sr. high students (6th-12th grades), are invited to attend a retreat at the Wawasee Episcopal Center. The Fall Youth Retreat will be a time to share how God is working in your life, as well as activities and time for fellowship.
|
|
Recovery Ministries of The Episcopal Church |
|
Have you, someone you love, or someone in your congregation been affected by alcohol or drug abuse? Do you need support with understanding what addiction looks like and how to help? Would you like to be part of the solution in offering the grace and love of Jesus Christ to these lost sheep?
Recovery Ministries of the Episcopal Church is a nationwide network of laity and clergy, dioceses and parishes, schools and other institutions with a common commitment to address the use and misuse of alcohol and other drugs in relation to the church’s mission. In the words of Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, “In connecting our brothers and sisters with spiritual resources, in welcoming members of 12-step programs into an Episcopal faith community, and in strengthening Episcopalians in recovery to proclaim the Gospel in the world, they are bearing witness to the God who, Scripture tells us, heals the afflicted again and again. In helping people facing addiction, Recovery Ministries allows those same people to carry their recovery into the Church and to raise awareness among clergy and leaders about the disease of addiction and the redemption and grace found in recovery.”
Are you interested in participating in this new and vital ministry? The Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana is forming a group of concerned clergy and laity who would like to be on a commission to begin the process of joining the national group and offering support and resources here in this diocese. All anonymity will be respected. Please contact Sister Debbi Rhodes at sisterdebbi.abbeymmr@gmail.com to express your interest or to learn more .
|
|
123rd Diocesan Convention
Sat. November 13, 2021
|
|
At this time we are planning for a hybrid convention with in-person meetings in each deanery that will Zoom together for a full convention. The deanery locations are:
Western – St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 505 Bullseye Lake Rd., Valparaiso
Central – St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church, 226 W. Lexington Ave., Elkhart
Eastern – St. Anne’s Episcopal Church, 424 W. Market St., Warsaw
We are excited to try this hybrid approach. We appreciate your flexibility and patience as we strive to offer our best event amidst the constantly changing pandemic environment.
Deanery Meetings, typically held in October, will be announced once they have been scheduled by the Deans.
|
|
Episcopal Public Policy Network |
|
Action Alerts
The Episcopal Church Office of Government Relations (OGR) identifies opportunities for Episcopalians to participate in our democracy. If there is a topic below that you are passionate about, please click the link and send a message to your members of Congress.
-
Support Efforts to End COVID-19 Pandemic Globally - The Delta variant of COVID-19 continues to spread at alarming rates both here at home and around the world. As a result, many countries are experiencing increased cases of COVID-19, and death rates are mounting again. At the same time, billions of people in low- and middle-income countries lack access to lifesaving COVID-19 vaccines while countries like the U.S. have extra doses of these vaccines. The rapid spread and mutation of deadly variants remind us we must take necessary actions to save lives and decrease opportunities for new and dangerous mutations and future outbreaks.
|
|
Congress Weekly
Date: Thursdays
Time: 1-1:30 p.m. (ET)
Congress Weekly is a fast-paced, 30-minute conversation about the policies and legislation we are advocating for. They take place weekly on Thursdays from 1:00-1:30pm ET. Registration is required. If you already registered for one of the first six sessions, you MUST register again using this link.
|
|
If you have not previously visited EDNIN Virtual Worship on Facebook, please do so and join us live throughout the day as you are available or go back when you have free time to watch the recorded videos. |
|
News and Events from Around Province V |
|
Save the Date! Big Provincial Gathering
Date: April 29-30, 2022
Location: South Bend, Ind.
Watch for more details here.
|
|
'Wild Church' in Northern Michigan invites spiritual...
UP Wild Church, a ministry of the Diocese of Northern Michigan, brings people of all ages and backgrounds into the woods of the Upper Peninsula, or UP, for spiritual experiences. As it enters its third year, it is...
Read more
www.episcopalnewsservice.org
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wisconsin dioceses to formalize collaboration plans as...
The Episcopal Church's three dioceses in Wisconsin announced Aug. 18 that they are launching a formal process "to explore ways to deepen cooperation and coordination" among the dioceses. It's the latest example of...
Read more
www.episcopalnewsservice.org
|
|
|
|
|
|
Beloved Community grant allows for expansion of...
Last summer, in the wake of protests over the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, Will Bouvel and Jen Holt Enriquez enrolled in an online class about talking with children about racism. The class was...
Read more
www.episcopalnewsservice.org
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bishop Chilton Knudsen called as Chicago's assisting bishop
Bishop Chilton Knudsen called as Chicago's assisting bishop. The Diocese of Chicago Standing Committee announced that it had called Bishop Chilton Knudsen back to the diocese to serve as assisting bishop, beginning in early...
Read more
www.episcopalnewsservice.org
|
|
|
|
|
|
News from Across The Episcopal Church |
|
EMM seeks churchwide support to provide warm welcome to...
The Episcopal Church has launched a fundraising campaign to support Episcopal Migration Ministries as it and other refugee resettlement agencies prepare to welcome and assist thousands of Afghans who fled their home...
Read more
www.episcopalnewsservice.org
|
|
|
|
|
COVID-19 vaccine mandates spread across The Episcopal Church
COVID-19 vaccination mandates are gaining steam across The Episcopal Church, with two dioceses now requiring vaccination for all clergy and staff, and others issuing similar requirements as the delta variant spreads...
Read more
www.episcopalnewsservice.org
|
|
|
|
|
Episcopal clergy entertain and evangelize in the virtual ...
TikTok, the video editing and streaming app on which mostly millennials and Generation Z share funny dance challenges, viral moments and memes, might be the last place you'd expect to find a 45-year-old priest...
Read more
www.episcopalnewsservice.org
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tennessee youth group finds a pandemic-safe mission...
An Episcopal youth group in Tennessee has made the most of pandemic-related limits on indoor gatherings and travel by helping to repair homes in their city.
Read more
www.episcopalnewsservice.org
|
|
|
|
|
Long-standing partnerships helped Episcopalians quickly...
In the 12 days since a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti on Aug. 14, and the subsequent drenching rains of Tropical Storm Grace, Episcopalians there and their ministry partners across The Episcopal Church continue to...
Read more
www.episcopalnewsservice.org
|
|
|
|
|
Episcopalians among those arrested in Poor People's...
Several Episcopal clergy and lay leaders were among more than 200 demonstrators who were arrested and detained Aug. 2 in Washington, D.C., while rallying with the Poor People's Campaign in favor of legislation that would...
Read more
www.episcopalnewsservice.org
|
|
|
|
|
|
New Jersey Bishop Chip Stokes announces plans to retire...
The Rt. Rev. William H. "Chip" Stokes, the 12th bishop of New Jersey, announcing Sept 2 his intent to retire in June 2023 and called for the election of his successor. The Diocese of New Jersey has created a web page with...
Read more
www.episcopalnewsservice.org
|
|
|
|
|
Diocese of Albany calls Michael Smith as assisting...
Diocese of Albany calls Michael Smith as assisting bishop during transition. Bishop Michael G. Smith has accepted a call from the Standing Committee of the Diocese of Albany to serve as assisting bishop during the interim...
Read more
www.episcopalnewsservice.org
|
|
|
|
|
How 'Lift Every Voice and Sing' went from a little-known ...
As the song known as the "Black national anthem" achieves wider recognition in the United States, its significance is also being celebrated in The Episcopal Church.
Read more
www.episcopalnewsservice.org
|
|
|
|
|
|
COVID-19 Vaccinations
Anyone age 12 and older may now schedule a COVID-19 vaccination appointment. Click here to register or call 211 (866-211-9966) if you do not have access to a computer or need assistance. Walk-in appointments are also accepted at most vaccination sites.
|
|
Please email any events, articles, or notifications to be included in the next monthly enewsletter to Canon Christopher Hillak, Missioner for Digital Communications
by September 25. Thank you!
|
|
The Episcopal Diocese
of Northern Indiana
117 N. Lafayette Blvd.
South Bend, IN 46601
(574) 233-6489
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
