Clergy, Postulant, and Candidate Conversation with Presiding Bishop Michael Curry

Date: Friday, September 30

Time: 3:30-5:30 p.m. (CDT)

Where: St. Andrew's Episcopal Church (Valparaiso)

Prior to Diocesan Convention, we have scheduled a time for our clergy, postulants, and candidates to meet with the presiding bishop. This time of conversation, Q&A, and dinner will be held at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Valparaiso on Friday, September 30 from 3:30-5:30 p.m. (CDT). (Thank you to Fr. Roger and his team for their hospitality!)

If you have not already RSVP'd, please click this link and indicate if you will or will not be attending by Friday, September 9. Please also let us know if you have any dietary restrictions/food allergies.

Please note that due to COVID-19, Presiding Bishop will not be participating in a receiving line or taking selfies with attendees.

HymnSing to benefit The Absalom Jones Fund for Episcopal Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Date: Friday, September 30

Time: 7-8:30 p.m. (CDT)

Where: Harre Union Ballroom, Valparaiso University

On its website, The Smithsonian says, “Music was a solace, a community-builder, and voice for hope during enslavement and afterward, in the days of Reconstruction and then Jim Crow.”

If you have seen Presiding Bishop Michael Curry preach, you know how he often quotes the words of songs—specifically spirituals. The promotional copy for one of Presiding Bishop Michael Curry’s first books, Songs my Grandma Sang, reads, “In a conversation about his teaching and preaching style, Michael Curry notes with a laugh that hymns and songs of faith were always a part of the mix. ‘I learned what I believed in the songs I heard my family—especially my grandmother—sing. We sang our faith every day.’”

It is in this spirit that we invite you to participate in a hymn sing to kick-off our Diocesan Convention weekend with our presiding bishop. This evening will be a fundraiser with all of the money raised going to The Absalom Jones Fund for Episcopal Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Throughout the evening, we will be singing hymns, with a specific focus on songs written by non-white individuals. All are welcome and encouraged to attend.

How Does it Work?

1. $500 Donation - Ten donors making gifts of $500 or more will be able to select their favorite hymn and have it sung at the Hymn Sing. These donors can be individuals or come from a group such as a church choir or an entire faith community. Donors are encouraged to select hymns from the Lift Every Voice and Sing II Hymnal and Wonder, Love, and Praise. To submit your favorite hymn, complete this form and submit a check made out to the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana to the diocesan office at 117 N. Lafayette Blvd., South Bend, IN 46601.
2. Twitter poll - Several times a week, we will be posting a poll on the Diocesan Twitter account where you can vote on your favorite hymn. The winning hymn in each poll will be sung during the Hymn Sing.
3. Free-will Offering - During the Hymn Sing we will be taking a free-will offering to donate to The Absalom Jones Fund. You are encouraged to give generously.

Watch the video below by Presiding Bishop Michael Curry to learn more about The Absalom Jones Fund.

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry invites gifts to The Absalom Jones Fund for Episcopal HBCUs.

Please note that due to COVID-19, Presiding Bishop will not be participating in a receiving line or taking selfies with attendees.

Diocesan Convention Opening Eucharist

Date: Saturday, October 1

Time: 9-10:30 a.m. (CDT)

Where: Chapel of the Resurrection, Valparaiso University

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Douglas E. Sparks invites you to attend the opening Eucharist of our 124th Diocesan Convention. The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry, 27th Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Episcopal Church, will be our guest preacher. This is a special service you will not want to miss!

If you cannot attend in person, the service will also be live streamed on the diocesan Facebook page and YouTube channel.

Please note that due to COVID-19, Presiding Bishop will not be participating in a receiving line or taking selfies with attendees.

124th Diocesan Convention Business Meeting

Date: Saturday, October 1

Time: 11:30 a.m.-4 p.m. (CDT)

Where: Harre Union Ballroom, Valparaiso University

The schedule for the 124th Diocesan Convention Business Meeting is as follows:

Registration: 10:30-11:30 a.m. (CDT)

Lunch: 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (CDT)

Business Meeting (12:30-4 p.m. (CDT)

The business meeting will begin with Bishop Doug Sparks' address to convention followed by the rest of the convention business. Visit the Diocesan Convention webpage to review items such as draft resolutions coming before the convention, the list of nominees to fulfill diocesan volunteer positions, and the 2023 financial statement of mission.

• Guests who plan to attend the diocesan convention (10/1) luncheon and meeting (11:30 a.m.-4 p.m. (CDT) should register at the above website by clicking on the Guest Sign-up button below.
• Exhibitors who would like to have a table should register by clicking on the Exhibitor Registration button below. 

Please reach out to The Rev. Cn. Michelle Walker or Cn. Christopher Hillak if you have any questions.

Sunday Holy Eucharist with Presiding Bishop Michael Curry

Date: Saturday, October 2

Time: 9-10:30 a.m. (CDT)

Where: St. Andrew's Episcopal Church (Valparaiso)

The people of St. Andrew's (Valparaiso) invite you to join them for worship and the Holy Eucharist to close out the Diocesan Convention weekend. The Rt. Rev. Dr. Douglas E. Sparks will preside over the service and The Most Rev. Michael Curry will be preaching. This will be the last opportunity to see the presiding bishop during his visit to the diocese. If you cannot attend in person, the service will also be live streamed on the diocesan Facebook page and YouTube channel.

Please note that due to COVID-19, Presiding Bishop will not be participating in a receiving line or taking selfies with attendees.

Date: September 24

Time: 2/1 p.m. (EDT/CDT)

Where: Zoom

As you start up children and youth ministries in the fall, please verify that all of your volunteers are staff are up-to-date with their safe church training. For anyone that needs to be certified, the diocese is offering Safe Church Training (formerly known as Safeguarding Training) on Saturday, September 24 via Zoom. The session will be limited to 25 people and additional dates can be added as needed. If you have any questions regarding the safe church training, please email Cindy Spice.

Repairing a 125-year-old iconic (and leaking) bell tower, replacing decayed privacy fencing to protect children in emergency housing provided by a congregation, improving security systems to enable multiple users of church property, and transforming a parish hall into a hybrid meeting space for the community – these are brief highlights of the projects receiving capital grant funding through the Church Buildings for Collaborative Partnerships (CBCP) project.

CBCP is a project of the Episcopal Dioceses of Indianapolis and Northern Indiana, Partners for Sacred Places and Indiana Landmarks, funded by a Thriving Congregations grant from Lilly Endowment.  Congregations that complete the CBCP program are eligible to apply for a small matching grant to make an investment in their building that helps further or develop a ministry, program, or space-use partnership.

So far, two cohorts of congregations from both dioceses have completed their CBCP participation.  Twelve parishes were in Cohort 1 and fourteen were in Cohort 2.  Each Cohort has two grant application deadlines.  In the first round of funding, five Cohort 1 faith communities, including St. Paul's (LaPorte) received a total of $29,085 in grants. Read more here.

2022 Season of Creation Prayer (September 1-October 4, 2022)

Creator of All,

From your communion of love your Word went forth to create a symphony of life that sings your praise.

By your Holy Wisdom you made the Earth to bring forth a diversity of creatures who praise yo in their being. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.

You called human beings to till and keep your garden. You placed us into right relationships with each creature so that we could listen to their voices, and learn how to safeguard the conditions for life. But we turn in on ourselves and away from our co-creatures.

We close our ears to the counsel of our fellow creatures. We fail to listen to the cries of the poor and the needs of the most vulnerable. We silence the voices of those who hold the traditions that teach us to care for the Earth. We close our ears to your creative, reconciling and sustaining Word that calls to us through the Scriptures.

We lament the loss of our fellow species and their habitats that will never speak again. We grieve the loss of human cultures, along with the lives and livelihoods that have been displace or perished. Creation cries out as forests crackle, and animals alike flee the fires of injustice that we have lit by our unwillingness to listen.

In this Season of Creation, we pray that you would call to us, as from the burning bush, with the sustaining fire of your Spirit. Breathe upon us. Open our ears and move our hearts. Turn u from our inward gaze. Teach us to contemplate your creation, and listen for the voice of each creature declaring your glory. For "faith comes from hearing."

Give us hearts to listen for the good news of your promise to renew the face of the Earth. Enlighten us with the grace to follow the Way of Christ as we learn to walk lightly upon this holy ground. Fill us with the hope to quench the fires of injustice with the light of your healing love that sustains our common home.

In the name of the One who came to proclaim good news to all creation, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Learn more about The Season of Creation.

Date: October 2-November 14

Cost: $300

This course is designed for those who seek to inspire, encourage, and lead the community toward bolder proclamation of the God’s Good News by leading Evangelism Ministries. Participants will explore evangelism leadership as a contextual story-sharing process from an Anglican/Episcopal framework. In addition to reflecting together on how one recognizes God’s presence, engages and interprets the stories of God’s action throughout history, and responds to God’s invitation to live in ways that demonstrate and teach the Good News, participants will engage a variety of media and techniques aimed at equipping them to develop and lead evangelism ministries within their congregation or diocese.

• 6-week blended (synchronous and asynchronous) course
• 3 hours a week
• independent study (reading, watching, listening, and/or writing)
• online discussion (asynchronous)
• 3 required live online sessions for group learning (synchronous via Zoom) with instructor and peers (contact instructor if unable to attend)

Save the Dates

Jr./Sr. High Fall Retreat

Date: October 28, 7 p.m. - October 30, 11 a.m.

Where: Wawasee Episcopal Center

Cost: $25

Jr./Sr. High Winter Retreat

Date: January 13-15, 2023

St. Augustine's (Gary) Receives Grant from Indiana Landmarks

Nine sites significant to Indiana’s African American history are receiving restoration and rehabilitation assistance through two funds established by the late Eli Lilly chemist and preservation champion Standiford “Stan” Cox. Grants totaling more than $150,000 are being distributed from the Standiford H. Cox Fund and the Dovie Stewart Cox & Chester A. Cox Sr. Memorial Fund to sites across the state.

Receiving $14,500 to install a high-efficiency furnace, St. Augustine's Episcopal Church in Gary, part of the Calumet Episcopal Partnership, is one of the nine grant recipients! You can read the full press release here or an article in the Chicago Tribune here.

Advocating Through Churches for an End to Hunger

Date: September 10

Time: 10:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m. (EDT)

Where: Grace Episcopal Church (Fort Wayne) & Zoom

Indiana is the 11^th hungriest state in the nation according to Bread for the World Indiana, a division of the national effort Bread for the World, “a collective Christian voice urging our state and our nation's decision makers to end hunger at home and abroad”.

Saturday, September 10, Bread Indiana in conjunction with Grace Episcopal Church, 10010 Aurora Place, Fort Wayne, will offer a workshop on advocating through churches for an end to hunger.

“We are now in a time when people of faith need to speak up about issues affecting our nation, particularly our children,” said Nancy McCammon-Hansen, a local Bread volunteer and member of Grace Episcopal Church. “But there is still a concern about the ‘separation of church and state’ and this workshop will address advocacy within the faith community.”

Dr. Dick Hamm will present the workshop live at Grace and via Zoom from 10:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Hamm has served as the General Minister and President of the Christian Church-Disciples of Christ in the United States and Canada and has also served on the affiliate faculty of Christian Theological Seminary. His talk, entitled “The Theology of Advocacy”, will offer ways for churches and their members to speak out about issues and the various approaches that can be taken to do so.

There is no cost to attend the workshop but reservations are required both for in-person and Zoom attendance. A registration link can be found at https://forms.gle/i9nnPyJigyGKxfFK9 or a reservation can be made by calling 260-432-9221.

The local Bread group recently sponsored an Offering of Letters, asking members of local churches to contact their elected representatives about hunger issues. At this time, one in every six children in Indiana lives in poverty and one in seven households struggle to put food on the table. To provide for a family, an individual must earn more than $15 per hour but the minimum wage in our state is $7.75. “We are hoping to build on current efforts to expand our work both locally and state-wide with this workshop,” Hansen said.

More information can be found at www.BreadIndiana.org or on the local group’s Facebook page, Bread for the World Fort Wayne.

St. John the Evangelist Concert Series

St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church (Elkhart) is once again offering Sunday afternoon concerts beginning in September. The free concerts are held at St. John's and open to the public. A free-will offering will be taken to benefit the Pastor's Discretionary Fund. Below is information on the first two concerts.

Sunday, September 11, 2/1 p.m.(EDT/CDT)

You'll Dew performs featuring songs from the 60-70- & 80's with a little country thrown in. Artists are Steve Gerndt, Tim Cunningham, Rich Miller and Rick Schpock.

October 9, 2/1 p.m. (EDT/CDT)

The Brass Quintet from the Elkhart County Symphony Orchestra will perform a variety of musical selections. Elkhart Symphony members include Chuck Steck (trumpet 1), Mark McCready (trumpet 2), Debra Inglefield (Horn), James Grubbs (trombone) and Tracey Weirich (tuba).

Book Giveaway

Interested in learning about the history of The Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana? St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church (Elkhart) has several dozen copies of the book, Our Heritage: A History of the first seventy-five years of The Diocese of Northern Indiana that they are making available to faith communities within the diocese. If you would like a copy for your faith community, please email Pastor Teri Peterson.

Saint Michael and All Angels Welcomes Interim Rector

Saint Michael and All Angels (South Bend) welcomes The Rev. Mark Van Wasenhove as their interim rector for the next year. Fr. Mark arrived on August 1 and his first Sunday was August 7. Born and raised in Illinois, Mark received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Notre Dame, a Master of Divinity from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, and a Master of Counseling from the University of Phoenix. While a member of the Roman Catholic Congregation of Holy Cross, he was ordained as a priest in 1988. He was received as an Episcopal priest in the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona in October 2000.

Fr. Mark’s previous non-parish ministries include the Directorship of Andre House (a Homeless Shelter & Soup Kitchen), Desert Mission Food Bank, and TERROS Dual-Diagnosis Partial Hospital Program in Phoenix, AZ. His previous parish ministry includes serving as Associate Rector of St. Barnabas on the Desert (Scottsdale, AZ), as Rector of St. Matthew’s (Indianapolis, IN), and as Interim Rector of St. Andrew’s (Greencastle, IN) and St. John’s (Crawfordsville, IN).

Fr. Mark and his wife, Kimberly, reside in Indianapolis and are the happy and proud

parents of two adult children (Jacob and Claire), two dogs, two cats, and one

Madagascar Giant day gecko. His hobbies and interests include historical

modelling, photography, fountain pen collecting, backpacking, and historical fiction reading.