Anti-Racism Training to Be Offered at Diocesan Convention

Sept. 3, 2015

Anti-racism training to be offered at Diocesan Convention

A five-part series of workshops, plus the annual Tocher Lecture, will form the latest offering in anti-racism training by the diocese. These sessions will be offered in conjunction with Diocesan Convention by the Rev. William Kondrath, Ph.D., a gifted educator who has extensive experience in the field of anti-racism and multiculturalism.

The sessions will take place in Topeka at these times and places:

· Thursday, Oct. 22: two workshops – 10 a.m. to noon and 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. – at the Capitol Plaza Hotel, 1717 SW Topeka Blvd.

· Thursday, Oct. 22: the Tocher Lecture – 7-9 p.m., at St. David’s Church, 3916 SW 17th St.

· Friday, Oct. 23: two workshops – 2:30 to 3:45 p.m. and 4 to 5:15 p.m. – at the Capitol Plaza Hotel

A participant must attend all five sessions to meet the requirement for training.

This will be the first in an ongoing series of anti-racism training workshops being offered by the diocese, through the work of the Bishop Kemper School for Ministry.

In a letter being sent this week to all clergy and wardens, Bishop Dean Wolfe has clarified who in the diocese needs to receive anti-racism training within the next three years:

· all priests and deacons

· all members of the Council of Trustees

· all members of the diocesan staff

· all senior and junior wardens of all congregations

· all Vestry members

· all full-time and part-time church employees

· all persons in the ordination process

To sign up:

· Clergy and convention delegates may sign-up when they register for convention: https://edok.formstack.com/forms/diocesanconvention15

· Those who are not delegates to Diocesan Convention can register for this training online at https://edok.formstack.com/forms/anti_racism_training

Those with questions about the process of signing up may contact Convention Coordinator Michele Moss at , (785) 235-9255 or (800) 473-3563.

Pre-convention meetings are planned in each convocation

Clergy and lay delegates to Diocesan Convention will gather in pre-convention convocation meetings set for Saturdays in September:

· Northeast Convocation: Saturday, Sept. 19, 9:30 a.m., Trinity Church, 1027 Vermont Street, Lawrence

· Northwest Convocation: Saturday, Sept. 19, 1 p.m., Grace Cathedral, 701 SW 8th Ave., Topeka

· Southeast Convocation: Saturday, Sept. 26, 10 a.m., St. John’s Church, 1801 Corning, Parsons

· Southwest Convocation: Saturday, Sept. 26, 2 p.m., Trinity Church, 400 W. Ash, El Dorado

Before the meetings, lay delegates and clergy will receive by mail this year’s convention book, which includes information about nominees for elective office, as well as line item and narrative versions of the proposed mission plan for 2016.

After it is mailed, the convention book also will be available through the convention webpage, http://www.episcopal-ks.org/life/convention.php, both in a flip-book format for viewing, and a PDF for download to tablets or smartphones.

Deadline to register for Diocesan Convention is Sept. 25

All lay delegates and clergy need to register for Diocesan Convention before the deadline of Sept. 25.

This year all convention registrations are online; the registration form is available at https://edok.formstack.com/forms/diocesanconvention15.

The registration form asks those attending to select from a variety of workshops on Friday afternoon. A list of workshops being offered is available at http://www.episcopal-ks.org/life/documents/Conv-workshop-day.pdf.

Space is still available in the convention Exhibit Hall

Does your church want to promote a special ministry to those attending Diocesan Convention? Do you have information that’s important to share with those who are there? If so, how about reserving a table in the Exhibit Hall?

Each exhibit area is 8-by-10 feet and includes one 6-foot-by 30-inch skirted table and two chairs.

More information is on the registration form: http://www.episcopal-ks.org/life/documents/Conv-exhibitor-form.pdf.

The deadline to sign up is Sept. 25. Questions? Contact Convention Coordinator Michele Moss at , (785) 235-9255 or (800) 473-3563.

Ministry school sponsors event for KSM and BKSM alumni

The Bishop Kemper School for Ministry Alumni/ae Association invites all graduates of the Kansas School of Ministry, as well as those who have completed BKSM, to attend the group’s inaugural Fall Gathering, which takes place Sept. 12-13 in conjunction with the annual BKSM Convocation. This year's convocation speaker is Bishop Dean Wolfe.

Join friends old and new in lunch with current students, a little continuing education on stewardship, and an alumni/ae colloquium to share experiences about life in ministry.

The Gathering will be at Upton Hall Conference Center in Topeka, adjacent to the cathedral and the diocesan office.

The schedule and a link to register are on the BKSM website at http://www.bishopkemperschool.org/2015-alumniae-fall-gathering.html.

Campus ministry parish partnership grant applications are due Sept. 18

The Campus Ministry Council announces its bi-annual call for parish-partner campus ministry grants. The maximum grant amounts (per site) are set each semester by the Campus Missioner, based on prior grant utilization and available resources.

The grant application deadline is Sept. 18, with awards announced Sept. 30.

The grant application process begins with the submission of a draft proposal to the Campus Missioner, who can help you finalize your application as well as help guide your application through the review process toward a timely answer. The application is online at http://edokcampusministry.wordpress.com/parish-partner-grants/

The Campus Ministry Council seeks to distribute funds among a broad range of campus ministry programs to both help start up new and novel programs as well as offer supplemental support to successful existing programs as funding is available.

Questions? Contact Campus Missioner the Rev. Stephanie Jenkins at or (785) 766-7435.

St. Paul’s, Clay Center, offers a service of repentance on Sept. 20

St. Paul’s, Clay Center, invites all who are interested to join them in a Service of Repentance, Healing and Reconciliation on Sunday, Sept. 20 at 3 p.m. at the church, 1010 Sixth Street in Clay Center.

The service will pay tribute and give voice to Mai DeKonza, the only African-American member in the church’s history. She died in 1959 and was buried in an unmarked grave. Confirmed in 1900, she was “tolerated but not accepted” by fellow members, according to parish histories.

The church’s desire in this service is to make reparations for their failure to care for her as a beloved child of God.

After the service there will be a procession to the Greenwood Cemetery for prayers at a newly installed headstone on her grave.

St. John’s, Wichita to begin Spanish service on Sept. 27

St. John’s, Wichita, will begin offering a new Spanish service on Sunday, Sept. 27 at 1 p.m. at the church, 402 North Topeka Street. Leading the service will be the Rev. Elizabeth Montes, chaplain at St. Francis Community Services in Wichita.

The Rev. Earl Mahan, rector at St. John’s, and other interested members of St. John’s are working with Montes to get this new Hispanic ministry up and running.

Mahan said he welcomes the prayers of everyone in the diocese for this new venture.

Author to speak at Trinity, Lawrence, on Oct. 3

Linda Robinson, an author, nurse, midwife and missioner to Africa, will speak at Trinity, Lawrence on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 2 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. The church is located at 1027 Vermont Street.

Robinson will provide insights based on her new book, Sunday Morning, Shamwana – A Midwife’s Letters from the Field.

The native of Bar Harbor, Maine, Robinson served as a nurse-midwife in the remote village of Shamwana in the Democratic Republic of the Congo through the organization Doctors without Borders.

Safe Church training offered in Parsons in November

St. John’s, Parsons, is hosting Safe Church training on Saturday, Nov. 21 at the church, 1801 Corning in Parsons.

A session of Safeguarding God’s Children will take place from 10 a.m. to noon, and Safeguarding God’s People will be from 1 to 3 p.m.

The Rev. Sharon Billman will be the trainer. To register, or if you have questions, contact her at , (620) 421-5561 or (620) 778-5561.

Leadership Center provides no-cost training in Wichita through financial grant

Interested members of the diocese are encouraged to register for a three-day leadership course being offered by Kansas Leadership Center of Wichita.

Through a grant to Episcopal Social Services of Wichita, the $300 registration fee is waived for those who are part of the Diocese of Kansas.

The course, entitled “You, Lead. Now,” is designed to give participants knowledge to create change within an organization; skills to intervene to help teams or small groups make progress; and insight into each person’s own opportunity to make a difference through leadership.

The final two sessions take place Oct. 12-14, with a registration deadline of Sept. 21; and Nov 16-18, with a registration deadline of Oct. 26.

Registration is online at www.kansasleadershipcenter.org/youleadnow. The code to take advantage of the fee waiver is SWEPISCOPAL2015.

BKSM co-sponsors workshop on the Gospel of Luke in Lindsborg

The Bishop Kemper School for Ministry, the Bethany College Religion Department and the Bethany House of Studies are co-sponsoring a workshop entitled “Preaching the Gospel of Luke” on Thursday, Sept. 17 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kan., near McPherson.

Presenters will offer information and perspectives on the gospel of Luke that are intended to assist both those who deliver sermons and those who faithfully listen to and heed the gospel message.

Three of the presenters currently are faculty members at BKSM.

This workshop costs $30 per person. For more information or to register, go to http://www.bishopkemperschool.org/workshop-on-preaching-luke.html

Episcopal bishops to teach free online course on gun violence

Bishop Eugene Sutton of Maryland and Bishop Ian Douglas of Connecticut, both outspoken advocates of deterring gun violence, will teach an online course on a practical response to gun violence.

The course, which is open to everyone, is a series of video lectures and discussions. It can be taken anytime between Sept. 14 and 28. It will take most people about 45 minutes to complete.

The course is offered through ChurchNext, an online platform to help people learn more about their faith.

For more information or to register, go to https://www.churchnext.tv/school/catalog/course/a-christian-response-to-gun-violence-with-eugene-sutton/.

Resources for congregations, including downloadable posters, bulletin inserts and a Launch Guide, are online at https://churchnextblog.wordpress.com/the-big-class/.

Throughout the free course, participants are encouraged to ponder and discuss what it means to live faithfully in a society racked with gun violence. “This course is not about repealing the Second Amendment,” Bishop Sutton said. “It’s about examining the roots, causes, reality and our response to our increasingly violent and tragic age, and offering ways for Christians to take action.”

The course is free to all thanks to the support of co-sponsors Bishops United Against Gun Violence, the Episcopal Peace Fellowship, the Episcopal Church, the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland and the Episcopal Church in Connecticut.

Young adults invited to apply for racial reconciliation pilgrimage to Ferguson

A new pilgrimage to Ferguson, Mo., aimed at encouraging young adults to engage in racial reconciliation is being offered by the Episcopal Church, through its Offices of Racial Reconciliation and Young Adult and Campus Ministry.

The event is co-sponsored with the Union of Black Episcopalians and co-hosted by the by the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri.

The event is designed for young adults 18 to 30 and will take place Oct. 8-12.

While major funding has been provided through a Constable Grant, registration is $500 per participant. Scholarships are available.

The deadline to apply is Sept. 11. An application, and more information, is online at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/page/ferguson-pilgrimage-2015 . Space is limited.

Applicants must be nominated by an adult from his or her community or diocese, such as a priest, bishop, supervisor, etc.

New Vestry Resource Guide is available; sale price ends Sept. 30

The newly revised “Vestry Resource Guide” from the Episcopal Church Foundation can be purchased for a special price of $12 per copy when ordered through Forward Movement, but only until Sept. 30

The book focuses on the importance of lay and clergy leadership teams and provides comprehensive information and advice about the ministry of the Vestry, leading faith communities, stewardship, and navigating clergy transitions.

The book is available in both English and Spanish, in print and as an e-book. It can be ordered online at http://www.forwardmovement.org/Products/1951/the-vestry-resource-guide.aspx.

Starting Oct. 1, the cost will be $15 from all sources.

Episcopal Church Foundation announces September webinars

Three upcoming online seminars might give your congregation just the information it needs on a variety of important topics:

· Vestries: The Next Six Months. Sept. 10, 6-7 p.m. Central time. Provides an overview of free resources in annual stewardship, nomination and election of Vestry members, annual meetings, Vestry orientations, and the first Vestry retreat. http://www.episcopalfoundation.org/calendar/event/80/vestries-the-next-six-months

· Blessings and Struggles of Scrappy Church Ministry. Sept. 22, 6-7 p.m. Central time. “Scrappy churches" have a spirit of resilience in the face of great adversity. In this webinar, the Rev. Nancy Frausto celebrates this ministry. http://www.episcopalfoundation.org/calendar/event/81/blessings-and-struggles-of-scrappy-church-ministry

· Basics of a Capital Campaign. Sept. 23, 6-7 p.m. Central time. A step-by-step overview of the capital campaign methodology that has led hundreds of Episcopal congregations to raise money effectively, build new leaders and improve communications. http://www.episcopalfoundation.org/calendar/event/capital-campaigns/75/basics-of-a-capital-campaign

Workshop to help clergy use family systems to ease church anxiety

The Lombard Mennonite Peace Center is sponsoring a workshop on Oct. 14 in Dallas to help church leaders understand issues around anxiety in the church.

Entitled “Leadership and Anxiety in the Church: A Family Systems Perspective,” the one-day workshop looks at the challenge presented by the rising levels of anxiety being experienced in churches today, as well as the role that self-differentiated leadership can play in calming such anxiety.

More information is online at http://files.ctctcdn.com/aec9efe1301/347e26a1-52e0-4e05-8827-c60b17e2dbed.pdf.