Feb. 2, 2012
Lay Leadership Academy takes place Feb. 25
Lay leaders of parishes across the diocese are reminded to make their reservations for the annual Lay Leadership Academy, set for Saturday, Feb. 25 at Grace Cathedral, Topeka. The theme this year is “Beyond the red doors: equipping the church for evangelism and mission.”
The daylong event is designed for senior and junior wardens, treasurers, evangelism chairs, youth leaders and anyone involved in leadership in a congregation.
Those attending will hear from Bishop Dean Wolfe and will be able to attend workshops on a variety of topics:
· Reaching out to youth and young adults
· Gifts discernment for mission
· Introduction to Total Ministry
· Communication tools to help share the Good News
· Evangelism tools and attitudes
· Discerning and designing outreach ministries
· A roundtable discussion for parish treasurers
· A roundtable discussion for wardens
The cost to attend is $25 per person, which includes lunch, continental breakfast and all resource materials. The deadline to register is Feb. 17.
Packets of registration brochures already have been mailed to all church offices. The brochure also can be viewed in flipbook format at http://issuu.com/episcopalkansas/docs/lla2012-brochure.
A typeable PDF version is on the diocesan website at http://www.episcopal-ks.org/life/documents/LLA-brochure-typeable.pdf; just open the document, fill in the blanks, print it and mail it to the address provided.
For more information, contact Michele Moss at (800) 473-3563 or .
Parochial reports are due March 1
All parishes are reminded that the deadline to submit the required annual parochial report is March 1. Copies of the reports have been mailed to all churches.
While the report itself can be filed online (http://generalconvention.org/gc/parochial_reports), the diocesan office still needs the following items returned in hard copy:
· The completed signature page (page 1)
· The supplement page
· The directory update form
· The form listing parish delegates
· Clergy continuing education form
· A copy of the church’s directory
Questions about completing the report, in print or online, should be directed to Comptroller Jay Currie, (800) 473-3563 or .
Reminder – evangelism workshop this Saturday has MOVED
If you are registered to attend this Saturday’s workshop on “Conversational Evangelism,” please note that it now is taking place in the Great Hall of Grace Cathedral, 701 SW 8th Ave., in Topeka. This is a change in location from what was originally announced. It starts at 10 a.m.
ESS plans a “Night on the Red Carpet”
Episcopal Social Services in Wichita again this year is hosting an Academy Award-themed event to raise funds for the agency that serves the poor. ESS is an official institution of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas.
“A Night on the Red Carpet” takes place Sunday, Feb. 26 beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Abode Venue, 1330 East Douglas in Wichita, and will include watching the televised event. Tickets are $75 each or $850 for a table of 10, which includes hors d’oeuvres, cocktails, and live and silent auctions. Dress is black tie optional.
To purchase tickets see the ESS website, http://esswichita.org/norc.htm. For more information, call ESS at (316) 269-4160.
Grace Cathedral icon exhibit to be part of ecumenical arts festival
Grace Cathedral, Topeka, is joining with four other downtown churches Feb. 17-19 for a festival of the arts entitled “For the Beauty.”
The cathedral’s offering is a special exhibit, “Icons in Transformation,” that includes the works of Russian-born artist Ludmilla Pawlowska, who interprets traditional Russian icons in innovative ways in a variety of sizes and media. The exhibit has been traveling to Episcopal cathedrals in the U.S., stopping in St. Louis before Topeka and heading to Memphis when it completes its Topeka run on March 25. A local newspaper story about the exhibit is online at http://cjonline.com/life/religion/2012-01-27/churches-display-iconic-inspiration.
Other churches participating in the February arts festival are Assumption Church Mater Dei Roman Catholic Parish, First United Methodist Church, First Presbyterian Church and St. John AME Church.
More information about the festival is online at http://forthebeautytopeka.webstarts.com/.
Lenten materials available from Forward Movement, ERD
Forward Movement has a variety of Lenten resources available for use in congregations, including its 2012 booklet, “From Ashes to Hope,” and many pamphlets and other tiles. Information is available online at http://forwardmovement.org/
Episcopal Relief and Development has produced its 2012 “Lenten Meditations” in print and electronic versions. The devotional booklet focuses on how Christians can work to promote health and fight disease while preparing their own lives for healing during the Lenten season. Descriptions of the booklet, as well as ordering information, are online at http://www.er-d.org/Lent/ . The deadline to place orders for hard copies is Friday, Feb. 10, to ensure delivery by Ash Wednesday.
NEW this year: Lent Madness! Just for fun, vote for your favorite saint. Forward Movement is sponsoring a popular online competition (created by the Rev. Tim Schenck) to see which saint will win the coveted Golden Halo. Based on college basketball’s March Madness, Lent Madness pits saints head-to-head every day in Lent. Participants also can read about the lives of the saints, be inspired and laugh. Information, including links to the Lent Madness Facebook page and Twitter feed and a way to receive notices by email, is at www.lentmadness.org.
St. Thomas, Overland Park, to offer training for grief group facilitators
St. Thomas the Apostle, Overland Park, will host a training opportunity for those who head grief support groups. It is open to any diocesan groups that find a need for continuing grief work in their communities.
The training will take place May 2-4 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day and is offered by the national group, “Walking the Mourner’s Path,” http://www.mournerspath.com/.
The cost is $350 for a single student from a faith community or $250 each if multiple students attend.
The training will give participants everything they need to run structured, eight-week grief groups designed to allow participants to engage abiding grief, especially over the loss of a loved one, and connect it to ongoing meaning in their lives and faith journeys.
For more information, contact the Rev. Ben Varnum, (913) 451-0512, , or the Rev. Gar Demo, (913) 451-0512, .
Kansans among those attending the next Cursillo weekend
Fourteen people from 10 churches in the Diocese of Kansas are among those attending the Feb. 16-19 Cursillo weekend at Heartland Retreat Center in Parkville, Mo. Harriet Duff, St. Michael and All Angels, Mission, will be Lay Rector, and the Rev. Susan Terry, Campus Missioner, is the Spiritual Director.
Written notes may be sent to those attending the weekend but must arrive no later than Feb. 15. They should be sent to Lorraine Forrest, 511 NW North Shore Drive, Lake Waukomis, MO 64151.
Contact Duff at for how to donate food.
The closing celebration on Feb. 19 is open to anyone wanting to attend, and they should arrive by 2:15. A map is online at http://www.heartlandcenter.org/about/location/
Children International to host March conference for those who work with the poor
The Rev. Kelly Demo, Faith Partnerships Coordinator at Children International, shares news that the agency is hosting a gathering on March 24 for those in Kansas City-area churches who are called to work with the poor.
Entitled “The Impact of Hope: Strengthening your ministry to ‘the least of these,’” it is designed to equip people to more effectively reach and minister to the poor both locally and internationally.
It will take place Saturday, March 24 from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with registration and breakfast at 8 a.m. The location will be the Children International offices at 2000 E. Red Bridge Road in Kansas City, Mo. The cost is $30, which includes materials, continental breakfast and lunch.
The event will feature Charles R. Lane, author of Ask, Thank, Tell: Improving Stewardship Ministry in Your Congregation andDirector of the Center for Stewardship Leaders at Luther Seminary; and Joan Dougherty, Volunteer Coordinator at Rose Brooks Center, who will talk about volunteer management for outreach coordinators in churches.
For more information and to register, go tohttp://www.eventbrite.com/event/2633584121/efblike.
Questions also may be directed to Demo at
Retired California bishop to speak at St. Michael’s April 21
Bishop William Swing, who retired as bishop of California in 2006 after 26 years in that post, will offer a lecture on Saturday, April 21 from 1-3 p.m. at St. Michael and All Angels, 6630 Nall Ave., in Mission. His topic will be “Institutional and Intuitional Covenants: agreements according to the letter of the law and according to the heart’s own reason.”
Information about the lecture indicates that Bishop Swing will explore “the two most volatile challenges for the Episcopal Church in modern times,” same-sex issues and salvation through Jesus Christ alone.
Swing is president and founder of the United Religions Initiative, which he helped create in response to an invitation from the United Nations to host an interfaith service honoring the 50th anniversary of the UN charter.
More information about the event is available from St. Michael’s by calling (913) 236-8600.
St. James’, Wichita, plans second Holy Land pilgrimage in 2012
After the success of its Holy Land pilgrimage in 2011, St. James’, Wichita, plans another one for July.
There will be separate trips for adults and for high school or college-aged youth.
Adults will visit Jerusalem, the Mount of Olives, Bethlehem, Caesarea, the Sea of Galilee, Jericho and Qumran. The cost is $3,685, which includes round-trip airfare from Wichita, all accommodations, two meals a day, ground transportation in Israel and the services of an English-speaking guide.
Youth making the pilgrimage will participate in activities through the Children and Youth Summer Camp Program. They will stay in various camp-like settings as they interact with Christian youth from the Holy Land, participate in volunteer work and engage in leadership training. They also will visit many of the area’s most sacred and historic sites. The cost will be $3,500 per person.
Leading the pilgrimage again will be the Rev. Amanda Eiman, St. James’ assistant rector, and Sue Abdinnour, a parishioner who is a native of Jerusalem and whose brother operates the travel agency that is making the arrangements.
More information is available on the parish website at www.stjameswichita.org or by contacting Eiman at or (316) 683-5658 or Abdinnour at or (316) 744-8612.
Diocesan campus ministry program seeks applicants for K-State intern
Do you know any young adults who are interested in opportunities to further their vocational discernment while exercising their gifts for ministry with other young adults?
Encourage them to consider serving as one of our campus ministry interns. We’re now seeking applicants for the intern position based at the K-State Canterbury House for the 2012-2013 academic year. A position description and application can be found on the campus ministry website, www.episcopal-ks.org/campusministry.
For more information, email the Rev. Michael S. Bell at .
St. Michael’s, Mission, announces second annual juried art competition
The deadline is March 30 to enter the second annual juried art competition and exhibition sponsored by St. Michael and All Angels in Mission.
All submissions must reflect the parish’s 2011-2012 education theme of “Blessings.” $850 in cash awards will be available for the top three places.
Artists over the age of 18 may submit work, which must meet the following criteria:
· Be original work of the artist
· Be two-dimensional
· Completed in 2009 or later
· Must be wall hung
· Cannot exceed 30 pounds
More information is available online at http://www.stmaa.net/?q=content/art-exhibit
St. John’s, Wichita, to welcome three bishops during Lenten noontime series
Bishop Dean Wolfe will be one of three Episcopal bishops speaking at the 41st annual Lenten Luncheon and Speaker Series sponsored by St. John’s, Wichita.
Joining Bishop Wolfe (who speaks on March 28) will be Bishop Michael Milliken of Western Kansas (March 7) and Bishop Martin Field of West Missouri (March 21). Other speakers include diocesan Canon to the Ordinary, the Rev. Craig Loya (Feb. 29), and St. John’s priest in charge, the Rev. Earl Mahan (March 14).
The theme for this year’s series is “A Word from the Church: Times of Challenge and Possibility” and will address the difficult questions facing the church in light of the global economic crisis and ongoing wars.
Each week’s offering will begin with Noonday Prayers and worship, during which the speaker makes his presentation, followed by lunch and an informal conversation and question-and-answer time.
St. John’s is located in downtown Wichita at 402 N. Topeka St. For more information, contact the church office at (316) 262-0897.
Kansas to Kenya teams forming for summer 2012
Two mission teams for work in Kenya now are forming through the diocesan Kansas to Kenya ministry, and those interested in a life-changing experience are invited to sign up.
Travel and in-country logistics will be coordinated through Mercy and Truth Mission, a non-profit agency that has 16 years of travel experience.
Community Team, May 25-June 7. This team will work to advance the Millennium Development Goals in the following areas: health/nutrition, youth development and education, women’s rights, microfinance, business education, sanitation, and sustainable agriculture. The team also will have a close relationship with the Anglican Church of Kenya, and it also includes a safari.
The approximate cost (subject to airfare) is $3,800. Information and registration materials are available from the team leader, Joe Lake, at .
Medical team, June 8-18. This team will include physicians, nurses, physical therapists, pharmacists, nutritionists and counselors and will provide care to hundreds of patients. It also includes a safari.
The approximate cost (subject to airfare) is $4,200. Information and registration materials are available from the team leader, Diane Kruger, at .
KSM classes now accepting enrollments
Enrollment now is open for Kansas School for Ministry classes during the upcoming academic year. KSM offers one or two classes each month, based at the Bethany Place Conference Center adjacent to the diocesan offices near downtown Topeka.
According to the Rev. Andrew Grosso, KSM’s coordinator and the diocesan missioner for theological formation, students this year will fall into four categories: