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Making Disciples, Raising Up Saints & Transforming Communities for Christ
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Bishop's Book for Lent - Toxic Charity
From Bishop Barry:
Dear friends in Christ,
Grace and peace to you.
When Bishop Lloyd Allen spoke to us last November at Diocesan Convention, many people were impressed, not only with his ideas about a strategy for self-sufficiency for the Diocese of Honduras, but also with how much of what he shared was relevant to their own congregations. One of the books he recommended then promises helpful wisdom as a way to be more effective in our outreach, and also to address some of our own internal challenges as a Church. That book is "Toxic Charity" by Robert Lupton, and I am pleased to make it the Bishop's Book for this Spring. My hope is that you will read it with others in your congregation and that our common study will lead us to do some fruitful reflection together. As an aid to that work, we are again blessed to have a study guide prepared by the Rev. Anne Clarke, which I am pleased to recommend.
May the Holy Spirit guide us in this exploration, lead us into truth, and help us to apply it. I look forward to our conversations.
Yours in Christ,
+Barry
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A Guide to Reading the Bishop's Book for Lent
By the Rev. Anne Clarke, Lifelong Christian Formation Coordinator
"Toxic Charity," by Robert Lupton, is an important book for a time when, while the need in our communities is often great, the best way to go about serving others isn't always clear.
Questions posed by Lupton's book can be challenging for all of us. Despite good intentions, there are sometimes unintended consequences of dependency and conflict that arise out of one-way charity or service work.
I wrote an accompanying guide to assist individual and small groups in reading Lupton's book. I based this guide on two important aspects of engaging with our communities through service work that I believe are crucial additions to his work.
First, our congregations and our neighborhoods have histories that often involve racism and other kinds of discrimination -- histories that we're often tempted to ignore. (At times, that's with the good intention of moving beyond past harmful dynamics.) However, trying to create places that invite honest listening and reflection on these truths will better equip us to address the ways these histories continue to affect us today.
Second, there is good news that can help supplement Lupton's challenges to us. The fact that we already gather each week in Christian community to worship and to learn makes us uniquely suited to invite these kinds of difficult conversations! Lupton writes about some of the impact that faith communities can have, but I would say he only scratches the surface of the kind of transformation that can happen in and beyond our churches.
Church is a place where we are called each week to examine ourselves, to confess our sins, to hear about God's grace and forgiveness and abiding presence. Church is a place where we can listen to and be in relationship with other people. Church is a place where we can learn and be of service in our communities, growing in trust with each other and our neighbors.
I hope this book and discussion guide will be a helpful addition to the conversations about service that we are already having in our congregations, and that the conversation will continue beyond what's contained here. There is so much more wisdom to be gained in reflecting on these questions together.
Click here for the companion guide to "Toxic Charity."
Lenten Faith Formation Resources for 2017 are available to download and share with others.
Click here
for books, study guides, online resources and more to help you and your congregation observe a holy Lent.
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News & Events in our Diocese
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2017 Congregational Leadership Conferences
Registration is Now Open
The second Congregational Leadership Conference is this Saturday. There's still time to register to join Bishop Barry and learn how to strengthen your service to your church and community.
Click here for the full program this Saturday in Woodland. A service bulletin insert for your congregation is
available here.
These leadership conferences, sponsored by the Office of the Bishop, are designed for clergy, vestry members, treasurers and other program leaders in your church. Everyone is welcome to attend. There is no cost to participate - registration is required. Check in, coffee and conversation begins at 9 a.m.; the program runs from 10 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
This year there are a variety of offerings at our different regional sites, so look below to choose the program that fits you best (and you are welcome to attend more than one!)
Dates, Locations and Registration Information:
May 13 - Christ Church, Eureka - Registration information coming soon.
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Anti-Racism Training - March 11
St. Patrick's, Kenwood, is offering a day of anti-racism training led by the Rev. Lewis Sitting Panther Powell, on Saturday, March 11, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Register by
February 27 by calling the church office: 707-833-4228.
From the Rev. Marcia Tyriver: "This will be a time of small group discussions, videos, Bible study, prayer and sharing to help us better understand key concepts and wrestle with issues of power and privilege, culture, structural and institutional racism, and where God call us to be brothers and sisters in this multicultural church and culture."
For more information, see
St. Patrick's website.
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College for Congregational Development
Registration is Now Open
A two-year training program designed to build leadership skills and help clergy and laity assess their congregation's needs, focus on priorities and develop strategies for their church's growth and vitality.
2017 Training Dates and Locations
Weekend Sessions
April 28 - 30 - The Bishop's Ranch
October 27 - 29 - The Bishop's Ranch
*Check-in for the weekend training sessions begins on Friday at 9:00 a.m.
and the program begins at 10:00 a.m. The weekend sessions end on Sunday at 4:00 p.m.
Week-Long Intensive
June 11 - 16 - The Bishop's Ranch
*Participants register for both Weekend Sessions or the Week-Long Intensive
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Anita Weaver Grant
Deadline Extension - March 1
The deadline for grant applications for the Anita Weaver Funds, which were designated to help homeless indigent seniors, has been extended to
March 1.
This is a grant for one year of $15,000. If successfully completed and reported, the grantee is eligible to apply for a second-year grant of $7,500. This grant provides an opportunity to develop a longer-term program in collaboration with other congregations and/or city or county resources.
Currently, Arcata Housing Project, through St. Alban's, is in its second-year grant cycle. LEVN (Lutheran Episcopal Volunteer Network ) received its first-year grant this year for an intern to work in partnership with Next Move of Sacramento, a grassroots organization working to address the problems of homelessness in Sacramento and the adjoining region.
Grant awards will be announced April 1.
Click here to download the Request for Proposal, which contains instructions about submitting your grant application.
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Trinity Cathedral - Speakers Series - March 3
The Rev. Dr. Shauna Hannan, professor of homiletics
at the Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, Berkeley, will be the next presenter in Trinity Cathedral's Speakers Series on Friday, March 3, at 7:00 p.m.
Dr. Hannan will be speaking on the subject of "Hospitality: An Old Practice for a New Era." Considering the times we live in, this will be an important conversation for us to engage in during the season of Lent.
There will be a Q&A period from 8:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m., followed by a reception in the Great Hall. Trinity Cathedral is located at 2620 Capitol Avenue, Sacramento.
Cost is $10 (scholarships are available).
Click here for tickets.
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Episcopal Community Services New Grant Cycle -
Letters of Interest Due March 15
Episcopal Community Services is pleased to announce that it will be accepting Letters of Interest for its regular grants for social justice ministries and for its new three-year Warren Dunning Memorial Social Justice Grant.
To help congregations make successful grant applications, ECS requests that those considering applying submit an informal letter of interest. That will allow ECS to plan its grant cycle and assist congregations in the application process.
Click here for more information about submitting a letter for ECS's regular grants for social justice ministries.
Click here for more information about submitting a letter for the Warren Dunning Memorial Social Justice Grant.
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Center for Bible Study - A Study of the Apostles Creed -
Begins March 28
This course is an exploration of the Apostle's Creed, engaging and discussing each statement so as to best understand Christian theology in its traditional and contemporary expression. Taught by Dr. Patrick Oden, professor of Systematic Theology and Church History at Fuller Theological Seminary, it will be held Tuesday evenings from 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. on the seminary's Sacramento campus, 2250 Del Paso Road, Suite B. It will also be available online.
Registration is $100 before March 15; $200 after March 15.
Click here
for more information.
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Youth Ministry Symposium - Church Divinity School of the Pacific - March 18
Parents, clergy and lay leaders are invited to the fifth annual CDSP Youth Ministry Symposium with keynote speaker
Leslie A. Choplin, D.Ed.Min.
, co-author of "These Are Our Bodies: Talking Faith and Sexuality at Church and at Home," a new curriculum from Church Publishing. In addition to the keynote address, the day will include opportunities for training and certification in safe church practices according to the national Safeguarding Church practices.
Scholarship and travel funding is available from the Diocese of California, the Diocese of Northern California and Province VIII.
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News & Events B
eyond
our Diocese
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Community of St. Francis - Franciscan Spirituality - April 7-17
Join the Sisters of the Community of St. Francis for a 10-day residential immersion program to study Franciscan Spirituality and a living out of that spirituality through participation in the Sisters' life of prayer, work, ministry and community. The programs are open to any woman over 18 and there is a limit of two participants per immersion.
The program, including room and board, is free, but donations are always welcome. (St. Francis House is not wheelchair accessible.)
2017 Program Dates:
Holy Week/Easter - April 7-17
Summer - August 11-21
St. Francis Day - September 29-October 9
To register, email Sr. Pamela Clare, CSF at [email protected].
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Free Electronic Organ
Conn electronic "classical" organ, ca. 1970 vacuum tube technology, 77" wide x 40" tall x 7" deep plus pedalboard and bench. Two keyboards, 61 notes each and 32 pedals. If interested, contact Dr. Lee Lovallo, St. Andrews, Antelope, 916-320-8423 or at
[email protected]
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Share the Good News!
If you have a news story or event of interest to others in the diocese, or if you want assistance with your church or ministry communications, call Paula Schaap, Communications Director, 916-442-6918, ext. 226.
If you received this e-News from another and would like your own subscription,
click here to sign up and keep abreast of news from our diocese and beyond.
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