Convocation Newsletter
March 19, 2021
Our Monthly Newsletter for Members and
Friends of the Convocation of Episcopal
Churches in Europe
Comments? Submissions? news@tec-europe.org
In this issue:
Becoming Beloved Community: Color Me Human Online Course
Climate and Creation Care: Zero Waste Lent, Earth Day 2021
Listening for God's Call Together: Last of Lent Sur La Table
Episcopal Education: EFM Open Course Session Available and Registration open for On-line Seminary Courses.
One Year Later
Bountiful God, source of the greatest good for all of us:
Guide us in the right direction towards a better future for your creation.
Help us to overcome our own limitations during this pandemic,
and grant us steadfast love to look after each other. Give us humbleness of heart
to accept that without you we cannot be real stewards of your creation.

Show us ways to spread the gospel that will touch hearts and change minds
for a better tomorrow for all humanity, the preservation of every creature,
and the planet. In the name of your beloved Son, we ask it. Amen.

Pray with us in the 2021 Convocation Cycle of Prayer   available here
Color Me Human: Becoming Beloved Community
A Transformational Six-Week On-line Program: to better equip all of us to Work for Equality, Dignity, Inclusion, and Racial Justice
The American Cathedral in Paris and the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe are pleased to offer our communities Color Me Human: Race, Reconciliation and Beloved Community, a transformational six-week program to better equip all of us to work for equality, dignity, inclusion, and racial justice.

Kathleen Dameron, a Paris-based coach and consultant with decades of experience in both the United States and Europe, will lead the program for up to 24 participants. The format of six weekly ZOOM sessions on Monday evenings from 7 to 10pm will include:
  • The history of the Church in response to race, both negative and positive 
  • A questionnaire enabling participants to assess their own position on the spectrum of racism
  • Conversation about the results of the questionnaire
  • Prayer, meditation, relaxation, healing
  • Reading, journaling with, and discussing the book Me and White Supremacy
  • Discussion in break-out groups of two or three
  • Access to a private, online, community platform of curated resources and an in-network chat facility
  • A follow-up session in September to talk about how the learning and intentions worked over the summer for each participant

This program is for you if you feel any or all of these:
  • You want to commit to support healing from the hierarchy of races.
  • You want to learn how to talk about race and racism with those around you in a safe, constructive way.
  • You want to heal racial trauma within yourself.
  • You are ready to detox, decondition and decolonize your mind after 500 years of systemic racism.

The course will run on Monday evenings 7-10pm (19-22h00), beginning on April 5 and ending on May 24, with a break for the spring school holidays.

There is no charge for this program, though you will need to buy the book Me and White Supremacy: How to Recognize Your Privilege, Combat Racism and Change the World, by Layla F. Saad.
(The book only: the guided journal is optional.) Kathleen suggests that you order it from here https://www.meandwhitesupremacybook.com but you may find other vendors easier to use in Europe. 

Contact Marti Demetrion to ask any questions you may have and to sign up.
“Color Me Human” - A Preview at the Cathedral Forum:
Sunday, 21 March, 10- 11a.m., In-person and via ZOOM
This Forum offers a sneak preview of a course that the Cathedral and Convocation will be running this spring called “Color Me Human: Race, Reconciliation and Beloved Community”.

The course aims to equip all of us to “detox our minds” after 500 years of systemic racism in our world and to work for equality, dignity, inclusion, and racial justice. It offers an opportunity to learn how we can talk about race and racism with those around us in a safe, constructive way. The course will be led by Kathleen Dameron, a Paris-based coach and consultant with decades of experience in both the United States and Europe.
 
Please email william.tompson@gmail.com to get your Zoom invitation.
Greening Up for Lent
Creation Care in the Convocation
These forty days provide us with a perfect time to break old habits and begin new ones. Across the Convocation, recommendations of the Convention Task Force have been put into practice in several congregations.

At Emmanuel Church in Geneva, Rector, Rev. Michael Rusk, and Anita Urassa offer weekly Zoom discussions to explore passages of scripture and the Rule of Benedict that resonate with each week’s theme. Their goal: keeping a zero waste Lent. For one family's story of finding a local shop for package-free purchases as well as connection information, click here to read the latest copy of the Emmanuel Weekly Epistle.

For members of Christ-The-King in Frankfurt, the Zero Waste Lent Challenge is underway with strength and encouragement found in weekly Friday night meetups. To take on this challenge, parishioner Monica Mueller-Roemer has put together a quick overview document. To get the the full weekly challenge calendars, click here to join our CECE grassroots network of Creation Care leaders.
Earth Day Preparations Underway
In celebration of Earth Day 2021, Climate Care leaders have prepared a delicious challenge for everyone across the Convocation. We'll be updating our website as well as sending out a very special educational article, and we wouldn't want you to miss out.


Are you ready to take one step toward connecting our eco-actions with our faith? As a sign of our communal participation, let's bake our own unleavened Agape bread!

Ingredients:
  • 1 cup/125g all-purpose flour, plus a handful for dusting
  • ⅓ cup/80mL water
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • ½ teaspoon salt

  • olive oil and salt for anointing
Method:
  1. Preheat oven to 475° F (245° C). Preheat a heavy baking sheet in the oven.
  2. Dust a clean work surface and a rolling pin with 1 teaspoon flour, or as needed. Place 1 cup of flour and the salt into a mixing bowl; pour the water and olive oil, about 1 tablespoon at a time, into the flour. Stir everything together with a fork until the dough forms a rough ball.
  3. Remove the dough to the prepared work surface, knead rapidly and firmly until smooth, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
  4. Divide the dough into four equal pieces; cut each piece in half again to get 8 pieces total. Roll each piece into a ball. Roll each piece of dough out into a pancake (5in/12cm diameter), resting, and dusting the top and rolling pin with flour as needed. The bread rounds should be very thin.
  5. Using a fork, quickly pierce each flatbread about 25 times, all over, to prevent rising. The holes should go completely through the bread. Flip the bread over, and pierce each piece another 25 times with the fork.
  6. Remove the hot baking sheet from the preheated oven, and place the rounds onto the baking sheet. Place the baking sheet onto the rack near the top of the oven, and bake for 2 minutes; turn the breads over and bake an additional 2 minutes, until the breads are lightly browned and crisp.
  7. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Lightly anoint each bread with olive oil, using a brush, and sprinkle generously with salt.

Tag us when you post your golden results on social media: we are @tec_europe on Instagram, @episcopaleurope on Twitter, or the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe page on Facebook -- and let's show the Earth what God's people can do together.
Lent Sur La Table: One Last Week
We have loved seeing the faces of our friends and church family each Thursday. We have warmly welcomed new participants, made deeper friendships, celebrated the gifts of virtual connection, and mourned our varied experiences of grief and loss from the safety of our gathering. We also have some fantastic chefs among us!

Join us on Thursday, March 25th for our final night, and be sure to share your own soup with us: send recipes to lent@tec-europe.org and we'll include them in our cookbook!
Education for Ministry
EFM Online Open Session in April
Education for Ministry (EFM) is a four-year distance learning program for adult Christian formation through theological education and reflection offered by The Beecken Center of the School of Theology at the University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee.

A seminar group of between six and twelve participants together with one or two trained mentors meet weekly over the course of 36 weeks and with the help of resource guides and reading texts, discuss and reflect on Christian tradition, Theology and Church History. Participants enroll for each one-year cycle of the four-year curriculum at a time.

The Convocation-based online group has been running continuously since 2015 and will have further
places available for new participants to join in September 2021. Enrollments will take place in early
July. The cost for each year is €200.00, plus the purchase of the required reading texts.

If you would like to experience EFM Online, you are invited to take part in an online EfM session on Tuesday 27th April, 2021 with our current European Group. The session will be one of our regular weekly online sessions beginning at 19:00, ending at 20:30 CEST.

To take part you will need to prepare by reading a short text set for that week. The session will be held on Zoom video conferencing. For information and enrollment enquiries, please click to email our Online Mentors: Kaye O’Connell or Yvonne Cockcroft.
Episcopal Educational Opportunities in the Convocation
An opportunity for Biblical and church studies
The Center for Anglican Learning and Leadership (CALL) of the Church Divinity School of the Pacific offers online courses in Biblical and Anglican studies, church history and mission to all those interested. Each course is 7 weeks, each week a separate lesson. Students from across The Episcopal Church and beyond join experienced online instructors in creating a classroom environment of respect and mutual learning. Weekly assignments are submitted, with students invited to comment, often leading to insightful discussion. Everything is done online at your own timing during the week. Continuing Education Units are offered as an option. The Convocation is recognized as a Partner in this program. Those who have taken courses have found them very interesting and a good experience.
 
It is now time to register for the Spring Term, April 12 to May 31, 2021, with the following courses offered:

·       What We Believe: Anglican Theology with Rev. Dr. John Kater

·       The Anglican Bible: Scriptural Conversation and Formation with Dr. Donn Morgan

·       The Diaconal Hermeneutic: The Deacon’s Eyes and Ears with Dr. Rod Dugliss

·       Changing Church: Mission, Leadership, and Beloved Community with Rev. Kyle Oliver

·       Introduction to Pastoral Care with Dr. Elaine Ramshaw

·       Theology of the Cross with Dr. Stephan Quarles

·       Practical Preaching in the Digital Age with Fr. Cathie Caimano 
 
The Link to CALL is here. Students from the Convocation pay the Partner rate of US$205. If you have any problems registering (because the course is full, making payment, ...), please contact Michael Rusk at rector@emmanuelchurch.ch
For God has destined us not for wrath
but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him.
Therefore encourage one another and build up each other,
as indeed you are doing.
1 Thessalonians 5:9-11
The Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe
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