Miriam McKenney Shares Five ECF Resources for Healthy Churches |
Every month ECFVP offers five resources on a theme. This month we've asked Miriam McKenney, Forward Movement’s Director of Development and Mission Engagement, to choose five resources for healthy churches that resonated with her. Miriam Willard McKenney is Forward Movement’s Director of Development and Mission Engagement, and she serves on The Episcopal Church’s Way of Love working group. She’s also the Youth Minister at Calvary Episcopal Church in Cincinnati. In the Diocese of Southern Ohio, Miriam serves on the Commission on Ministry and the Becoming Beloved Community Leadership Team. She received a UTO grant from the diocese to combine radical honesty and picture books to help congregations enter into the work of racial reconciliation. Before joining Forward Movement’s staff in 2010, Miriam followed God’s call to be a librarian and was a children’s librarian and school media specialist for more than 20 years.Please find her choices below.
I know I'm not alone in thinking ECF’s work was all about finance and stewardship. Only after I got to know some of the staff who work at ECF did I learn about all of the other work they do that is so critically important to the physical and mental health of our church. Here are five resources I really appreciate as a librarian.
The ECF Vital Practices Subscribe page is the first thing you want to do if you haven’t already done it - subscribe! After you input your information, scroll down and feast your eyes on all that the site has to offer. Take your time and select from all the categories you need, from finance to diversity to small churches to racial justice. I admit to using the resources without a subscription, and wish I’d subscribed sooner! Just do it!
The Topics page is where I go to find resources on a particular subject, or when I want to browse for reading material. You’ll notice that some of these topics match up with what you could select on the subscription page. Visit this page to get a glimpse of the wide variety of resources waiting for you. Three I use frequently: discernment, diversity, and stewardship.
Did you do Mad Libs growing up? We always had them in the car when we traveled. On the Stewardship page, I found this excellent resource: All Saints’ Mad-Lib Pledge Card. I’d also use it as an evangelism card. What a wonderful way to help people get in touch with their reasons for belonging to their faith community and discern their giving.
One resource I can’t do without as a development director is the Finance Resource Guide. I was a huge fan of Funding Future Ministry, and the new Finance Resource Guide incorporates many of those concepts. It’s written for people of all financial backgrounds - including none.
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LGBTQ+ Evening Prayer September 13 |
There will be a service of Evening Prayer for the LGBTQ+ Community and our allies in the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande on Sunday, September 13, 2020 at 6:00 pm (mountain time). This gathering will be held virtually in a Zoom format. The link is below. After the liturgy has concluded everyone is invited to stay in the meeting for some virtual social time. We would love to check in and see how everyone is doing. Everyone is welcome to attend.
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Discernment:
Deep Listening for our own sacred voice to guide us
in these turbulent times
A retreat with Carolyn Metzler
We are keenly aware that we live in a time of radically disturbing change. This retreat is an invitation to look at discernment itself as a muse to guide us to wise, fearless, and embodied engagement in these unsettling and complex times.
What might be blocking us from learning new ways of seeing and understanding our current circumstances within a larger story? How do we sometimes sabotage our heart's deepest desire?
Deeper discernment skills help us to "see" in new ways which enable us not just to make clearer personal decisions but also to discover different ways of being and engaging in the world.
The interactive format for this online retreat will include guided conversations and times of silence as well as stories, poetry, music, and images.
Once registered, participants will be sent an email with some exercises created to invite deeper awareness of your personal history of discernment in preparations for your retreat experiences.
The Zoom link for the retreat will be sent the week of the retreat to those who have registered.
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Facilitator: The Rev. Carolyn Metzler, an Episcopal priest, has recently retired from being spiritual director to the Living School for Action and Contemplation. She considers herself a baby crone and lives full time in the wilderness of western New Mexico. Carolyn has led retreats on Discernment and Wilderness Spirituality in many parts of the United States.
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Dates and Times:
Friday, Sept.18, 7pm-8pm;
Sat., Sept.19, 9am-1pm;
Sun., Sept.20, 10am-12pm.
Fee: $55.00 (or whatever your circumstances allow at this time.)
Make checks out to, "Stillpoint".
Mail to: 1625 Huntley Road, Bellingham WA, 98226
OR use PayPal when you register
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Good morning! Tents to Rents is off to a great start! We have raised over $27,000 so far and are well on our way towards our goal of $59,000.
Today, spend some time imagining what it is like to be homeless. So many of the basic things that you and I take for granted become difficult, like finding sufficient food and water, sanitation, managing one’s belongings, and safety for sleeping. Things that seem small to many of use, like a new pair of shoes, are very happy events for a person experiencing homelessness.
At Camp Hope, people live in tents in a safe community. Their basic needs are met. This eases feelings of loneliness and despair, and the Mesilla Valley Community of Hope case managers guide Camp Hope residents in finding and utilizing the resources needed to solve the problems that caused homelessness. Today, please consider donating to the Tents to Rents event to help St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church move people from
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Camp Hope to stable housing. Go to tentstorents.org/ and click on St. Andrew’s Church. Or click here to learn more about Tents to Rents! Please send this message out to your social media group to help us spread the news!
Thank you!
Nancy J. McMillan, parishioner at St. Andrew’s and Member of the Tents to Rents Committee at the Mesilla Valley Community of Hope.
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News from
The Episcopal Church
& the Anglican Communion
(click on the headline to read the story)
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Episcopal Youth Event cancelled/EYEx Planning Underway
[August 25, 2020] The Episcopal Church Department of Faith Formation, in collaboration with the 2020 Episcopal Youth Event (EYE20) planning team and Episcopal Church leadership, announced today that the Episcopal Youth Event (EYE) will not be convened this triennium due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“I recognize and share the deep disappointment this holds,” said Bronwyn Clark Skov, staff officer for Youth Ministries. “During the next year, our office will focus on discerning and implementing creative and meaningful support for youth ministry ...
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Education for Ministry (EfM) Opportunities |
Education for Ministry is a four-year program of the School of Theology at the University of the South (Sewanee), although participants make commitment annually. The first year uses the Old Testament to learn about the history and context. The second year explores the New Testament. The third year looks at the history of Christianity, and the fourth year examines one’s own faith development.
The Cathedral of St. John in downtown Albuquerque will be starting an Education for Ministry (EfM) group that will meet weekly from September through May at Of course, we will be starting out meeting through Zoom this September but are looking forward to being together in person again some time during the year.
Any interested person is welcome to enroll as long as they can meet together with us when we return to our in person group. We currently have a participant who will join us each week from near Belen. For more questions including tuition and enrollment for the 2020-2021 program year, contact EfM mentor Joanne Gray at 505-450-9934 or jgray59@msn.com. Class is scheduled to start in September 2020.
The Church of the Holy Faith, Santa Fe, is organizing its first EfM group this fall 2020. The group will likely start online in the fall and switch to face-to-face when it is safe to do so. The group meets weekly for about 2 ½ hours. The actual day and time is dependent on the group wishes. The mentor at Holy Faith is Steven Berkshire, who has been involved in the program for 20 years.
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Our Lady in the Valley launched an evening Zoom discussion group called the “Weekly Word” on August 25. The Rev'd Chloe Chavez and Deborah Tischler---a national Bible Study podcaster, retreat facilitator, member of Hope in the Desert and Daughters of the King, co-host the discussion. Anyone is welcome to join us. For more information, please contact Rev'd Chavez directly at revchloe@olvepiscopalabq.org. |
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Diakoneo Magazine
August, 2020
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• Deacons respond to COVID-19
• A brave space for racial healing
• Who were the deaconesses?
Association for Episcopal Deacons
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The Rev. Dr. Jeanine Driscoll of St. Thomas of Canterbury provides guidance on:
+ Managing Anxiety
+ Managing Depression
and much more....
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Are your Brotherhood of St. Andrew Chapters or men's groups meeting with zoom? If so and if invited, Roy Benavides, roy.benavides@brothersandrew.net, and Tom Bates, thomasjbates7@gmail.com would like to join you. Roy is the BStA Province 7 President and Tom is the DRG BStA Coordinator. Thank you for your support.
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In the Loop is a publication
of the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande
6400 Coors Blvd. NW
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87120
(505)881-0636 www.dioceserg.org
In the Loop is distributed Tuesday for publication Wednesday.
The submission deadline is noon on Monday.
To submit articles for In the Loop send to:
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