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Update to ECMN's Phase 1.5

Beloved in Christ, It recent weeks, it has become increasingly clear that the longer we live with the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic, the more complex the terrain becomes. As restrictions continue to be lifted, individuals and communities are making very different decisions about how to proceed, and the level of risk with which they are comfortable.  In the midst of the uncertainty and complexity, I continue to be convinced of two things. First, it is important to to hold the line on not allowing for indoor, in person worship. Story after story continues to emerge of how churches large and small become centers of renewed outbreaks when they moved too quickly to resuming in person worship.  Secondly, the leaders local faith communities are best positioned to make decisions about the best ways to sustain their common life outside of in person, indoor worship.  That is why,  starting July 1st , we have added a provision, along with guidelines, to the ECMN Phases of Re-Gathering that allows for small, outdoor gatherings during Phase 1.5 . This provision is being made leaning into some good scientific consensus around the reduced risk of gathering in this way, provided safety precautions are in place. This does not mean that outdoor gatherings are without risk. There are many who lead and attend faith communities who will not and should not be expected to expose themselves to this risk. Each faith community is encouraged to be mindful of this reality, particularly if they determine to gather for outdoor activities or worship. Jesus’ way of love continues to look like the way of an abundance of caution, and erring on the side of being too careful.  Please know that it is not my expectation that you begin to gather or outdoors, but merely that it is now an option for those who feel this is in the best interest of your community. As your Bishop, I support the good and healthy discernment that each individual and each faith community will need to do in order to determine if this is right for them. We trust you as leaders of your faith communities to make decisions that are right for you and your community based on the guidelines, resources and best practices outlined in this plan. As you have questions or need any assistance at all, please do not hesitate to contact me. I remain ever grateful for the resilience and creativity that continues to be shown around ECMN. To summarize these changes to Phase 1.5:  Provision added to allow for small, outdoor gatherings beginning July 1st. We are still not gathering in our buildings at this time. We will be continuing to look at the health benchmarks outlined in the ECMN Re-Gathering Plan in order to determine when we will enter into Phase 2. We imagine that we will be looking at this data county by county, which will mean there will likely be some variability as to when this occurs. We are forming a Building Use Task Force to help field questions and provide recommendations for faith communities. As we move forward, I am looking to be less regulatory in my leadership style in ECMN. We will continue to provide guidelines and recommendations, and we trust you to use your discretion in determining the best and most appropriate ways to live out that guidance in your context. 

Updated Phases of Re-Gathering Plan

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The Right Reverend Craig Loya X Bishop Episcopal Church in Minnesota

Outdoor Gatherings Added to Phase 1.5 Please find a NEWLY UPDATED ECMN Phases of Re-Gathering Plan that includes the new provision for outdoor gatherings, along with an updated appendix with specific guidelines and considerations to be used when planning gatherings. Click here to review the newly updated ECMN Phases of Regathering Plan. Leading Beyond the Blizzard Today at 2pm at the Leading Beyond the Blizzard Gathering, Bishop Loya will be providing a bit more framing for this new provision, and there will be time to gather in small groups to discuss how you in your faith community might begin the discernment process around if and how you might gather outdoors. Click here to register if you haven't already! PLEASE NOTE : this gathering will include a RECORDED presentation by Bishop Loya, and will end promptly at 2:30pm. June 23rd will feature 5 separate Ordination services that will be livestreamed on the ECMN Facebook Page, so ending promptly will ensure we can all tune into the ordination of Chris Boehm Carlson beginning at 2:30pm. 

Ordination

Ordinations Live-streamed June 23, 24, & 30 Because of the ongoing pandemic, each candidate will be ordained individually, with services live-streamed on the  ECMN facebook page  according to the following schedule: You can click on the name of each candidate to find a Facebook Event where the livestream for that particular candidate will be posted. Tuesday, June 23 9am -  Kate Maxwell (Transitional Diaconate) 10:30am -  Frank Whitman (Priesthood) 1pm –  Mary Beth Farrell (Transitional Diaconate) 2:30pm –  Chris Boehm Carlson (Priesthood) 4pm –  Katie Ernst (Priesthood)   Wednesday, June 24 12pm –  Molly Weiss (Priesthood) 1:30pm –  Maggie Nancarrow (Priesthood) 3pm –  Tom Roy (Priesthood) Tuesday, June 30 10:30am -  Pat Whitney (Transitional Diaconate) 1pm -  Mary Anderson (Diaconate) All are welcome and encouraged to attend the livestream as you are able. We look forward to welcoming and celebrating our newest clergy in person when it is safe to gather again.   

Register for Camp Agape

Registration for Camp Agape Opens Today! Camp Agape is a 'choose your own adventure' style program offered by ECMN, which will feature a mix of online and outdoor gathering options for children and youth in ECMN. From July 11 - August 8 there will be at least one Camp Agape activity to opt into each day. Camp Agape is designed for Campers who are Ages 4-18, and we expect that most campers will choose 2-3 activities per week. You can view an outline of daily choices here:  www.ecmnyouth.org/summer-2020 . In the online registration for Camp Agape, you can register as a camper (ages 4-18), a CIT crew member (entering Grades 11-12 next fall), a LT member (young adults Ages 18-25), or an adult leader (ages 25+). We expect that kids who have gone to an ECMN camp before (SINC, EKID, EYQC, EYMC, and our White Earth and Rosebud Trips) may enjoy Camp Agape! And even if you are brand new to the ECMN Youth Community, and this is your first program, you are sure to find lots of fun activities and ways to build new friendships across the state.  Like all of our events, we want our Camp Agape campers to feel welcomed, make new friends, have transformative adventures, and start to learn from their peer leaders about how their faith can impact their daily life. Your camper can experience all of this by choosing from a variety of participation levels including: weekday online options, state park adventures on Saturdays, and/or a canoe trip on the Namekagon River (1, 2, or 3 days long on August 3-5). The state park and canoe trip options will follow the current CDC and MN recommendations for  camps  and  day camps  including social distancing, activity groups of 10 or less, etc.

Register Here!

Youth Sunday - A Success! Thank you so much, ECMN! Last week leading up to Youth Sunday we raised just over $7000 for the Bishop Brian N. Prior Youth Scholarship Fund. About a third of that total came from our ECMN Youth T-Shirt sales, and about $4000 came in on Youth Sunday. This means we've now reached 25% of our goal of $160,000 for 2020! This year's events have reminded us all of the importance of spiritual formation as kids learn what it means to be beloved community. Your gift of support to this fund means all children who apply for support can attend our camps and learn about following the way of Jesus and God's love together. Thank you for your prayer, support, and loving presence as part of our ECMN Youth Community! And let's keep this momentum going! You can still donate to the fund through a direct donation or by ordering a t-shirt.  www.ecmnyouth.org/donate www.ecmnyouth.org/tshirts

ECMN Elected Bodies

Apply for an ECMN Elected Body Application due by June 30th ECMN elected bodies are seeking candidates for the following vacancies, to be elected at the 2020 ECMN Convention in September. Commission on Ministry Need to elect one clergy for 3 yr term Need to elect two lay people (one for 3yr term and one for 2 yr term)  Standing Committee Need to elect two clergy for 3 yr term Need to elect two lay people for 3 yr term Trustees Need to elect three people (lay or ordained) for 3 yr term Need to elect one person (lay or ordained) for 2 year term Elected Bodies help shape the future of the Episcopal Church in Minnesota and beyond. Each year there are opportunities to step into leadership roles that allow you to engage in the big issues facing the church and our community. You can help make a difference to faith communities across the state. There are several committees that provide leadership within the Episcopal Church in Minnesota (ECMN). The four primary committees (Council, Standing Committee, Trustees, and the Standing Committee) make up the Elected Bodies, which meet together 4 times per year. In addition, committees may choose to meet more frequently, as their work dictates. Each committee has members that are elected or appointed for specific term lengths. Click here to learn more about each elected body and apply today! 

ECMN Justice Work

ECMN Called to Learn, Act, Pray for Racial Justice In our webinar with members of the Presiding Bishop's staff discussing responses to racial violence last week, the Rev. Canon Stephanie Spellers helpfully framed the work as threefold: learn, act, pray. You can watch that webinar here . We also invite us to share what you and your faith community are up to. The call to examine our own systemic racism, historical and contemporary, is an urgent call of the Way of Love, and we can only do this work together. Even if the answer is, "we don't know where to start," we invite every faith community in ECMN to fill in this brief survey to let us know how you're responding to racial violence and systemic racism. We'll use these responses to create a list of resources that all in ECMN can use to further this work. Click the link below to find many resources to help you and your faith community take the next steps towards racial justice.

Find Resources Here

Upcoming Events

Leading Beyond the Blizzard: Meetings with the Bishop Tuesdays, 2pm Today at 2pm at the Leading Beyond the Blizzard Gathering, Bishop Loya will be providing a bit more framing for this new provision, and there will be time to gather in small groups to discuss how you in your faith community might begin the discernment process around if and how you might gather outdoors. Click here to register if you haven't already! PLEASE NOTE : this gathering will include a RECORDED presentation by Bishop Loya, and will end promptly at 2:30pm. June 23rd will feature 5 separate Ordination services that will be livestreamed on the ECMN Facebook Page, so ending promptly will ensure we can all tune into the ordination of Chris Boehm Carlson beginning at 2:30pm.

Upcoming ECMN Clergy Gatherings All ECMN Clergy are invited to join together every other Thursday at 1pm. The purpose of these gatherings will be to spend time with your Bishop and Bishop-elect, and offer a chance for ECMN priests and deacons to pray together, listen to each others’ experiences, and provide mutual support. Here is the schedule for upcoming gatherings:   July 2nd July 16th July 30th   Click here to register. You only need to register once in order to have access to all of these meetings. 

COVID-19

Phases of Re-Gathering in ECMN Guidelines and Planning Resource Document ECMN has developed a resource for faith communities as they create plans for how to re-gather in the coming weeks and months. This document should be considered a living document. Expect that this document will be updated and re-released as new knowledge and resources become available. Click here to read the full plan.  Currently, ECMN remains in Phase 1.5 of this plan.

Resources Regarding COVID-19 Find information that has come out from ECMN regarding COVID-19 and a regularly updated list of resources on this page . Have questions or need support? Contact your Missioner for Community Engagement, Rachel Babbitt at  rachel.b@episcopalmn.org , or 612-870-3321. Even though she's working from home, she'll get your voicemail!

PPP Loan Forgiveness Update Your ECMN Financial Task Force has been working to gather information regarding the Payment Protection Plan loan forgiveness process as it has become available. Finance resources, guidance, and links can be found on the ECMN website   by clicking here . 

Job Openings

Minister of Children, Youth and Families St. John the Baptist, Linden Hills St. John’s Episcopal Church is seeking an individual who is personally invested in expansive Christian faith to provide vision and coordination of ministry to children and youth (ages 0-18) as well as their families. This person innovates, effectively copes with change and uncertainty, practices integrity and transparent communication, is organized, is a team player, enjoys working hard, and makes connections in the congregation to serve CYF in a variety of roles. We are seeking a lay minister but could also consider ordained clergy.  Click here for the full job description. Applications are due July 20th. 

From the Episcopal Church

Stories from the First Cathedral - Faribault, MN By the Rev Canon James C Zotalis Starting next week, the Rev. James Zotalis will share a story about the Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour each week. These stories will focus on the place, the people and the events from the past and present. The Cathedral is truly a treasure of the ECMN. Click here to read each of these stories.

The Episcopal Church Resources The Episcopal Church is offering resources for faith communities and individuals. These resources are curated on the Episcopal Church website here, and include the Presiding Bishop's weekly videos on Habits of Grace and daily morning meditations. Find these resources here .

Love God, Love Neighbor: Episcopal Month of Action In the month of June, join The Episcopal Church Office of Government Relations and Episcopal Migration Ministries for Love God, Love Neighbor: Episcopal Month of Action, a series of webinars to learn and advocate with and on behalf of immigrants, DACA recipients, refugees, and asylum seekers. Learn more here.

Embracing Evangelism Embracing Evangelism: A six-part digital course exploring our call to seek, name, and celebrate Jesus’ loving presence in the stories of all people – and then invite everyone to more. Each session features teachings on Episcopal evangelism, group discussion, and exercises to help Episcopalians understand the ministry and call to evangelism. The full Embracing Evangelism series consists of six video sessions, each under 45 minutes. Learn more here .

Find More Resources, Stories and Opportunities Click below to find even more resources, stories, and opportunities on the ECMN website.

Find More

The Episcopal Church in Minnesota | 612-871-5311 | info@episcopalmn.org episcopalmn.org