By Tiffany Reed, CCS and

The Rev. Canon Tim Hodapp, ECCT

As we shared in January, the Episcopal Church in Connecticut (ECCT) has launched a pilot initiative, Joining Jesus, to raise resources – both spiritual and financial – to more faithfully participate in God’s mission in our parishes, neighborhoods, Regions, and across ECCT. This initiative was presented to our annual convention in October 2018, and Mission Council voted to move forward in December 2018. This winter, parishes had the opportunity to hear more about Joining Jesus, and the two ways in which they could participate.

1.      Together with the Episcopal Church in Connecticut and assisted by CCS Fundraising parishes have the opportunity to raise fund for their local needs, as well as shared ministries of the wider church.

2.       The Missional Network, led by our consultant and renowned missiologist, Alan Roxburgh, has designed a four-module/15-month process for parish teams to, quite literally, join Jesus in this new missional age by engaging five spiritual practices.

The response to these visits was very encouraging!

RAISING FINANCIAL RESOURCES

Five parishes and our Cathedral prayerfully discerned that the time was right to join together in this pilot fundraising initiative and raise resources for needs identified locally and for collaborative opportunities across ECCT. These six faith communities are:

Parishes are raising funds for local needs which include combination of:

There are four shared ministries being funded through this initiative as well, both through parish support and gifts made directly to the Episcopal Church in Connecticut. These include:

Keep an eye out for future updates to hear more about what our Joining Jesus parishes are up to!

SPIRITUAL PRACTICES

Last fall, 130 clergy and lay persons from 29 parishes attended information sessions to learn about five spiritual practices that individuals, teams, and parishes as a whole might engage in this new missional age. As part of the "Joining Jesus" initiative, ECCT offered to provide structured facilitated guidance to up to a dozen congregations for an intensive, four-module, 12-month program, both introducing and incarnating these practices. The program is the refinement of a grace-filled pilot of a similar offering in ECCT over the prior two years ("Living Local"), and was modified based on feedback from those parishes. Three months into engaging these practices, our parish and Cathedral teams of pilgrims are learning new ways to “travel lightly together and follow Jesus into the neighborhood." Over the summer, the participating parishes will gather in groups of three or more with coaches to share stories, prayer, and a meal.

After discernment, the congregations that chose to participate included: