June 2, 2020
This team of leaders is responsible for designing and operationalizing strategy for the diocese’s Becoming Beloved Community movement. Many of them have been at this work for a long time; others are finding their way into this journey more recently. Their deepening commitment to the work, each other, and to serving our diocese is clear. 
 
We have much work to do to build beloved community, especially in this painful season of glaring injustice, uncertainty, grief and fear. 
 
Let us remember our Baptismal vows and embody our faith through our love in action. Now is the time. I hope you will find ways to work to end racism and injustice and will call upon the members of the Leadership Team to assist you in your efforts around spiritual formation, racial healing, justice and creation care. I encourage you to use the resources available on the Becoming Beloved Community  website , and to subscribe to the Becoming Beloved Community e-newsletter  here . Together, we will work to overcome the plague of racial inequity and anti-black violence and Become Beloved Community.
Anti-Racism training
Saturday, June 27
10 AM – 3 PM (via Zoom) with a break for lunch
 
“...For us Americans, the chief struggle that grips us daily is racism, from within us and from whatever direction it attacks us. We cannot deal with this unless we are open to the Spirit of truth, and we cannot dare to be open to that Spirit unless we trust in the justice and mercy of God,” wrote Bishop Breidenthal upon the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, at the hands of white police in Minneapolis.  

One way that the Diocese of Southern Ohio addresses the racism within us and around us is through Anti-Racism Training. The training is required of diocesan leaders, including members of commissions and committees, church staff, and vestry members. Training is a two step process:

  1. Before registering for the workshop, view one of the videos in the Racial Justice section on the DSO Learning Site https://dsolearning.org/courses-list/#racialjustice. You will be asked for feedback on the video on your registration form.
  2. Go to our event calendar and register for the Zoom training on Saturday, June 27.  You will be sent a link to the training after you have registered.

There is no cost for the Zoom training.  Questions? Contact Canon Lee Anne Reat at  lareat@diosohio.org  or Debby Stokes-Wayne at  dstokes1@live.com.
Wear Orange Sunday June 7
The color orange honors the more than 100 lives cut short and the hundreds more wounded by gun violence  every day . On Sunday, June 7, we pray as a nation for an end to gun violence on our streets, in our homes, and in our places of worship.  

We wear orange , the warning color of hunters calling out “Don’t shoot” to other hunters in the woods, as we shout out “Don’t shoot” to a broken world. And we pledge to transform our prayers into action so that no more children, no more innocent people of color, no more families caught in a cycle of violence die as a result of the weapons of war that have taken over our communities.  

Congregations are invited to join the #WearOrange movement on June 7.  Wear orange. Offer prayers in worship. Join others in the movement to end gun violence by joining groups such as Moms Demand Action  https://momsdemandaction.org/  or Everytown USA to push sensible gun legislation that protects the rights of ALL of our citizens.  Bishops United Against Gun Violence is another resource for information and prayers  https://bishopsagainstgunviolence.org/  

If you would like to join others in the Diocese of Southern Ohio in this effort, contact the Rev. Canon Lee Anne Reat at  lareat@diosohio.org

*Read Sad, Tired and Angry: A Prayer in the Face of Gun Violence  by James Martin S.J. at www.dsoconnections.org .
Support Procter Center through the Big Give
It is time for the Big Give , which is a Big Opportunity for your Procter Center to raise much needed funds for camperships. Even though we can’t have camp this summer, we know the need will be greater than ever next summer! Please consider a making a gift to the campership fund though the Big Give. There is a bonus pool match that will help your donation go further.

You can find us at columbusfoundation.org/the-giving-store . Search for Procter Camp and Conference Center. Thank you for supporting your Procter Center. We are looking forward to serving more kids than ever next year.
Online Summer book club continues in June
A Pilgrimage to Eternity cover
Looking for a good book to read and people with whom to discuss it? Join Cathedral Canon Paul Williams and Diocesan Canon Lee Anne Reat for a series of book studies this summer. We will meet once a month through August via Zoom to discuss popular books.

The next gathering is Wednesday, June 24 at 7 p.m. We will be discussing A Pilgrimage to Eternity  by Timothy Egan.

Moved by his mother's death and his Irish Catholic family's complicated history with the church, Timothy Egan decided to follow in the footsteps of centuries of seekers to force a reckoning with his own beliefs. He embarked on a thousand-mile pilgrimage through the theological cradle of Christianity, exploring one of the biggest stories of our time: the collapse of religion in the world that it created. Egan sets out along the Via Francigena, once the major medieval trail leading the devout to Rome, and makes his way overland via the alpine peaks and small mountain towns of France, Switzerland and Italy. The goal: walking to St. Peter's Square, in hopes of meeting the galvanizing pope who is struggling to hold together the church through the worst crisis in half a millennium.

Making his way through a landscape laced with some of the most important shrines to the faith, Egan finds a modern Canterbury Tale in the chapel where Queen Bertha introduced Christianity to pagan Britain; parses the supernatural in a French town built on miracles; and journeys to the oldest abbey in the Western world, founded in 515 and home to continuous prayer over the 1,500 years that have followed. He is accompanied by a quirky cast of fellow pilgrims and by some of the towering figures of the faith--Joan of Arc, Henry VIII, Martin Luther. A thrilling journey, a family story, and a revealing history,  A Pilgrimage to Eternity  looks for our future in its search for God.

Join the discussion! Register at https://dsoepiscopal.org/online-book-club/
Don't Be Deceived: Financial fraud and COVID-19
older couple using computer
Criminals never miss a chance to exploit a crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic has given them plenty of openings. Older adults—including family members, neighbors, and parishioners—can be especially at risk. Join this webinar presented by Church Pension Group to build on what you know about financial fraud by gaining new insights that may help protect you and the people you know from becoming victims of fraud.

Join us:

Thursday, June 4, 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM ET

Reserve your spot here .
Coronavirus laugh for the day
six feet
As Trinity, London re-gathered for Morning Prayer on Pentecost, Junior Warden John Mitchell provided a humorous sign to remind people to maintain the appropriate six feet of social distance.
New COVID-19 resources
As we begin into our third month of life with the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic, we continue to offer multiple resources for finances, formation, health, returning to our buildings, technology and worship on our 'new and improved' Doing church with COVID-19 resource page.

  • Financial assistance for congregations is still available. Look for the application link under the Financial tab.
  • Information from the EPA and others on disinfectant use can be found under the Returning to our buildings tab
  • VBS now stands for Virtual Bible School in the time of COVID-19. Check out some virtual offerings under the Formation tab.
  • A social media toolkit from the CDC offers free graphics and messages for your social media profiles and web pages. Look for it under the Technology tab.
Solarize Ohio, diocesan project for solar power, reaches milestone by selecting developer
Solarize Ohio is a project led by a dedicated team of Episcopalians united around a vision of bringing an affordable renewable energy source to Episcopal properties across Ohio. Over the past 10 months, the team has been working to develop and implement a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), an arrangement that brings solar power systems to individual parishes with no upfront cost. Through an extensive review and reference-checking process, Solarize Ohio has selected Fellowship Energy Finance (FEF, www.fellowshipenergy.com ) as our partner to develop the financing and legal structure of our PPA.

There is still time for churches across the diocese to join the PPA and install solar panels . The goal of Solarize Ohio is to offer congregations a way to care for God’s creation more fully; caring for creation in all aspects of our lives is a core tenet in living out the call of Beloved Community.

www.dsoconnections.org
Connecting with our cathedral
Want to stay up to date with everything that is happening at Christ Church Cathedral? Check out the Weekly GPS, an e-newsletter sent out every Friday that includes all the upcoming (virtual) offerings at the cathedral.
GPS header
Connecting with The Episcopal Church

In this time of national upheaval, outrage, and fear, The Episcopal Church’s Department of Reconciliation, Justice and Creation Care and the Office of Government Relations have assembled resources to assist individuals, congregations and communities seeking to LEARN, PRAY and ACT. 

Learn more

UBE hosts racial justice vigil as nationwide protests flare

The time is now ‘to stand up, show up, speak up, act’

With voices echoing those of the 1960s’ civil rights leaders, a rainbow of black, white, Asian, Latino and Native Americans from across the church swelled to the 300-participant online-capacity for a “Vigil for Racial Justice and the Healing of Our Nation.” hosted by the Union of Black Episcopalians  and joined by Presiding Bishop Michael Curry on Pentecost.

The May 31 vigil came on the sixth day of nationwide protests sparked by the death of George Floyd, the latest African American to die in police custody.

Read more
Connecting with job opportunities
St. Barnabas, Montgomery
Christ Church, Glendale
St. Andrew's, Pickerington
Holy Trinity, Oxford
See all job opportunities at https://episcopaliansinconnection.org/job-opportunities/. Need a job posted? Send your information to communication@diosohio.org .