JUNE CLERGY eNEWSLETTER
JULY 25, 2019
The waters rising around us
By Dana Stivers
 
In an essay, theologian Rebecca Parker in recounts the road trip she took in the mid-1970s traversing the country to attend seminary in New York. Traveling with a friend in the days before GPS, the two used road maps to navigate the back roads. One afternoon they found themselves driving through rural western Pennsylvania. It had been raining and the friends noticed as they passed through hill country into a valley blinking yellow lights that warned of danger, fields full of standing water and signs warning of roads that were closed. The two remarked to one another: “Wow, looks like there has been a big flood here.”

Passing into a town, they crossed a bridge over a large river and noticed how the water was so high, rushing, muddy, flowing quickly. And again, the two remarked: “There must have been a big flood!” As they continued to follow the winding back roads out of the town Parker writes how captivated they were of the signs of a dramatic flood all around them. But then, as they rounded a corner, there it was: water covering the roadway and rising fast, “like a huge silver balloon being inflated before our eyes.”

As Parker and her friend clamored to turn the car around the two found water rising behind them as well. In that moment they realized that the flood hadn’t already happened. No, it was happening now . They scrambled to get out of the car and Parker writes: “Soaked to the bone, we huddled under a fir tree. No longer were we lodged in our familiar vehicle; the cold water of the storm poured down on us, baptizing us into the present—a present from which we had been insulated by both our car and our misjudgments about the country we were traveling through. This is what it is like to be white in America. It is to travel well ensconced in a secure vehicle; to see signs of what is happening in the world outside the compartment one is traveling in and not realize that these signs have any contemporary meaning. It is to be dislocated—to misjudge your location and to believe you are uninvolved and unaffected by what is happening in the world.”

It’s hard to imagine, especially after this past week, that anyone is unaware of the flood. I have the privilege to work with so many young people who have grown up knowing and easily identifying the waters rising around them. They are a serious and hopeful and “woke” generation who believes deeply in combating injustice of any form. For them, terms like white supremacy, cis-gender, and non-binary and statements like “Black lives matter” roll easily off their tongues. They so easily identify with and crave all of the messages of the Gospel, yet I hear from them constantly how frustrated they are when their churches fail to connect the Gospel with what is happening in our world. 

A Church, they tell me, that fails to preach the gospel of love, unity and forgiveness in the face of injustice, division and oppression.... A Church that fails to take up the cross and do the work of the gospel in light of what is happening in our world… A Church that fails to speak love to hate and compassion to indifference... offers nothing better than a diminished Christianity that is borne of accommodation to power.  

May we have the courage to engage in this holy work. May we have the patience to meet one another across lines of division and stay engaged in difficult conversations with those whom we disagree. May we have the stamina to work for healing and equity. May we live into God’s one simple and profoundly difficult command: Love one another. 

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The Rev. Dana Stivers is the Associate Executive Director and Chaplain at Incarnation Center, an independent Episcopal camp and conference center located in Ivoryton, CT, and a curate at Holy Advent, Clinton.

Searching? Exploring another call?
Next Transitions Ministry Conference is in September
By Lee Ann Tolzmann, Canon for Mission Leadership

The Transition Ministries Conference is a regional meeting of diocesan transition ministers from about 40 dioceses, mostly in the northeastern quadrant of the US (from Missouri east and North Carolina north), specifically to share information about congregations that are searching for clergy and clergy who are looking for new congregations. Diocesan transition ministers present summaries of congregational profiles and pertinent information about potential clergy candidates in search of the best match between talent and need.
 
The conference occurs twice a year, and the next meeting is September 16-19. If you are exploring another call, or are in the early stages of the discernment process, this is a chance for you to test that out.
 
The first step is to fill out the TMC Confidential Information form at transitionministryconference.org . Please also take the time to update your OTM Portfolio, which can be done online. The deadline for submitting your material is Monday, September 9.
 
Knowing that the decision to explore new ministry possibilities is a sensitive one, please rest assured that the names shared at the TMC are kept in strictest confidence; only I will know who has asked to be presented. There is a high trust level between TMC transitions ministers, and we honor the delicate nature of this sort of discernment.
 
The Transition Ministries Conference also maintains a website listing of congregations in search of new leadership at transitionministryconference.org . This is in addition to the information you can find at www.otmportfolio.org . 
 
Please contact Amber Page Gehr ( apagegehr@episcopalct.org ) with any questions about the TMC or the process. Lee Ann is on sabbatical until September 3.
Annual Convention set for Sat-Sun Oct 26-27 in Hartford

Earlier this year you should have received both a print letter and an eNewsletter with this year's Call to Convention. It had details about the Annual Convention this year, to be held Saturday/Sunday October 26-27 at the Convention Center in Hartford. (You can also find this info on the Convention web pages. )

Convention registration here . Hotel reservations are separate. The Cathedral is holding its Centennial Evensong and Reception on Saturday after Convention business ends. Parishes are encouraged to send teams to the ECCT-wide worship on Sunday (Bishop Barbara Harris is our guest preacher!), and resources to help organize lay-led Morning Prayer are available. Youth are invited to be part of a special delegation. Registration for each event is separate, use the links above.

As a part of the process for Convention, you are encouraged to consider a question that you would like the Convention to work on together in lieu of a more traditional resolution (those will still be included). Link here for more info and for the form to submit your question.

All Convention documents are ONLINE ONLY. Be sure you are subscribed to the Convention eNewsletters from Secretary of Convention the Rev. Adam Yates. These will have updates, announcements, and links.

Cannot attend? Write a letter or an email to the Bishop requesting permission to be absent. CC any email to Senior Administrator Alison Hollo at ahollo@episcopalct.org .
Congrats to Christopher Webber on his new book;
150 psalm texts for worship and prayer

Christopher L. Webber, retired priest of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut, has published a new book that he says "could be useful to people looking for spiritual guidance and for church musicians looking for new material." The title is “Christian Psalms for Worship and Prayer” and it includes 150 psalm texts based on the writings of some of the great teachers and witnesses in Christian history from Augustine and earlier to Julian of Norwich, Dorothy Day, Oscar Romero, and Desmond Tutu. It’s published by Wipf and Stock ( link to their page for it here ) and is available from Amazon and the usual sources.
The ECCT calendar is here.

Upcoming ECCT events for ordained:
  • Sept. 6-8, Deacon Formation Retreat
  • Sept. 7, Mandatory Professional Development Day & Safe Church recertification - for those who could not attend any of the three dates this past spring, you need to register for, and attend, the makeup session on Sept. 7 in West Hartford. Link here for FAQs about who needs to attend; link here to register.
  • Sept. 24, Retired Clergy, Spouses, and Partners Gathering

Save the date: Women's Clergy Retreat, Feb. 27-28, 2020, Camp Washington
Clergy & Parishes in Transition
Clergy in Transition

Please contact Lee Ann Tolzmann if you have any leads on candidates for FT IPIC at Trinity, Hartford, FT PPIC with rectory at Christ Church, Pomfret, ¾-FT Rector at St. David’s, Gales Ferry or our ¾ time Dean of Formation position (must have STM or doctorate).
 
The Rev. Stacey Kohl has been appointed Missional Priest in Charge of Christ Episcopal Church, Norwich, effective September 3.
 
The Rev. Will Fisher, Diocese of Colorado, has accepted a call as rector of Christ Church, Redding, beginning October 1.
 
The Rev. Peter Bushnell has been appointed Missional Priest in Charge of Christ Church, Stafford Springs, effective June 2.
 
The Rev. Tom Jackson, Diocese of California, has been appointed half-time Provisional Priest in Charge of St. Luke’s Church, New Haven, effective July 1.
 
The Rev. Lois Keen has been appointed Missional Priest in Charge of St. Peter’s/Trinity Church, Thomaston, effective June 19.
 
The Rev. Dana Stivers has been appointed Missional Curate for six months at the Church of the Holy Advent, Clinton, effective July 1.
 
The Rev. Eric Fialho, Diocese of Massachusetts, has been called as curate at St. Paul’s Church, Riverside, effective June 15.
 
The Rev. Derek Stefanovsky, Diocese of Eastern Michigan, has been called as curate at St. Luke’s Church, Darien, effective July 14.
 
The Rev. Michael Reardon has been appointed Missional Curate for one year at St. John’s Church, Waterbury, effective July 1.
 
The Rev. Tara Shepley has been appointed Missional Curate for one year at St. George’s Church, Middlebury, effective July 1.
 
Parishes in Transition

All Saints Wolcott: Seeking MPIC
Christ Church, Pomfret: Seeking FT PPIC
Good Shepherd, Shelton: Seeking MPIC
Grace Church, Newington: Negotiating
Holy Spirit, West Haven: Seeking CPIC
Holy Trinity, Middletown: Pending
Middlesex Cluster: Pending
San Lucas/San Pablo, Bridgeport: Seeking Spanish spking MPIC
St. Andrew’s, Devon: Seeking MPIC
St. Andrew’s, Stamford: Seeking MPIC
St. David’s, Gale’s Ferry: Names being received by CML
St. Gabriel’s, East Berlin: Pending
St. James’, Danbury: IPIC in place: Lisa Hahneman
St. James’, Winsted: Seeking MPIC
St. John’s, Essex: Seeking IPIC
St. John’s, Salisbury: Seeking MPIC
St. John’s, Washington: Pending
St. Luke’s, Darien: IPIC in place: Ellen Tillotson
St. Mark’s, Bridgewater: Seeking MPIC
St. Martin’s, Hartford: Seeking MPIC
St. Paul’s, Norwalk: Interviewing FT PPIC
St. Paul’s, Plainfield: Seeking MPIC
St. Paul’s, Southington: Seeking HT PPIC
St. Paul’s, Windham Center: Seeking MPIC
St. Stephen’s, Bloomfield: Pending
Trinity, Collinsville: Interviewing ¾ PPIC
Trinity, Hartford: Seeking IPIC
Trinity/St. Michael’s Fairfield: Pending
Useful Links