Before the New Year began, Bishop Owensby was elected to serve as Chancellor of Sewanee: The University of the South. Sewanee is an Episcopal institution. It has 27 constituent dioceses, and Western Louisiana is one of them.

The Chancellor must be one of the diocesan bishops from the constituent dioceses and serves a six-year term. However, Bishop Owensby is not going anywhere. As the bishop noted in his announcement, his day-to-day duties will not be changing too much. He looks forward to serving everyone in this new role.

You can read more by clicking here.

The Diocesan Council is excited to announce two ambitious new programs to the benefit of congregations and ministries throughout our Diocese.

First is Mission and Ministry Grants. These serve two main purposes:

1. Mission, Ministry, and Outreach Programs.
2. Incentivizing Care of Creation Programs throughout Western Louisiana.

Second is Capital Improvement & Deferred Maintenance Loans. These will enable congregations and ministries to realize capital improvement needs and address maintenance issues.

Clicking those links will take you to a Google form. Applications will be considered by the Finance Committee on behalf of the Diocesan Council. These forms are also available on the Diocesan website. Click here to go to that page.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Will Harp, Diocesan Treasurer.

The Diocesan Convention Hub on our website will be updated with more information soon.

Nomination forms for Diocesan Convention are available on the website.

Click here to go to that page.

Have you seen the calendar of events on the new diocesan website? Find diocesan events for various categories: Bishop's Visitation, Youth Events, Christian Formation Workshops, and more. Explore the diocesan calendar of events by clicking here.

Christmas cheer was spread by the Parishioners of St. Michael's in Pineville. Cookies of all shapes and sizes were collected by the church and they were given to Pineville Junior High School. The donation was much appreciated by everyone at the school.

Picture: Loads of cookies sit on a counter in Pineville Junior High School. There is a note on the counter that says, "Merry Christmas! From St. Michael's Episcopal Church."

The Christmas pageant is a fun tradition during the Advent season. St. George's in Bossier City held their Christmas pageant with some fun twists.

Photo: The cast of the Christmas skit at St. George's. There is a man on the left dressed in a shirt that says, "Pretend I'm A Tree." He is dressed as a lemon tree.

A Memorial Mass of the Celebration of Life for Grace Ann Maddox Gennuso will be held at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, January 7, 2023, at St. Michael's Episcopal Church, Pineville, with the Rt. Rev. Jacob Owensby, the Rev. Reinel Castro, and the Rev. Deacon Michael Parham officiating.

Grace Gennuso was the wife of The Rev. George Gennuso. She worked as an elementary school teacher in the Alexandria and Pineville areas and she was active in the churches she served. She will be missed by her husband, church family, and her friends who were like family.

The parishioners of St. Andrew's, Moss Bluff are planning to give away seedling trees to the Lake Charles community. This will be held January 21. Donations that are collected will go to St. Andrew's Outreach Fund.

Want to see your congregation or organization featured?

Share your ministry stories, announcements, and events with us through the Digital Hub on the diocesan website.

The transcript for this video can be found here.

The eCP app is a complete, digital Book of Common Prayer. The app includes an interactive calendar for the Daily Office and Eucharist, font size adjustability for easy reading, offline usabilty, and more.

The eCP app is available in the iOS App Store, Google Play Store, and on Amazon apps.

Do you feel called to the work of church and community redevelopment? The Episcopal Church’s Office of Church Planting and Mission Development is offering an online discernment retreat for those seeking to discern their role and fit in church redevelopment.

This will be held from 11:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. on Feb. 9, 16, 23, and March 2.

The cost is $350. You can register by clicking here.