September 28, 2021
News from the diocese
Coming up on the calendar
September

29 - Deadline for proposed resolutions
October

1 - Webinar: Shelby Giving, 12 p.m.
9 - Diocesan Council, 9 a.m.
12 - Webinar: The Road Ahead: Getting the Most from Your Health Benefits, 12 p.m.
14-16 - Fall CoM gathering
19 - Fall Clergy Day, 10 a.m.
29 - Nominations submission deadline; Annual Commission reports due
Hurricane Ida relief
Videos of our big weekend available
It was a big weekend in Southern Ohio this past weekend, and we've got the videos to prove it!

Thank you to all who participated in our convocation-turned-virtual gathering on Saturday morning. If you would like to watch Canon Stephanie Spellers keynote address to our virtual gathering, you can watch here or on the Videos page on our website. (look under Events)
On Sunday evening, the Concert for the Human Family rocked Christ Church Cathedral and an enthusiastic crowd! If you missed this spectacular event, you can watch it here or on our Videos page. (The concert begins at the 13:22 mark)
Staff news

The Rev. Jason Oden has been appointed diocesan Canon for Formation by Bishop Smith. He continues as Priest in Charge at the Church of the Advent, Walnut Hills, devoting half-time to each position. With his leadership, we will continue to build on the work that the formation team has begun.
The Rev. Christopher Richardson likewise moves to a new position, Associate for Children, Youth, and Campus Ministry. He will work alongside the Director of Children, Youth and Campus Ministry, a position yet to be filled. Christopher will work closely with congregations and with the Procter Center to build and support youth ministries. He will also continue as Priest in Charge at St John’s, Columbus, again working half-time in each of these positions.
And Emma Helms-Steinmetz has returned from maternity leave. She will increase her workload to 20 hours per week, continuing to support the formation and youth teams as Formation Associate. Welcome back, Emma!
Convention information
147th Annual Convention:
Nov. 13, 2021
"Proclaiming the Dream"

Important dates and deadlines

Sept. 29: Requested date for nominations for diocesan office; Deadline for resolutions to be considered by convention

Oct. 29: Deadline for nominations for diocesan office; Deadline for Annual Commission Reports

Nov. 3: Pre-convention meeting via Zoom, 6:30 p.m.

Nov. 13: 147th Convention via Zoom, 9 a.m.
Last chance for resolutions - deadline Sept. 29

Proposing resolutions is a key way for the people of the diocese to discuss and reflect upon issues in the church and beyond.

All proposed resolutions must be submitted by Sept. 29 Those submitting resolutions are expected to attend (or have a representative present at) the pre-convention meeting on November 3 at 6:30 p.m. (Zoom meeting)

You can find the form to propose a resolution for consideration at convention here.

Contact resolutions chair Jim Heathcote at 937.446.2108 or jimheathcote1@gmail.com with questions.
Nominations
Get involved and make a difference in the life and decisions in our diocese: Prayerfully consider standing for election to a diocesan leadership position at our next convention.

If you have any further questions about any of the positions or the nomination process, please contact Nominating Committee chair Jon Boss at jbboss@fuse.net.
Find all convention information and forms at our convention website, dsoconvention.org, or find the convention tab at the top of the diocesan website.
Resources
Resources
Looking for forms, policies, all the “stuff” that churches need? Our resources page is a hub that will take you to whatever you are looking for!
The video from the last webinar, Deepening our Stewardship Formation, with TENS Executive Director Davey Gerhard, is posted under Administrative Webinars in our online toolkit.
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Upcoming Webinars

Shelby Giving

Friday, October 1, 2021
12 to 1 p.m.
Planning your Stewardship Calendar for next year? Thinking through end of year giving initiatives? Join the Diocese and Shelby Systems as we share some tips and tricks for making the most of digital solutions for generosity and church management.

We will look at online pledge forms, preparing your online and digital giving for year-end, and newly released features of ShelbyNext Giving for engaging with parishioners.

Register in advance for this webinar here. 

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
The Road Ahead: Getting the Most from Your Health Benefits

Tuesday, October 12, 2021
12 to 1 p.m.

Healthcare Annual Enrollment for 2022 is on the horizon. We encourage you to join a live education webinar on October 12, at 12 p.m., specifically for our diocese. Hosted by the Episcopal Church Medical Trust, this session is designed to help subscribers and dependents get the most from their healthcare benefits.

Topics will include…
  • Understanding your 2022 plan offerings and enhancements
  • The nuts and bolts of Annual Enrollment
  • Explaining the new 4 tier offering – Employee, Employee +1, Employee + children (NEW) and Employee + Family
  • Get to know your additional benefits
  • How to engage with plan vendors to ensure the right care at the right time
  • Virtual Visits and Telehealth Services: The care platforms of tomorrow are here to stay
  • …and more

Learn more or sign up here
Episcopal Community Ministries
ECM logo
As the outreach arm of the diocese, Episcopal Community Ministries uses the power of our collective community to help fund local outreach ministries who are in the best position to assess and respond to neighborhood needs.

Every donation to ECM contributes to the well-being of communities all over Southern Ohio, at every level of human need, from food and clothing to jobs and homes.
2022 Grant Applications now open

The ECM committee evaluates and provides grant funding in support of parish-based projects that address education, hunger, homelessness, health, and social justice, with a particular emphasis on projects that address systemic issues. 

Grant applications for 2022 grants are now open. The deadline for submission is November 30, 2021. Grants will be awarded in February 2022.
Support the work of ECM through our fall fundraisers

In addition to personal donations, ECM tries to get involved in other fundraising opportunities in the diocese to involve those who may not yet be familiar with our mission. This fall, we have two such opportunities:
Formation
Sign up for the Formation team's weekly e-newsletter
Book Study: Church Cracked Open
The Church Cracked Open
All are invited to study Canon Stephanie Speller’s new book The Church Cracked Open. We will meet on Zoom from 6-7:30 p.m. every Thursday in October (7, 14, 21, 28)


Click here to purchase the book from a local Columbus bookstore
Click here to purchase the book from a local Cincinnati bookstore
Click here to purchase from Amazon
Fall 2021 Preaching Seminar
“Who Made Your Mouth?”: Arguments with Shrubbery by Christine Parton Burkett

Saturday, October 16, 1 to 4 p.m. on Zoom

“The sermon is twice born, once when it is written, and again when it is delivered,” said Augustine. In this presentation, we will examine the authentic and fully embodied sermon.  By exploring practical principles to delivering the homily with all the fervor and passion with which it was conceived through expression, voice, body, and movement. We will overview best principles for reading scripture aloud with passion and break into small groups to practice several readings to present aloud to the class.  
• The Embodied Sermon: Preaching as an act of incarnation
o  Posture/podiums/stance
o  Manuscript vs. Notes, eye contact 
o  Gesture and expression 

• The Human Shofar: The preaching voice

• Reading the Gospel Gracefully:
o  Types of scripture: mental, empathetic, vital 
o  Use of pause, emphasis, conditional/causal, grocery lists, punctuation etc. 
o  Break out groups for practice, art exploration

Christine Parton Burkett has worked with preachers at Duke Divinity School since 1991. She holds degrees in theater and speech-language pathology and describes herself as a “professional pew-sitter”. Experienced preaching coach, she is skilled at assessing the sermon and the preacher to encourage strengths and identify potential growth. She lectures and facilitates retreats, workshops and conferences for clergy across denominations. She is particularly interested in the preacher’s voice and public proclamation of scripture as the seminal act of preaching. She arranges scripture as reader’s theater, choric readings, and biblical story-telling. Areas of particular study include the embodied sermon, cutting the “chaff” that clouds the message, and using fresh language that connects with our common experience.

Register here
Becoming Beloved Community
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As the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement, we dream and work to foster Beloved Communities where all people may experience dignity and abundant life and see themselves and others as beloved children of God.
StorySharing Showcase now YouTube playlist!
Proclaiming the Dream logo
The StorySharing Tent and Showcase planned for our postponed convocation have transformed into a YouTube playlist! We invite you to listen as people share stories of their own journey of becoming.

As you watch, we invite you to wonder: What do I dream… for myself? My community? My church?

Explore our complete StorySharing journey on our Becoming Beloved Community website
StorySharing retreat
Our next StorySharing event will be an in-person retreat at the Procter Center, October 8-9, where we will practice contemplative listening and sharing as we tell the story of Me, the story of We, and the story of Us and Now.

Register here.
Advocacy update
How Will Congress Act?

This week, key votes in Congress could shape the future for social and environmental justice in the United States and beyond, as the House considers two infrastructure bills and the Senate may vote on the Freedom to Vote Act (S 2747) introduced by Senator Amy Klobuchar. Please review the policies contained in these bills and write to your member of Congress and Ohio Senators Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown immediately. Please also consider writing a letter to the editor of your local paper.
Advocacy briefings and updates are compiled by Ariel Miller, a member of Ascension & Holy Trinity, Wyoming, and a member of the diocesan Becoming Beloved Community Leadership Team.
Stories
Everyone has a story to tell.
Diocesan energy efficiency program awards first grants

The Trustees of the Diocese and the Creation Care and Environmental Task Force (CCEJ) have awarded the first three diocesan Energy Efficiency grants. The grants, in the amount of $10,000 each, will go toward improving energy efficiency in buildings, reducing operating costs, and lowering emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants.

Christ Church, Dayton, St. Philip's, Circleville, and Ascension & Holy Trinity, Wyoming, all received funding for significant building projects that will help them improve energy efficiency, reduce operating costs and care for our creation.
News from our Cathedral
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Christ Church Cathedral is located at 318 E. 4th Street in downtown Cincinnati.
Get all the news from Christ Church Cathedral right to your inbox
Music Live at Lunch
Music Live at Lunch, Christ Church Cathedral's weekly concert series, is celebrating its 50th year! Music Live at Lunch will feature the performers listed below in September. These free concerts are presented on Tuesdays at 12:10 p.m. Patrons may bring their own lunch or purchase one at the cathedral. 

For more information, visit cincinnaticathedral.com or call 513-621-1817.

October 5: Jacob Martin (oboe) – Classical & contemporary music
October 12: Clark & Jones Trio – Celtic music
October 19: Rebecca Culnan (violin) – Classical music
October 26: Transatlantis (formerly Frenchaxe) – French Café music
Blessing of the Animals

Saturday, Oct. 2, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
CCC Blessing of the Animals
Cathedral choir
Choral Evensong

Sunday, October 3
5 p.m.

The Christ Church Cathedral Choir offers 
Canticles: Magnifcat and Nunc dimittis in B Minor – T. Tertius Noble
Anthem: The Lord is My Shepherd – Charles Villiers Stanford

Masks are to be worn at all cathedral services and events. 
News from the Procter Center
Procter logo new
Procter Center is located at 11235 State Route 38 SE in London, Ohio.
Community news
Add your events to 
e-Connections

Submissions for e-Connections must be received by noon on Mondays for inclusion in any weekly newsletter.
Submissions for e-Connections should be limited to short announcements. Items can be sent as text in an email or as an attached Word document. Flyers should be sent as .jpeg or .pdf files. A short press release or announcement of the event should accompany all flyers. Make sure to include the address of the venue and contact information.

Send submissions to editor Julie Murray.
Episcopal Schools Week Oct. 3-9
Episcopal Schools week
Please keep Bethany School and all other Episcopal Schools in your prayers Oct. 3-9 as we celebrate Episcopal Schools week. Bethany School is one of 1200 Episcopal Schools nationwide, but the only one in Ohio! Thank you for your support!
PLAY!: A retreat about having fun with your faith
Play flyer
Kids4Peace Interfaith retreat
The Brood, a church experience for foster, adoptive and kinship families
Repeat announcements
Film screening and discussion
Sacred Conversations will sponsor Dr. Joan Ferrante’s “Mourning the Creation of Racial Equality” film screening and presentation on Saturday, October 16 from 1 to 4 p.m. at St. Philip's, Columbus, 166 Woodland Ave., Columbus, Ohio 43203. This affair will be presented in person as well as via Zoom. Tickets to attend are $15 and are tax deductible. 

Society of Scholar Priests Midwestern Gathering
The Rev. Dan McClain, Priest in Charge at St. Paul’s, Dayton, will host a one-evening dinner gathering on Friday, October 22, at 6 p.m. at St. Paul’s to foster conversation around theological education in the parish and the diocese. Evening Prayer will be said beforehand at 5:15 p.m. Dan is president of the Society of Scholar Priests for 2021-22, and welcomes all clergy in the diocese to learn more about the Society and register for the event at this link.
News from The Episcopal Church
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Follow the latest news from The Episcopal Church by subscribing to the Episcopal News Service newsletter
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Province V News

Province V of the Episcopal Church is a wonderful networking resource to connect with Episcopalians from the Midwest who share interest in a same ministry area. Province V News also has information about webinars and other events of interest.
Presiding Bishop among 12 faith leaders in White House meeting on bills supporting families, workers
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry joins other faith leaders for a meeting Sept. 22 with White House staff members organized by the ecumenical advocacy group Circle of Protection. Photo: William Nunnally/ELCA
[Episcopal News Service] Presiding Bishop Michael Curry joined 11 other faith leaders representing the ecumenical advocacy group Circle of Protection during a Sept. 22 visit to the White House to advocate for passage of legislation supporting families, workers and citizens.

Circle of Protection includes leaders from a wide range of denominations, including Episcopal, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, African Methodist Episcopal, Baptist, Disciples of Christ and Quaker. Curry was one of 20 leaders who signed the group’s letter to President Joe Biden and members of Congress specifically urging passage of three bills focused on investing in infrastructure, supporting families and strengthening voting rights.
Job opportunities
Trinity Church on Capitol Square, Columbus
Christ Church Cathedral
Trinity Church, Covington, KY
Christ Church Cathedral
Trinity, Hamilton
St. Barnabas, Montgomery
Church of the Redeemer, Cincinnati
The Edge House, University of Cincinnati
St. Anne's, West Chester
St. John's, Worthington
St. Philip's, Columbus
Grace Church, College Hill
Need a job posted? Send your information to communication@diosohio.org.
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The Diocese of Southern Ohio
OUR VISION
A church focused outside our doors, loving and serving Jesus Christ in our beloved communities in relevant ways, both new and traditional.
OUR MISSION
Christ is calling us into meaningful connections with each other that transcend all boundaries, and to act on those connections for the benefit of all. By these connections we are made whole.
Diocese of Southern Ohio