In response to the Safe Church Model Policies that were adopted by General Convention in 2017, The Episcopal Church’s Task Force to Develop Model Anti-Sexual Harassment Policies & Safe Church Training has been working hard to create new trainings to accompany the model policies. As previously announced the original Safeguarding courses are being decommissioned and removed from Praesidium Academy access. Also, the training program has been renamed Safe Church, Safe Communities. The most recent changes occurred on August 12 when both Meet Sam and It Happened to Me were no longer part of Praesidium Academy’s course offerings.

The Episcopal Diocese of Western Louisiana is in the process of reviewing our current diocesan policies and training requirements and will be updating them in keeping with Safe Church, Safe Communities. Look for changes coming soon. In the meantime, anyone in a diocesan organization who is required by our current policies to take training courses should follow our current guidelines to the extent possible. Once our new policies go into effect, additional training will be necessary even for those who are already certified.

If you have any questions about Safe Church, Safe Communities, please click here.

For diocesan information, click here. You can also contact Joy Owensby for general questions or Holly Windham regarding background screening.

The fall season brings with it many exciting diocesan events. Please mark your calendars for the following dates and make plans to join in the fun! 

November 5

Ordination to the Transitional Diaconate (Katy Campbell, John Henson and Benjamin Thoms)

St. James, Alexandria

11:00 a.m. 

November 26

Ordination to the Diaconate (Brian Warner)

St. Timothy's, Alexandria

11:00 a.m.

December 9-10

Adaptive Leadership Conference with Bishop Sean Rowe

The Wesley Center, Woodworth

February 24-25, 2023

Diocesan Convention

Feb. 24: Opening Eucharist and Reception at St. James, Alexandria

Feb. 25: Convention at Pineville Convention Center

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.

St. Paul's is planning to host a workshop for Centering Prayer, a method of silent prayer rooted in the Christian Contemplative tradition that opens us to the presence and action of the Holy Spirit.

The Secretariat of Western Louisiana is planning to host a Welcome Back Party for Diocesan Ultreya and Cursillo. This will be held on October 29 at The Wesley in Woodworth.

Bring your Book of Common Prayer, De Colores Attire, Cursillo Name tags, and/or a musical instrument and join the fun! You can sign up for the event here.

If you wish to reserve an overnight room at the Wesley, registration is due October 14.

Julia Ayala Harris' election as president of the House of Deputies at 80th General Convention was a historic one. Ayala Harris is the first woman of color, the first Latina, and the youngest in recent memory at age 41. She recently sat down with the Episcopal News Service for an interview.

Ayala Harris grew up in the Catholic Church. After enduring a struggle in her faith, she started looking for a new church home. She met a classmate and a professor who were both Episcopalian in college, and she grew to love The Episcopal Church.

She feels called to lead because it gives her joy. It does not feel like a chore to her. The new President believes that representation in leadership is critical, something former President Gay Clark Jennings worked hard to promote.

You can read the article here.

The Most Rev. Michael Curry will be the special guest for the Sacred Ground fall kickoff webinar. This will start on September 15 at 12:30 p.m. CT.

Bishop Curry will share his vision for racial reckoning and justice ministry over the next two years and how we can engage using the Sacred Ground curriculum. In addition to that, other leaders will discuss how to welcome people into race conversations and explore strategies for transitioning into action and community engagement.

All are invited, including those going through the Sacred Ground program, past participants who are looking for the next steps, and anyone interested in racial reconciliation in the Episcopal Church.

You can sign up here.

The Lifelong Learning Program at Virginia Theological Seminary is hosting a series of workshops designed for church communicators about creating a more engaging and relational digital presence. This includes learning about digital storytelling and the power of narratives in forming relationships at the heart of evangelism, conducting a self-audit of your digital communications, and self-evaluating your church's existing digital platforms and publications.

This series of seminars begins on September 23 and it will meet every other Friday until November 4. You can register to attend here.