A Newsletter for Iona Collaborative Leaders

Dear Colleagues,

Happy April!

I hope this newsletter finds you rested and recovered from a meaningful Easter Sunday! I'd like to take a moment to introduce you to the newest member of the Iona Collaborative team. You've likely seen her handiwork in our newsletter layouts, social media posts, and all items involving graphics and design. Christina (Chris) Gordon joined our team in late 2023 and has been connecting our members and sharing the stories of the good work your communities are doing. As always, keep the pictures and snippets of your students and alumni coming! Thank you for being the heart of the Iona Collaborative. We are so proud of what we are making together.

The Rev. Nandra Perry, PhD

Director, Iona Collaborative

The Iona Field Ed. Program Administrator training, led by Dr. Kim Pool, Halley Ortiz, and The Rev. Nandra Perry, will feature an overview of Field Ed. program administration considerations, program objectives and outcomes, and most importantly, will train your Field Ed. Program Administrator to train students and cooperating practitioners.

Iona Annual Deans' Meeting

Monday-Wednesday, June 3-5 || Camp Allen

At our June in-person gathering, our featured panelists are YOU, and together we'll be networking and learning from each other around four organizing ideas: GENERATE, CALIBRATE, COMMUNICATE, and LOCATE.

Dr. Anthony Baker will be our plenary speaker and a panelist.

Your registration includes a complimentary shuttle to and from Camp Allen from Houston International Airport, single room, and all meals during your stay. Lodging is available for participants staying over Wednesday night.

Click on the button below for schedule and additional details.

Our meeting will take place during a larger retreat

open to Iona Collaborative continuing education students.

I'll be reaching out in the coming weeks to solicit panel participants.

Please feel free to bring a team to this gathering. Also, if you are proud of particular innovations you've made in one of these areas, please email me!

The Iona Collaborative believes small congregations have much to teach the wider Church about God’s vision for its future flourishing.

Small communities are ideal laboratories for learning together how to discern shared callings, ways of being in community, and best practices for engaging cooperatively in God’s ongoing mission in our rapidly changing culture. Our program works with vestries and clergy to use a toolkit of communal spiritual practices and exercises to discern a faithful and hopeful path forward that is unique to your community.

We support congregations individually while creating a

larger learning community of bi-vocational congregations

who learn from and co-create with each other.

PLEASE JOIN US TUESDAY, APRIL 30 ON ZOOM FROM 630p-730p CST

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR PROGRAM,

OUR FALL WORKSHOP, AND MORE!

Who should attend a Q&A session to learn more?

2-4 lay vestry members/clergy from any church currently led or plans to be led by part-time clergy; lay leaders; non-stipendiary clergy; clergy with more than one church; locally-formed clergy.

April Deans' Meeting

Guest: Stephen Smith

Episcopal Preaching Foundation

Thursday, April 11, 2pm CST

Next Thursday's meeting will include a visit from The Rev. Dr. Stephen Smith with Episcopal Preaching Foundation. Smith serves as the coordinator for EPF's Lay Preacher Training Initiative, an 18-month local formation experience designed to prepare effective, confident, and passionate preachers in the lay order of our Church. He will share information on EPF's new lay preaching training curriculum. Hope you can join us!

Learn more about Episcopal Preaching Foundation's new curriculum for dioceses to use in training lay preachers by attending an introductory webinar, hosted by EPF.

After a three-year development and testing process, this curriculum utilizes the best techniques for adult learners and can be adapted for online or in-person instruction. The April webinars will introduce the curriculum and share descriptions and examples of its use. EPF will offer additional training for trainers this summer and will assist dioceses throughout the process. For more information, contact The Rev. Dr. Stephen Smith.

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