15 - Deepening Our

Stewardship Formation webinar, 12 noon

25 - Convocation, "Proclaiming the Dream," 10 a.m.

26 - A Concert for the Human Family, 5:30 p.m.

29 - Deadline for proposed resolutions

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

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. Watch this short video to see why involvement from individuals from all parts of the diocese is vital to make our diocese healthy and energized, and how to get started.

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 link at the top of the diocesan website.

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.

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 three such opportunities:

All are invited to study Canon Stephanie Speller’s (our convocation keynote speaker!) 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

Sometimes it takes disruption and loss to break us open and call us home to God. It’s not surprising that a global pandemic and once-in-a-generation reckoning with white supremacy―on top of decades of systemic decline―have spurred Christians everywhere to ask who we are, why God placed us here and what difference that makes to the world.

In this critical yet loving book, the author explores the American story and the Episcopal story in order to find out how communities steeped in racism, establishment, and privilege can at last fall in love with Jesus, walk humbly with the most vulnerable and embody beloved community in our own broken but beautiful way.

The Church Cracked Open invites us to surrender privilege and redefine church, not just for the sake of others, but for our own salvation and liberation.

Sacred Ground is a film- and readings-based dialogue series on race, grounded in faith. Small groups are invited to walk through chapters of America’s history of race and racism, while weaving in threads of family story, economic class, and political and regional identity. Sacred Ground is part of Becoming Beloved Community, The Episcopal Church’s long-term commitment to racial healing, reconciliation, and justice in our personal lives, our ministries, and our society.

The ten-part series is open to all, and especially designed to help white people talk with other white people. Participants are invited to peel away the layers that have contributed to the challenges and divides of the present day – all while grounded in our call to faith, hope and love. The first session begins Sept. 26.

More information and registration here

For questions, contact Rev. Michelle Dayton at revmichelledayton@gmail.com or Gayland Trim at gaylandtrim@hotmail.com.

Statewide coalitions are holding major rallies at the Statehouse next week to defend two constitutional rights: the principle that every vote should count equally, and the right of peaceful protest. The statewide Unitarian nonprofit UUJO offers Fundamentals of Legislative Visits training this Wednesday at 7 via Zoom.

The Fair Districts Coalition, which includes the Ohio Council of Churches, is scheduling a rally and meetings with legislators. This comes in the wake of public outcry over the Ohio Redistricting Commission’s party-line vote Sept. 9 to use Republican maps as its starting point for state legislative districts, despite evidence they violate the Ohio Constitution’s representational fairness standard. 

The Fair Districts Coalition is working to ensure that the Commission and the Legislature comply with Constitutional reforms designed to end partisan gerrymandering, approved in referenda passed by over 70% of voters in every county. The constitutional amendments include specific criteria for fair districts. 

Unitarian Universalist Justice Ohio (UUJO) has set this rally and legislative visit day to oppose several bills that would increase financial and criminal risks for protesters and organizations supporting protests: HB 109, HB 22, and SB 41. 

Catherine Duffy shares how the Creation Care team at All Saints, New Albany, held an event to not only provide nutrition to members of their community, but to also provide a connection to God's creation.

After a successful growing season in 2020 where the Garden for All Saints produced 750 lbs of produce for local food pantries, the Creation Care team at All Saints, New Albany, wanted to find a way to expand a love of gardening to the community. They applied for an ECM grant for funding to hold an event where families who patronized the food pantries could come to All Saints and build container gardens to take home. All of the supplies for the event would be provided through the grant and participants would take home three containers – a container tomato plant, a container of bush beans, and a lettuce bowl – as well as care instructions and recipes for using the produce.

Get all the news from Christ Church Cathedral right to your inbox

Parishes are invited to contact Crystal Jones at cjones@cccath.org or 513.621.1817 to have a supply of Christ Church Cathedral’s new 2021-22 Uplift Your Spirit music brochure mailed to them for their parishioners to pick up.

Music Live at Lunch, Christ Church Cathedral's weekly concert series, is celebrating its 50^th 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. 

September 21: Queen City Sisters – 1940s music

September 28: Lieto String Quartet – Classical music

Anne and Michael Delfín present a recital that captures the Baroque spirit of chamber music and improvisation. The program, performed on flute, piccolo, harpsichord, piano, and organ, includes music by J. S. Bach, Telemann, and Hotteterre, as well as transcriptions by Busoni and the performers’ own transcription of a Vivaldi concerto. No admission charge.

Canticles: Magnifcat and Nunc dimittis in B Minor – T. Tertius Noble

Anthem: The Lord is My Shepherd – Charles Villiers Stanford

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.

Retired Newark Bishop John Shelby Spong, a bestselling author and cleric known for his progressive theology and his support of LGBTQ+ clergy in The Episcopal Church, has died. He was 90.

Spong made headlines as the bishop of the Diocese of Newark, where he served for more than two decades and in 1989 ordained the first openly gay male priest in the Episcopal Church. He would later go on to ordain about three dozen LBGTQ+ clergy in the diocese by the time he retired.

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry preached Sept. 12 at Trinity Church Wall Street in New York during the church’s Sept. 11 Requiem Holy Eucharist, part of a weekend of commemorations marking 20 years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks.