Last spring, as we were discussing a few requests that had come into our office asking if we would sponsor local LGBTQ+ Pride events, the bishop had a brilliant idea: “what if we just went out and sponsored every Pride event in our dioceses?”
And we did. Well, the ones that hadn’t passed their deadline yet. And in circumstances where the local congregations were able to show up in person, we gave more, to reach a level that would guarantee them booth space – an opportunity to show up in the world, with the people that we serve, and declare something that they so rarely hear from the Christian church, “you are loved, unconditionally, irrevocably, and just as you are.”
And we’re going to do it again.
June is “Pride Month,” though pride events happen throughout the year. Many communities, especially those in larger cities or county seats, will host Pride Festivals. These celebrations of love and authenticity vary place to place but will often include parades, concerts, lectures, parties, and more as well as space for local organizations to come, set up space, offer solidarity, and connect with attendees seeking affirming companies, nonprofits, communities, and churches.
We are going to continue this year to sponsor every event we can at a basic level, getting the name of The Episcopal Church out in these settings across our state. And – this is where you come in – if you, the local congregation, can commit to showing up in-person–sharing the Good News, the invitation to the Episcopal branch of the Jesus movement, to share the love we hold for all people, no exceptions–we will give more, leveraging our sponsorship to guarantee you physical space to be present.
Already sponsoring yourselves? Let’s talk about how we can go further in supporting your efforts. Planning your own event? I want to know about it and contribute as we can. Several congregations from the same area at the same festival? Imagine the impact when the Episcopalians show up!!
We’re also working with a queer designer to create stickers and t-shirts for Eastern and Western Michiganders to wear and give away from their booth. Stay tuned for an opportunity to order.
To let me know that your congregation will commit to showing up in-person (or some other planned engagement with secular Pride spaces), please fill out this request form as soon as possible. Please see the list of upcoming festivals on the form and let us know if we’re missing any you’re aware of locally.
Your response deadline varies, depending on the date of your local festival (and we’ve tried to track those deadlines on the form for your awareness).
I look forward to seeing The Episcopal Church in the Mitten showing up to declare God’s love for all creation. Please be in touch with me with any questions or to talk together about possibilities for your engagement.
https://edwm.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/alex-jackman-_Bk2NVFx7q4-unsplash-2-scaled.jpg25601920Michelle Ruizhttps://edwm.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/EDWMLogo-01.pngMichelle Ruiz2023-04-18 11:05:062023-04-18 11:05:06Sponsorship Funding Available for Pride Engagement
Blessed Easter! May the spirit of the risen Christ fill us with hope and joy and keep us curious!
It has been over a year since you called me to join you and I am excited about our odyssey of healing and new life in Christ together.
As we’ve leaned into our life together as dioceses and as our Building Bridges Steering Committee has conducted its work in listening and facilitating our discernment process in our Season of Practice, we have some exciting announcements and updates to share with you as clarity rises from our collective wisdom. Thank you for your prayers and participation in discerning our forward movement together in Eastern and Western Michigan.
Here are some crisp highlights for what’s ahead for us as Easter people:
We are organizing ourselves into three geographic “collaboratives.”
To nurture increased relationship (a rallying cry across nearly all listening sessions earlier this Spring!), starting in May, we will transition our current organizing structures to three geographic “collaboratives” that span across the two dioceses. This way of organizing ourselves will honor our existing relationships and nurture new ones.
Collaboratives will be areas, supported by a canon, where clergy and congregations can support each other. Our goal is that collaborative members can explore ways they might work together for the advancement of mission and ministry in the parish and in the diocese as a whole. Collaboratives will also allow us to experiment with ways that we might effectively structure ourselves in the future.
Due to canonical implications, we are intentionally using the language of “collaboratives” rather than “regions” to help facilitate this practice out of a place of flexibility and curiosity about what we learn.
I invite our clergy to continue praying and attending our Clericus gatherings, the upcoming Clergy Retreat, and to provide feedback as we walk together.
We are celebrating departing staff and preparing to welcome new staff.
Western Michigan’s Canons Missioner, the Rev. Canon Valerie Ambrose and the Rev. Canon Anne Hallmark, will retire at the end of May as previously announced. Please help us celebrate our beloved colleagues as they prepare to depart. We will celebrate Val on May 23rd at Grace, Grand Rapids (RSVP) and Anne on May 31st at Grace, Traverse City (RSVP).
We are in the process of searching for and calling the Northern, Central, and Southern Collaboratives’ staff Canons who bring expertise in congregational development and transitions, while each holding special focus on coaching congregations around (1) Formation, (2) Digital Communities, and (3) Beloved Community and Creation Care. All canons will be shared staff across both dioceses.
The Rev. Canon Tracie Little, current Canon to the Ordinary serving Eastern Michigan, will serve one of these collaboratives with the focus on formation. It is my prayer that the two additional Canons will be called this spring and summer, to be in place by August. We will have exciting news to share about our first new call in May.
We are looking ahead and planning for decision-making about the future of our dioceses.
We have worked in partnership between our dioceses since 2019, listening and sharing, building relationship and developing responsive, innovative ministry together. While the Building Bridges Steering Committee has work yet to do and has not yet issued their final report and recommendation for our future together, they have consulted with our Chancellor and Standing Committees to ensure we remain open and on track with timelines for all possibilities, including potential juncture between our dioceses.
The first opportunity for the General Convention of The Episcopal Church to act on a juncture would be next summer 2024. While holding this reality, the Joint Standing Committee of Eastern and Western Michigan, with the support and recommendation from the Building Bridges Steering Committee, have determined that we will not hold a vote on juncture at the fall convention later this year. Our fall convention will focus instead on continuing to deepen relationship, entering big conversation, and consider more deeply our proposed mission and vision. If juncture is ultimately recommended and our communities are ready, we would anticipate calling for a special convention in the Spring of 2024 to bring a vote of the dioceses.
–
Now let me provide added background for those who desire more information.
Who are we? We are followers of Jesus as the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement. (More below.)
Where are we numerically? Numerical growth follows clear and consistent practices of hope. (More below.)
Where are we going? Thanks to the Building Bridges Steering Committee, we have a compelling and hopeful vision. Our vision and mission will help us follow Jesus and grow in spiritual and missional ways into the future. (More below.)
Let us move forward as wounded healers with curiosity, and love in the name of the risen Christ!
With affection,
The Rt. Rev. Prince G. Singh
Bishop Provisional
The Episcopal Dioceses of Eastern and Western Michigan
Who are we?
We are followers of Jesus as the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement.
Here’s a snapshot of who we are in terms of current benchmarks of congregational size in our two dioceses. We are:
Four “Program Size” congregations with an ASA of over 150 and a baptized membership of approximately 400
28 “Pastoral Size” congregations: 18 Western + 10 Eastern, with an ASA of over 75 people and a baptized membership of about 150
65 “Family Size” congregations: 32 Western + 33 Eastern; with an ASA of less than 75 people a baptized membership of about 100. Most of our family-size congregation have an ASA fewer than 30.
Four seasonal chapels, all in Western Michigan.
And we have several communities who gather beyond congregation — Plainsong Farm and Ministry, the Order of Naucratius, Camp Chickagami, Episcopal Youth Camp, and Holy Hikes Great Lakes — all are reaching new populations and leading us further beyond our walls.
That’s over 100 worshiping mission stations within our part of the lower peninsula shore to shore.
We are working to build Leadership Teams for each Collaborative to accompany and support congregations that need help visioning and making progress with their vision to thrive in ministry. More on this at this year’s Convention.
Where are we numerically?
Numerical growth follows clear and consistent practices of hope.
We are moving in our discernment to optimize our capacity for growth in mission and ministry. To do this with some clarity, we need to have a grasp numerically using our current but limited benchmarks.
We begin by acknowledging that we are declining dioceses like most dioceses in our area. According to our parochial data, during 2012-2021, we declined by 38% in Eastern Michigan and 31% in Western Michigan. I have noted that decline is not a gospel value. In my opinion, the decline of numbers in the mainline churches is a result of resigning to trends of cultural Christianity. In the words of Harry Emerson Fosdick, our prayer ought to be, “save us from weak resignation…” as leaders.
During this period, while I was serving in the Diocese of Rochester, we declined by only 9.7% in baptized members. We changed the trend of decline with intentional redirection and focused investment in congregational development. It is possible with common prayer and a shared plan.
We are working to build Leadership Teams in partnership with Thriving in Ministry (an initiative based out of Virginia Theological Seminary) for each Collaborative to accompany and support congregations that need help visioning and making progress with their vision to thrive—more on this at this year’s bi-diocesan convention.
We need you and your leaders to join us as confident and collaborative practitioners of congregational development. I urge you to join us for the inaugural session of our bi-diocesan College for Congregational Development this summer. Click here to learn more and start assembling your team.
Where are we going?
Thanks to the Building Bridges Steering Committee, we have a compelling and hopeful vision. Our vision and mission will help us follow Jesus and grow in spiritual and missional ways into the future.
The following draft mission and vision statements were recently presented to our diocesan leadership bodies for feedback, developed by the Building Bridges Steering Committee reflecting what they’ve heard and collected across the last few years and especially in our recent online and in-person series of Listening Sessions. I invite us to live into this vision and mission, remaining open to new learnings and feedback as we continue in partnership.
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Our Vision: A world transformed, in which all God’s children are unconditionally welcomed, cared for, and loved.
Our Mission: Called by Christ to proclaim and embody God’s boundless love for all creation, we grow:
Collaborative communities of faith, walking the journey together.
Courageous disciples, striving to transform systems of injustice.
We nurture relentless hope for a world longing for mercy, restoration, and peace.
https://edwm.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/EDWMLogo-01.png00Katie Forsythhttps://edwm.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/EDWMLogo-01.pngKatie Forsyth2023-04-14 08:30:502023-04-13 17:55:09A POST-EASTER UPDATE ON OUR SEASON OF PRACTICE
Daughters of the King throughout Eastern and Western Michigan are invited to a joint gathering across the dioceses. This is spring semi-annual gathering for our members and all those interested in the Order of the Daughters of the King.
The Order of the Daughters of the King is an order for women in The Episcopal Church and beyond our denomination. Its mission is to extend Christ’s Kingdom through prayer, service, and evangelism. Click here to learn more.
This event will also be livestreamed. On the RSVP form, attendees are asked to indicate whether they will attend online or in-person. The livestream link will be sent in a confirmation email.
We have sent this invitation to all DOK members in Eastern and Western Michigan for whom we have email addresses listed. Please pass this invitation along to your fellow members to ensure all who ought to receive this, does. This message was also sent to parish leadership, including clergy, senior wardens, and listed parish admins.
Questions about this event? Please contact Western Michigan DOK President Jeannine Totzke at jtotzke1@berriencounty.org or at 269-921-1127.
DATE & LOCATION
Saturday, April 22nd
10am-3pm
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
1025 3 Mile Rd NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49505
standrewsgr.org
RSVP
There is no cost to attend the Spring Assembly. A free will offering will be taken during our event to support our ministry.
https://edwm.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/unnamed-6-scaled.jpg14402560Michelle Ruizhttps://edwm.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/EDWMLogo-01.pngMichelle Ruiz2023-03-24 17:46:012023-03-24 17:46:01DAUGHTERS OF THE KING SPRING ASSEMBLY
Summer Opportunities in Eastern and Western Michigan
Calling all Episcopalians and beyond! The Episcopal Dioceses of Eastern and Western Michigan have a wealth of formation experiences to offer for all ages throughout our coming warmer months.
Please read below for a listing of 2023 camp and retreat offerings from our diocesan camp and retreat centers: Eastern Michigan’s Camp Chickagami in Presque Isle and on the road, Western Michigan’s Episcopal Youth Camp taking place this year at Stony Lake Camp in New Era, and Plainsong Farm and Ministry in Rockford, who will offer day camps for the first time ever in 2023!
Our sessions are offered throughout the summer for every age group — opportunities for children and youth, for families, and for adults. These offerings are open to all people regardless of location, diocese, or church affiliation.
SUMMER 2023
FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH
April 25, 27 and May 2, 4 (4-6pm) – Farm Club (Session 1)
Plainsong Farm in Rockford, MI
For 3-5th Graders
$72 (or $142 for Sessions 1 & 2) – Learn more and Register
May 16, 18, 23, 25 (4-6pm) – Farm Club (Session 2)
Plainsong Farm in Rockford, MI
For 3-5th Graders
$72 (or $142 for Sessions 1 & 2) – Learn more and Register
June 19-22 (9-Noon) – Summer Farm Day Camp: Little Gardeners
Plainsong Farm in Rockford, MI
For 1-2nd Graders
$120 – Learn more and register
June 26-29 (9-3pm) – Summer Farm Day Camp: Earthkeepers
Plainsong Farm in Rockford, MI
For 3-4th Graders
$240 – Learn more and register
July 1-2 (12:30-3:30pm) – Regional Day Camp in Grand Rapids
Hosted by Sudanese Grace, Grand Rapids, with Camp Chickagami
For rising 1-6th graders
Tiered pricing starting at $10 – Learn more and register
July 5-6 (10-2pm) – Regional Day Camp in Traverse City
Hosted by Grace, Traverse City, with Camp Chickagami
For rising 1-6th graders
Tiered pricing starting at $10 – Learn more and register
July 9-14 – Junior Camp
Camp Chickagami in Presque Isle, MI
For rising 3-5th graders
Tiered pricing starting at $400 – Learn more and register
July 9-14 – Counselors-in-Training Camp
Camp Chickagami in Presque Isle, MI
For rising 10-12th graders
Tiered pricing starting at $250 – Learn more and register
July 10-13 (9-3pm) – Summer Farm Day Camp: Jr. Master Gardeners
Plainsong Farm in Rockford, MI
For 5-6th Graders
$240 – Learn more and register
July 16-21 – Intermediate Camp
Camp Chickagami in Presque Isle, MI
For rising 4-7th graders
Tiered pricing starting at $400 – Learn more and register
July 16-21 – Pioneer Trip Camp
Camp Chickagami in Presque Isle, MI
For rising 9-12th graders
Tiered pricing starting at $400 – Learn more and register
July 17-20 (9:30-4pm) – Local Day Camp
Camp Chickagami in Presque Isle, MI
For rising 1-5th graders
Tiered pricing starting at $100 – Learn more and register
July 17-20 (9-3pm) – Summer Farm Day Camp: Earthkeepers
Plainsong Farm in Rockford, MI
For 3-4th Graders
$240 – Learn more and register
July 22 – Traveling Trip Camp
Leaving from Camp Chickagami in Presque Isle, MI; Team building, ropes course, and canoe trip on lower peninsula river
For rising 9-12 graders
Tiered pricing starting at $700 – Learn more and register
July 23-24 (Noon-4pm) – Regional Day Camp in Saginaw
Hosted by St. John’s, Saginaw, with Camp Chickagami
For rising 1-6th graders
Tiered pricing starting at $10 – Learn more and register
July 25-26 (10-2pm) – Regional Day Camp in Midland
Hosted by St. John’s, Midland, with Camp Chickagami
For rising 1-6th graders
Tiered pricing starting at $10 – Learn more and register
July 27-28 (10-2pm) – Regional Day Camp in Kalamazoo
Hosted by St. Luke’s, Kalamazoo, with Camp Chickagami
For rising 1-6th graders
Tiered pricing starting at $10 – Learn more and register
July 30-August 4 – Middle Camp
Camp Chickagami in Presque Isle, MI
For rising 6-8th graders
Tiered pricing starting at $400 – Learn more and register
July 30-August 5 – Episcopal Youth Camp
Stony Lake Lutheran Camp in New Era, MI with EYC
For rising 3-12th Graders
$450 (Discount of $50 per additional sibling) – Learn more and register
July 31-August 4 (9:30-4pm) – Local Day Camp
Camp Chickagami in Presque Isle, MI
For rising 1-5th graders
Tiered pricing starting at $100 – Learn more and register
August 7-10 (9-3pm) – Summer Farm Day Camp: Jr. Master Gardeners
Plainsong Farm in Rockford, MI
For 5-6th Graders
$240 – Learn more and register
FOR FAMILIES
April 26-May 4 (Wednesdays from 9-10:15am) – Families on the Farm
Plainsong Farm in Rockford, MI
For children ages five and younger with their caregivers
$20/session or $90/five-week series – Learn more and register
June 16-19 – Days at the Lake
Camp Chickagami in Presque Isle, MI
Tiered pricing starting at $300 – Learn more and register And join June 17th bi-diocesan Holy Hike to Lake Huron! – Info
June 19-22 – Family Camp (Session 1)
Camp Chickagami in Presque Isle, MI
Tiered pricing starting at $300 – Learn more and register
June 26-29 – Family Camp (Session 2)
Camp Chickagami in Presque Isle, MI
Tiered pricing starting at $300 – Learn more and register
FOR ADULTS
August 18-20 – Spiritual Practices Retreat
Led by the Rev. Anna Leigh Kubbe and Beckett Leclaire
Camp Chickagami in Presque Isle, MI
For adults 18 and older
Tiered pricing starting at $300 – Learn more and register
September 2-4 – Young Adult Retreat
Camp Chickagami in Presque Isle, MI
Adults in College-Millenial Gen.
Pay what you can – Learn more and register
September 22-24 – Contemplative Fiber Arts Retreat
Led by the Rev. Radha Kaminski
Camp Chickagami in Presque Isle, MI
For adults 18 and older
Tiered pricing starting at $300 – Learn more and register
ABOUT OUR CAMP & RETREAT CENTERS
CAMP CHICKAGAMI
Camp Chickagami, located in Presque Isle, Michigan on the shores of Lake Esau and Lake Huron, is the ACA-Accredited Family Camping and Retreat Center of the Episcopal Diocese of Eastern Michigan. Founded in 1929 as an Episcopal camp for boys, the program and facility now offers summer youth and family camps for all ages and genders, facilitated adult retreats, and rental space for individuals, families, and groups.
Episcopal Youth Camp is the decades-long camping program of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Michigan. This year’s one-week camp program for all ages will take place at Stony Lake Lutheran Camp in New Era, Michigan. Their volunteer-led program seeks to build deeper relationships between one another and with God in a loving, inclusive community where all are welcome.
Plainsong Farm and Ministry is an agency of The Episcopal Church and a cooperating ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Michigan. Through their local and national work, Plainsong seeks to cultivate disciples through the lens of farm and food, address local food insecurity through their Nourish Your Neighbor program and grow the conversation about wiser use of church-owned land. This is the first year that Plainsong’s farm formation programs will include opportunities for 1-6th grade students.
https://edwm.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/unnamed-2.png10811920Michelle Ruizhttps://edwm.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/EDWMLogo-01.pngMichelle Ruiz2023-03-24 16:52:322023-03-24 16:52:32CAMPS AND RETREATS FOR ALL AGES
Last fall, Bishop Singh sat down with the three most recent Standing Committee Presidents serving Eastern and Western Michigan: Barb Ilkka (current, Eastern Michigan), the Rev. Brian Chace (former, Eastern Michigan), and the Rev. Dr. Randall Warren (current, Western Michigan). Together, they consider what it means to serve in governmental leadership in our dioceses, reflect on their last few years of working together across diocesan lines, and look ahead to continuing to explore deepened relationship through our Season of Practice.
While watching this long-form video (around 25 minutes) as an individual or in a small group, we invite you to respond to similar questions:
What does it mean to exercise leadership in church governance?
What have you learned from this bi-diocesan partnership so far?
What assumptions did you have about the other diocese before interacting on a personal level? What was surprising?
What dreams do you have for our dioceses? For our church?
Check out previous videos in our ongoing Season of Practice Series:
https://edwm.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/victoria-strukovskaya-OAlYImdG1IQ-unsplash-scaled.jpg17062560Michelle Ruizhttps://edwm.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/EDWMLogo-01.pngMichelle Ruiz2023-03-10 10:16:192023-03-10 10:16:19OUR SEASON OF PRACTICE
request your prayers and presence
as we renew and celebrate our ministry with
The Rev. Eileen Stoffan
on the Thirtieth day of March
in the Year of our Lord Two Thousand Twenty-three,
at five thirty in the evening
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
1006 3rd Street
Muskegon, Michigan 49440
Reception to follow. Clergy: surplice, cassock, red stole
https://edwm.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/unnamed-2-scaled.jpg14402560Michelle Ruizhttps://edwm.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/EDWMLogo-01.pngMichelle Ruiz2023-03-10 09:56:252023-03-10 09:56:25Celebration of Ministry – Eileen Stoffan and St. Paul’s, Muskegon
Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him. Matthew 4:11
When the devil leaves, angels arrive and minister to Jesus. The cosmic choreography is striking.
We live amid devilish actions. Some actions are temporal and visible to us. Some are cosmic and less visual yet intuitive. One year after Putin’s war against Ukraine, and in a year when we have had fewer days than mass shootings, we must pay attention to aggression. Turkey and Syria rising from an earthquake with more than 50,000 people dead. We are all rising from the fading impact of the pandemic. We are wise to pause, fast, and pray.
We have been traveling together as people of the Way in Eastern and Western Michigan. Thank you for the privilege of accompanying you as your bishop provisional. I am honored and humbled!
As we engage in the season of Lent, I can see some convergence between Lent and our Season of Practice. Lenten practices of arms giving, fasting, and prayer give us some spiritual muscle memory to discern other methods. Methods like curiosity, discernment, and an openness to see how much we have in common. It usually provides the grace to navigate our differences. Curiosity is one of the best expressions of love.
Jiddhu Krishnamurti, an Indian Philosopher, said, “the ability to observe without evaluating is the highest form of intelligence.” I would go further and add that it is the highest form of respect! We are in a beautiful place of exploration of one another. Let us be curious and see each other for the mysterious gift we are to one another.
We are amid many transitions. With transition comes grief and a degree of anxiety. The most apparent change of our time is the pandemic and all the misery and losses the world has endured. You have had a transition in the episcopate with a bishop provisional who has a strange hue compared to his predecessors, a different accent, and likes spicy food!
We asked the General Convention to pay attention to the process of pastoral support during a disciplinary process involving a bishop. Western Michigan is experiencing transitions with the departure of the CFO, a Canon Missioner, and two more Canon Missioners in the next few months. We are discerning new maps for new regions as we interview and prepare to call new Regional Canons to help us become thriving, beloved communities.
Behind each of these transitions is the spiritual practice of discernment. The second spiritual practice I would hold up is discernment. We must discern how to be and what to do. There are two expressions of agency, which is the end of discernment. A significant part of discernment is figuring out prayerfully when to practice what kind of agency. The first kind is where you act from the call, “don’t just stand there, do something.” The second kind of agency is responding to the invitation, “don’t just do something; stand there.” Let us discern and practice these during our season of practice with grace and patience.
Finally, let’s practice the gift of discovering our commonalities within and across the dioceses. Let us then allow the energy from these common ground experiences to help us navigate the places where we are different. In this Season of Practice and Lent, let us invite angelic expressions of curiosity, discernment, and commonalities while recognizing demonic forces that tempt us to go after shiny objects. May our prayer, fasting, and almsgiving help us develop the mind of Christ. Have a Holy Lent!
https://edwm.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/unnamed-6-scaled.jpg14402560Michelle Ruizhttps://edwm.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/EDWMLogo-01.pngMichelle Ruiz2023-03-03 15:02:092023-03-03 15:07:19A Lenten Message from Bishop Singh
Those who work with children and youth — staff and volunteer, lay and clergy — are invited to participate in seasonal resource shares with others across our two dioceses.
This is an opportunity to meet and learn from other youth and children ministers. Come share the amazing things you’re working on and resources that you’ve found. Bring questions to collaborate on with colleagues. Please join us for this opportunity to gather useful tools and resources to utilize with your young people according to the natural rhythms of the church program season.
These online Zoom meetings take place on Thursday mornings from 10am-Noon. Please RSVP using the links below.
The communities of Eastern and Western Michigan are invited to join our local chapter of Holy Hikes Great Lakes (a bi-diocesan ministry!) for worship, fellowship, and fun in 2023.
In 2023, we’ll take on five hikes throughout the lower peninsula, from April through October 2023. Our Holy Hikes are like liturgy on the move — we will be hiking and praying along the way, hearing scripture and learning about God’s creation.
All hiking sites have been carefully selected to be rated “easy” treks to ensure access for all generations and most mobilities. We expect to spend about 90 minutes on the trail, including time both hiking and stopping for prayer and reflection. We end each hike with trailside fellowship! In the case of heavy rain, the date will be rescheduled.
Please read below for the 2023 season dates and locations, to learn how your congregation can support a nearby hike, and to learn more about the church-wide Holy Hikes network. We ask that all participants RSVP so we know how many to expect and so that we can be in touch with more specific directions to the trailhead and in case of inclement weather.
(Photo: The group pauses for a photo during last season’s Holy Hike at the Blue Water Riverwalk in Port Huron.)
Our Holy Hikes Chapter Coordinator is Beckett Leclaire (Eastern Regional Youth Missioner; St. John’s, Dryden). Questions? Contact Beckett at bleclaire@eastmich.org or bleclaire@edwm.org.
ABOUT HOLY HIKES
Holy Hikes is a church-wide eco-ministry network affiliated with the Episcopal Church, the Anglican Communion, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. It was developed with the goal of helping individuals be renewed in their relationship with the earth, the Church, and the Creator. Holy Hikes calls us beyond the walls of comfort, to take a step (or a hike!) towards reunion with the earth and all of its life and beauty.
2023 SCHEDULE & LOCATIONS
APRIL 22nd at 1PM EARTH DAY & VALUING WATER
Stepping Stone Falls
5161 Branch Road
Flint, MI 48506
Make a day of it — The Episcopal Church’s Concert for the Human Family will take place nearby later that evening. Learn more and buy tickets.
JUNE 17th at 1PM
STEWARDSHIP OF CREATION
Lake Huron Trail from Camp Chickagami
6952 Kauffman Road
Presque Isle, MI 49777
Less than two mile hike.
Leashed dogs are welcome.
Make a weekend of it — Camp Chickagami’s “Days at the Lake” Camp for adults and families takes place June 16-19, 2023 and participants will have the option to join us for our hike. Learn more and register.
AUGUST 26th at 1PM
THE KINSHIP AND UNITY OF ALL CREATION
Newaygo Welcome Center Loop
4684 Evergreen Dr.
Newaygo, MI 48337
How can my congregation support a nearby Holy Hike?
First, we’d love for you to share this invitation broadly with your community. We’d love to welcome as many people as possible as participants! Additionally, we could use some support manning the welcome station (helping greet latecomers, especially) and preparing the hospitality post-hike. To get in touch with Beckett, please email bleclaire@eastmich.org or bleclaire@edwm.org.
How should we pack for a Holy Hike?
For all participants to keep safe and healthy during our hikes, we ask that you pack the following items:
Water bottle with plenty of water
Bug spray (look for one that wards off ticks)
Sunscreen
(If bringing a dog) Six-foot leash and waste baggies
(Optional) Bag chair, for fellowship at the trailhead
Please wear close-toed shoes, comfortable for heavy walking.
Who’s invited?
Holy Hikes are open to all – you do not need to be an Episcopalian or a member of a church to join. Bring friends!
There are no age limits to participation, but we do require that any minors (kids under 18) be accompanied by a designated adult.
Can my dog come?
Friendly dogs are welcome to join us if permitted by the particular site. In all circumstances, the dog should be leashed (6 ft. max leash) and all waste picked up and removed.
RSVP
There is no cost to attend any of the Holy Hikes events, but your RSVP helps us plan and communicate in case of weather.