All DOK members of Eastern and Western Michigan are invited to join us for the first gathering of the Daughters of the King
in two years! It is a time to gather, pray and give thanks for God’s goodness as we explore our 2022 theme, Partners in Ministry.
Plan to attend to help establish new goals, form relationships across dioceses, and to spend time with our new Bishop Provisional, The Rt.Rev. Prince Singh.
Bishop Singh will offer the main address for the Assembly.
Questions about the event?
Please contact Western Michigan DOK President, Jeanine Totzke, at jtotzke@berriencounty.org or at 269-921-1127.
Questions about your registration?
Please contact Lois Weed at lweed11@comcast.net or 269-535-0050.
The cost to attend is $10, which includes lunch. Please register before September 21st.
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.
During her preparation for her D.Min. in Preaching, the Rev. Canon Dr. Tracie Little, Canon to the Ordinary serving Eastern Michigan, developed the Barrier-Pivot-Passage model for preaching for spiritual formation within a congregation that had identified a restlessness and readiness to deepen their spirituality. The preaching project that unfolded at St. Jude’s, Fenton during that time revealed that this model can help listeners connect the pattern of Barrier-Pivot-Passage in scripture to their own spiritual lives, having an impact on their participation with God’s ongoing work in the world.
This workshop will help participants craft sermons that move congregations focused on cognitive learning from a head experience into an engagement with the heart, leading to a growing awareness of their own response to God.
This event, which will take place on Saturday, September 24th from 10-3pm, is offered for all clergy and licensed lay preachers serving in Eastern and Western Michigan.
Please contact the Rev. Canon Dr. Tracie Little with any questions – tlittle@eastmich.org.
St. John’s Episcopal Church
405 N. Saginaw Road
Midland, MI
This event is open to all clergy and licensed lay preachers in Eastern and Western Michigan. The cost to participate has been subsidized to $10 per person, which includes lunch.
Please register by September 10th.
Dear Friends,
Earlier this week, while reviewing preliminary documents and procedures for the upcoming Lambeth Conference of the Anglican Communion, colleagues discovered the inclusion of a decades-old statement; one discriminatory to our beloved LGBTQ+ siblings. Attending bishops are asked to either affirm the statement or indicate that they “need more time for discernment.” There is no option for “no,” which would be the earth-shaking response from the vast majority of bishops from The Episcopal Church and others. You may remember that I had already chosen not to attend due to earlier discriminatory actions against our LGBTQ+ bishops and spouses.
While we wait for a broader statement from our Presiding Bishop’s office, let me make a brief observation from my perch as Bishop Provisional of Eastern and Western Michigan.
Canterbury has stated to address “the call” as it prepares to meet for its historic Lambeth conference. It identifies a “gap between rhetoric and reality” and names, particularly, “historical exploitation, deepening poverty, and prejudice” that “continues to threaten human dignity.” I find it ironic that Canterbury then scapegoats one of the critical vulnerabilities within the Anglican Communion, the prejudice against LGBTQ+ Anglicans, as the area that needs “deeper work.” The gaps between rhetoric and reality could not be more exacerbated than Canterbury’s handling of this “divide” between rhetoric and LGBTQ+ reality.
The Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral asks us to value local expressions of Episcopal Authority, such as those in North America and elsewhere in the Anglican Communion. These dioceses give us ample examples of how to bridge the gap between rhetoric and practice as far as LGBTQ+ saints are concerned. To treat this giftedness as anything other than the Anglican Communion’s opportunity to learn from parts of the communion and enhance everyday life is to play divide and rule politics. This divisive Lambeth Conference move preserves a passive peace and the victims of prejudice will bear the burden of a body that refuses to do its deepening soul work. Canterbury’s act of disinviting spouses of LGBTQ+ Bishops reinforces this gap between rhetoric and the practice of holiness as embodied in the marriage of LGBTQ+ saints!
To place the life and witness of our LGBTQ+ saints in contrast to marriage between a man and a woman is a colonial ploy by an empire that is perhaps holding on to the last vestiges of its arbiter role. It also could be another attempt of Canterbury’s at clinging to relevance using an instrument of unity–Lambeth–to embrace legislative action while also appearing not to do so.
Let me be clear to all who need to hear as a bishop witnessing the redemptive power of the gospel of Jesus Christ in this branch of the Anglican Communion. The Episcopal Dioceses of Eastern and Western Michigan have addressed the so-called gap in practicing radical hospitality by valuing the dignity of LGBTQ+ saints! In so doing, we have embraced the doctrine, discipline, and worship of Christ as this church has received them. We have willingly helped anyone who wants to do more profound work in this area of our faith in action. In response to Christ’s call to love one another as he has loved us, we welcome all and value their dignity without reservation!
Yours in Christ,
The Rt. Rev. Prince Singh
Bishop Provisional
The Episcopal Dioceses of Eastern and Western Michigan
Endorsed by the Standing Committees of Eastern and Western Michigan:
Barb Ilkka
President
St. John’s, Saginaw
The Rev. Brian Chace
Retired, Northern Region
The Rev. Don Davidson
St. Paul’s, Flint
Jelecia Geraghty
St. Paul’s, Flint
Gary Grinn
St. Paul’s, Gladwin
The Rev. Anna Leigh Kubbe
Holy Family, Blue Water
The Rev. Dr. Randall Warren
President
St. Luke’s, Kalamazoo
Martha Bartlett
St. James, Pentwater
The Rev. Diane Pike
Retired, Southern Region
Carole Redwine
St. Philip’s, Grand Rapids
The Rev. Anne Schnaare
Grace, Grand Rapids
Fred Skidmore
St. Andrew’s, Grand Rapids
The Rev. Eileen Stoffan
St. Paul’s, Muskegon
Dear Friends in Christ,
Eastern and Western Michigan will be offering training for lay preachers seeking to get licensed in our dioceses. The courses take place alongside our Academy for Vocational Leadership. If you feel called to serve as a lay preacher, please speak with your priest (or senior warden if your congregation is without a priest) and, with their approval, complete the application by the August 15th deadline.
To complete the classwork in order to receive a license, the lay preacher is required to take one year of Bible instruction and one year of Homiletics formation. These may be completed by participating in both classes in one academic year or by taking Bible this year and Homiletics next year.
This formation expectation is a change for new preaching licenses in Western Michigan. Those previously licensed in Western Michigan will be expected to have completed some form of continuing education (on Scripture or homiletics) before their license will be renewed in December. You are encouraged to consider participating in the Academy programs as a means of completing this requirement and further equipping oneself for this ministry.
The 2022-23 school year will be a mixture of in-person at the St. Francis Retreat Center in DeWitt and online via Zoom. The cost to participate in both classes is $1,000 (or Bible only for $720). During the weekend, participants interact with Academy students at meals, worship, and break times. Each Saturday follows the same pattern, with the Bible course taught from 9:30-3:30pm and Homiletics taught from 7-9pm. Please read below for dates.
If you have any questions, please contact me at tlittle@eastmich.org or by phone at 810-300-9177.
Blessings,
The Rev. Canon Dr. Tracie Little
Coordinator, The Academy for Vocational Leadership
Canon to the Ordinary, The Episcopal Diocese of Eastern Michigan
The Academy for Vocational Leadership is a bi-diocesan program of formation, including courses for laity (like the preaching series), and a
three-year program of preparation for the diaconate or priesthood. Courses are taught by seminary faculty from the Iona Collaborative, a program of the Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, TX, with discussions and coursework directed by local faculty.
Learn more about the Academy on our websites – Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan.
Photo: A previous graduating class of the Academy – Kelly Scheu (Diocese of Michigan), the Rev. Nancy Mayhew (St. Alban’s, Bay City), the Rev. Tom Manney (St. Paul’s, Bad Axe and St. John’s, Dryden), and the Rev. Wendy Brown (St. John’s, Charlotte).
September 10, 2022 at The St. Francis Retreat Center in Dewitt
October 15, 2022 at The St. Francis Retreat Center in Dewitt
November 12 via Zoom
December 10, 2022 at The St. Francis Retreat Center in Dewitt
January 21, 2023 via Zoom
February 18, 2023 via Zoom
March 25, 2023 at The St. Francis Retreat Center in Dewitt
April 15, 2023 at The St. Francis Retreat Center in Dewitt
May 13, 2023 at The St. Francis Retreat Center in Dewitt
June 10, 2023 at The St. Francis Retreat Center in Dewitt
Dear Saints,
I write in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade, a step back in human rights, privacy, and safety for so many of our beloved siblings, neighbors, and friends. We do not forget that this decision threatens not only access to life-saving healthcare but the rights of so many others that have been so hard-fought — same-sex marriage, access to contraception, and other protections.
When the decision was leaked earlier this year, I wrote, “As Episcopalians, we commit every day to respect the dignity of every human being – one’s dignity requires the existence of choice over control, freedom over force, and abundant love over fear.” This does not change with today’s official decision.
On this day, we grieve and pray that the redeeming love of Christ who knows all that we are and all that we were created to achieve.
I commend to you this Service of Lament and Healing written by six leaders in our Church. They offer this liturgy as a gift to our community, adaptable to local customs and contexts.
Please join me and Canon Forsyth on Facebook Live tomorrow morning at 10am EDT to pray the litany together with our diocesan communities. Access our scheduled broadcast on Eastern Michigan’s Facebook Page or Western Michigan’s Facebook Page.
I invite you to pray with me one of the collects included in the litany,
We pray for those who are afraid, lost, and in the midst of turmoil of spirit and mind. We pray for those who lament the loss of bodily autonomy, for those who fear the loss of other civil rights, and for those who fear the unknown of the world ahead. We pray especially for all who will be disproportionately affected by a lack of reproductive rights, especially people who are Black, Indigenous, Asian, Brown, People of Color, trans and nonbinary. We pray for all who live in poverty, and for those who live in rural areas, who will also be disproportionately affected. May we be resolved in our commitment to hope, knowing that to hope in God is to never hope in vain.
Yours in Christ,
The Rt. Rev. Prince Singh
Bishop Provisional
The Episcopal Dioceses of Eastern and Western Michigan
As our diocesan deputations to General Convention prepared for our work, we discerned a desire to communicate to the wider church our shared experience of the recent Title IV process around our former bishop’s suspension. In exploring whether to submit a resolution or memorial, we entered conversation with those who served during this time as presidents of our Standing Committees as well as our provisional bishop, the Rt. Rev. Prince Singh.
Resolutions call on General Convention to take specific legislative action. In order to be accepted, a resolution must be approved in identical language by both the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies. A memorial is more like a letter written to General Convention and is used to draw attention to a “matter of great importance” to the Church. Unlike resolutions, memorials do not create binding actions. Both are used to speak to the Church in efforts to effect change. We submitted one of each. Click these links to find the texts of the Memorial from Deputies of Eastern and Western Michigan (M015) and Resolution (D095) with Explanation.
This memorial and resolution were endorsed almost unanimously by our deputations and have the full support and input of Bishop Singh.
As a part of the General Convention process, each resolution receives a hearing, an opportunity for the people (any Episcopalian) to speak to the proposed legislation. The hearing for Resolution D095 (and others assigned to the Title IV Committee) will be on Thursday, June 16, 7:30-9:30pm via Zoom. If you would like to speak to our resolution or observe the hearing, you can register to do that here. Click here to learn how to sign up to testify and what this means.
We offer this memorial and resolution to the larger Church for the sake of healing: both for our own healing as dioceses and hopefully beyond us too. This moment is not about the behaviors of any one person or office. Instead, we’re attempting to draw attention to systemic issues that collectively, as Church, we have the capacity to address. After experiencing a process more painful and costly than it needed to be, we believe our Church can do better. In this memorial and resolution we offer some of our truth along with our genuine hope that better is not only possible but is within our reach.
On behalf of the Deputations of Eastern and Western Michigan,
The Rev. Jen Adams – Grace, Grace, Holland
Bill Fleener, Jr. – Bi-Diocesan Chancellor; St. David’s, Lansing
The Rev. Nurya Love Parish – Plainsong Farm
Linda Rathburn – St. Christopher’s, Grand Blanc
Join us at Camp Naucratius, a weekend camp program filled with friends, family, fishing, and life-long memories.
This is the first (and hopefully annual!) Naucratius Family Camp! We’ll offer some programming, built-in free time, fishing, hiking, games, prayer and worship, and more. All planned activities for the weekend are no-pressure, allowing participants to join and and participate at their leisure. Children must be supervised at all times by their parents/guardians. One does not need to be an Episcopalian or an expert angler to join us for Camp Naucratius!
The Order of Naucratius is a community and network of hunters and anglers engaging in the spiritual practice of sharing our harvested abundance with neighbors experiencing hunger. Learn more about the Order, a recognized cooperating ministry of Western Michigan with leadership and participants from both Eastern and Western Michigan, on their website, onwm.org.
Please contact the Rev. Christian Baron, Director of the Order of Naucratius, with any questions – christianjohnbaron@gmail.com or 512-826-9657.
COVID SAFETY
In order to keep our community safe and healthy during this overnight event, all participants will be required to complete a rapid COVID test upon arrival and receive a negative result to proceed to their lodging. Tests will be provided by our hosts. Thank you for your understanding and patience!
OUR HOST
Camp Chickagami, incorporated in 1929, is the ACA accredited camp and retreat center owned and operated by the Episcopal Diocese of Eastern Michigan. Located in Presque Isle, Michigan with frontage on Lake Esau and access to Lake Huron, Camp Chick offers rental stays and programming for children, youth, and adults throughout the summer. Learn more at campchickagami.org.
LODGING
There are a number of different options for lodging, including family-style cabins, bunk-style dorm cabins, and tent/RV camping spots.
Accomodations will be assigned by Camp Chick staff by family unit. To request sharing lodging with another family or to arrange for a specific lodging type (including indicating that you will bring a tent or RV), please email directors@campchickagami.org.
REGISTRATION
Thanks to a grant from The Episcopal Church and support from the Episcopal Diocese of Western Michigan, this event has been subsidized to $50 per person over 12. Children 12 and younger may participate at no cost.
An optional Friday afternoon charter fishing experience on Lake Huron is priced at an extra $80/person.
The registration deadline is August 25th.
