July 21-26, 2024 in Midland, MI

The College for Congregational Development (CCD) is a comprehensive training program, rooted in the tradition, ethos, and character of the Episcopal Church, that seeks to nurture and develop congregational development practitioners from within the local community.

Originally begun in the Diocese of Olympia, CCD has grown and expanded, now supporting congregational development in over a dozen dioceses. In July of 2023, thirty-five lay and ordained leaders from thirteen congregations/covenant groups helped launch CCD in Eastern and Western Michigan. We are excited to build on the success of our diocesan launch, and we are inviting you to be a part of the training for transformation in your congregation in 2024.

This two-year program gathers each year in a one-week session, focusing on the formation and transformation of congregational teams in recognition that teams are more likely to be able to create positive change.

Key components of the program include:

• Looking at our current reality (Who are we? What are we? Where are we?)
• Discerning our future (What is God inviting us to do and to be at this time and in this place?)
• Working on strategies, goals, and actions (How do we get there?)

What is “congregational development?”
Congregational development is the development of congregations of all sizes and locations into more faithful, healthy, and effective communities that are:

• Focused on and faithful to their unique reason for being/primary task as congregations which are full expressions of the Body of Christ
• Connected to and expressive of their unique ecclesial tradition, ethos, and character
• Self-renewing and responsive to the challenges and opportunities before them
• Sustainable or working toward greater sustainability in terms of a fit between the elements of their organizational life: vision for ministry, leadership, culture, size, property, finances, etc.

Participating congregations send teams to CCD training who will complete both years by engaging in practical on-the-ground projects, required reading, and the completion of final certification and graduation. Teams should include any parish clergy. For congregations for whom gathering a team of 3 or more members may be difficult, the formation of regional collaborations is encouraged.

With questions, please contact the Rev. BJ Heyboer, coordinator of our bi-diocesan CCD program, at ccd@eastmich.org or ccd@edwm.org.

LOCATION

FAQs & DETAILS

What will participants learn?
The College seeks to quip people with knowledge and skills at three levels: individual, team, and system. The program includes theory, application exercises and experiential learning, and planning, doing, and evaluating at-home projects.

The program works toward the development of a learning community throughout the dioceses, sharing common experience, skills, and language for working together.

Facilitation skills are a particularly central practical element of learning throughout the program. We also make extensive use of a set of core models to help us think about our congregations as systems.

Who should we invite to join our team?
Teams should be 3 or more people with a keen interest and capacity to learn, engage, and bring the content home to their congregation. Clergy staff should be part of their congregation’s team.

Teams are usually from a single congregation. We will also accept combined teams from congregations in collaboration with one another.

What are the components of the training that team members will be expected to complete?
In order to graduate, all team members must participate in Year A and Year B sessions, complete a required reading list, conduct and participate in two team projects in your congregation, and complete a final core models exam (which can be retaken as needed until passed).

Where will we sleep? Where will we meet?
CCD participants in need of local accommodation will stay in on-campus apartments at Northwood University in Midland. While specific assignments will be made by our CCD organizers based on mobility needs and more, most participants will be assigned to single bedrooms within air-conditioned 2-4-bedroom apartments, each apartment with its own bathroom.

Our training sessions will all take place at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Midland, a short 6-minute drive from Northwood.

What are the expectations around COVID-19 health and safety?
Specific COVID-19 expectations and policies will be set closer to the session in consideration of our status at that time. Regardless, up-to-date vaccinations and boosters are encouraged.

REGISTRATION

HOW MUCH DOES CCD COST?
Through significant subsidy from the dioceses, congregational teams of up to three people are able to attend the week-long session for the flat fee of $900, including all materials, meals, accommodations, and more. Essentially, this offer is “buy one, get two free!”

Additional team members are, of course, welcome; each additional member adds $900.

HOW WILL PAYMENTS BE HANDLED?
Due to the larger fee associated with this event, we will not be processing payments on the registration form. After you register, you will receive an invoice for your team from The Episcopal Diocese of Eastern Michigan (they’re handling the income/expenses for CCD), which will be payable by credit card or check.

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The deadline to register your team is June 1, 2024.

Further training for licensed lay worship leaders

Our whole series invitation to 2024 Worship Leader Trainings was published in November 2023.

The next session in our 2024 Worship Leader Training series takes place on Zoom on Saturday, February 3rd, beginning at 10am and lasting no longer than 2pm. This session focuses on preparing for and leading worship around Lent and Holy Week.

Participants will receive specific instruction around this special holy season to build confidence, knowledge of the liturgies, and to lead the congregation well through any lay-led services. It is expected that participants in this session are either already licensed or have recently completed the introductory worship leading course and are pending licensure.

Participants should have a copy of the Book of Common Prayer that you can write in with you as you participate in the session.

Worship Leaders are laity who regularly lead public worship in the absence of clergy. Training for this license takes place at the diocesan level or in another setting pre-approved by the Canon for Adult Formation. Individuals seeking renewal (EM – Advent 2026, WM – Advent 2027) are expected to participate in continuing education.

Please read below for additional dates and registration.

Questions about this event? Please contact our trainer, the Rev. Paul Brunell (Christ Church, Owosso) at pbrunell_grayling@hotmail.com or at 989-723-2495.

ALL UPCOMING DATES:

2024 TRAININGS

• Saturday, February 3, 2024 via Zoom – Lent and Holy Week*
  (Registration deadline: January 28)
• Saturday, May 4, 2024 at St. Andrew’s, Gaylord – Basic Worship Leader Training (incl. lunch)
  (Registration deadline: April 28)
• Saturday, September 14, 2024 via Zoom – Funeral Preparation*
  (Registration deadline: September 8)

* Continuing education sessions require participants to have already completed their license to serve as a Worship Leader.

REGISTRATION

The cost to participate is $25 per session, which helps to cover trainer time, materials, and other associated expenses.

If the cost to attend is a barrier to your participation and you are unable to recieve financial support from your congregation, please contact Canon Little at tlittle@eastmich.org or tlittle@edwm.org.

Please read the list of dates above for registration deadlines.

Opportunities to Review and Provide Input on Proposals

The following invitation to further public conversation and feedback was sent to the dioceses in early December. The documents for review and feedback during these sessions are now available and posted to the diocesan websites (see links below). Please register to add your voice to this important process and share broadly with your congregation.

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It’s been a busy and complex many years in the Dioceses of Eastern and Western Michigan. Since Eastern Michigan first issued the invitation to discernment in 2018 and Western Michigan responded with “yes!” in 2019, together we’ve navigated a pandemic, two cases of bishop discipline, and a rapidly changing church. These years and moments have been spirit-filled and not always easy nor perfectly lived, but we’ve navigated them well with deep care for one another, the communities we tend, and for the future of our beloved church.

With a March Special Convention on the horizon, we are in the last few months of our discernment process as partnering dioceses and we need YOUR help!!

At our recent diocesan convention, our Building Bridges Steering Committee offered an extended report about their work over the last several years: what they’ve done, what they’ve heard, what they’ve learned, and – based on those things – what this all tells us about opportunities present for us as Episcopalians in this place. Their report, titled “Better Together” articulates the “why” of their recommendation to move forward seeking “juncture” – the creation of a new diocese out of our combined body.

Click here to access the 2023 Building Bridges Report to Convention.
Click here to access the new Frequently Asked Questions, created from input from delegates.

As articulated in the report, the Building Bridges team is hard at work, gathering leaders and drafting documents that are required for the Agreement of Union – the set of materials which will be submitted to the Special Joint Convention on March 16th in the vote for juncture. Should our joint convention act for juncture, the Agreement of Union would be submitted to the General Convention of The Episcopal Church for affirmation. The Agreement of Union includes:

• The Draft Constitution and Canons for the new diocese (The canons would then be presented for adoption – with amendment possible – at the first convention of the new diocese in October.)
• Summary of the financial resources and means of funding the mission and ministries of the new diocese
• Broad timeline and basic plan for the election of the first bishop diocesan of the proposed new diocese
• Name of the new diocese

We’ve been working on these drafts to present in full to the pre-convention meetings and Special Convention of the dioceses, however before we finalize them, we need your input and feedback on several areas of recommendation: apportionment calculations, regions/collaboratives, the make up of diocesan councils and standing committees, etc. During these upcoming Feedback Sessions, our committee will walk participants through these recommendations, identifying what the current canons of each our dioceses say, what the committee recommends for a new diocese and why. Your input will directly influence the final, content of the Agreement of Union as it will be submitted to the Special Joint Convention and this critical step in developing our canons and structures.

Your input can also help us identify what we may be yet missing, additional areas of concern, and more. While the canons can be adapted and amended up until their formal adoption at the first convention in October (and in all conventions that follow), we want them as complete as possible when we vote on juncture in March. We aren’t seeking perfection, but have worked hard to develop a good foundation on which a new diocese can begin, get a healthy start, and evolve over time.

NEW: Those draft proposals are now available for review ahead of your registered feedback session.

These documents are also available on the Building Bridges pages of the diocesan websites. Visit Eastern Michigan or Western Michigan.

We need your voice on this – yes, yours – to present the best of our collective wisdom, expertise, and experience. Please join us for one of five upcoming online and in-person Feedback Sessions (dates and RSVP links below). Your participation is essential to this process! Please share this invitation widely with your congregation.

Questions about this event? Please contact Katie Forsyth, Canon for Evangelism and Networking, at kforsyth@eastmich.org or kforsyth@edwm.org.

DATES & RSVP

• Tuesday, January 16 from 1-3pm on Zoom (Clergy) – All Clergy Call (No RSVP Required)

• Saturday, January 20 from 2-4pm at St. David’s, Lansing* (Lay and Clergy)

• Sunday, January 21 from 1-3pm on Zoom (Lay and Clergy)

• Thursday, January 25 from 6-8pm on Zoom (Lay and Clergy)

• Saturday, January 27 from 2-4pm at St. Francis, Grayling* (Lay and Clergy)

*In the event of dangerous weather, our in-person gatherings will transition to Zoom and participants will be notified. 

Continuing Education for Clergy and Lay Preachers

Join with other preachers across the diocese to dig into the rich texts of Holy Week and Easter, together considering our ministry of proclamation in the liturgy.

Our bi-diocesan office of Adult Formation will offer a one-day continuing education workshop geared toward already-licensed lay preachers and clergy. We will consider themes of the seasons and begin crafting possible outlines for sermons, together preparing to proclaim the word this season. Our facilitator will be the Rev. Tracie Little, D. Min., Canon for Adult Formation and the Southern Collaborative.

This workshop meets the requirements for already-licensed lay preachers’ expectations for continuing education. Learn more about licensing – Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan.

Questions about this event? Please contact the Rev. Canon Tracie Little, D. Min, Canon for the Southern Region and Adult Formation at tlittle@eastmich.org or tlittle@edwm.org, or at 810-300-9177.

DATE & LOCATION

Saturday, January 27, 2024
10:00-2:00 pm

St. John’s Episcopal Church
206 W. Maple Street
Mount Pleasant, MI 48858
stjohnsmtpleasantmi.com

REGISTRATION

The cost to attend is $25 per person.

Please register by January 20th. Space is limited and may fill before the deadline.

2024 DIOCESAN CONFIRMATION SERVICES

The Episcopal Dioceses of Eastern and Western Michigan plan to host four services of Confirmation, Reception, and Reaffirmation in 2024, the Rt. Rev. Skip Adams, assisting bishop, presiding.

All are invited to join in celebrating and praying for the Church’s newest Episcopal leaders as part of these services and throughout this year, whether in person or via live stream.

Candidates (those being confirmed, received, or reaffirmed in The Episcopal Church) must be registered ahead of time by their church. Please see details below.

Clergy are asked to process in cassock and surplice with red stoles.

Photo: A member of St. Martin’s, Kalamazoo is confirmed during the final confirmation of 2023 at St. Timothy’s, Richland.

DATES & LOCATIONS

Saturday, April 13th

Registration deadline – March 30
2:30 Rehearsal
4:00 Service

St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church
1523 N. Oak Rd.
Davison, MI 48423

stdunstansdavison.org

Sunday, June 1st

Registration deadline – May 25
2:30 Rehearsal
4:00 Service

St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
1025 3 Mile Rd. NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49505

standrewsgr.org

Saturday, September 28th

Registration deadline – September 14
2:30 Rehearsal
4:00 Service

Emmanuel Episcopal Church
1020 E. Mitchell St.
Petoskey, MI 49770

eecpetoskey.org

Saturday, November 9th

Registration deadline – October 26
2:30 Rehearsal
4:00 Service

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church
27 E. Chicago St.
Coldwater, MI 49036

stmarkscoldwater.com

FOR CANDIDATES & SPONSORS

All candidates must be pre-registered by their parish to participate in the service and receive their signed certificate. Individuals should not register themselves.

Please register all participants two weeks before the service.