Event Details Archives - Page 4 of 7 - The Episcopal Diocese of Western Michigan

CONTEMPLATIVE FIBER ARTS RETREAT

August 8, 2023/in Blog, Event Details/by Michelle Ruiz

September 22-24, 2023 at Camp Chickagami

God invites us to relationship each and every day. Retreats are a great opportunity to take time apart and disconnect from our everyday lives, connecting with this call to relationship through exploration of spirituality, prayer life, and community. Our retreat is facilitated by the Rev. Radha Kaminski, priest in Cadillac and Big Rapids, and bi-diocesan youth missioner for the Northern Collaborative.

Fiber artists, crafters, and makers of all kinds and skill levels are invited to join us at Camp Chickagami to retreat and create in the Fall of Northern Michigan!

The schedule for our retreat is flexible – with time spent both alone and in group, in crafting and in reflection on our retreat theme: “Finishings and Endings.”

Partners/families are also welcome to register to attend, whether or not they are also fiber artists or crafters. Children are welcome; please note that there will be no childcare or children’s programming provided during the retreat.

This retreat’s pricing is a tiered pricing structure, beginning at $300. Lodging for this retreat will be in a communal setting assigned by Camp Chickagami. If you have requests for cabin-mates please let us know during the registration process.

Questions about this event? Please contact the Rev. Radha Kaminski at 352-727-8927 or rkaminski@eastmich.org.

DATE & LOCATION

September 22-24, 2023
Check-in: Friday, 3-6pm
Check-out: Sunday, Noon

Participants are welcome to linger for the remainder of the day after check-out/departing their cabin.

Camp Chickagami
6952 Kauffman Road
Presque Isle, MI 49777
campchickagami.org/retreats

REGISTRATION

Registration is offered as tiered pricing and begins at $200 for commuters and $300 for those staying on-site. Participants also have the option to add on an extra night’s stay (without meals).

Packing List (in addition to the items in the standard packing list)

Your fiber arts materials, tools, projects, and equipment may be left in Fletcher Hall during the retreat.

There will be extension cords and some lamps available in Fletcher Hall, but bring any others you will need.

Musical instrument if you would like to help lead music during our services.

Click here for a list of retreat FAQs, including recommendations for packing.

The deadline to register is September 10th.

REGISTER

Spiritual Practices in Contemplative Retreat

July 11, 2023/in Blog, Event Details, News/by Michelle Ruiz

August 18-20, 2023 at Camp Chickagami

Adults of all genders are invited to join us for several days spent in community, building a closer relationship with God and creation and journeying deeper into our spiritual practices.

God invites us to relationship each and every day. Retreats are a great opportunity to take time apart and disconnect from our everyday lives, connecting with this call to relationship through exploration of spirituality, prayer life, and community. Our retreat is faciliated by a dynamic duo of deacons, the Revs. Anna Leigh Kubbe and Beckett Leclaire.

The schedule for our retreat is flexible with time spent both alone and in group. This weekend was formerly offered as our “Women’s Retreat.”

This retreat’s pricing is a tiered pricing structure beginning at $300. Lodging for this retreat will be in a communal setting assigned by Camp Chickagami staff. If you have requests for cabin-mates please let us know during the registration process.

Questions about this event? Please contact the Rev. Anna Leigh Kubbe at 810-334-3189 or alkubbe43@gmail.com.

DATE & LOCATION

August 18-20, 2023
Check-in: Friday, 3-6pm
Check-out: Sunday, Noon

Participants are welcome to linger for the remainder of the day after check-out/departing their cabin.

Camp Chickagami
6952 Kauffman Road
Presque Isle, MI 49777
campchickagami.org/retreats

REGISTRATION

Registration is offered as tiered pricing and begins at $200 for commuters and $300 for those staying on-site. Participants also have the option to add on an extra night’s stay (without meals).

Click here for a list of retreat FAQs, including recommendations for packing.

The deadline to register is August 10th.

REGISTER

Academy for Vocational Leadership Academic Year 2023-24

June 30, 2023/in Blog, Event Details, News/by Michelle Ruiz

Applications Open for Academic Year 2023-24

Postulants ready to begin formation for Holy Orders or lay people seeking intensive theological learning may now apply to join the Academy for Vocational Leadership for the 2023-2024 academic year.

The Academy for Vocational Leadership is our three-year, bi-diocesan program of preparation for Holy Orders. Originally founded in its current iteration in 2015, the Academy is one of over 34 diocesan schools in The Episcopal Church forming leaders as part of the Iona Collaborative of the Seminary of the Southwest (SSW) in Austin, TX. All academic classes are developed and taught remotely by SSW professors with support from local faculty. Additional practical classes are taught by local practitioners and experts.

On June 15th, a notification went out from Bishop Singh stating that “our dioceses form priests through a diversity of paths by seriously considering every discernment as unique. Therefore, this fall, our dioceses will send candidates for priestly formation to residential seminaries, hybrid seminaries, and the Academy for Vocational Leadership. This will add an intentional step to the ordination process in Western Michigan.” Therefore, postulants seeking ordination as vocational deacons and priests from both Eastern and Western Michigan may apply.

The Academy is also open to lay people not pursuing ordination but desiring in-depth and intense theological learning for their own spiritual growth and vocation.

Please complete the attached application paperwork and return it by July 31, 2023. Once we receive and review your application, you will receive the “Summer Reading” homework along with instructions for completion.

Please note that participation in this program requires a basic understanding of technology, including the use of Zoom, accessing online password-protected platforms, word processing, and submitting papers online.

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

SCHEDULE & LOCATIONS

All in-person weekends begin with dinner on Friday evening at 5:30pm and conclude by 3pm on Sunday afternoon.

August 11-13 – Opening Retreat, St. Francis Center

September 8-10 – St. Francis Retreat Center

October 13-15 – Zoom

November 17-19 – Zoom

December 8-10 – St. Francis Retreat Center

January 5-7 – St. Francis Retreat Center

February 9-11 – St. Francis Retreat Center

March 8-10 – Zoom

April 5-7 – St. Francis Retreat Center

May 3-5 – St. Francis Retreat Center

June 7-9 – St. Francis Retreat Center

LOCATION FOR IN-PERSON SESSIONS

St. Francis Retreat Center
703 E. Main Street
Dewitt, MI 48820
www.stfrancis.ws

PAYMENT & APPLICATION

Tuition for the Academy is $4,300 per year, with one half due by November 1st and the remaining due by April 1, 2024. Tuition includes class materials as well as housing and meals at the retreat center. Text books will be an extra expense.

For inquiries about diocesan scholarship funds, please contact Canon Tracie Little at either tlittle@eastmich.org or tlittle@edwm.org.

The application deadline is July 31, 2023.

DOWNLOAD APPLICATION

SACRED GROUND FACILITATOR TRAININGS

June 6, 2023/in Blog, Event Details, News/by Michelle Ruiz

June 28th, 1-4pm; July 13, 6-9pm; July 16, 1-4pm

Leaders in Eastern and Western Michigan are invited to be trained as facilitators to lead Sacred Ground circles for congregations and other groups in our dioceses.

Sacred Ground is an eleven-session film-based dialogue series on race, grounded in faith. Small groups gather as “circles,” walking through chapters of America’s history of race and racism, weaving in threads of family story, economic class, and political and regional identity. The series focuses on Indigenous, Black, Latino, and Asian/Pacific American histories as they intersect with European American histories. The series 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.

With several congregations and regions interested in developing Sacred Ground circles, our dioceses are in need of facilitators! We will offer three, three-hour opportunities to be trained as a facilitator this summer via Zoom. Those options are:

Wednesday, June 28th, 1-4pm
Thursday, July 13th, 6-9pm
Sunday, July 16th, 1-4pm

Following their training, facilitators will be equipped to host Sacred Ground circles in-person or on Zoom.

Participants must have participated in a Sacred Ground circle prior to training as a facilitator. Facilitators are welcoming, compassionate, and open to differences. They are sensitive to others’ feelings of stress or anger and able to diffuse tension. They are respectful listeners with flexibility and thoughtfulness.

Questions about this training? Please contact Mary Simpson, Data and Resource Coordinator for Dismantling Racism, at dismantlingracism@edwm.org.

RSVP

There is no cost to attend the Sacred Ground Facilitator Training. Space is limited to no more than 15 people per session and registration will close for a particular session once the cap has been reached.

Please RSVP to receive your Zoom access information.

Solar Faithful Webinar

June 2, 2023/in Blog, Event Details, News/by Michelle Ruiz

Solar Faithful Webinar

Thursday, June 22nd from 7-8pm

The bi-diocesan Creation Care Task Force invites parish leaders to learn about opportunities to care for creation and reduce energy costs through the installation of rooftop solar panels.

Solar Faithful, a new 501c3 nonprofit, is a collaboration of the Climate Witness Project, Michigan Interfaith Power and Light, the original Solar Faithful (an informal group from the southeast side of the state), a solar developer (Chart House Energy), and an impact investor (SunWealth).

Solar Faithful makes it possible for congregations and faith-based nonprofits of all faith traditions, ethnic/racial groups, and income levels to participate in the just energy transition by installing solar panels at no cost to these organizations, while reducing their monthly electric bills. Their goal is that 50% of our participants will be either Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), faith groups other than Christian, and/or low income.

Learn how your parish can move to clean, healthy, solar power with no investment. Our conversation will be led by the officers of Solar Faithful: Jennifer Young (MIPL), Rob Rafson (CHE), and Steve Mulder (CWP, member of St. Mark’s, Grand Rapids and our Bi-Diocesan Creation Care Task Force).

Our one-hour Zoom webinar will include time for Q&A and will be recorded for later viewing.

Questions about this event? Please contact Canon Katie Forsyth at kforsyth@eastmich.org or kforsyth@edwm.org.

RSVP

There is no cost to attend the Solar Faithful Webinar, hosted by the Bi-Diocesan Creation Care Task Force. Please RSVP to receive your Zoom access information.

RSVP

Ordination to the Priesthood

June 1, 2023/in Blog, Event Details, News/by Michelle Ruiz

By the Grace of God and with the consent of the People

The Right Reverend Prince Grenville Singh
Provisional Bishop

will ordain

The Rev. Joseph Kennedy

To the Sacred Order of Priests
in Christ’s One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church

on
Saturday, the Twenty-Fourth of June
Two Thousand Twenty-Three
at Three O’Clock in the Afternoon
Commemorating the Feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist

at
St. David’s Episcopal Church
1519 Elmwood Road
Lansing, Michigan

Your prayers and presence are requested. A live stream is expected to be available on the St. David’s, Lansing Facebook Page and the Eastern and Western Michigan Facebook Pages.

Clergy will process in choir dress with red stoles.

Ordination to the Diaconate – Beckett Leclaire

May 25, 2023/in Blog, Event Details, News/by Michelle Ruiz

By the Grace of God and with the consent of the People

The Right Reverend Prince Grenville Singh
Provisional Bishop

will ordain

Beckett Joseph Leclaire

To the Sacred Order of Deacons
in Christ’s One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church

on
Saturday, the First of July
Two Thousand Twenty-Three
at Eleven O’Clock in the Morning
Commemorating the Feast of Pauli Murray

at
Grace Episcopal Church
1213 Sixth Street
Port Huron, Michigan

Your prayers and presence are requested. The service will also be livetreamed on the Grace, Port Huron Facebook Page and shared to the Eastern and Western Michigan Facebook Pages.

Clergy will process in choir dress with red stoles.

CHURCHLANDS COLLABORATIVE CONVERSATION

May 16, 2023/in Blog, Event Details, News/by Michelle Ruiz

Sunday, May 21st at 3:00pm

Building on our work in developing the ChurchLands Map of Eastern and Western Michigan, church leaders are invited to join Plainsong Farm and Ministry for a conversation about land use on Sunday, May 21st from 3:00pm until about 4:15pm.

ChurchLands is an emerging initiative to educate and equip Christians and churches about land as an asset for ministry in an era of climate change. Wise land care and use can proclaim the gospel, conserve biodiversity, grow community health, create new relationships, and address historic injustices. The vision of ChurchLands is that churches begin to relate to land holdings in a way that is more faithful to the Gospel: integrating discipleship, ecology, justice, and health. This gathering builds on what Plainsong Farm has learned thus far and begins a Michigan network with the goal to encourage and equip disciples to tend land wisely here.

We’ll reflect on Scripture, learn about one another and the lands we care for, learn about national-level work in this area, and hear about the plans and goals that Plainsong has for a future Michigan ChurchLands network. If you care about practical work to care for creation through tending places and people, this gathering is for you.

Following the ChurchLands gathering, participants are warmly invited to join in Blessing the Fields at Plainsong Farm for the 2023 growing season at 4:30, with refreshments to follow. Learn more.

Questions about this event? Please contact the Rev. Nurya Parish at nurya@plainsongfarm.com.

DATE & LOCATION

Sunday, May 21st
3:00-4:15pm

Plainsong Farm & Ministry
6677 12 Mile Rd NE
Rockford, MI 49341
plainsongfarm.com

RSVP

There is no cost to attend the Churchlands Gathering. Please RSVP by May 20th.

RSVP

Ordination to the Diaconate of Linda Scheerer

May 16, 2023/in Blog, Event Details, News/by Michelle Ruiz

By the Grace of God and with the consent of the People

The Right Reverend Prince Grenville Singh
Provisional Bishop

will ordain

Linda Scheerer

To the Sacred Order of Deacons
in Christ’s One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church

on
Sunday, the Eleventh of June
Two Thousand Twenty-Three
at Three O’Clock in the Afternoon
Commemorating the Feast of St. Barnabas the Apostle

at
St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church
1200 Seminole Road
Muskegon, Michigan

A reception will follow in the Parish Hall.

Your prayers and presence are requested. The service will also be livestreamed on the Eastern and Western Michigan Facebook Pages.

Clergy will process in choir dress with red stoles.

TRAINING FOR LAY PREACHERS

April 25, 2023/in Blog, Event Details, News/by Michelle Ruiz

Two-part program prepares participants for licensure

We have heard consistent interest in training for licensed lay preachers, especially with so many of our congregations in transition and so many exercising vibrant ministry without a full-time parish priest. To that end, we will again offer our formation program for licensed lay preachers in 2023-24. The courses take place alongside the classes for the Academy for Vocational Leadership, sometimes online via Zoom and sometimes in-person at the St. Francis Center in Dewitt.

To complete the training and receive a preaching license, participants must complete two classes: Bible (ten months) and Homiletics (seven months). These can be completed by participating in both courses over one year, or by taking Bible the first year and Homeletics the second. Participants will join Academy students for worship in addition to meals and breaks.

If you feel a call to be a preacher, please speak to your priest or senior warden and, with their approval, complete the application and submit it before June 15.

Questions about this offering? Please contact the Rev. Canon Tracie Little, Canon for the Southern Collaborative and Coach for Formation, at 810-300-9177 or tlittle@eastmich.org.