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.
Greetings, Beloved.
In 2008, I was ordained and consecrated to be the eighth bishop of Rochester, New York. In the spring of 2009, I was invited by Pride New York to speak at their justice day in Albany, the capital of New York. I remember calling us to move toward marriage equality for LGBTQ saints. The rationale for me was and is that we are called to invite people toward a holiness of life. To embrace holiness in our living is what I believe Jesus calls us to pursue. We may not always do it well, but that is our aspiration.
As bishop, I believe that is one of the reasons we call our LGBTQ saints to not only be in relationship with one another, but to embrace marriage fully. In 2022 it is the law of the land in all of this land. Thanks be to God.
It is with that clarity that I’ve decided not to go to Lambeth later this year. Because my LGBTQ community of bishops have received notification from Canterbury disinviting their spouses to the gathering. I just wanted to make my simple moral witness to this call, I feel Jesus provides for us to pursue a holy way of life.
I also want to say to all of us, not just to our LGBTQ saints, but to all of us, to make sure we intentionally welcome one another because there is no division in Christ. We are all equally beloved children of God. That is the gospel.
During Pride season, I hope we can make sure that no one feels like they are outcast in our community. That especially our LGBTQ siblings know that they are loved deeply and that we will practice that hospitality with one another.
I invite you to do all that you can to genuinely listen and welcome and celebrate the lives of our saints among us. I also invite you to consider opportunities where you can perhaps find more meaningful ways like training toward diversity and inclusion so that you may be authentic in the way you welcome those who feel otherwise neglected. In the history of the Church we have done a lot of harm in the name of God to especially the LGBTQ community. This is an opportunity for us to repair some of those wrongs and we can. We can.
God Bless you.
Saludos Amado,
En 2008, fui consagrado para ser el octavo obispo de Rochester, Nueva York. En la primavera de 2009, fui invitado por Pride New York para hablar en su día de la justicia en Albany, la capital de Nueva York. Recuerdo que nos llamó a avanzar hacia la igualdad matrimonial para los santos LGBTQ. La razón de ser para mí era y es que estamos llamados a invitar a la gente a la santidad de vida. Creo que Jesús nos llama a abrazar la santidad en nuestra vida. Puede que no lo hagamos bien, pero esa es nuestra aspiración.
Como obispo, creo que esa es una de las razones por las que llamamos a nuestros santos LGBTQ no sólo a estar en relación con los demás, sino a abrazar plenamente el matrimonio. En 2022 es la ley de la tierra en toda esta tierra. Gracias a Dios.
Con esa claridad he decidido no ir a Lambeth este año, porque mi comunidad de obispos LGBTQ ha recibido una notificación de Canterbury desinvitando a sus cónyuges. Sólo quería dar mi simple testimonio de mártir de esta llamada, siento que Jesús nos llama a perseguir una forma de vida santa.
También quiero decirles a todos nosotros, no sólo a nuestros santos LGBTQ, sino a todos nosotros, que nos aseguremos de acogernos intencionadamente unos a otros porque no hay división en Cristo. Todos somos igualmente hijos amados de Dios. Ese es el evangelio.
Durante la temporada del orgullo, espero que podamos asegurarnos que nadie se sienta marginado en nuestra comunidad. Que especialmente nuestros hermanos LGBTQ sepan que son profundamente amados y que practiquemos esa hospitalidad unos con otros.
Los invito a hacer todo lo que puedan para escuchar, acoger y celebrar realmente la vida de nuestros santos entre nosotros. También los invito a considerar las oportunidades en las que quizá puedan encontrar formas más significativas como la formación hacia la diversidad y la inclusión, para que puedan ser auténticos en la forma de acoger a aquellos que se sienten desatendidos. En la historia de la iglesia hemos hecho muchos horrores en nombre de Dios, especialmente a la comunidad LGBTQ. Esta es una oportunidad para reparar algunos de esos errores y podemos hacerlo. Claro que podemos.
Que Dios te bendiga.
Greetings of Pentecost, my dear friends.
It is one of the gifts that we have as a church, when we read in our collect that the Spirit is really calling us as a teacher — a teacher of our hearts to open us up to be strengthened so we may do the work of really building beloved community.
In 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, we hear these words,
Now there are varieties of gifts but the same Spirit; and there are a variety of services but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. The one is given through the Spirit the utterance wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the same Spirit, to another the working of powerful beings, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who alots to each one individually, just as the Spirit chooses.
This is the church in action. So, beloved, as we come out of this fog of a pandemic, I invite you to consider your gifts. I invite you in the name of the church to go deep into yourself as you have, especially these last two years. Explore how you want to use the gifts God has given you in order to make this world, our church, and all of life a whole lot better.
We need your gifts. The church needs it. Your local church needs it. The dioceses need it.
Whatever your gift, I hope you will talk to somebody, your priest, your counselor, your friend — someone that you respect to figure out a way for you to actively engage in making this world a better place. That is Pentecost in action, when the spirit of God comes upon everyone so that each of us can bring our gifts to make this world a much better place.
To God be the glory. Happy Pentecost.
Saludos de Pentecostés mis queridos amigos,
Sólo quería los dones que tenemos como iglesia. Cuando saludamos en nuestro llamado que el Espíritu nos llama realmente como maestro. Un maestro de todos los corazones para abrirnos a ser fortalecidos para que podamos hacer el trabajo de construir realmente comunidades amadas.
En 1 Corintios 12:4-11 escuchamos estas palabras,
Ahora bien, hay variedad de dones, pero el mismo Espíritu; y hay variedad de servicios, pero el mismo Señor; y hay variedad de actividades, pero es el mismo Dios quien las activa todas en todos. A cada uno se le da la manifestación del Espíritu para el bien común. A uno se le da por medio del Espíritu la expresión de la sabiduría, a otro la expresión de la ciencia según el mismo Espíritu, a otro la fe por el mismo Espíritu, a otro los dones de curación por el mismo Espíritu, a otro el obrar de los seres poderosos, a otro la profecía, a otro el discernimiento de los espíritus, a otro las diversas clases de lenguas, a otro la interpretación de lenguas. Todos son activados por un mismo Espíritu, que asigna a cada uno individualmente, tal como el Espíritu elige.
Esta es la iglesia en acción. Así que, queridos, mientras salimos de esta niebla de la pandemia, los invito a considerar su regalo. Te invito, en nombre de la Iglesia, a profundizar en ti mismo como lo has hecho, especialmente estos dos últimos años. Explora cómo quieres utilizar los dones que Dios te ha dado para hacer que este mundo, nuestra iglesia y toda la vida sean mejores.
Necesitamos tus dones. La iglesia lo necesita, tu iglesia local lo necesita, las diócesis lo necesita. Sea cual sea tu don, espero que hables con alguien, con tu sacerdote, con tu consejero, con tu amigo, con alguien a quien respetes, para encontrar una manera de participar activamente en hacer de este mundo un lugar mejor. Eso es Pentecostés en acción, cuando el espíritu de Dios viene sobre todos para que cada uno pueda aportar sus dones para hacer de este mundo un lugar mejor.
A Dios sea la gloria. Feliz Pentecostés.
