All Saints, Appleton is hosting an Advent Quiet Day led by Bishop Matt Gunter. Members of the community and diocese are welcome to attend from 9:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 8th. If you plan to attend, please email the All Saints office so there will be enough food for lunch.

​Julian of Norwich was a 14th century mystic and theologians whose visions and reflections have inspired. Her’s was a tumultuous time of social, political, and religious upheaval. In spite of that, she was able to live in the peaceful assurance of God’s mercy and delight. This quiet day will include meditations on her most famous vision with time for quiet prayer and reflection.

Diocesan UTO Coordinator, Cheryl Dobrzynski, wants to let you know that 100% of funds collected by UTO are given away! Many wonder how UTO can give away 100 percent of what is collected and still offer Blue Boxes and other materials for free. Some funds come from the churchwide budget and other groups, but the majority comes from a trust created so UTO doesn't need to use Ingathering Funds to offset expenses. Would you like to give so 100% of contributions to UTO are given away? The support the Memorial Trust here.

We're helping our colleagues in the East Central Synod of Wisconsin (ELCA Lutheran) in a search. They have a job opening for a full-time Communications Manager with primary responsibility for all communications of the Synod, including but not limited to online, social media, print and press relations. Interviews for this position will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. If you might have interest, or know someone who might, please check the links below for for information.

• Communications Manager Summary
• Communications Manager Job Description

Mark your calendars!  This year the annual Christmas Gymanfa Ganu (Welsh hymn sing), directed by the Rev. Tom White of North Fond du Lac and accompanied by Steven Jensen of Milwaukee, will be held Sunday, November 18 at 2:30 p. m., at the Cathedral Church of Saint Paul, Fond du Lac. Prepare for Advent and Christmas the "Welsh Way" with a traditional, four-part harmony singalong. The carols will be sung mostly in English, and special numbers will be performed by area musicians. Te Bach (refreshments) will follow in the Parish Hall.  The Welsh Gymanfa Ganu Association of Wisconsin at wggaw.org.

A verger assists clergy in the conduct of public worship and wears a gown while carrying a staff called a virge. The duties vary from parish to parish but it is said the verger serves the church in a ministry of welcome. The office dates from the Middle Ages when the verger was the “Protector of the Procession,” clearing the way and protecting it from vagabonds and animals that may attack it.
 
“Serving as a Verger today gave me tears of joys!” Martina shared in a Facebook post. “It was an awesome feeling using my Spiritual Gift Serving in God’s House of Prayer!” If you might have interest in verging, speak with your parish priest. Additional information may be discovered from the Verger Guild of the Episcopal Church (VGEC) at vergers.org.

Stop by and do some holiday shopping that benefits people around the world at the 21st Annual Alternative Gift Market at All Saints Episcopal Church in downtown Appleton! The market, located downstairs in Kemper Hall (Room 10) will be open Saturday, Nov. 10 from 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 11 from 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. View the list of vendors, including the Order of Julian, here.

The Rev. David Klutterman will serve as Priest-in-Charge of St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church, Wisconsin Rapids of the Diocese of Fond du Lac, the Episcopal Church in northeast Wisconsin. The responsibilities of the position are similar to that of a Rector.

​The appointment was made by the Rt. Rev. Matthew A. Gunter, Bishop of the Diocese of Fond du Lac and affirmed by the Vestry. The position is on a part-time basis. Fr. David retired from active service in February 2018.  He previously served St. John the Baptist, Wausau, St. James, Mosinee, St. James, Manitowoc, St. Matthias, Minocqua and St. Mary of the Snows, Eagle River.  Fr. David's first Sunday with St. John's will be January 6, 2019.

St. John the Evangelist is had its start in the 1870s when the present Wisconsin Rapids area was settled. The congregation moved from mission to parish status in 1941. It is a worshiping community  of about 50 people. It has a tradition of supporting community outreach including the Neighborhood Table, a feeding program, and Personal Essentials Pantry. Learn more about this congregation stjohnschurchwr.org. 

​The 144th Annual Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Fond du Lac was held October 19-20, 2018 in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. The convention began in prayer in Evensong at the Cathedral of St. Paul. This was followed by a time of fellowship and a banquet at a local hotel. Banquet guests viewed the “Way of Love” video featuring from Presiding Bishop Michael Curry. The expected guests from our Companion Diocese of Masvingo were unable to attend because of last-minute Visa issues.
 
Saturday also started in prayer at the Convention Eucharist held at the Cathedral. Bishop Matt Gunter gave his Pastoral Address “Abide in Jesus, the Way of Love.” The focus was that in a time of political, economic, social and religious upheaval and uncertainty, we can still experience the abiding love of God. After the service, worshippers moved four blocks to the Thelma Sadoff Center of the Arts for the business session.
 
Regular business was conducted with a constitutional amendment passing its second reading. Its effect is setting a more practical quorum for the convention of a majority of clergy and lay delegates duly registered. Stewardship of financial resources across the diocese was addressed by raising awareness of the need to complete financial reviews in a timely manner, some required by canon to ensure voting privileges for lay delegates.
 
Several presentations were made including these topics:  the diocesan discernment process, youth ministry, Cursillo, the 2019 Way of Love revival, and a revitalized United Thank Offering under a new diocesan coordinator. Elections were held to fill diocesan positions and appointments were made and confirmed. Three new deans were installed to serve deaneries. A proposed budget was approved.
 
One of the exciting reports was from the team leading the Faithful Innovations Learning Community process. This process builds on last spring’s diocesan vital congregations conference and is a multi-denominational process facilitated by Luther Seminary. Faithful Innovation is not a program, but a process to assists congregations and their members to be more deeply involved in their faith and how to live it out in their community.
 
One delegate summarized the convention this way, “It dealt with the needed business of being the diocese without getting mired in peripheral issues.” Information on aspects of the diocesan convention, including the Pastoral Address, election results, video and images may be found at diofdl.org/convention.

Each October, Grace Episcopal Church Sheboygan, hosts a Quiet Day and Pilgrimage in commemoration of Our Lady of Walsingham. This year, the Rev. Chris Arnold led the three meditations on Friday and preached at the Holy Eucharist on Saturday. You are invited to watch the videos for all of the events. Texts of the meditations will be available online shortly. 

Hardly a day goes by that Islam is not raised as a subject of concern by the news media. Islam has been on the minds of Americans since the events of 2001; however, it seems clear that most Americans know little more about Islam than they did before 9/11. “What exactly is Islam?” “What do Muslims believe?” “How should we as American Christians relate to Muslims?” Oftentimes, when we don’t understand a group of people whose faith and culture is different than ours, we approach them with fear and distrust.

​In Unveiling Islam, Episcopal priest and former Muslim, the Rev’d Canon Ezgi Saribay Perkins, will present a series of talks intended to engage the Fond du Lac community in a meaningful dialogue about the beliefs practices of Islam, paying particular attention to its similarities with and differences from Christianity. The talks will be held on Wednesday nights from October 10-31 at 6 pm in Trakel Hall of the Cathedral Church of Saint Paul the Apostle, 51 West Division Street in Fond du Lac. Refreshments will be served.

The Rev’d Canon Ezgi Saribay Perkins was born in Western Turkey and raised as a Muslim. After coming to the United States for college education, she converted to Christianity. In 2008, she became an Episcopalian and continued her faith journey in the Episcopal seminary, where she met her husband, the Very Reverend C. Patrick Perkins. She currently serves the Canon Precentor to the Cathedral Church of Saint Paul the Apostle.

T​he Diocese of Fond du Lac, the Episcopal Church in northeast Wisconsin, is pleased to announce the appointment of Cheryl Dobrzynski as Diocesan Coordinator of the United Thank Offering (UTO). The Diocesan Coordinator is charged to promote UTO activities in the diocese and encourage and support them in each diocesan congregation.
 
UTO is a ministry of the Episcopal Church for the mission of the whole church. Individuals are invited to embrace and deepen a personal daily spiritual discipline of gratitude. Notice the good things that happen each day, give thanks to God for those blessings and make an offering for each blessing using a UTO Blue Box. UTO is entrusted to receive the offerings, and to distribute the 100% of what is collected to support innovative mission and ministry throughout the Episcopal Church and Provinces of the Anglican Communion.
 
“We look forward to Cheryl’s working with congregations to raise awareness of UTO,” Bishop Matt Gunter shared. “Our goal is to have 100% of our congregations participating in UTO. How? Contact Cheryl, of course.” Dobrzynski follows Carol Feller-Gottard, who served in this volunteer position for over a decade.
 
Cheryl is a long-time member of St. Peter Episcopal Church, Sheboygan Falls, serving as Senior Warden, vestry member, Altar Guild and coordinator of a local monthly meal program. She is on the Cursillo Secretariat, enrolled in EfM (Education for Ministry), been a delegate to diocesan conventions, and was deputy to General Convention 2018.
 
For information on the United Thank Offering, visit diofdl.org/uto.

The Trustees of the Diocese of Fond du Lac are charged by diocesan canon to assure that all properties of the diocese are adequately insured. Currently, that adequacy is insurance that meets or exceeds the basic coverage provided by the Church Insurance Company, a part of the Episcopal Church's Church Pension Group. Currently, all congregations are participants on the master policy with Church Insurance held by the diocese.

At its September 22, 2018 meeting, the Trustees approved adding Church Insurance's Direct Repair Program (DRP) to the diocesan master policy and so applies to all participating congregations. The DRP provides access to a third party administrator to help a congregation in managing an insurance claim, especially claims that are significant. The DRP will reduce the number of people involved in the claim while providing additional resources for complex claims. It also helps in finding qualified contractors by using a pre-screened network. Because of the anticipated savings from this program, participants received a 3% reduction in their premiums.

No action is necessary to implement the DRP. If (or when) a congregation makes a claim to Church Insurance, they will begin the process with the DRP provider, Alacrity Services, when it is needed. If you have questions, please contact the Diocesan Office.

St. Paul Episcopal Church has installed a wheelchair lift to allow folks to access their basement for events. A project in the works for a few years, funds raised along with a loan from the Trustees of the Diocese of Fond du Lac allowed construction to start April 10, 2018. A blessing and dedication of the lift was held July 29, 2018. A capital campaign to repay the loan called “We Lift them to the Lord” has begun. The Vestry has asked the congregation to pledge an inch or more, with each inch equaling $250. The lift travels 112 inches from the first floor to the lower level, so 112 inches x $250 = $28,000 (the amount of the loan). 66 inches have been pledged so far.

If you might be interested in pledging an inch, contact the St. Paul office at 920-892-4894.

The retired clergy of the Diocese of Fond du Lac and their spouses gathered for a luncheon at St. Mark Episcopal Church, Waupaca on Wednesday, September 5. The weather prevented meeting in St. Mark's prayer garden, but the rain did not dampen the spirits of those gather. Bishop Matt and Leslie Gunter also attended to join in a time of fellowship. The clergy and spouses were served a wonderful lunch by parishioners of St. Mark's, led by Pat Pfeiffer and assisted by LaDonna Sonntag, Joana Smocke, and June Sharstroff. This gathering was organized by Fr. Jim and Pastor Mary Trainor who serve as the Chaplains to the Retired clergy.

On Prayer Book Revision
 
One question before General Convention this summer was whether it is time to revise our Book of Common Prayer. The bigger question was, if we revised it, how extensive or comprehensive should revision be? The answer coming out of convention was a cautious “yes” to a process for some revision, but “no” to comprehensive or substantive revision. Since there seems to be some confusion, I offer a few thoughts about what this means.
 
Prayer book revision is not unusual. The Episcopal Church Book of Common Prayer, first ratified in 1789, has been revised may times – in 1892, 1928, and 1979. The 1892 and 1928 revisions were relatively minor. The 1979 revision was quite comprehensive and substantive. Each generation, it seems, takes a fresh look at whether the current version conveys the eternal truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ and enables the church to articulate its worship of the one, holy, and undivided Trinity, as clearly and fully as possible in contemporary language.
 
The resolution passed at General Convention (A068 Plan for the Revision of the Book of Common Prayer) “memorialized” the current 1979 Book of Common Prayer which I take to mean that it is the standard prayer book going forward and we will not be replacing it soon. If at some point we produce a new prayer book, it will look and feel very much like the one we are using.
 
Even so, there is need to find ways in our common worship to be more inclusive. That means avoiding using “man” and masculine pronouns when we are referring to people - men and women. Though many of us grew up with this literary convention, that understanding is increasingly not the case. For many, the language has become jarring and distracting to worship.
 
What is theologically trickier is determining more “expansive” language for our common worship. That means finding ways to speak of and to God in language that does not always imply God is somehow “male”. “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” is a fundamental Christian name for God we will continue to use, and we will not do away with all masculine language for God we have received from the Bible. But both the Bible and the Christian tradition provides a rich variety of names and images for God - some inanimate, some feminine. There are theologically responsible ways to incorporate some of these names and images to enrich our common worship. We have already experienced this inclusivity in recent years without revising the prayer book. General Convention authorized resources like Enriching Our Worship, containing inclusive and expansive Eucharistic liturgies, Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer. Some diocesan congregations have been using these liturgies on occasion.
 
I share the sentiment of the first Bishop of Fond du Lac, John Henry Hobart Brown, who said this about revision of the Book of Common Prayer:

Violence: Prepare, Respond, and Regroup for Faith Communities
Thursday, September 20 

The Wisconsin Faith Community Nurse Coalition is offering a one-day event to enhance knowledge and resources regarding violence both in the community and in the congregation. The conference will be held at Aurora Sinai Medical Center in Milwaukee. The morning will focus on bullying, domestic violence and physical violence including gun violence. The afternoon will concentrate on healing after events within the congregation. All will receive a certificate of participation and resources on these topics.  Nurses will receive continuing nursing education credits. Multiple registrations from the same congregation will receive a $10 Visa card (per participant) after the conference.

Additional scholarships are available through Episcopal Health Ministries of $25 per participant for Episcopalians and those serving Episcopal congregations. Please contact Maryfran Crist FCN at maryfrancrist64@gmail.com. Register here. 

The St. John, New London's Order of St. Luke healing ministry is hosting a healing conference, "How to Live in the Power of Christ,"  September 22, 2018 from 8:30-3:00. Subtitles include: Praying in the Power of Christ's Faith; Living in the Power of Christ's Life; Healing in the Power of Christ's Love. Opportunity for healing prayer will also be offered.
 
The guest speaker is the Rev. Josh Acton, North American Director for the Order of St. Luke International Healing Ministry. He has been a pastor for 27 years at Anglican, Episcopal and Vineyard churches and is the spiritual leader for OSL.
 
Cost for attendance is $30, includes presentation, lunch and breaks. For more information about the healing ministry or to register, contact Jan Peskie 920-716-5757 or joejanpeskie@gmail.com.  Register here.

The Lake Winnebago parishes (Trinity, Oshkosh; St. Thomas, Menasha; All Saints, Appleton; Cathedral of St. Paul, Fond du Lac) are coming together for an evening of food, fellowship and worship at Praise in the Park. Anyone is welcome to join in! Gather Shelter #1 in Rainbow Park (on the Fox River), Oshkosh on Sunday, August 12 from 5:00-8:00 p.m. The celebration of the Holy Eucharist will begin at 6:30 p.m. and will include testimonials about the recent mission trip to Puerto Rico. 

• Please bring a dish to share. We'll have plates and utensils (but feel free to bring your own as well).
• You may want to bring a chair and/or blanket with you. There are only so many places to sit at the picnic tables in the shelter.
• It's on the river and you can fish if you bring some fishing gear (make sure your license is up to date).
• Have some lawn games to share? Bring them along too!!!
• It would be great if you could RSVP on Facebook

Julie Hendrix, a member of St. Thomas, Menasha, will attend Nashotah House Theological Seminary in Nashotah, Wisconsin. She is discerning a call to the priesthood. The Diocese of Fond du Lac provides $7,500 for each of her three years of study primarily from the budget of the diocese with some support from other endowments restricted for seminarian support. Your prayers for her and her husband, Steve, and their three children, Daniel, Susana, and John, are encouraged. Here are some comments from Julie as she begins this journey.

I am thrilled to announce that I will be attending Nashotah House Theological Seminary in Nashotah, Wisconsin beginning in late August. I will be living there for 3 years while I complete my Masters of Divinity program.

When I first visited Nashotah in November 2017, I felt a call to attend there – the classes, the worship, everything about it spoke to me. As many know, Nashotah House was founded in 1841 and is Wisconsin’s oldest school of higher learning. I will be one of 14 new residential students this year. Nashotah House currently has about 90 students total, both residential and online.

I am extremely grateful for my extensive church family – they have guided and supported me every step along this journey – I am beyond grateful for their continuous love: St. Thomas parish, my Bible study, Double Portion, my Circles of Light (both 1st and 2nd!), my wonderful friends from church camp (a long time ago!), Happening, and Cursillo. Each and every person has been a guidepost for me.

After graduation, God willing, I plan to return to the Diocese of Fond du Lac where I will continue this journey with this wonderful church community we have in our diocese. I ask for your continued prayers both for me and my family as we begin this new adventure.