29 youth and friends from around the diocese have returned from house building in Mexico. Click here to read a letter from the Rev Aran Walter as he describes the “why” behind the St. Thomas Youth Group’s annual “Love Journey”. The Board of Trustees passed a resolution to present the report of the Trialogue Steering Committee to the people of the diocese for review and reflection. There are Town Hall meetings being held through the summer and fall to discuss the report and the proposal found by clicking here. A Town Hall meetings schedule is here and you may register for one or more dates you wish to attend. The Trialogue Steering Committee recently released additional information regarding the proposed reunion of the three Wisconsin dioceses. There is a plan to hold a series of Town Hall Meetings, in person and via Zoom, from July through October to discuss the proposal for reunion. Click here to see the list of meetings. Visit episcopalwisconsin.info for the latest news and communications regarding the proposed reunion. Seeking to be more proactive about reaching potential new members? Want to help visitors feel welcomed and loved? Looking to help your community invite a hurting world into God's abundant life and love? All are invited by Trinity Episcopal Church, Oshkosh at 311 Division St. to find answers to these questions, Saturday, July 15th from 9:30am to 3:30pm. Click here to register and learn more. Lunch and snacks are provided. Donation to offset the cost of the food is requested. Contact the church at office@oshkosh-episcopal.org or (920) 231-2420 with questions. A letter from the Trialogue Steering Committee just released shares that the Executive Councils in Milwaukee and Eau Claire and the Board of Trustees in Fond du Lac have each reviewed the report made to them and voted to take the next step in discernment regarding reunion of our dioceses. To read the complete letter please click here. “We give thanks that the Holy Spirit has brought us to this new season in our common life, and we look forward to continuing this journey together.” For other news and information about the Trialogue please visit episcopalwisconsin.info EYE is a gathering of youth ages 15-19 from around the world who assemble on a college campus to learn, laugh, and worship together, Jorden Karstetter (grade 9, St. Anne’s, De Pere) will be representing the Wisconsin delegation this year, along with Mthr. Portia Corbin (St. John’s, New London) & Amma Diane Murray (DIOFDL, retired) who are serving as chaperones for the trip. The culture of EYE is like Summer Camp-a very large one of around 1500 people! Youth will meet and get to know people who share their Episcopal faith in all of its diversity. We are delighted to share that serving on the Event Team is Erin Wolf (DIOFDL & DIOMIL), Youth Networking Coordinator. EYE23 takes place July 4-8 at the University of Maryland – College Park. Please keep our delegation in prayer! For more information click here and visit eye.episcopalchurch.org/en. Facebook users can follow by clicking here. Prayers are asked for the repose of the soul of the Rev. Dr. Robert B. Meyer who died on Friday, June 2, 2023. He was 88. He is preceded in death by his wife Robin, who died in July 2020. Meyer who had already earned a Ph. D in organic chemistry from Duke University, discerned a call to the priesthood in the late 1960’s and received an M. Div. from General Theological Seminary in 1971. He went on to serve churches in the Diocese of Quincy, West Missouri, and Fond du Lac. In Fond du Lac, his parochial service included St. Mark’s, Waupaca, St. Olaf’s, Amherst, and Holy Nativity, Jacksonport as well as service to the Cursillo Secretariat. To express condolences and view the complete obituary please click here or visit davisoswaldfh.com . Twenty-five years ago, St. Peter’s, Sheboygan Falls experienced a fire in the much beloved shrine to Our Lady, which also nearly destroyed the building. After rebuilding, there has been a small but underutilized shrine in the same location as well as a chapel. Recently many spaces within the church were reassigned, resulting in the need for a new chapel space for weekday services. So, congregational member Rick LeMahieu built a new altar by repurposing a deconsecrated altar and set of pews. The new altar is now at home in the shrine space and all has been properly prepared, including a portrait of our Lady and a frontal from the former Blessed Sacrament Church, Green Bay. Bishop Matt consecrated the new altar soon after it was complete. The first Mass utilizing the new altar was Thursday May 18th (Ascension). St. Peter’s begins Holy Day Masses and midweek services before Bible study this summer. Fr. Paul Coey shared, “It will provide for us a more intimate setting for smaller services and is a major return of our Marian piety.” St. Matthias, Minocqua is delighted to announce that they have concluded their pastoral search by calling the Rev. Deb Woolsey as Rector. Woolsey is a daughter of the diocese being a native of Waupaca where she attended St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. She received an M. Div., from Nashotah in 2007 and is a graduate of Northland College, Ashland. Woolsey has served congregations in both Wisconsin and Ohio. The people of St. Matthias shared that “we are most grateful that Mother Deb and her husband Michael Luelloff, will become part of this community”. Woolsey’s first Sunday at St. Matthias is July 2nd. St. Matthias' Church was officially organized on October 14, 1973. They are a worshiping community of more than 100 members and their motto is “Open Doors, Open Hearts and Open Minds”. The 2022 Convention of the Diocese of Fond du Lac adopted Resolution 2022-03 regarding the church’s teaching on abortion. Bishop Matt is posting a series of teachings on the subject for study, comments, and questions. In Part 7, Bishop Matt goes “Back to the Bible” to examine and reflect on what scripture says about abortion and discusses ideas by Christian thinkers such as Gregory of Nyssa and Hildegard of Bingen. To read the teaching click here or visit An Odd Work of Grace, a bishop’s blog. You are invited to join a time of sharing between Bishop Osiward Mapika of the the Anglican Diocese of Masvingo and Bishop Matt Gunter of the Episcopal Diocese of Fond du Lac. The dioceses began a Companion Diocese relationship in 2017. This video discussion was made for use on Companion Diocese Sunday, May 21st, the Seventh Sunday after Easter, 2023. Click here to watch the video. The Rev. Chris Arnold has accepted the position of Interim Priest in Charge of St. Thomas, Menasha. Fr. Chris is canonically resident in the Diocese of Fond du Lac and a recipient of the Bishop's Cross in 2021. He received an M.Div. from Church Divinity School of the Pacific in 2008. In his ordained ministry he has served congregations in Kansas, Kentucky, and Wisconsin. He and his wife Celeste live in Oshkosh. After its's most recent meeting on April 16th, the Trialogue Steering Committee stated in a letter that it has agreed to present a proposal for reunion to the appropriate governing bodies of each diocese—the Executive Councils in Milwaukee and Eau Claire, and the Board of Trustees in Fond du Lac, in early June. This proposal will draw heavily on the work from the following task forces: Structure, Finance, Culture and Mission, and Parish and Regional Engagement. Who recently submitted final reports concluding their work. We are grateful to all of the people who have contributed their wisdom and hard work to those task forces over the last year. Read the complete letter from the Steering Committee here or visit Episcopal Wisconsin Trialogue . The 2022 Convention of the Diocese of Fond du Lac adopted Resolution 2022-03 regarding the church’s teaching on abortion. Bishop Matt is posting a series of teachings on the subject for study, comments, and questions. After a short pause in the teachings, the lesson on “Tradition” continues, you can read it by clicking here or by visiting his blog at An Odd Work of Grace. St. James Episcopal Church, Manitowoc announced that The Rev. Brian Staude has accepted the position of “Transition Pastor” beginning April 1st. Staude is ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). He received an M. Div. from Wartburg Theological Seminary in 1989. In his ordained ministry he has served congregations all around Wisconsin, most recently as Interim Pastor of Bethel Lutheran, Green Bay; St. John’s Lutheran, Little Suamico and Grace Lutheran, Winchester. He and his wife Barb live in Manitowoc. The Episcopal Church has a relationship of full communion with the ELCA under the terms of "Called to Common Mission," which was adopted by the 73rd General Convention of the Episcopal Church as Resolution A040. Leaders of the Trialogue steering committee say that the next several months will be pivotal in the discernment process that began in the fall of 2021 and involves 58 leaders from across all three dioceses. “We’re seeing the fruits of the labor of so many faithful Wisconsinites,” Bishop Matt Gunter of Fond du Lac and Eau Claire said. “With God’s grace, we are finding our way toward better being the church that God is calling us to be.” More here Bishop Matt’s next installment in a series of teachings on abortion is now available for study, comments, and questions. Please visit An Odd Work of Grace or click here to continue to part 5: Tradition. Wednesday, March 22, 2023, all are invited to celebrate the Feast of Blessed James DeKoven at The DeKoven Center, 600 Caron Butler Drive in Racine, Wisconsin. DeKoven was the most widely known and respected leader of the Anglo-Catholic movement of the nineteenth century and is listed on the calendar of the Episcopal Church. The Feast Day begins with the Celebration of the Holy Eucharist. The Celebrant is the Rev. Geoffrey Ward, President of DeKoven Center and Rector of St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church, River Hills. The Homilist is The Rt. Rev. Jefferey Lee, Bishop Provisional of Milwaukee and music is provided by organist Hunter Erickson. Other activities include a fellowship meal to follow the Eucharist. RSVP at dekovencenter.org/dekovenday. Informational poster here. Part 4- Scripture-New Testament is now available from Bishop Matt’s Teaching on Abortion series. “As we saw in the last post, there is little if anything in the Old Testament that directly addresses abortion. There is even less in the New Testament. Jesus says nothing about it. Paul writes nothing about it[1]. This is curious because abortion was not at all unheard of 2,000 years ago.” Click here to continue or visit the bishop's blog, An Odd Work of Grace for the whole series. St. John the Baptist, Wausau is happy to announce the Rev. Samuel Cripps has accepted a call to serve as Rector. Cripps is a native of Tennessee. He received his Master of Divinity in 2022 from Nashotah House Theological Seminary in Nashotah, Wisconsin and was ordained to the Priesthood November 12, 2022. Prior to seminary, he helped start two software companies by directing department budgets, operational plans, coordinating staffing, and developing partnerships. Hunting, fishing, and gaming are among his hobbies, and he writes for Covenant, a theological blog of The Living Church. He is married to Lauren Anderson-Cripps, a lifelong Wisconsinite, who is the marketing and communications director for Nashotah House. Together, they enjoy spending time with family and doting on their dog, Jed, a Basset mix. His first Sunday at St. John’s will be May 7th. The Episcopal Church of St. John the Baptist has served the Wausau area since 1858. It is a worshiping community of a little more than 100 baptized members. It has a strong and welcoming presence in the downtown district. St. James Music Press will award a grant to a church starting or revitalizing a choir program. The purpose is to support new music programs or established music ministries that are adding a new element by offering resources and professional support. Kevin Simons, owner, and editor of SJMP notes, “Serving small churches has always been part of the mission of St. James. But, post-pandemic, the need to reimagine, renew, and support church music is needed more than ever. We want to help some of these efforts get off the ground with resources and professional support so that clergy, staff, and volunteers can do what they do best - minister to their congregations through great music.” Elements awarded in the grant include:
Deadline June 30th, 2023. For complete details visit: sjmp.com/grants The 2022 convention of the Diocese of Fond du Lac adopted resolution 2022-03 regarding the church’s teaching on abortion. Bishop Matt is posting a series of teachings on the subject for study, comments, and questions. The third installment is now available. To continue the series please visit Anoddworkofgrace.blospot.com or click here. Join Trinity, Oshkosh, as they seek to forgive $1.2 million in medical debt in Wisconsin. The aim is to provide relief and, more importantly, hope to neighbors burdened by medical debt. The Rev. Dr. Chris Corbin shared that Trinity is working with RIP Medical Debt to pay off a significant portion of medical debt for low-income Wisconsin families. RIP Medical Debt is a national nonprofit whose purpose is to strengthen communities by abolishing financially burdensome medical debt. Trinity will match, dollar for dollar, the first $6,000 raised in this campaign. Corbin notes that in the past forty years, medical costs have doubled, insurance copays and deductibles have spiked, and bankruptcy rates have quadrupled, creating an avalanche of destructive medical debt. More than 60% of bankruptcies in America have medical debt as a root cause. How it works: You donate. RIP buys medical debt at a steep discount. Together we wipe out medical debt. RIP uses data to pinpoint the debt of those most in need. Either those who earn less than 4x the poverty level or whose debts are 5 percent more than annual income. They buy the debt in bundles, millions of dollars at a fraction of the cost. Recipients have no tax consequences or penalties to consider. Just like that, they’re free of medical debt! Visit Trinity’s campaign to donate here. The 2022 Convention of the Diocese of Fond du Lac adopted Resolution 2022-03 regarding the church’s teaching on abortion. Bishop Matt is posting a series of teachings on the subject for study, comments, and questions. The first teaching began with a review of resolutions passed by the General Convention. Establishing context in the second teaching the bishop invites the reader to “prayerfully think it through” with him at anoddworkofgrace.blogspot or by clicking here. |
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