Episcopal Church in Minnesota

Good news from St. Matthew's, St. Paul. Thank God for the ministry of Beatrice, and all who carry on her vision and work!

How is the Blue House Boutique connected to Bugleland? – Park Bugle The Blue House Boutique is an annual holiday fundraiser in St. Anthony Park to support and educate vulnerable children in rural Uganda.

We know many of you will want to attend this if you are able!

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and Archbishop Hosam Naoum in Conversation - Join Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and Anglican Archbishop Hosam Naoum of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem for an update on the conflict in the Holy Land. Tuesday, November 21, at 11 a.m. Eastern time.

iam.ec/HolyLandConversation

Along with our Jewish, Muslim, and Christian siblings of many voices and creeds, we together stand with all those who are suffering in Israel and Palestine, and in calling for the cessation of violence against innocents. Please take a moment to read this clear and grounded call for faithful people to work to build God's justice and God's peace in the middle east and the world over.

Evangelical Appeal to Moral Case for Cease-fire You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD. — Lev. 19:18 As evangelical Christians in America, we are grie…

Friends, if you missed last night's wonderful conversation between Bishops Mariann Edgar Budde, Craig Loya, and RT Rybak, check it out here! A transcript is available; please click the "CC" button in the lower right hand corner for captions.

How We Learn to Be Brave Join Bishop Mariann Budde, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, DC and former rector of St. John's Episcopal Church, and Bishop Craig Loya, tenth…

Convention is in just a few days! We’re so delighted that Presiding Bishop Michael Curry is feeling sufficiently recovered from his health challenges that he will be able to join us for our Eucharist on Friday and for Saturday's service. Two sermons in two days from the Presiding Bishop is a huge gift! Bishop Curry and his staff will be carefully monitoring his energy levels, and will let us know if we will have any additional time with him this weekend.

THURSDAY EVENSONG & RECEPTION - open to all
All Convention attendees (and others!) are invited to attend Evensong and a social gathering on Thursday evening, November 9th at St. Mark’s Cathedral beginning at 5:30pm. A light supper and reception will follow. Please join us for this informal opportunity to reconnect and catch up!

FRIDAY - registration is now closed.
10am: Bishop’s Address (livestreamed right here on the ECMN page)

3pm: Eucharist (livestreamed right here on the ECMN page)
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry preaching

SATURDAY WITH PRESIDING BISHOP MICHAEL CURRY - open to all
Register here for in person or livestream attendance: https://churchanew.org/repair

Registrants for Convention are automatically registered for Saturday’s event, which is a part of Convention and is also open to all. The doors of St. Andrew will open at 8:30am on Saturday, and a light breakfast will be served. Programming will begin at 9am.

Revive|Restore: Love is Repairing the Breach
On Saturday, in partnership with our Lutheran siblings at Church Anew, a ministry of St. Andrew, we will gather together to tend the garden of our shared Christian calling, planting the seeds of hope and watering the sprouts of the new life that the Spirit is bringing forth even now. We will raise our voices in prayer, praise, and song, to revive our commitment to the Way of Jesus and to one another, and to restore our hope and commitment to repairing the breaches in our lives and communities. Presiding Bishop Michael Curry will be the keynote speaker, with music from Theodicy Jazz Collective.

Hay interpretación en español en vivo disponible. Si desea aprovechar, favor de buscar un voluntario en la entrada.

Live Spanish interpretation is available. If you'd like to take advantage of this, please find a volunteer upon arrival.

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry on 10,000+ dead in Gaza: Stop the killing You may know me as the pastor who is always talking about love, and I am. But today I am mindful that the urgency of love—true, sacrificial love that respects all of humanity—is not just a good feeling, and it is not easy.

Call for a Ceasefire Now -- In this moment of violence and destruction, we urge you to lift your voices and strongly urge the President and your representatives in Congress call for a humanitarian truce, as voted for by the United Nations General Assembly. Desperately needed humanitarian aid must reach the people of Gaza so that more life is not lost.

We ask for your prayers. We ask for your action.

https://www.votervoice.net/EPISCOPAL/Campaigns/108728/Respond

Please read this appeal from our siblings in the Holy Land, who continue to faithfully serve Christ in all persons in that region.

This MEA weekend, students from across ECMN gathered together at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Duluth, MN for the newest expression of senior high youth gatherings: Diocesan Youth Event, or D.Y.E.

We had so much fun together playing games and studying the way of Jesus, eating lots of tasty food, and worshiping.

One highlight of the weekend was, following our service project cleaning up litter on the shore of Lake Superior, we reminded one another of our baptismal promises and marked one another with the sign of the cross using water from the largest freshwater lake in the world!

Thank you to the generous folks at St. Paul's for hosting us, to the Rev. Maggie Nancarrow and St. Paul's staff for being so accommodating and helpful, to the many youth workers who helped make this event happen, and to the youth who showed up and made this event their own.

Here are a few pictures of our time together this weekend. Our next DYE will be Friday-Sunday, April 12-14, 2024 at Saint Mark's Episcopal Cathedral Minneapolis. Registration is live, and there are scholarships available. Sign up today! https://episcopalmn.org/events/youth/diocesan-youth-event-0

Friends,

We're delighted to announce that our partners at Backstory Preaching have, in partnership with The Episcopal Diocese of Texas, has received a $1.25M Lilly Endowment grant to help establish The Community for Compelling Preaching Initiative. Backstory was founded and is led by ECMN's own Lisa Cressman, priest in the diocese.

Read on:

The program is being funded through Lilly Endowment’s Compelling Preaching Initiative. The aim of the initiative is to foster and support preaching that inspires, encourages, and guides people to come to know and love God and to live out their Christian faith more fully.

Through the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, the Community for Compelling Preaching Initiative aims to enhance and expand Backstory Preaching’s Collectives, a first-of-its-kind, online community for continuous preaching education and formation. The vision for The Collectives is to grow preachers in the craft, process, and spirituality of compelling preaching over the long-term so they more effectively offer good news to their listeners. Through this collaboration, the partnership will evaluate and enhance existing offerings, develop new tools and resources, and establish personalized learning models so preachers receive targeted support for timely impact.

“Backstory Preaching has been an incredible resource for clergy. The Lilly Endowment grant reveals the value of this ministry for the church and its mission,” said the ninth Bishop of Texas, C. Andrew Doyle. Bishop Suffragan Kathryn M. Ryan fervently echoes the bishop’s sentiments.

The Episcopal Diocese of Texas is one of 81 organizations receiving grants through this competitive round of the Compelling Preaching Initiative. Reflecting the diversity of Christianity in the United States, the organizations are affiliated with mainline Protestant, evangelical, Catholic, Orthodox, Anabaptist and Pentecostal faith communities. Many of the organizations are rooted in the Black Church and in Hispanic and Asian American Christian traditions.

“Throughout history, preachers often have needed to adapt their preaching practices to engage new generations of hearers more effectively,” said Christopher L. Coble, Lilly Endowment’s vice president for religion. “We are pleased that the organizations receiving grants in this initiative will help pastors and others in ministry engage in the kinds of preaching needed today to ensure that the gospel message is heard and accessible for all audiences.”

Lilly Endowment launched the Compelling Preaching Initiative in 2022 because of its interest in supporting projects that help to nurture the religious lives of individuals and families and foster the growth and vitality of Christian congregations in the United States.


About Lilly Endowment Inc.

Lilly Endowment Inc. is a private foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. While those gifts remain the financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff, and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education and religion and maintains a special commitment to its hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana. A principal aim of the Endowment’s religion grantmaking is to deepen and enrich the lives of Christians in the United States, primarily by seeking out and supporting efforts that enhance the vitality of congregations and strengthen the pastoral and lay leadership of Christian communities. The Endowment also seeks to improve public understanding of diverse religious traditions by supporting fair and accurate portrayals of the role religion plays in the United States and across the globe.

Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn
but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the
strength of love: So mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that
all peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of
Peace, as children of one Father; to whom be dominion and
glory, now and for ever. Amen.

- Book of Common Prayer, pg. 815

Airstrike reportedly hits Anglican-run Ahli hospital in Gaza, raising fear of casualties [Episcopal News Service] Al Ahli Arab Hospital, a ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem that serves patients in Gaza, was hit Oct. 17 by an apparent airstrike, adding to an already volatil…

Episcopalians everywhere are invited to observe a day of prayer and fasting on Tuesday, Oct. 17, to pray without ceasing for justice, reconciliation, peace, and an end to hatred and war.

We join in this effort with the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem, the leading ecumenical group representing senior Christian leaders in the region, which includes Archbishop Hosam Naoum of The Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East.

On the web, including additional resources: https://www.episcopalchurch.org/publicaffairs/episcopal-church-invited-to-observe-day-of-prayer-and-fasting-for-the-holy-land/

We invite you to join Archbishop Hosam Naoum, of the Anglican Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East, as well as Christians around the world tomorrow in a day of prayer for peace in the Holy Land.

Episcopalians everywhere are invited to observe a day of prayer and fasting on Tuesday, Oct. 17, to pray without ceasing for justice, reconciliation, peace, and an end to hatred and war.

We join in this effort with the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem, the leading ecumenical group representing senior Christian leaders in the region, which includes Archbishop Hosam Naoum of The Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East.

On the web, including additional resources: https://www.episcopalchurch.org/publicaffairs/episcopal-church-invited-to-observe-day-of-prayer-and-fasting-for-the-holy-land/

Check out this lovely article about St. Mary's, Ely's Blessing of the Animals:

IN THE SPIRIT OF SAINT FRANCIS - The Timberjay ELY- The Sunday, Oct. 1, church service at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Ely was not your typical call to worship, and the pews were filled with a far more diverse crowd than on a regular …

Friends,

Please join people all faiths around the world in praying for peace in Israel and Palestine.

Find a statement from The Episcopal Church here: https://www.episcopalchurch.org/ogr/the-episcopal-church-calls-for-prayers-for-peace-in-the-holy-land/

And find a statement from the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem here: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1252156605683203&set=pcb.1252157549016442

“They will not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain...” —Isaiah 11:9

God of Comfort,
send your Spirit to encompass all those whose lives
are torn apart by violence and death in Israel and Palestine.
You are the Advocate of the oppressed
and the One whose eye is on the sparrow.
Let arms reach out in healing, rather than aggression.
Let hearts mourn rather than militarize.

God of Justice,
give strength to those whose long work for a just peace
might seem fruitless now. Strengthen their resolve.
Do not let them feel alone. Show us how to support their work
and bolster their courage. Guide religious leaders to model
unity and reconciliation across lines of division.
Guide political leaders to listen with their hearts as they seek peace and pursue it.
Help all people choose the rigorous path of just peace and disavow violence.

God of Love,
we lift up Palestine and Israel — its people, its land, its creatures.
War is a monster that consumes everything in its path.
Peace is a gift shared at meals of memory with Christians, Muslims, and Jews.
Let us burn incense, not children. Let us break bread, not bodies.
Let us plant olive groves, not cemeteries.
We beg for love and compassion to prevail
on all your holy mountains.

God of Hope,
we lift up the cities of the region: Gaza City and Tel Aviv,
Ramallah and Ashkelon, Deir El Balah and Sderot,
so long divided, yet so filled with life and creativity.
Come again to breathe peace on your peoples
that all may recognize you.

God of Mercy,
even now work on the hearts of combatants
to choose life over death, reconciliation over retaliation,
restoration over destruction. Help us resist antisemitism in all its forms,
especially in our own churches. All people, Israelis and Palestinians,
deserve to live in peace and unafraid, with a right to determine
their future together.

God of the Nations,
let not one more child or elder be sacrificed on altars of political expediency.
Keep safe all people from unjust leaders who would exploit
vulnerability for their own distorted ends.
Give wise discernment to those making decisions to pursue peace.
Provide them insight into fostering well-being, freedom, and thriving for all.
Teach all of us to resolve injustices with righteousness, not rockets.
Guard our hearts against retaliation, and give us hearts for love alone.

Strengthen our faith in you, O God of All Flesh,
even when we don’t have clear answers,
so that we may still offer ourselves nonviolently
for the cause of peace.

Amen.
(By Rose Marie Berger, as published in Sojourners)

The Episcopal Church calls for prayers for peace in the Holy Land – The Episcopal Church “We offer our prayers and support during this time of violence in Israel and Palestine. In Luke 19:41, we are reminded ‘That when Jesus drew near and saw the city, he wept over […]

This is the final week to register for the Diocesan Youth Event, DYE, October 20-22 at St. Paul's, Duluth.

https://vimeo.com/870790366?share=copy

This event is for senior high students, grades 9-12. The next 9 students get their event fee waived, thanks to a generous gift from the Brian N. Prior Youth Scholarship Fund.

Find out more, and register here: https://onrealm.org/ECMN/PublicRegistrations/Event?linkString=MDE5MDQ3ZTctYmIxZi00MzNjLWE5M2YtYjAxOTAxMjk0NGQ0

Questions? Contact [email protected]

DYE October 2023 Promo Register here: https://onrealm.org/ECMN/PublicRegistrations/Event?linkString=MDE5MDQ3ZTctYmIxZi00MzNjLWE5M2YtYjAxOTAxMjk0NGQ0

Check out this great article on the Racial Justice and Healing Summit, happening this weekend! https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/2023/09/28/catherine-meeks-headlines-minnesota-racial-justice-and-healing-commissions-events/

If you're not registered for the Summit, you can still find the recording of Dr. Meeks's talk last night at St. John the Evangelist here: https://www.facebook.com/EpiscopalMN/posts/pfbid02uinMP4612xBtFB5PZPkacFq7SkYRRyMVfhkdHjJfBHogwwMYKmX313ZATJjEWtMul

And join worship on Sunday morning at 10 am at St. John the Evangelist, where Dr. Meeks will preach! Also available on their YouTube channel.

Catherine Meeks headlines Minnesota racial justice and healing commission’s events [Episcopal News Service] The Episcopal Church in Minnesota’s racial justice and healing commission is hosting a series of anti-racism education events Sept. 28–Oct. 1 at St. John the Evangelist Epi…

This evening's talk with Dr. Catherine Meeks, executive director of the Absalom Jones Episcopal Center for Racial Healing, and Bishop Loya, will begin shortly. Find the livestream from St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church here.

Welcome! We're glad you're here.

A Conversation w/ Dr. Catherine Meeks, September 28 @ 7PM The Episcopal Church in Minnesota's Commission for Racial Justice hosts a summit with Dr. Catherine Meeks. This evening Dr. Meeks presents from her book and ...

Dr. Catherine Meeks is here! Last night she joined members of the Racial Justice and Healing Commission in advance of this weekend's Racial Justice and Healing Summit.

Tonight, she and Bishop Loya will be in conversation at St. John the Evangelist at 7pm. All are welcome! If you can't make it in person, you can watch the livestream on St. John's YouTube channel, or check back here and we'll share the link!

https://www.youtube.com/

Good Growing @ Good Courage — Abbey Way This past Saturday a few Abbey Way-ers journeyed out to Hutchinson for our last official Vineyard Steward cohort adventure of 2023. With the harvesting of the grapes, comes the end of our official commitment together as a cohort. I have to say, harvesting is much easier and more satisfying (and stic

A prayer for our beloved Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry, on the occasion of his surgery this morning.

The Episcopal Church

We *always* love photos of Bishop Loya's visitations, but these are too good not to share!

Bishop Loya writes,

Beloved in Christ,

Yesterday was the Feast of the Holy Cross. In the ancient world, it was laughable for a small Jewish sect to claim that the God of the whole cosmos is revealed most fully in the state ex*****on of a common criminal. Today, the cross is an omnipresent decorative item. And yet, whether we recognize it or not, the cross of Jesus is every bit the scandal today that it was to those who first heard the gospel, and what seems laughable to the world today (and scandalous to many who fill our own pews each week) is the pedestrian version of substitutionary atonement that is so often the primary public face of Christian theology.

Read the rest here:

The Mystery of the Cross Yesterday was the Feast of the Holy Cross. In the ancient world, it was laughable for a small Jewish sect to claim that the God of the whole cosmos is revealed most fully in the state ex*****on of a common criminal. Today, the cross is an omnipresent decorative item. And yet, whether we recognize it...

Our friends at The University of St. Thomas are starting an exciting new initiative to explore the values of beauty, goodness, and truth. Join them for their inaugural lecture, coming up on Tuesday, September 19th!

On Beauty: The Forgotten Transcendental - The Inaugural Lecture of the Claritas Initiative on Beauty, Goodness, and Truth - Registration We welcome Dr. Jennifer Newsome Martin, University of Notre Dame, with University of St. Thomas faculty respondents Katherine Acton (School of Engineering), Rosemarie Monge (Opus College of Business), Elizabeth Schiltz (School of Law), and Mark Spencer (College of Art and Sciences).

It's tonight!! Episcopal Night at the Minnesota Twins 2023! See you there!