new to the group
Stefani Schatz
I'm a rector in Nevada .... thinking of using google groups - not so
much for the parish but for a colleague group.
how does this format work for you?
do people really post / respond and get to know one another.
I'd really appreciate your feedback.
pax, -- Stefani
Susan Snook
- Can members of this list recommend adult small-group resources targeted at new believers, that help them sort through their questions about Christianity and come to a deeper commitment?
The Episcopal Church of the Nativity
7010 E. Chauncey Lane Suite 100
Phoenix, Arizona 85054
(480) 307-9216 Office
(602) 980-4970 Cell
www.TheNativity.net
From: Stefani Schatz <revst...@googlemail.com>
To: Episcopal Evangelism <episcopal-...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Wed, October 14, 2009 7:07:21 AM
Subject: {Episcopal Evangelism} new to the group
Pete Ross
Peace,
Pete
er...@episcopalmaine.net
Faithfully
Elizabeth Ring
In the Diocese of Maine
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
Gigi Conner
‘Living the Questions’ is a good resource – not Episcopalian – but poses good questions. Group watches DVD featuring many people – then break into small groups if enough people. Purchase and then license can be renewed each year. ‘Saving Jesus’ more advanced version – same format. Those along with Via Media have handouts that can be downloaded.
The Diocese of Texas had a dvd – good material on the Episcopal Church – The Discovery Series – but when I purchased it the handouts were not available on the computer – had to copy pages out of book which is not so easy.
Also – book “Jesus was Episcopalian (and you can be one too” is a good resource. Downloadable facilitator guide available for a minimal amount.
And just for fun – for newcomers – Mr. Bean Goes to Church.
Gigi Conner
The Rev. Gigi Conner
Vicar, St. Gregory’s Church, Woodstock, New York
Deacon Scott
I am a deacon in Chicago and co-owner of a Yahoo group for deacons in
the diocese ('chicagodeacons"), which geographically is roughly the
northern third of Illinois. We have about 70 members, and there are
usually between 20 and 40 posts a month. It was modeled after a
similar Yahoo group for Anglican deacons in North America
("anglodeacons"). That group has about 550 members and between 150 and
400 posts per month or so, and it's owner and moderator is Ormonde
Plater, the Archdeacon of the United States.
The Yahoo group format works fine for a group of our size, and I think
Ormonde finds it quite suitable for his much-larger, but still not
enormous, group. I find that it's easy (once you get the hang of it)
to do all the moderating a group of this size and type needs, and I
think Ormonde feels the same way. I suspect that a group much smaller
than ours, or much larger than his, would have trouble with
sustainability: less than critical mass on the one hand, impersonally
unwieldy on the other.
The universe of potential members of my group is small enough that we
can operate by invitation only (although one may request an invite),
so we have no problem with spammers and there is no need to screen
posts; Ormonde's is too big for that, and he doesn't screen posts, so
he gets a spammer from time to time, and we usually have fun with it
(it's interesting to see what kinds of bots will sign up for a group
with a name like that).
So I guess that's a vote for Yahoo groups, not Google groups, but only
because I'm much more familiar with Yahoo. There are tradeoffs in
either system: with Yahoo, you have to watch for spybots, and
functionality is greatly enhanced for members with Yahoo IDs; with
Google, you have to watch for sponsored spam.
But I do think a group of this sort is probably a good way to
establish and maintain connection, through either system or some
other, if your universe of potential members is between 50 and 500,
and your geographical area is larger than, say, 2 or 3 hundred square
miles,
Feel free to write off-list if you like, or request a Free! Trial!
Membership! to chicagodeacons to see what it's like.
deac...@gmail.com
Dcn Scott Elliott
Diocese of Chicago
On Oct 14, 9:07 am, Stefani Schatz
Ben Timmons
--
Ben Timmons
Organizational and Technology Consulting
3858 65th Street
Sacramento, Ca 95820
Drb...@gmail.com
(916) 599-3838 (Cell and Pager)
(916) 457-2295 (Voice)
Steven Horst
Our parish is in the midst of Living the Questions. It's an interesting little class, though I'd heard much of it before in EFM and Diocante studies. The groups which turn out each week are totally engaged. BEN
On Fri, Oct 16, 2009 at 12:07 AM, Gigi Conner <gigip...@prodigy.net> wrote:
'Living the Questions' is a good resource - not Episcopalian - but poses good questions. Group watches DVD featuring many people - then break into small groups if enough people. Purchase and then license can be renewed each year. 'Saving Jesus' more advanced version - same format. Those along with Via Media have handouts that can be downloaded.
The Diocese of Texas had a dvd - good material on the Episcopal Church - The Discovery Series - but when I purchased it the handouts were not available on the computer - had to copy pages out of book which is not so easy.
Also - book "Jesus was Episcopalian (and you can be one too" is a good resource. Downloadable facilitator guide available for a minimal amount.
And just for fun - for newcomers - Mr. Bean Goes to Church.
Gigi Conner
The Rev. Gigi Conner
Vicar, St. Gregory's Church, Woodstock, New York
--
Steven Horst, Ph.D., Alternate Lay Deputy, Diocese of CT
Church of the Holy Trinity, Middletown, CT (http://www.holytrinityct.org)
Professor of Philosophy
Department of Philosophy
Wesleyan University
Middletown, CT 06459 USA
http://www.stevenhorst.com
Sarah Dylan Breuer
curricula called Klesis (the Greek word for 'calling'), designed for
formation of folks from inquirer to committed Christian with a
personal rule of life and ongoing support from a small group to live
into it.
One of the most exciting things for me about these courses was that we
released them on an 'open source' basis: You don't have to pay
anything to download all course materials. We appreciate donations to
help us continue course development and to help us develop a robust
online 'user community' to share modifications, questions,
experiences, and such. And we're available for consulting and leader
training if you want us. But you do not have to pay a thing to get and
use these courses. We require only two things in the 'user agreement':
1) You provide feedback to us on what you did and how it worked and
didn't work for you; and
2) You share freely with us and the user community any modifications/
adaptions you made and don't try to pass off your version or others'
as your wholly original work.
Because of that 'open source' release, these courses have benefitted
from extensive use and feedback, and very quickly there were
communities doing versions for youth, campus ministries, Native
American communities, Australians, and Spanish-speaking communities.
The creativity of the whole church comes to bear, and we actually
SHARE our gifts in an Acts 2-4 kind of way.
Pardon that digression; I'm just really excited about that model, and
hope it catches on. Now, the courses themselves. If you don't want to
read about it all here, or if you want more info, you can check out
our website:
-- 'Connect' is the first course in the series. It's structured around
the liturgy of the Eucharist, which I chose to do chiefly for two
reasons: a) the liturgy of the Eucharist includes most of the basic
theology one would need to know to answer the primary question of the
course, namely, "Do I want to make this place a spiritual home in
which I continue to explore what being a Christian might mean to me?;
and b) if people who is completely unchurched do decide, after or
during the course, to start coming to church on Sundays, they will
already be familiar with the liturgy and will have reflected with
others on what the Eucharistic liturgy means specifically to them and
their story. Sessions include a short (15 minutes max) presentation
and a meal with table discussion.
I did design it to have enough fresh material that longtime Christians
have got a lot out of the experienced, but it's suitable for people
with no faith background whatsoever. The course is six weeks long, and
participants are not required to do any 'homework' or bring anything
for the meal provided (and we always had kid-friendly food and child
care provided; part of the pitch for committing to the time was to
say, "Hey, doesn't it take you at least 2-3 hours to get the food,
prepare it, and clean up after a good dinner for your family? So if we
take care of all that for all of you, wouldn't it be nice to have an
evening off from thinking about it and getting to think about some
'big picture' stuff instead with other interesting people?"). The idea
is to make everything about the course underscore experientially
Jesus' radical welcome and message of grace and theology of abundance
-- 'Commit' is the second course in Klesis. Sessions include a shorter
(5-10 minute) presentation to allow more time for table discussion
over the meal. The course is structured around the Baptismal Covenant,
and its central question is "What would living more deeply into the
Baptismal Covenant look like for me?" A lot of parishes use it for
preparation for Confirmation. It's twelve weeks long. Some versions of
it have 'homework,' consisting of a couple or few pages of scripture,
pre-20th-century tradition (including many of 'Anglicanism's Greatest
Hits'), and contemporary theological reflection (i.e., reason); others
go through this pattern of study entirely in the session. The parish
where John and I started it hadn't done Easter Vigil, so we started it
up again as the climax of the course, with participants planning the
whole service and party afterward, and the reflection on the gospel,
instead of a sermon from clergy, is open mic for people to say to what
they are committing, why, and what it all means to them. It was a
POWERFUL service!
-- 'Covenant' is in development/beta-testing now. 'Covenant' assumes
that participants are committed Christians seeking transformation of
their lives to more fully reflect their discipleship and bear fruit of
the Spirit in more abundance. It is a six-month commitment to a small
group that helps participants discern their vocation (we've all got
one, not just clergy!) and develop a rhythm of life that is
spiritually nourishing, joyful, and sustainable.
So, if any are interested in trying out these courses, I encourage you
to go to http://www.connect-course.org, download 'Connect,' and please
provide us with any feedback you've got -- including telling us why
you decide not to use the course if that's your choice. I hope it
proves helpful to you!
Blessings,
Dylan
_________________
Sarah Dylan Breuer
member, Executive Council
http://www.sarahlaughed.net
dy...@sarahlaughed.net
Steven Horst
Ann Fontaine
them have found them excellent - for introduction to new members and
for deepening the life of a congregation.
Ann
Ann Fontaine
Wyoming
Susan Snook
The Episcopal Church of the Nativity
7010 E. Chauncey Lane Suite 100
Phoenix, Arizona 85054
(480) 307-9216 Office
(602) 980-4970 Cell
www.TheNativity.net
From: Sarah Dylan Breuer <sdbr...@gmail.com>
To: episcopal-...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Sat, October 17, 2009 7:56:29 AM
Subject: {Episcopal Evangelism} inquirers' curricula (was: new to the group)
Sarah Dylan Breuer
Steven's question is probably an even more difficult one - how does one provide an educational opportunity that doesn't attract just the same old committed Christians who always come to everything? (For instance, a parish I previously served ran the Alpha course, with a good turnout of 60 church members. However, because these were committed Christians, and Alpha is designed for the unchurched, they were very dissatisfied with the course, and it did not achieve its objective of evangelism.)How does one truly interest the unchurched but mildly curious in learning more about Christianity? I have found that the oldest answer is the best one: word of mouth and personal invitation. But of course, this is very hard work, requiring dedicated effort from a broad spectrum of church leaders. And, it requires an offering that is enticing enough to get people away from the other things that fill their busy schedules. Any wisdom on this topic would also be appreciated.
Steven Horst
>
>
>We need to form church members who experience spiritual abundance in
>community such that they feel a natural need and excitement to share
>it with anyone else within shouting distance. That's why I think
>success in reaching out to unchurched people is predicated on having
>serious, ongoing adult formation. Otherwise:
>
>a) the community won't be able to handle the inevitable changes that
>come with new members, especially new members from other cultures,
>social classes, and generations; and, more importantly ...
>
>b) the community won't be the kind of spiritually vital, nourishing,
>exciting place that we promise. "Come prop up our dying
>institution!" is not an appealing invitation. "You're welcome to
>join us!" is only Good News if the community issuing the invitation
>has experienced and embraced Jesus' radical welcome and can offer
>deep lifelong spiritual nourishment. In my experience, that requires
>a strong core of disciples mature enough in their faith to serve as
>apostles.
>
>Sorry this post is so long, but I hope at least some of it is helpful.
Absolutely! These last few posts have been extremely helpful, both
in their content, and in the reassurance that there are people out
there who have some experience in this!
I absolutely agree on the continuing adult formation point. (Which,
if you're courting non-Christians, includes catechism and basics of
spiritual formation.) In my experience, it is really hard to try to
get a congregation, or even a vestry, to wrap their minds around
this. A lot of the evangelical churches get it, even when their
formation doesn't extend much beyond the doctrine of atonement. I
have sometimes wondered if the Holy Sprit, in Divine Wisdom, tends
not to bless a congregation with those ready to come to Christ unless
the congregation is prepared to minister to them.
Steven Horst
1) So one has a course. OK, I'm good with that. I'm a professor. I
understand both lectures and discussions, and I've led my share of
Bible studies and Church discussions, and understand that in the
latter I have to be listening for the Spirit to lead. Hopefully, at
some point, some folks are going to want to turn their lives over the
Christ. How have you gone about inviting them to do that? Do you
have a group altar call? Invite people to talk personally with the
priest or prayer team? (Had the first at my first church, where
there were standing-room only services of healing and evangelism on
Tuesday nights, and we have had some success in inviting people to
come talk to the prayer team at the Sunday service at my present
church.) Invite them to do it on their own, with characteristic
Episcopal decorum about other people's privacy?
2) Do you have any advice on how to tie in evangelistic programs
with formal rites of baptism, confirmation, and reception? In
thinking about this, I find myself thinking of the changes that seem
to have taken place in the apostolic church, from baptism upon
conversion to a lengthy catechism. (I think by sometime in the 2nd
century it became a 3-year process!) My thought for Spring is
tending towards having my own introduction to Christianity offered
just before Lent, with something on the order of an adult catechism
offered during Lent for those who feel so moved, and opportunity for
baptism at Easter Vigil. (Though I very much like what I have now
heard about the more holistic approach of Klesis, and look forward to
exploring it after I get back from a trip to Jerusalem. It makes me
realize that my own approach is rather Evangelical -- present the
Good News, let the Holy Spirit move people, and then...? That is,
the connection with the life of the community is missing. Perhaps
more the model of the itinerant evangelist than one rooted in a
Christian community. Again, so glad to have some collective wisdom
to profit from!)
3) If you were brought in somewhere to do an intensive evangelism
event, what would you want to insist upon from the host community?
What kinds of plan for publicity? WHat kinds of resources for
follow-up? (Not that I'm thinking about going on the road. But this
seems like one way of thinking about what to have in place the first
time one does a program locally, too.)
Well, off to church, and packing...
Shalom and Salaam,
Steve
Sarah Dylan Breuer
> So, a few more questions for those of you who have been at this for
> a while:
>
> 1) ... Hopefully, at
> some point, some folks are going to want to turn their lives over the
> Christ. How have you gone about inviting them to do that? Do you
> have a group altar call? Invite people to talk personally with the
> priest or prayer team? ... Invite them to do it on their own, with
> characteristic
> Episcopal decorum about other people's privacy?
> 2) Do you have any advice on how to tie in evangelistic programs
> with formal rites of baptism, confirmation, and reception? [snip]
I personally at age 13 had an evangelical conversion experience in
which I prayed with a pastor to acknowledge my sin, ask for God's
forgiveness, and receive Jesus as Lord of my life. It was deeply
important to me. However, I don't believe that one has to have such a
moment. In my opinion, we turn our lives over to Christ with our
lives, not our lips, and Baptism, not any other ritual of private or
group prayer, works for me as the rite of Christian initiation.
And in the Eucharist, we hear and reflect on the Good News, confess
our sin, receive forgiveness, express reconciliation with one another
(i.e., the Peace), and -- after hearing about and praying what the
Eucharist means to us -- we are invited to come forward to the altar
to receive Christ into ourselves. If that's not an altar call, I don't
know what is! The canons and rubrics say that it's the Baptized who
are invited to receive the bread and wine (though I know many
presiders issue a broader invitation), but everyone can be invited to
come forward to receive in SOME way, and the invitation can be issued
as a blessing of discipleship.
Formally, though, in Klesis, each course includes at key points and at
its conclusion an opportunity for participants and facilitators alike
to reflect on and share what they feel their next step is in response
to what they've experienced. When I'm facilitating a Connect table and
participants say they think they'd like to be a follower of Jesus, I
ask a follow-up question about what they might like to do in response
to that, and groups are always allowed to pray, so if it seemed
appropriate I'd invite the table to pray with that person. Everyone's
intended next steps are offered in prayer as well, so anyone who's
expressed a desire to deepen their walk with Jesus in any way gets
that lifted up to God by the group.
If a Connect participant said s/he wanted to make a formal commitment
to follow Jesus, we'd talk about Baptism and appropriate preparation
for it. Commit is good prep for Baptism (or Confirmation or
Reaffirmation of Baptismal vows), but if there were a pastoral need to
do something sooner liturgically, we'd figure out what seemed best,
and might do it using the Form of Commitment to Christian Service,
either as a part of the Sunday morning service or in a service at
another time. For someone who hadn't been baptized, however, Baptism
would be the next step, so I'd do some further preparation with the
person (table groups often want to continue meeting as a group, so a
lot of the prep could take place there, or I have done one-on-one prep
for Baptism and Confirmation when the need was there).
I do like timing things so that Connect is offered toward the start of
the program year (ideally as well as at other times, if the demand is
there), Commit is offered for sure in the weeks leading up to the
Easter Vigil (and I would have those making a new/reaffirmed
commitment take a very active part in the service if possible -- at
least coordinating the hospitality for a party afterward or after the
Easter Sunday service as a kind of lay diaconal ministry, if that
makes sense), and Covenant (the third course) can start right after
Easter (in congregations where people stick around for the summer) or
at the start of the program year.
> 3) If you were brought in somewhere to do an intensive evangelism
> event, what would you want to insist upon from the host community?
> What kinds of plan for publicity? WHat kinds of resources for
> follow-up? (Not that I'm thinking about going on the road. But this
> seems like one way of thinking about what to have in place the first
> time one does a program locally, too.)
The only thing I insist on is that my expenses are covered (minimally)
and that there ARE resources for follow-up. What kind of publicity and
what kind of resources would be most appropriate would be best known
by the host community -- what works in Dallas would not necessarily
work in Boston, and whatever is done, it needs to be culturally
appropriate. I'd dialogue with the host community to help them figure
out what that might be, but I rarely come away from that dialogue
thinking that any paid advertising is necessary or cost-effective.
When advertising outside of host congregations is helpful, I find it's
generally for specific things. For example, programs in which wise
elders in the congregation who love kids offer to take on something of
a grandparent role for local families whose grandparents are distant
or absent can be extremely successful in attracting families with
young children, and for these I'd put up fliers in places like the
YMCA and community centers where kids do things such as take karate
classes or summer camps. For an experiential worship experience
involving local artists or musicians, I'd put up fliers in the arty or
other neighborhoods in which they live, work, and exhibit or perform.
But people are just too glutted with information and demands on their
time, in general and in my experience, to respond to a very general
shout-out in the local paper. When I worked in advertising, we called
it 'niche marketing,' and in our fragmented society, that's just about
the only kind of marketing that works.
BrJames Patrick
I am very interested in connecting with those outside the Church. I
have been running a 'theology on tap' group in Broken Arrow, Ok just
outside Tulsa. This area is heavily evangelized, and almost saturated
with a pretty conservative form of Christianity which forms what I
call a sort of crust over society here. Here a common question is,
what church do you go to, the going being assumed.
However many people are not interested in the Christianity being
presented for many reasons, and as in all parts of the world, there
are many who are unchurched and perhaps more in the dischurched
category, a word I just learned in this thread.
My Tap group met in a bar for a while, but the noise was a factor so
we moved to a coffee shop. We get some from various Churches, but now
are finally getting people who are associates of those who come but
won't attend a church. That is my target audience, and we have had
some really good questions lately. My hope is to provide a safe place
for people to explore questions and as they seek answers I might be
able to steer them to a faith community they would be comfortable in.
Has anyone tried anything like this? I am pretty unskilled at it,but
am enjoying the process.
James Patrick
Stefani Schatz
The Holy Spirit is life that gives life, Moving all things. It is radiant life, worthy of praise, Awakening and enlivening all things.
~ Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179)