e-News: June 2021
It is a good sign that we are reverting back to a monthly edition of this newsletter. It means that we are not quite in such changing moments with the need for immediate information, and that we are able to set our sights on a steadier path forward. Congregations have been returning to in-person worship, even with some basic COVID protocols still in place. Singing quietly behind our masks has started again, and I came across an interesting idea during the visitation at St. James, Oskaloosa last weekend where the two confirmands were given a choice for their favorite hymn to be sung. And so, for one choice, we enjoyed “O Come all ye Faithful” this Memorial Day weekend! It made me think that it wasn’t a bad idea to throw in one favorite carol each Sunday as we missed out so terribly this Christmas. The Daily Office lectionary reminds us of Christ’s road to the Passion right into the heart of Christmas, and so why not catch up on some lost connection with Christmas?
Even as in-person begin again, I am saddened that we will not be able to gather at the end of June for Summer Ministry School and Retreat. This is a highlight of our common life each year, and I trust it will continue to be so for many more to come. We are holding a virtual SMSR picnic party on Friday night, June 25th, from 6-8pm. We expect the month of July to herald in our face-to-face gatherings as our young families gather for summer camp and we meet to greet the bishop candidates the following week as they travel around the diocese. The Special Convention for the election of the 10th Bishop will bring delegates to the Marriott on July 31st and we are certainly planning for a regular Diocesan Convention in October. The House of Bishops resumes its in-person meetings in September after a two-year hiatus.
The Board of Directors of the Diocese will meet online at the end of this month to consider the 2022 budget, and also to hear a report from the May 1st Conversations we held about our experience during this pandemic and how it has shaped our strategies moving forward. We are not simply returning to our usual practices, and in many places are adding actions that are responsive to our recognition of the evangelistic possibilities to meet people where they live.
We have learned to broaden our sense of the world even in the midst of the restrictive conditions of this past eighteen months. We can attend webinars and conferences that we wouldn’t have been able to find the time or money to go to in person. We can drop into bible studies in other congregations or create our own group. And we seem able to share more deeply than we might on such occasions, as witnessed recently as the clergy met in conference to deliver presentations on their theological reasons for being and ministering. In situation after situation, as I listened, it seemed to me, God has prepared us through positive and negative experiences to be the ordained people we are. And I was left wondering how we could engage in such sharing across the multitude of the baptized, and see with our own eyes the amazing work of the Spirit.
We are Trinitarian people—followers of the Triune God. And that means that the Creator of all things knows our state by living as one of us through Jesus, and then invites us to walk and grow in God’s Spirit throughout our baptized lives. It is all a story of amazing grace. And it is also a story which we receive heeding Christ’s own words about eyes to see, and ears to hear, and hearts to understand.
Next month I want to invite you to a Revival. Yes—it will be online. It will be virtual and very real. The Presiding Bishop will address us; we will be inspired by praise from around the diocese and strengthened by the appearance of our companions. We will hear stories of amazing grace, or lives ignited by the love of God; and we will be led in renewal of our baptismal vows by congregations across the diocese. It is a moment to which we should bring our friends. In your own homes maybe, you could gather around the TV screen and share with your neighbors and friends why you believe as you do. We will have a running telephone line of chaplains ready to take prayer needs, and not only in English, but Spanish, Arabic and Dinka. We love the message of Jesus and the love He ignites in us, and we have an opportunity to share it. I intend to invite family and friends from around the world. It is a fine way to embrace a new era as we elect a new bishop one week later.
When we held our forty revivals around the diocese, we started a 40-day prayer countdown for each one. A similar prayer support will start June 14th. As our brother Archbishop Samuel Peni told Convention in 2016 as we entered into that year of Revival 2017, “God is Sovereign of all revival.” And so to God we commit ourselves and our deepest desires for divine blessing, and not only do we pray this for ourselves but for all that God may wish to bring about as we ask “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done.”
In the peace and love of Christ,
+Alan
The Rt. Rev. Alan Scarfe, Bishop of Iowa
10th Bishop of Iowa Search
The Episcopal Diocese of Iowa is about to enter a new phase of its life with the upcoming
election of its 10th Bishop on July 31. This is a historical moment as we are presented with three candidates, all of whom are women. During the week of July 12, we will have several opportunities to meet them at five Meet & Greets to be held at the churches listed below. If you wish to attend in person, you must pre-register below.
The Meet & Greets will also be either live-streamed or broadcast afterward on Facebook. You may also submit a question for the candidates to address at the Meet & Greets HERE.
As we approach this momentous decision, we can prepare ourselves by reviewing the diocesan profile, learning about the candidates, Engaging in Discernment, and praying for those who will elect our new bishop:
Almighty God, giver of every good gift: Look graciously on your church, and so
guide the minds of those who shall choose a bishop for this Diocese, that we may
receive a faithful pastor, who will care for you people and equip us for our
ministries; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Book of Common Prayer, p. 818
Additional information about the search and the Electing Convention can be found on the Bishop
Search website.
Register below for Candidate Meet & Greets
July 12 - 6:00pm at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral, Des Moines
JULY 12
July 13 - 6:00pm at St. Thomas’, Sioux City
JULY 13
July 14 - 6:00pm at St. Mark’s, Fort Dodge
JULY 14
July 15 - 6:00pm at Grace Church, Cedar Rapids
JULY 15
July 16 - 6:00pm at Trinity Cathedral, Davenport
JULY 16
Special Electing Convention
Dates to Remember:
June 16 – Deadline to certify and register your delegation and deadline to be a youth delegate
July 1 – Canonical Deadline for forms to be received by mail at the Diocesan Office
July 1 – Notice of Agenda will be e-mailed to Lay Delegates, Clergy Delegates and Alternate Delegates
July 17 -After this date no refunds can be issued for cancellations
July 31 – Special Electing Convention begins at 1pm and will continue until a new bishop is elected.
SMSR Zoom Picnic: June 25, 6-8pm
You are invited to a ZOOM picnic of Episcopalians in the Diocese of Iowa.
This fellowship event replaces the Ministry School & Retreat 2021 and all the great social time we’ve come to enjoy as part of that annual gathering.
What will we do?
Pray together
Snack
Play
Breakout rooms for small group or one-on-one interaction.
What should I bring?
Your favorite ice cream or snack
Your favorite beverage
A silly hat or costume
Playful attitude
Calling all musicians! If you would like to contribute your musical talents for the diocesan revival with the Presiding Bishop, email mwagner@iowaepiscopal.org
GILEAD Campaign
GILEAD Grants Process: LEARN MORE
Learn about the grant projects funded last year: 2020 RECIPIENTS
Grants are made possible by your gifts to the GILEAD Campaign: DONATE TODAY
Meetings with the Grant Committee are required! Time slots are first come, first serve so get in touch ASAP to schedule your first meeting.
Questions? Contact Traci Ruhland Petty at tpetty@iowaepiscopal.org
EPIC Diocesan Summer Camp - July 5-9, 2021
Join us for EPIC 2021 at our new location, the Christian Conference Center in Newton!
EPIC is for youth entering 4th grade through 12th grade. Registration for in-person camp is currently full, but you can email Amy Mellies to be put on the waitlist. The cost is $350 per camper and scholarships are available upon request. You can register below or find more information on the Children and Youth Ministry page of the diocesan website.
We will also be offering EPIC Online. Each day you will be sent videos based on scripture and topics for the day, craft supplies, t-shirt and other camp staples. We will have live events throughout the day so online campers can connect with in-person campers as well. Cost is $25.
Task Force on Reparations
At the 168th Annual Convention of the Diocese of Iowa, delegates passed Resolution 168A calling for a “Season of Truth and Healing.” The resolution commits the diocese to taking “tangible and enduring actions towards healing the sins of slavery, indigenous genocide and displacement, and racism through earnest and sacrificial actions.”
As part of that commitment, each congregation is asked to review and share the history of Iowa’s and our churches’ part in benefiting from the legacies of enslavement, genocide and displacement. This congregational guide is intended to support investigations into and conversations about that history. We hope that it will help congregations have active, truthful and loving dialogue about our racialized past; lead us into active discussions about our current experiences with race and racism in our congregation and community; and encourage courageous steps towards reconciliation and repair.
Dismantling Racism Training
Grounded in The Episcopal Church's commitment to dismantling racism as essential to our formation as Christians, this ONLINE training is open to all persons who would like to deepen their understanding of racism, prejudice, and privilege.
The training will consist of 2 sessions from 10:00am-12:00pm and 12:30pm-2:30pm Sessions are limited to 25 attendees, so you may be placed on a waiting list when the session is full.
Dismantling Racism: Training for Church Leaders is a training day that is required of all lay and ordained leaders in The Episcopal Church (including vestries, search committees, diocesan leadership, etc.).
Podcast Corner
Be Antiracist with Ibram X. Kendi
From Ibram X. Kendi: My action podcast #BeAntiracist premieres on 6/9. Thinking with a special guest, each week we get into the weeds on a different form of racism--and offer precise and practical solutions so we can all take action.
