e-News May 2022
I had a discussion with my teenage son and my husband the other night after dinner. We were talking about systems of government and laws. We talked about communism because it seems like communism is a system that takes care of everybody and doesn’t leave everyone out—except that we have seen communism in practice, and we have seen the extreme measures that leaders in communist countries take as they try to force people into the ideal communist system. We talked about monarchy, where a benevolent and just monarch can take care of their people—until the monarchy passes to an unjust and self-centered monarch, who robs the people to enrich themself. As we continued to discuss various systems of government, each one seemed to have its own fatal flaw if the goal is to be sure that the people are all taken care of and have opportunities to improve their own lives and their communities.
At one point in this conversation—and this is probably one of the hazards of being a passionately committed Christian—I shouted “This is why we need Jesus!” This is not necessarily a line that I recommend using on teenage boys. In fact, I think it generated an eye roll, which means that at least he heard me. What I meant, though, was exactly what I said: the reason that we need Jesus is that our human-derived systems of government always, in every case, come up short.
I don’t mean that we need a government based on Jesus: we have seen that fail in history just as much as any government fails. I mean that, whatever the model of government is, we need Jesus also.
We just made our way through Holy Week, and remembered that even when Jesus’ followers thought that he was planning to lead a revolution against the Roman Empire, he never intended to create a system of government based on himself. Jesus was not interested in becoming the next ruler of Israel. He was not interested in forcing or coercing people to do the things that he preached and taught about. Jesus wanted people to love God and to love their neighbor, not to follow a set of rules. Following Jesus only works when we are each free to decide not to follow, and then when we freely make the decision to follow.
Love for God or for neighbor is never really love if it is forced or coerced. Love has to be freely given, which means that it can also be withheld. Love has to be a choice.
In a society where some people are left out, where some have more opportunity than others, where some are disadvantaged because of the circumstances of their birth, the answer is more love. There are questions that Christians need to ask ourselves as we wonder how to make our society a better place. What is the loving thing to do? What can we do to help others be able to make the choice to love God and to love their neighbor, in the way that they believe God is calling them? And how can we learn to trust in the power of God’s love, even when someone else’s choice is different from the one we might want them to make?
Our country’s political system is toxic and full of hate on both sides. Whether the issue is abortion rights or gun rights, LGBTQ+ rights or banning books, Christians are called to be involved. God does not call us to the left, or to the right, or even to walk a path down the middle of our political system. Being a Christian in our political system means following a third way. We are called always to look for the loving thing to do, to protect the vulnerable, to seek ways to allow people to make their own free choices to love God and to love neighbor. This is not easy, especially in our current political climate. This is why we need Jesus.
In the promised abundant life of Christ,
+Betsey
The Rt. Rev. Betsey Monnot, Bishop of Iowa
Diocesan-wide Survey: Who are we now?
As part of the diocesan work towards becoming beloved community, all members of the diocese are encouraged to fill out a brief, 30 question (15 minute) survey to help us get a fuller understanding of:
who our members are
what members' experience has been with race/racism in the church
how members have engaged with anti-racism and racial justice through the church
if/how the pandemic has changed your relationship with the church
The survey will be open for all of May, so please invite all church members to participate! The survey is completely anonymous and only the compiled data (stripped of any unique identifiers) will be shared with the Diocesan Board.
Behavioral Health Ministries Team
Lunch & Learn Series
The Behavioral Health Ministry Team will be joining with MindSpring Mental Health Alliance and NAMI for four Lunch and Learn sessions beginning at the end of May. Join us for a brief presentation as well as discussion time afterward. Topics are listed below. Sign up will be for all four sessions, but you can attend whatever sessions work in your schedule.
May 25 - Talking to Children about Mental Health
June 1 - Common Family Reactions to Mental Illness
June 8 - NAMI: Ending the Silence
June 15 - Creating Positive Connections with Discipline
Click below for the BHMT May newsletter and bulletin inserts for your congregation on different mental health topics.
Children, Youth and Family Mental Health Funds Request Form
The Episcopal Diocese of Iowa, through a GILEAD Grant, has funds available to assist with co-payments for mental health related appointments for children, youth, and families. You may request incremental funds for up to $50 per appointment. A completed request FORM is required for each appointment. You must submit a receipt for reimbursement or have a bill sent to the Diocesan Office. Funds will be distributed on a first come, first serve basis.
You can find more information and resources HERE or email the team at bhmt@iowaepiscopal.org.
Our Partners in Mental Health:
GILEAD Grant Spotlight: 2021 Recipients
Two of the 2021 grants awarded are focused on mental health. Both grants are in partnership with Rev. Kris Leaman, Amy Mellies, and Rev. John Greve.
Behavioral Health Ministries Team
$3,000
Beginning a New (or Strengthening an Existing) Ministry
The Behavioral Health Ministries Team will identify, and support, and lend assistance to clergy, parishes, and families with mental health needs. The intended impact is to build a support system, referral sources, and information, to clergy and parish leadership who in turn are able to guide parishioners to get help. The team will be comprised of clergy, lay and community advisors in the fields of mental health. This is a multi-phase project, and the focus of Year 1, Phase 1 will be: putting together a team to help discern what this kind of ministry team will look like; identifying BHMT community and ecumenical partners (ex. DMPCC, AMOS); putting resources together for clergy and congregations (ex. mental health checklist, suicide checklist, hotline numbers, website resources, professionals in local communities).
Grant funds will be used to create the team, including paying for mileage, facilitators, consultations with experts; to create resources, ie. webpage, flyers, handouts; and possibly a grant writer to assist in finding more funds for the team to use with the various ministry projects we see coming from this team.
Youth & Family Mental Health Services
$3,000
Formation for Youth or Young Adults
This grant will provide funds for children, youth and families to seek assistance with Behavioral/Mental Health resources. Out-of-pocket costs for mental health services vary between $25 - $120 on average in Iowa. Depending on individual cases, some therapists could request weekly meetings while others may only need appointments once a month, and many are unable to fully afford the cost. Also, some families have insurance to cover the costs of their children’s appointments, but parents are often not covered and cannot afford to pay out of pocket when family appointments are suggested. We hope to defray costs for children, youth and family units to receive the help they need. A supplement of $50 toward the out-of-pocket cost for families would allow for assisting with 50 appointments within the next year.
Grant funds will be issued to children, youth and families seeking mental health appointments and who may not be able to afford the cost. Applications will need to be filled and pre-approved by the Behavioral Health Ministry Team (BHMT), and packets of information (depression, suicide, other mental health services available and ways to get help) will also be given out to applicants.
Help make grants like these possible with a donation to the diocesan GILEAD Campaign. To learn about the other grants funded from your generous gifts, click here for 2020 grantees and click here for 2021 grantees.
Summer Ministry School & Retreat
Registration is open! We plan to be in-person at Grinnell College.
For over 30 years Episcopalians in Iowa have gathered for a weekend in the summer to learn church leadership skills, explore personal spirituality or just find Sabbath time. Praying together sets a rhythm and tone for the weekend that culminates in Eucharist on Sunday morning. During the weekend, 7‐8 hours are set aside for “track time” to get in‐depth study in one track topic of your choice. Morning and Evening social time, and meals can be spent in fellowship with folks that aren’t in your track.
TRACK PREVIEW:
Track 1 – The Rt. Rev. Betsey Monnot: An Exploration of Ministry and God’s Call Within and Outside of God’s Church
Track 2 – Ms. Helen L. Keefe: On Holy Ground
Track 3 – The Rev. Dr. Catherine Quehl-Engel: Serenity Sublime: Spiritual Release, Rest, and Renewal
Track 4 – The Rev. Don Keeler: The Buggy Ride Home
Track 5 – Ms. Alescha Caldwell: A Journey Through Art with Prayer
Track 6 – The Rev. Lori Erickson: Soul of the Family Tree
Track 7 – The Rev. Jean McCarthy/Ms. Anna Whipple: Lament....Finding Hope in Troubled Times
Track 8 – Solo Retreat
Early-bird discount: register by May 6: REGISTER HERE
For more information: WEBSITE
CHILDREN & YOUTH:
Child care will be provided as well as a lock-in (4th-12th) at St. Paul’s, Grinnell.
More information can be found by scrolling down or on the Children & Youth page:
GILEAD Grants
Becoming Beloved Community
Dismantling Racism: Training for Church Leaders
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.). 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.
SACRED GROUND CIRCLE
beginning May 11 6:30pm
Sacred Ground is a film- and readings-based dialogue series on race, grounded in faith. Small groups are invited to walk through chapters of America’s history of race and racism, while weaving in threads of family story, economic class, and political and regional identity.
The 10-session series is built around a powerful online curriculum of documentary films and readings that focus on Indigenous, Black, Latino, and Asian/Pacific American histories as they intersect with European American histories.
Circle meets on Zoom every other Wednesday at 6:30pm beginning on 5/11
Youth Ministry
SMSR Youth Lock-in - June 24-26 in Grinnell
The lock-in will be in a self-contained concurrent event at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Grinnell. Drop off on Friday will be between 5 - 6pm. Items will need to be picked up before 9am on Sunday, so youth can leave with parent/guardian after the 10:45am Eucharist with the Summer Ministry School & Retreat.
Youth will be participating in a day at the Meskwaki Settlement. Dawson Davenport will take the youth on a tour of the Meskwaki Museum, Meskwaki Community Center, Red Earth Gardens, and the Meskwaki Buffalo Refuge.
Meals from Friday dinner thru Sunday breakfast for this age group will be prepared and served at St. Paul’s. The cost is $50 per participant and will be registered with a parent/guardian on the SMSR registration page.
If you have questions regarding child care or the lock-in please contact Amy Mellies at amellies@iowaepiscopal.org or at 515-277-6165.
EPIC Summer Camp (4th-12th grade) - July 5-8, Christian Conference Center, Newton
Campers will take part in Christian formation programs for youth entering grades 4-12, as well as summer camp traditions such as swimming, arts and crafts, nature hikes, star gazing, campfires, and s'mores led by caring, professionally trained staff.
Campers will arrive on Tuesday, July 5 between 10am-12pm and pickup will be on July 8 from 3-5pm.
Cost is $350 for the week. As always scholarships are available. Please fill out the Scholarship Request Form.
Camp Counselors
We are looking for Camp Counselors!! If you are interested in assisting with EPIC this summer, please take a look at the job description HERE. Your food and lodging will be covered, and you will also receive a small stipend. You can apply by filling out the Application and sending it to Amy Mellies at amellies@iowaepiscopal.org.
Episcopal Latino Ministry Competency
Virtual: May 16-20
Registration deadline is May 6
Register HERE
In person: Aug. 13-20
Registration deadline is July 15
Register HERE
Registration is open for upcoming sessions of the Episcopal Latino Ministry Competency Course, an innovative multiday intensive course, and Virtual Episcopal Latino Ministry Competency Course, a five-day intensive course, designed for diocesan staff, clergy, lay leaders, and seminarians to gain practical knowledge and cultural competency for Latino/Hispanic ministry.
“Combining academic learning with hands-on experience, the purpose of this multi-faceted intensive course is to provide cultural competency of the history, culture, socio-demographic, and religious aspects of the Latinos/Hispanics in the United States,” said the Rev. Canon Anthony Guillén, Episcopal Church missioner for Latino/Hispanic Ministries. “Also, this course will provide the foundational tools necessary for church leaders to discern and explore the type of Latino/Hispanic ministry that best fits a congregational setting and its context.”
We Are Becoming: An Episcopal Churchwide Revival
Revival - July 9, 5-7pm (EST)
There is no better time for Episcopalians everywhere to embrace the reviving power of the Spirit and reclaim our calling as the Jesus Movement through a churchwide revival. We Are Becoming …: An Episcopal Churchwide Revival is an intentional season of prayer, discernment, evangelism training, relationship-building, outreach, and small group formation flowing throughout 2022, peaking (but not ending) with a multisite, hybrid, revival worship gathering on Saturday, July 9, from the 80th General Convention in Baltimore, Maryland.
Join the movement and proclaim how the Spirit is calling you, your community, and our whole church to become a people who live, act, and love even more like Jesus. Fill out this FORM and receive updates on answering the call to revival.
For information on the 80th General Convention of the Episcopal Church click HERE.
Transitions
IN MEMORIAM:
The Rev. Melvin Leslie Low, died on April 19. The funeral service will be Saturday, May 14 at 12:30pm (1:30pm Eastern) at St. Joseph's Episcopal Church in Boynton Beach, FL and livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook.
MINISTRY TRANSITIONS:
The Rev. Kyle Carswell, who currently serves as assistant rector at St. James the Apostle Episcopal Church in Conroe, Texas, has accepted the call to serve as Rector at St. Timothy's, West Des Moines, beginning June 22.
St. Timothy's, West Des Moines will hold a retirement celebration for the Rev. Mary Cole-Duvall on May 22, following their 10:15am service.
Help Ukraine Families
Your immediate support will help Episcopal Relief & Development and other Anglican partners provide humanitarian assistance to people fleeing the violence in Ukraine.
Your gift will help provide cash, blankets, hygiene supplies, and other needed assistance to families from Ukraine.