Did you follow the media conversation on
Clergy Burnout?
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Sustaining Excellence in Ministry conference
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November 2-4
Procter Center
in London, Ohio
in the
Diocese of Southern Ohio
For eight years, the Lilly Endowment has funded the Sustaining Pastoral Excellence (SPE) project.
What has been the impact of peer support groups and what is essential in creating effective peer groups?
Seabury Western sponsors the event, in partnership with Bexley Hall Theological Seminary
To find out more on Sustaining Excellence in Ministry: Accountability, Friendship and Hope in Peer Groups
See HERE
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Greetings!
This is the October issue of CREDO Connection. This is a thought-provoking time to promote Wellness in the Church. In early August, the New York Times kicked off a conversation about clergy stress and burnout, and PBS contacted the CREDO office to get in-depth information about CREDO's research and work in the area of clergy wellness. Next month, CREDO Connection will highlight CREDO's Wellness Neighborhood on the MAYO Embody Health Web site. Available to anyone who has participated in a CREDO event, CREDO Connection is mailed each month with information and access to resources that we anticipate can build a healthy church and deepen our overall commitment to wellness. More than 1,500 readers have signed up for A Guide to Spiritual Practice and receive semi-monthly insights on recognizing opportunities for spiritual discipline in everyday life. Please recommend CREDO Connection and A Guide to Spiritual Practice to other people. --G. Herbert Gunn
CREDO Director of Communication http://episcopalcredo.org
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PBS program Religion and Ethics highlights CREDO conferences and research
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| PBS interviews CREDO Team Leader Mike Kerr (center) at conference C208 for a special on Clergy Wellness  |
The program can be viewed on the PBS Website and will be scheduled locally this weekend through local PBS stations. To find out when the broadcast can be seen in your
viewing area, go to the schedule page on the PBS Website and type in your zip code.
Tune in and weigh in on your CREDO conference experience. The PBS Web site has a comment board.
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Fresh Start starting fresh initiatives
on clergy and community wellness
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Fresh Start Faculty Curriculum Committee  |
In mid-September, the Faculty Curriculum Committee for Fresh Start met at Kanuga in North Carolina for a four-day session to evaluate how Fresh Start is doing, review preliminary (and impressive) data from the spring survey, and consider future resources for Fresh Start dioceses.
 Fresh Start is a resource for clergy and congregations in transition. It is diocesan-led and a collaborative effort of the Episcopal Church Center, the Episcopal Church Foundation, and CREDO Institute, Inc.
One priority from the Kanuga meeting is to build on Fresh Start's work with a new initiative called New Dreams-New Visions. New Dreams-New Visions is a pilot project to assist the transition of congregations from full-time to part-time clergy leadership. There were many other creative ideas at the meeting, and if you have other ways to develop or improve Fresh Start and the ways the program serves dioceses, clergy, and congregations, contact the administrative office.
E-mail Amy Smith and she will route your information to the right person.
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Strength for the Journey
continued in September
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Exploration of Spiritual Practices at CREDO CLE-13  |
CREDO held a second Strength for the
Journey eight-day conference for 26 lay employees and lay leaders in the dioceses of Pittsburgh, Fort Worth, San
Joaquin, and
Quincy September 27 - October 4.
An
overnight conference in the Diocese of Fort Worth was held on September 24-25 --
the fourth in a series of Strength
for the Journey conferences led by CREDO in the four reorganizing
dioceses. More than 120 clergy and lay leaders of the Diocese of Fort Worth attended.
Other Strength
for the
Journey two-day conferences were held in the dioceses of Pittsburgh, San
Joaquin, and
Quincy during the spring and summer.
As part of the Strength for the Journey initiative, CREDO also led a clergy conference in the Diocese of Quincy (Ill.) September 27-29 for priests and deacons.
See a short video on the history and impact of the Strength for the Journey initiative HERE.
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New spiritual resource enjoys huge response
A Guide to Spiritual Practice
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 Written
by CREDO faculty members Renée Miller and Brian Taylor, A Guide to Spiritual Practice combines a
thoughtful introduction to spiritual discipline followed by 20 fresh
reflections on discovering spiritual renewal in everyday life.
A booklet was prepared for CREDO's Strength for the Journey conferences and the participants from the four reorganizing dioceses of Pittsburgh, San Joaquin, Quincy, and Fort Worth. The requests for copies of these reflections prompted CREDO to begin a semi-monthly series, e-mailing two reflections per month to subscribers.
ExploreFaith.org presently features the series and offers its readers a chance to sign up to the subscription list, which has surpassed 1,500 readers. Find out what you may be missing.
Click HERE to find previously released reflections and to begin or update your CREDO Profile to receive reflections from A Guide to Spiritual Practice twice a month.
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