Greetings!
 This past weekend I was honored to represent SIM at the 38th Diocesan Convention for the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego. The convention lived up to its theme-"Catch the Spirit"! It felt as if I was answering my calling at this very exciting event! Spreading the message of SIM's ministry is a major focus of SIM's 2012 strategy. SIM has learned that when EIPs (Episcopalians In the Pews) comprehend the situation of how inadequately theological education is funded in The Episcopal Church, they readily understand the importance of SIM. With Diocese of San Diego seminarians Colin and Laurel Mathewson, two of SIM's grant recipients this year, we hosted SIM's booth and chipped away at eradicating SIM's identification as the "best kept secret in The Episcopal Church." Laurel Mathewson with me at SIM's booth As uplifting as the conference was, a troubling experience illuminated the critical importance of growing SIM's ministry. Visiting our booth and looking over our information, a man commented that he had sensed a call to the ordained ministry but forsook further exploration when he realized the shortfall in financial support to answer one's call. A lose-lose-lose situation. The man is not pursuing a ministry to which he felt a call. A parish needing his ministry cannot call him. The Church with its call to "increase the ministry" does not do so.
This situation runs counter to a founding tenet of SIM's ministry: financial burdens of obtaining theological education should not be the deterrent to pursuing God's call to enter the priesthood. You can help SIM live up to this 155 year founding principle by contacting SIM either by mail at our address below, e-mail info@simministry.org or on our website www.simministry.org. There on our website you can read about seminarians, like Colin and Laurel and others, who are beneficiaries of our wonderful donors.
Cindy Clark
Marketing and Operations
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