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Online parochial report filing underway
Online filing of 2012 parochial reports began January 2. Hard copies of the report and log-in information with the UEID and PIN numbers were mailed the second week of December, so all churches should have their packets. Please note that the workbooks for help in filling out the report are available online.
To download the workbooks and a PDF of the 2012 Parochial Report, please use the link provided: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/page/parochial-report
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| Apply now for United Thank Offering Grants
 United Thank Offering (UTO) is a ministry of the Episcopal Church for the mission of the whole church. Through United Thank Offering, men, women and children nurture the habit of giving daily thanks to God. These prayers of thanksgiving start when we recognize and name our many daily blessings.
Those who participate in UTO discover that thankfulness leads to generosity. UTO is entrusted to promote thank offerings, to receive the offerings and to distribute monies to support mission and ministry throughout the Episcopal Church and in invited Provinces of the Anglican Communion in the developing world. UTO supports projects that target the two identified Marks of Mission: (1) To respond to human need by loving service and (2) To seek to transform unjust structures of society.
The United Thank Offering accepts one grant application per diocese within The Episcopal Church. The process for applying for a UTO grant has changed. The dates have changed, making the time period shorter between the actual filing of the grants and the awarding of the grants. These are the steps to file an application for a grant:
1. Go to www.utochange.org/2. Click on Granting. This will explain The 2013 United Thank Offering criteria and an explanation about the UTO screening committee. 3. Click again on Granting and click on Step by Step. This is gives the step by step process and schedule of when applications are to be sent to the UTO coordinator and coordinator to send grants to the bishop. 4. Click on Granting again and click on 2013 UTO grant application. This has the grant instructions and the application.
Follow the instructions and email the finished applications to Millicent Eason, diocesan UTO coordinator at easonmilicent@sbcglobal.net for review. Please remember The United Thank Offering supports: * Alleviating poverty (domestic and internationally) * Making significant impact * Demonstrating new and innovative programs/projects/work * Transforming unjust structures of society
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Exploring a call to ordained ministry
In the Diocese of Southern Ohio, Explorers' Day is the entry point for the discernment process into ordained ministry. Explorer's Day provides an overview of the discernment and ordination processes as well as plenty of time for conversation about the diaconate and the priesthood. Everyone who desires to begin a formal exploration of a possible call to ordained ministry is required to attend. This year, Explorer's Day will be Feb. 2 at the Procter Center.
There are several considerations for Explorer's Day:
▪ Sponsoring clergy (rector, vicar, priest-in-charge) should plan to attend with their explorer(s) and the explorer's spouse/partner if applicable.
▪ Explorers should have been in serious conversation with their clergy person about their call for an extended period of time (in the neighborhood of a year). Both the clergy person and the explorer should have done some deep thinking about their vocation prior to Explorers' Day as this day assumes that intentional vocation discernment has already begun.
▪ Only those who have been confirmed or received in the Episcopal Church and have been active members of the Episcopal Church for at least two years should attend Explorers' Day.
The age limit for people entering the discernment process in Southern Ohio is 57. This age limit allows for a total of five years between Explorers' Day and possible ordination, then 10 years of ministry before the canonically mandated retirement age of 72. Exceptions will be made in rare instances and only for clear missional purposes.
If you have questions about the discernment process in the Diocese of Southern Ohio, please contact the Rev. Charlotte Collins Reed, chair of the Commission on Ministry, at charlotte@christ-in-springfield.org, or the Rev. Canon Lynn Carter-Edmands, canon for formation, at lcarter-edmands@diosohio.org.
Registration information can be found online at www.diosohio.org, under events.
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Search for Communications Director
The Diocese of Southern Ohio seeks a Director of Communications who will help its congregations, intentional communities and individuals share their faith story with one another, the wider church, and the world.
This will require skill in emerging best practices, a deep knowledge of and commitment to the Episcopal Church, ability to work well with people, ease of expression in writing and speaking, familiarity with social media, and the ability to bring a communicator's perspective to bear on every aspect of diocesan policy.
See full job description A search committee has been named by Bishop Breidenthal and began organizing on Jan. 3. Committee members include the Rev. Canon Jack Koepke, canon to the ordinary, Beth Rider Benson, Marsha Dutton, Maggie Foster, Lynette Heard, Sharon Jenkins and Lisa Koepke. Interested parties should send a cover letter and resume to phaug@diosohio.org by January 31, 2013. |
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Upcoming Events
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Click here to see the diocesan calendar |
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Diocesan Cycle of Prayer
The duty of all Christians is to follow Christ; to come together week by week for corporate worship; and to work, pray, and give for the spread of the kingdom of God.
Our Diocesan Cycle of Prayer is listed both in a perpetual calendar and a Word document on the diocesan website and is updated frequently.
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Thought-provoking public art installed in downtown Columbus  "The Time and The Temperature," a recently installed work of public art by Pittsburgh artist Jon Rubin is on view at E. Broad and S. Lazelle streets in Downtown Columbus through March as part of Finding Time: Columbus Public Art 2012. Rubin responded directly to the curatorial premise that Finding Time presented to participating artists: "to make the City of Columbus aware of the passing of time, the use of time, measurement of time, the chronology of a life, world time, and the notion of temporary and permanent." A custom-made sign that is similar to those commonly seen in front of businesses, churches, and schools that give the exact time and temperature of the location where they are installed, Rubin's sign tells the current time and temperature in Tehran, Iran-a city that is geographically distant (and eight and a half hours ahead of Columbus), yet is in our news on a daily basis. The Time and The Temperature presents a moment where the space between here and there is collapsed and viewers might temporarily project themselves into a foreign place and circumstance. As Columbus takes stock of its 200-year history and looks to the future, it is natural that we consider our place in the state, the nation, and the world. Rubin is known for creating interventions into public life that reinvent social and political conditions and create new platforms for agency, participation, and exchange. His projects include starting a radio station in an abandoned steel town that only plays the sound of an extinct bird, developing a hypnotized human robot army, running a barter-based nomadic art school, operating a restaurant that produces a live talk show with its customers, and running another take-out restaurant that only sells food from countries in conflict with the U.S. Throughout the run of the project, there will be public forums held at Trinity Episcopal Church on Capitol Square, with cultural, religious, academic, and political leaders discussing some of the complicated issues at stake in U.S. and Iranian relations. The first forum is scheduled for January 30 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. and will feature Rubin as well as Joyce Garver Keller, Executive Director, Ohio Jewish Communities; The Rev. Richard A. Burnett, Rector, Trinity Episcopal Church; and Richard Herrmann, Professor and Chair, Department of Political Science, The Ohio State University. Please see ColumbusPublicArt.com for dates and times of forthcoming public meetings. "The Time and the Temperature" is one of 12 commissioned art projects comprising Finding Time: Columbus Public Art 2012, which is taking place in public spaces, plazas, parks, streets, and alleys throughout the downtown during the bicentennial year and beyond. The program is transforming downtown into an open-air gallery with temporary public art projects by more than 50 international, national, and local artists. Reflecting the broad range of contemporary public art in multiple forms and media, projects range from the familiar-sculpture and murals-to unexpected installations, sound works, and performances in non-traditional sites, including COTA buses and church bells. These site-specific artworks explore the physical and philosophical measurement of time, generating questions on the notion of time, passing of time, use of time, measurement of time, world time, and the notion of temporary and permanent. All sponsors, partners, and collaborators for Finding Time: Columbus Public Art 2012 are available at www.ColumbusPublicArt.com. Artist information and more details and links are also available on the website. |
A Vital Vestry for the New Year 
What makes some vestries really effective? Is there a secret to developing a vestry that enjoys working together, feels energized while doing so, and has fun at the same time?
How are vital congregations and congregational leaders making God present in their families, community, and world at a time when it sometimes feels as if no one is interested?
These are questions we think about a lot at ECF Vital Practices - and we're devoting our January/February Vestry Papers to an exploration of some of the vital practices that lead to vestries that work well. This month, we'll share articles on:
Vestry selection: Janie Kirt Morris of the Diocese of Texas shares a process she's developed to " Build a Healthy Vestry." The key? Careful preparation, communication, and education at the very beginning of the vestry nomination process.
Group dynamics: Paying attention to how a group functions is among the most important things affecting group effectiveness. In " Framework for Vestry Success," Sandy Kolb looks at five stages every group goes through, helping vestries to recognize the importance of addressing the issues common to each stage. Vestry responsibilities: Getting bogged down in the weeds of a congregation's temporal or worldly affairs can leave vestry members frustrated and dissatisfied. In " Reframe Vestry Meetings," Randy Ferebee invites vestry members to reflect on ways to transform their governance responsibilities into a "generative, sense-making experience," by offering a frame of reference through which leaders can process all governing issues and challenges. Challenging assumptions: How often are we locked into old ways of thinking? Eighteen months of clergy supply work in three northeastern dioceses helped William Doubleday become acutely aware of some practices that impact congregational vitality. In " Rethink Congregations" he shares his observations as well as steps congregational leaders can take to explore the relevance of these observations in their communities. Following each article is a list of resources offering additional information and/or practical tools.
For new vestry members, ECF Vital Practices has a number of resources to help get you started in your new ministry. Our January/February 2012 Vestry Papers, " Real Basics for Vestries" is a good place to start. Prefer a webinar? ECF is offering its Vestry Leadership Webinar on January 15 at 7 pm ET, click here to learn more and register, or, you can watch our 2012 Vestry Leadership 101 webinar here. If you would like to be notified of new Vestry Papers and ECF Vital Practices content, please consider becoming a registered user by signing up using the 'Register' button at the top right hand side of the ECF Vital Practices homepage. |
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News from around the diocese |
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Headlines from Episcopal News Service |
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Take a virtual tour around the diocese
The Diocese of Southern Ohio has launched an innovative, web-based tool for evangelism - a virtual, 360-degree tour of the nave/sanctuary of each of our congregations connected with Google Places. Several congregations and the Procter Center have been photographed and are online now--check them out at http://www.diosohio.org/google360tours.html.
Tour shoots are completed for 2012, but to get your congregation on the list for 2013 or for more information about Google virtual 360-degree tours, contact Julie Murray at jmurray@diosohio.org or 800.582.1712. |
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