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| 2014 Budget applications
The 2014 budget process has begun. Applications are available on the finance page of the Diocesan website.
Applications are due April 1. If you have questions contact the diocesan finance officer David Robinson at DRobinson@diosohio.org or 800.582.1712. |
| Treasurer's Workshop: Endowments & Stewardship
The first treasurer's workshop for 2013 will be held at the Procter Center on March 23 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Workshop speakers from the Episcopal Church Foundation will be leading two workshops:
Creating and Managing Your Endowment
Whether your congregation, diocese or organization is just starting to plan for an endowment, or if you wish to learn how better to manage and control an existing one, this workshop reviews best practices in endowment management. You will examine important documents to use for structuring your endowment and for clarifying its purpose. Participants will also learn about endowment policies and investment options which not only seek to protect an existing endowment, but will demonstrate how endowments can be used as to enhance your ministries and overall mission.
Annual Stewardship
More than just raising funds to meet the needs of the parish operating budget, annualstewardship is an opportunity to nurture and grow our faith and spirituality within our Episcopal communities. We will guide you to the most effective ways to tell your story, motivate your congregation, and develop successful programs. We will explore the theology of Christian stewardship, help you understand how to define the mission and vision of your church, develop a financial ministry plan, show you tools to communicate often and openly with the entire congregation, and how to ask - and thank - more effectively.
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Good Friday offering for Jerusalem and Middle East 
"In spite of the challenges, the strength and vitality of the witness of indigenous Christians throughout the Middle East is inspiring," Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori writes in the annual Good Friday letter to all congregations asking them to consider assistance for Jerusalem and the Middle East. "The Good Friday Offering provides essential funding to strengthen the visibility of the Christian presence throughout the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East," the Presiding Bishop writes. "That funding is critical to the ongoing ministry of both institutions, as well as others in the region." Funds collected from the Good Friday Offering are gathered and distributed to the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East which includes the Dioceses of Jerusalem and Cyprus and the Gulf, all members of the Anglican Communion. |
Diana Butler Bass to keynote Best Practices Conference
 The Commission on Congregational Life has invited Diana Butler Bass to serve as keynote speaker and event facilitator for the annual COCL Best Practices Conference to be held on Saturday, April 20 at London High School.
Butler Bass is an author and teacher who writes books, columns and blogs and gives talks and workshops all aimed to help people understand faith both analytically and personally. She is a person of faith, a Christian, who attempts to live the generative, inviting, inclusive, and transforming practices at the heart of Christianity that can heal the world. Her most recent publication Christianity After Religion: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening, offers direction and hope to individuals and churches.
Christianity After Religion is Bass's call to approach faith with a newfound freedom that is both life-giving and service driven. And it is a hope-filled plea to see and participate in creating a vital and contemporary way of faith that stays true to the real message of Jesus.
Butler Bass will lead us in a day filled with challenge, hope and practical ways for us to embrace our Hallmarks of Health, re-energize our thinking and create a plan for continued success.
If you wish to learn more about Diana Butler Bass you can visit her website at http://www.dianabutlerbass.com or her contributions to the Huffington Post at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/diana-butler-bass/ or read the information on her in Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_Butler_Bass.
COCL Best Practices Conference
Saturday, April 20
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
London High School
336 Elm Street, London 43140
You do not want to miss this event! To reserve your space, register online at http://diosohio.org/digital_faith/events/3155200.
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Forming the Household of God
 Sometimes we joke about how the church can be a place where we hatch, match, and dispatch, referring to three significant life events that draw people to church: baptism, marriage and burial. It is an unfair generalization, of course, because we know more is offered to us and expected of us as followers of Jesus. Church is more than just a place or group of people that service our transitional needs. A community of faith is a place and a people with whom we practice living as followers of Jesus all the time. In community, Christian character is learned and developed for a life of witness and response in the neighborhood and beyond. This discipleship is a lifelong adventure of being formed and transformed into the people God has created us and empowered us to be. As such, formation and transformation are not just for the young. Formation and transformation are necessary expectations of us all. We live in a time when our society is rapidly changing - and aging. According to the Older Adult Ministries of the Episcopal Church, every hour about 330 "baby boomers" are turning 65; they are not ready to "pack it in" any more than many of our elders in various stages of transition are ready to call it quits. According to 2011 census data, 60% of the American population is under the age of 45, and we are seeing a growing interest in discovering and embracing godly meaning in the lives of those between the ages of 20 and 35. Parenting, work, play, rest - all of our daily demands require our time and energy. Jesus' invitation to come and lay our burdens down and we'll find rest in him (Matt. 11:28-30) is a hopeful reminder that the cares and concerns of our lives need not weigh us down. Truth is, the church wants to be smack dab in the middle of our life rather than on the margins of it. With everything else we've got going on in our life, we can fail to make room for formative opportunities. It's not just a matter of priorities. Rather, it is a matter of assigning an action to those priorities. I have plenty of priorities in my life that have no action assigned to them and which consequently fall into the black hole of inertia. Formation as a priority needs a next step for it to get some mileage in our life. The diocesan Formation Task Group understands this reality and, with the help of the Christian Formation working group, is presenting an all-day workshop May 4 at the Procter Center. The theme of the workshop is Forming the Household of God: Family and Intergenerational Formation. The Rev. Dr. Scott Stoner will be our keynote speaker, joined by Holly Hughes Stoner, who are both founding staff members of Living Compass Ministries ( www.LivingCompass.org). Together they bring experience with an intergenerational approach to family wellness that will help participants learn how to love God with heart, soul, strength and mind. Workshops will be offered that day to aid and support formation for all ages, including issues related to parent, elder, teen, and children's formation, to name a few.
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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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Lent Resources |
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Christ Church Cathedral Community Issues Forum
The Proposed State Budget: What's In It In Terms Of Services And Taxes And What Can We Expect From The General Assembly
Governor Kasich presented his proposed state budget last month. What's in it in terms of budgeted services and programs, and what are the Governor's new tax proposals? Further, how will this proposed budget fare in the Ohio House and Senate? At the next Community Issues Forum, Gavin DeVore Leonard, State Director of One Ohio Now, will provide an overview of the contents of the proposed budget and comment on its strengths and weaknesses. This luncheon forum takes place at 12 noon on Thursday March 14, in the Christ Church Cathedral Undercroft.
The State Budget includes programs, services, and revenue allocations that have an impact on local governments, public education at all levels, and Ohioans of all ages. Major cuts occurred during the economic recession, and many local governments experienced budget crises due to the reduction in the Local Government Fund. Now that Ohio is undergoing an economic recovery, is there any good news in this budget concerning services and programs that took major hits in recent budgets. Gavin Leonard will answer these questions and more at the March 14 Forum. One Ohio Now is a state wide coalition that focuses on state issues and the budget, and Mr. Leonard has been organizing town hall meetings on the proposed budget throughout Ohio. As usual, time will be set aside for questions and comments from Forum attendees. Come join us for this Forum, and do bring a friend. Lunch can be purchased for $5.50, or you can bring a brown bag. Christ Church Cathedral is located at 318 E 4th Street in downtown Cincinnati. Call 513.621.1817 for more information. |
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sustainable faith presents
Parish Farming Internship: a prayerful exploration of food and faith
The media is saturated with talk of food, from healthy eating, organic gardening, and green living, to obesity, eating disorders, child hunger, and food safety. Eating is at once an ordinary act of our everyday existence, and perhaps the most profound way we are related to each other, to the created world, and to God. How then do we, the people of the Church, respond to these conversations with a unique proclamation of hope?
In this class, we will journey together through the growing season, exploring, from within the framework of the Christian tradition, some of the biological, ecological, economic, cultural, and theological aspects of what, why, and how we eat. Reading and discussion will be grounded in the soil of our neighborhood gardens as we plant, tend, harvest, cook, preserve, pray, feast, fast, serve, and sweat together in the context of our West Norwood and Vineyard Central communities. We pray that, through this class, God will both cultivate within us, an intimate thanksgiving for his abundant provision, and sow seeds of imagination among us and our respective church communities.
This course will take place over weekend sessions in March, May, July, September and November, 2013. Reading assignments and homework will be given to complete between each session. Each weekend session runs from 6 p.m. on Thursday evening until 8 p.m. on Saturday evening. Students will be able to check in to their rooms as early as 4 p.m. on Thursdays and are invited to stay through Sunday morning and attend worship at Vineyard Central Church.The cost for the class has been lowered to from $1200 to $635 for the 5 weekend course that spans the growing season (starting this weekend).
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Ohio Justice & Policy Center presents
Fulfilling the Promise of Gideon: Making Justice a Reality for a System in Crisis
Monday, March 18, 5:30 p.m.
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
5:30 p.m. Registration
6-7:30 p.m. Program, including preview of Sundance Award-winning documentary "Gideon's Army"
"Fulfilling the Promise of Gideon: Making Justice a Reality for a System in Crisis" will preview excerpts from the Sundance award-winning documentary Gideon's Army, which tells the stories of three young public defenders fighting to ensure their clients receive the representation the United States Constitution demands. The full documentary will be aired on HBO later this year. Following the screening, a panel of experts will explore the need for public defender reform locally, regionally and nationally. There is no charge to attend this event, which is sponsored by NKU Chase College of Law, Center for Excellence in Advocacy, Chase Black Law Student Association, and the Ohio Justice & Policy Center.
Fifty years ago, the United States Supreme Court decided Gideon v. Wainwright, which held that an indigent defendant facing criminal prosecution has the right to appointed counsel. Unfortunately, Gideon has largely fallen short of its promise. High caseloads, inadequate resources and a culture of processing poor people through the system have rendered the right to counsel virtually meaningless in most jurisdictions across the country. But there is reason for hope. Gideon's Promise, an organization which trains, mentors and supports young public defenders (including the defenders who appear in Gideon's Army), exemplifies a model for transforming indigent defense nationally.
David A. Singleton, Assistant Professor, Chase College of Law, and the Executive Director of Ohio Justice & Policy Center, will moderate the panel discussion. Panelists will include Ilham Askia, Executive Director of Gideon's Promise; Hon. Timothy Black Chase '83, US District Court, Southern District of Ohio; Hon. Amul Thapar, US District Court, Eastern District of Kentucky; Ernie Lewis, former Chief of Kentucky's Department of Public Advocacy; Ray Faller, Chief Public Defender, Hamilton County, Ohio; Ken Parker, Assistant United States Attorney, Southern District of Ohio; and Janet Moore, Assistant Professor, University of Cincinnati College of Law.
Though this event is free to the public, donations are requested to help support OJPC's work, which includes student clinics to help educate and shape the next generation of public defenders.
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| Gun Violence Prevention Sabbath Weekend March 15-17
Washington National Cathedral is convening the Gun Violence Prevention Sabbath Weekend, March 15-17, in partnership with Faiths United to Prevent Gun Violence, a national interfaith coalition dedicated to curbing gun violence in our communities. Plans for the weekend have come together quickly given the nature of discourse and policy debate occurring across the nation on this issue-a discussion the National Cathedral has become involved in and believes is vitally important. As diverse people of faith have questions and seek spiritual guidance around the gun issue, the Cathedral's programs will serve as a national interfaith centerpiece event that will be duplicated in communities across the country on the same weekend. The real power of this weekend's aim is to engage other faith communities in taking part in gun violence prevention ministries through committing to take on some element of the faith toolkit we have developed and are distributing to our partners. We expect to have more than 100 faith communities holding events the same weekend all across the country.
We recognize this is coming together with very short notice. Congregations can participate by doing something as simple as altering the Prayers for the People in Sunday Eucharist. Or, they could gather to watch the Cathedral's events together online-all of them will be webcast live. Direct questions to rweinberg@cathedral.org or 202.537.5548
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Headlines from Episcopal News Service |
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