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In This Issue
Carla's Corner
Women's Retreat
Mission Trip!
Camp Webb Early Bird Registration
New in the Resource Center
Childrens' Worship Bulletins
Children's Ministry Resources
Formation Training with CEU
Websites, Facebook, and Twitter. OH MY!
Send In Your Articles
Christian Formation Staff
Upcoming Events

 Family Fun Saturdays

February 16, 2013 9am-3pm St. Dunstan's, Madison

 

Women's Lenten Retreat

Saturday, March 9th

Redemptorist Retreat Center, Oconomowoc

9am-3pm

 

Camp Webb

Open House, June 2, 2013 10am-2pm

Camp Webb Camp Week 

June 16-21, 2013

 

Summer Mission Trip

June 30-July 6

Irvine, Kentucky

St. Timothy's Episcopal Church and Appalachian Ministries

 

All Soul's Youth Event

Nov 2-3, 2014 at Zion, Oconomowoc

Camp Webb 2013

Camp Webb logo

 

For more information go to http://www.diomil.org/ministries/christian-formation/camp-webb/ 

 

Intersted in being on staff?

2013 Staff Applications are available. See website link above.

 

 

Resource Center
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Carla's Corner

 

 

  "Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him..." (Luke 4:1-3a).

 

Luke writes a slightly different account from Mark or Matthew. In all of the stories the Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the devil. Luke says that he was tempted during his forty days of fasting and praying. And when Jesus' time was finished in the desert he came out hungry - famished. Who wouldn't be? In that space and place, a time when Jesus had been fasting and praying, throwing off temptation, now in absolute hunger and his time is finished - in Luke's account there are no angels attending him. Instead Jesus meets the devil again, the tempter personified and his first temptation is to eat and satisfy his immediate, human and physical need. Jesus answered the devil with a quote from scripture, Deuteronomy 8:3. This quote is from Moses' address to the Israelite people to not forget God when they came into the promised land and prosperity; but, to remember God humbled them during their forty year journey with hunger and then fed them manna, "in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord."

There are two more temptation scenes here in Luke 4:1-13 in which Jesus answers the devil's words by quoting scriptures. But the lesson for me this year as I reread the texts for this first Sunday in Lent is that the temptation time never ended.

 

What is it that makes me think and say, "When will this trial be over and things get back to normal?" I have asked this question too much in life. Reality is that whatever I'm going through at this moment is the "normal". I will never get back the yesterdays or past measurements of normal. I only have the now measurement. Just because one trial ends, or one time of deep fasting ends, or a spiritual high ends, the new temptation will be waiting for me. The temptation for me is to want to skirt around the new challenges and opportunities for being obedient to God. This is the cycle of life, my life cycle at least, of growing into maturity in Christ.

 

Jesus is our example of how we can take one tempting situation after another, live in the moment and choose obedience over the temptations.

 

Women's Lenten Retreat - Sat, Mar 9, 9am-3:30PM, $45

   PRAYING AS THOUGH YOUR LIFE DEPENDED ON IT...

...BECAUSE IT DOES!

 

 A Women's Retreat

 

Exploring the impact of women's prayers, answered prayer & unanswered prayer, through the example of Hannah.

 

Saturday, March 9th, 2013

9AM - 3:30PM

Cost $45 (includes lunch)

 

Held at the Redemptorist Retreat Center 1800 North Timber Trail Lane, Oconomowoc, WI 53066-4897

 

Join us for a one day retreat. We will study and pray together as women, discovering how we pray as women. How do we expect to receive answers to prayers, how do we respond to unanswered prayer and sharing our prayer experiences with one another. Space is limited so register early.

 

Hosted by St. Mary's, Dousman and the Diocesan Office of Christian Formation

Retreat Leaders: Rev. Carla McCook, Bishop's Assistant for Christian Formation, and Mrs. Sandi Smith, Masters of Theology, Sacred Heart Theological Seminary.

 

Registration Form: Please make check payable to the Diocese of Milwaukee, memo: women's retreat. Mail check and Medical Release Form to Diocese of Milwaukee, Attn: Rev. Carla McCook, 804 E Juneau Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53202. All registrations due by February 28, 2013.

 

Name: _______________________ Phone: _________________________

 

Address: _______________________________________________________

 

Email: ___________________________Mobile: _________________________

 

Parish & City:_______________________________________________________

 

Medical Information and Release Form

 

Name: ___________________________________

 

Doctor's Name: ________________________ Phone: ____________________________

 

Medical Conditions: [physical/emotional] Yes or No If yes, please explain:

________________________________________________________________________

 

Currently taking any medications: Yes or No

 

Please list current medications: ______________________________________________

 

Allergies to medications [include over-the-counter drug allergies]: __________________

________________________________________________________________________

 

Please list all dietary restrictions [vegetarian/vegan, gluten intolerant, food allergies, etc.]:

________________________________________________________________________

 

Allergies (other): _______________________________________________

 

Emergency Contact: _____________________________________

 

Relationship: _____________ Phone Numbers: (h) ____________ (c) _______________

 

Insurance Information:

Company name and address: ________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Group number: ____________________ ID number: ____________________________

 

Participant's Authorization:

I understand that The Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee and the Redemptorist Retreat Center does not provide medical/accident insurance coverage for me, and I accept the responsibility to provide any needed coverage. Further, in the event an injury should occur and require medical assistance, I give permission to any physician to render appropriate medical care, hospitalize and order anesthesia and/or surgery as deemed necessary. I give permission for the information on this form to be shared with any necessary parties for my health. The Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee and the Redemptorist Retreat Center qualifies as charitable immunities.

 

Participant's signature: _________________________________ Date: ____________

Diocesan Mission Trip to Irvine Kentucky, Appalachian Missions

Diocesan Mission Trip to Irvine, KentuckyAppalachian Ministries,

 

June 30-July 6, 2013                 Cost: $375.00           

 

30 Teams Members: We still have spots available for Youth & Adults - You must Apply Now!                  

Applications now online!

Intergenerational TeamOpen to Youth & Adults (youth must be age 13 & 7th grade in fall of 2013).

 

Applications now online!

 

We will be serving the Appalachian community of Irvine, Kentucky. We leave Sunday, June 30 and arrive that evening at our housing facility.Monday we begin work. We have TWO work project focuses. Our first will be leading a children's day camp at our housing facility for the children in the community. Our second project will be to repair roofs, and make house repairs for the community. We will also be collecting school supplies throughout the diocese to take with us to give to the children of Irvine. After devastating tornadoes in 2012 many of the supplies were wiped out. We have a chance to help the children and schools start 2013 on the right "note-book".

 

We also need Prayer Partners throughout our diocese. These are people who cannot go on the trip but are willing to make a commitment to pray for our team members and the Irvine community we will serve while the team prepares to go and during the trip and our return. To be a prayer partner, contact Rev. Carla McCook at [email protected] .

 

 This is a Diocesan trip. We, the people of the Diocese of Milwaukee and all participate in many ways. We would like to see as many involved as possible. 

 

 

CAMP WEBB: EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION BEFORE APRIL 1st

Camp Webb logoCamp Webb 2013: Living the Adventure with Living Compass   

Summer Camp is just around the corner!

Camp Webb 2013will be held June 16th-21st for all age groups at Lutherdale Camp, Elkhorn, WI

N7891US Highway 12, Elkhorn, WI

  
Get the Early Bird Rate for Early Registration!
Register before April 1st and camp is $375.00
          

 This summer join the adventure at Camp Webb! All campers, ages entering 3rd grade through 12th grade can attend this exciting week of outdoor diocesan ministry. We will be on adventure quests with maps and compass to discover the treasure we have in Christ: Our Strength, Our Minds, Our Hearts and Our Souls. {"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, with all your mind and all your being; and love your neighbor as yourself." Paraphrase from Deuteronomy 30:6 & Luke 10:27}. YOU can give Camp for Christmas! You can send you money to send a grandchild or a child from your congregation or simply give so that we can give scholarships to kids who need help to get to camp. Send you checks, payable to the Diocese of Milwaukee, to 804 E Juneau Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53202, Attn: Camp Webb. Early Registration for Camp begins Dec 1, 2012 at http://www.diomil.org/christian-formation.

 

You can check out all the information, day schedule, registration and deadlines on the website http://www.diomil.org/ministries/christian-formation/camp-webb/

 

Camper Registration Here

 

NEW Camp Staff Application Here

 

RETURNING Camp Staff Application Here

What's New in Resources, Books and Bible Studies

   

1. Trying to Fill the Shoes of the Perfect Christian?

"If God sends us on strong paths, we are provided strong shoes." - Corrie TenBoom

 
Where God Hides Holiness
 
Thoughts on Grief, Joy, and the Search for Fabulous Heels
 
Laurie M. Brock and Mary E. Koppel

 

This new book shares the joy, humor, surprises, grief, and messiness when God invites us to strip away the personas of "perfect priest" or "perfect Christian" and rediscover what is sacred and genuine about ourselves and our faith. Priests and writers Brock and Koppel relate common and unique experiences here, as we join them on a sometimes startling journey of faith.

With a genuine no-holds-barred approach and unique style, the authors address common life experiences with wit, revelation, and self-discovery as they unpack the dirtiness of failure, the messiness of death, the frailty behind our personas, and the joy of resurrection as new life - with lessons learned.
 

Morehouse Publishing.

 

 

 

 

 

2. Have a Name-Changing Experience!
 

 
Now Available!
 
Namesake
When God Rewrites Your Story
Jessica LaGrone
 

Every name tells a story, and as we see in Scripture, God often changed individuals' names when changing their stories. Changing someone's story involves transforming a life, bringing a new identity and a new journey.

Namesake is a 6-week Bible study that explores the transformational power of God through the stories of biblical characters who met God and whose lives and names were never the same. As you meet Abraham and Sarah, Jacob, Naomi, Daniel, Peter, and an unnamed woman, you will discover that God wants to be just as intimately involved in your story, offering you an identity that shines with the purpose for which you were created.

The Namesake Bible study includes leader and participant books, a DVD featuring the author, and a preview book.

Childrens' Worship Bulletins - Lent to Easter Sunday Bulletins are Ready for Your Printing!"

  

We are trying something new on our new website with our Children's bulletins. The bulletins are on the page, Children, and listed for the liturgical season.

 

This will be a trial phase. If you are using the bulletins and would like to see us continue we NEED your response. Email Rev. Carla McCook and let her know, [email protected], to keep the bulletins coming.

 

If this is not a helpful ministry let Rev. Carla know this, too.

 

Christian Formation Office wants to hear from you!

Resources for Ministring with Children

How Do You Talk with Children When Tragedy Strikes?

NEW Resources from Episcopal Relief & Development.

 

Episcopal Relief & Development has just released new resources for ministry to children, younger youth, and older youth immediately after a disaster. These are all free and available for immediate download at www.er-d.org/formation or www.er-d.org/resourcelibrary . Included are lesson plans for use after a disaster, tragedy in your community, or other serious event. Also included are tip sheets for parents and volunteers, a list of books for use with young people, prayers, and tip sheets on praying with children after a disaster. Chances are, at some point in our ministries, we will all have to deal with a weather related disaster, a tragedy, or some other traumatic event in our communities. After 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and other events in recent years, a wealth of helpful information and research has become available on how to best help children and youth after such an event. The purpose of these new resources is to share this information with you, and in a way that is highly accessible and can be used on very short notice. Please take note of these resources; you may even want to download, print, and keep these in a file folder for "just in case" use. We thank those of you who have given us input in developing these materials, and we hope those of you who are undergoing traumatic events in your communities will continue to let us know "what helps" as you minister to others in the aftermath of serious incidents in your communities.   Blessings, Cindy

 

Cindy Coe

Formation Consultant, Episcopal Relief & Development www.er-d.org/formation

865-919-5117

[email protected]

 

 We Have Children With Special Needs!

Do you have children in your parish or Sunday school with special needs? High probability is you do even if you don't know it yet. It is highly likely that parents' may not share with the priest, Sunday school director, or others about their child's needs until they feel secure enough to trust. There are resources readily available for leaders and our parishes to have at the ready so we can meet every family where they are, welcoming with open hearts, and ready to offer the supports in the classroom as well as the worship space as needed for every individual: child or adult.

One simple classroom aid is to create a chart for each classroom similar to the one shown here. A Chart to use in Sunday school This chart can be modified by using pictures instead of words and the arrow moves as the class begins each new part.

Other resources: Rhythms of Grace book (available for lending from Diocesan Resource Center) or check out what one Episcopal Church is doing in Houston Texas: Facebook:  Rhythms of Grace Houston, or check out our website:  www.christchurchcathedral.org/childrens - special needs.

 

From Group Publishing: "Children's Ministry Pocket Guide to Special Needs: Quick tips to reach every child." It is an excellent reference and can be ordered in packets of 12 and is short and not too overwhelming.

 

Safeguarding God's Children & Safeguarding God's People In-Class Trainings and On-line
safeguarding picture

Safeguarding God's Children

 
The First Training for 2013:
Sat, Feb 23 - 9am-Noon
St. Matthew's, Kenosha
 
OR
 
Sat, Mar 9 - 9am-Noon
Grace Church, Madison

 

 

 

 

Use the REGISTER HERE link above to register for ALL trainings - classes and on-line! It's Quick and Easy!

 

 

If you would like to schedule a training in your parish or if you have a number of people who need to be trained, please let me know so that we can schedule an event at your church or in your area.  

 

 

SGC is also available for renewal of certificate on-line!

 

Please make note of all who are required to have certified SGC training : clergy, vestry, Vacation Bible School Teachers and Volunteers, Youth Group Leaders and Volunteers, Sunday School Teachers, Church Staff, and those going on trips with youth. 

SAFEGUARDING GOD'S PEOPLE is now on-line! This is mandatory for all cleargy, vestry, Lay Eucharistic Visitors, church staff and volunteers who work with adults. On-line is the only way to take this SafeGuarding portion.

 

21st Century Formation in our Digital World - coming to Milwaukee June 1st!

From the Winter 2013 issue of Episcopal Teacher:

The first half-hour or so of The Social Network, the 2010 film about Mark Zuckerberg and the founding of Facebook, tells the frenetic story of an idea whose time had come.

All the pieces were in place: high-speed Internet connectivity in the dorms of America's elite universities; a revolution in Web design that made dynamic, user-generated content easily shareable; and a compelling problem that college students wanted solved-a way to keep track of each other's relationship status.

The film is both exciting and exhausting. The momentum that Aaron Sorkin's screenplay captures so deftly is a case study in the somewhat shocking agility of networks, "shocking" to a culture that has, for a century or so, abandoned network-based solutions in favor of institutional ones. In a sense, Zuckerberg and the other harbingers of Web 2.0 have returned us to a very old way of doing things: not by forming committees and foundations, but by connecting individuals to support each other to do work they are passionate about.

For my money, no one in today's faith formation world understands the changes afoot better than John Roberto, ecumenical faith formation consultant, nor presents a more thoughtful and hopeful portrait of how the Spirit is leading us into richer and deeper ways of shaping the faith of children and adults in new contexts. My recent experience at his Faith Formation for the 21st Century workshop reinforced this belief and still has me giving thanks to God for the work of Roberto and his colleagues.

To capture their proposal for how to reshape faith formation in the church, you could do worse than to consider one of Roberto's more provocative suggestions: "Don't do Sunday school." Classroom-based, age-graded Sunday school came to maturity in the era of institutions. It took for granted stable denominational and congregational identity, regular church attendance, and spiritually mature volunteers with plenty of time on their hands.

Roberto and the other authors of Faith Formation 2020: Designing the Future of Faith Formation are on top of the research showing that these assumptions are no longer valid. Armed with a mountain of data, they seek to equip churches to provide spiritual formation and nourishment for four different demographics: "people of vibrant faith and active engagement in the church community, people who participate occasionally but are not actively engaged or spiritually committed, people who are spiritual but not religious, and people who are uninterested in the spiritual life and unaffiliated with religion."

Roberto's workshop asks how we might design faith formation experiences for each of these groups. He proposes a network model where our most important work is to identify a target group (families with small children, say), connect them to mentors and each other (in person, online, or both), learn about their passions and spiritual needs (through research that includes asking them), and then referring them to (and occasionally creating for them) a variety of learning opportunities and resources (including human resources). The Social Web has, of course, made it easier to connect with a vast collection of resources, many of which are free.

The key here is to put not the program but the group at the center. In making this shift from institutional to network-based thinking, formation leaders come to think of themselves as designers of learning environments for the network (a task of discernment) and communicators who get the word out (a task of relationship and proclamation).

"Such a network blends virtual and physical settings," Roberto wrote recently in The Lutheran magazine, "as well as a variety of faith formation formats for content and activities, including with a mentor, at home, in small groups, in large groups, in the congregation, and in the community and world."

From our vantage point at the CMT, the biggest risk a church takes in embracing this asset-based, network-powered approach is that the content selection and delivery is a bit tricky to control. "What do we want to teach, and how will we teach it?" continue to be fundamental questions, and a faith formation network probably doesn't rely on packaged curriculum to answer them. Here again, formation leaders must be designers, not only of learning environments, but also of curriculum in the widest sense. Roberto points out that Maria Harris' Fashion Me A People is still the gold standard for this kind of thinking.

Part of how I hope to help congregations consider this paradigm shift is to think through with them how a simple, stand-alone website (or even a group on a social networking site) can serve as a home base, the hub where people come together to support each other and access information and resources. Such connectivity is especially important if not every member comes to church each week. Geeks and technophobes alike will have to be willing to visit and contribute to the site, but the tools for building them get easier every day.

An eminently kind and humble man, John Roberto would probably squirm if I called him the Mark Zuckerberg of faith formation. But I think the comparison is apt in some important ways.

Most of all, I hope that we in the CMT and the growing number of alums of his workshops can help build on the momentous changes he has helped set in motion in the church. Faith formation networks are an idea whose time has come. My prayer is that the church and its leaders will embrace the opportunity to be changed by them.

Kyle Oliver

(Full disclosure: Oliver is now a curator for Roberto's Faith Formation Learning Exchange with Vibrant Faith Ministries. This article was written and edited before that official relationship began.

Websites, Facebook and Twitter. OH MY!

In today's social media age we at the diocesan office are trying to be more social media savvy. The Diocese is in the process of developing a new website which is schedule to go "live" November 2012. Christian Formation is excited that we are already using Facebook and Twitter to get the Formation Message out!

Please like our Facebook page Like us on Facebook
and our Twitter feed is here: Follow us on Twitter

These medias not only provide us a place to talk about what is happening in the Christian Formation office but it also gives us a space to give you many new resources that are not talked about in our e-News.

 Follow or Like us today!
 

Send your articles into the Christian Formation E-News 
If you have formation news, events, or resources that you Email
think would be of interest to the Diocese at large and that you would like to see in this electronic publication, please do not hesitate to email Carla at [email protected] .

ALL ARTICLES MUST BE IN NO LATER THAN THE 7TH OF EVERY MONTH.

Thank you for your ministry, for your commitment to Christian Formation, and for sharing your gifts with the church.  

Christian Formation Staff

Rev. Carla McCook is the Bishop's Assistant for Christian Formation.  She works in conjunction with clergy, laity, parishes and convocations to create, promote, sustain and formation and education. Her mission is to resource, equip and empower formation leaders of all ages throughout our diocese. Diocesan Christian Formation has oversight for Resource Center, Safeguarding God's Children & People, Education for Ministry, Camp Webb and Outdoor Ministries, Life Long Christian Formation Commission, Youth & Family Commission, Youth@Convention, teaching & preaching around the diocese. She is available to lead a teaching series or preach on request. She is passionate about partnering with you for Christian Formation. She is available at [email protected] or (414)272-3028 ext 116.  

 

 

 

 

RegsThe Rev. REGS Scheeler has been a deacon of this diocese of many years, serving us in many different ways. Throughout his time, his passion and focus on formation and education for youth and their leaders has not changed. REGS is a non-stipendiary staff person who is available to help congregations move through transition, assist them in discernment or challenge them as they move forward. He can make visits on Sundays and some weekdays. If you think a visit from him would be of use to you, don't hesitate to call and discover the ways in which he might help your parish. He is also assisting with other formation events throughout the year. He has a gift and call for cooking ministry which we try to incorporate into all he does. He can be reached at [email protected]  or (262)827-9378.

The Rev. Carla McCook
Bishop's Assistant for Christian Formation
The Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee
[email protected]
www.diomil.org
414-272-3028 x116

The Rev. Deacon REGS Scheeler
Bishop's Deacon for Christian Formation
The Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee
414-378-7390