This past weekend 5 decades of alumni from All Saints Summer Camp came together for the first of many alumni gatherings. Over 40  folks and 5 infants came from places as far as Colorado, Texas, and one even from China to a place they all call home, All Saints. 

Stories were shared of times when the cabins were only tents, women couldn't acolyte, being baptized in Rough River, and canoeing with the bishop. A common thread was shared by the entire group, All Saints changed each of them in a profound way. 

Along with camp songs, night swims, and many huddled around the photo albums of years past, alumni were also excited to begin to contribute back to the facility. An art project to resurrect the saint icons on the cabins was begun and will be hung later this year by the current youth during Winter Gathering. More projects are currently in creation. 

Alumni were also encouraged to provide another form of stewardship. Giving to the All Saints Annual Fund and Endowment Fund. Here they could ensure the sustainable future of All Saints by supporting the day-to-day operations and the future growth of the center.

Their next gatherings are scheduled for January 17-19 &July 25-27. 

If you're an All Saints Alumni and would like to join the Facebook group, you can find us under All Saints Alumni Network. 

If you'd like to give to the All Saints Annual Fund and Endowment Fund, you can donate on the All Saints website. 

When changes occur to your church's clergy, website address, email address, phone, or fax there are many places that need these updates. This is important so folks find the correct information when they search for your church online.

Take a moment and double check your church's information on these sites:

• www.episcopalchurch.org/diocese/kentucky 
• Diocese of Kentucky Directory
• Facebook

Bishop White appointed Erendira Jimenez- Pike of Church of the Advent, Louisville as the new Episcopal Campus Minister at the University of Louisville. She will also be involved in organizing ministry to and with the Spanish speaking community in the Louisville area. 

She will begin her new ministry on August 1st. 

God, Source of all abiding knowledge and truth, who through Your Word and Spirit both enlightens the minds and sanctifies the lives of the faithful; we implore You to look with favor on the campus ministries of Your church, especially University of Louisville campus ministry, and grant that they may faithfully proclaim Your Gospel on the campuses of our nation; that Your Word may shine both upon the minds and hearts of students everywhere and that these may be drawn by Your grace and calling to salvation through Christ Jesus our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.  

The All Saints Center Annual Fund is the perfect way to support day-to-day operations and sustain the vital ministry of All Saints.

From this past summer camp alone our youth had so much to say about the ministry happening there. Here are just a few answers.

Because of All Saints I...

•  am a better person.
• learned how God makes us.
• now know how to canoe.
• want to go to church.
• feel more connected to God & like I can handle whatever comes my way!
• have learned a lot about how to follow the Baptismal Covenant.
• have changed my whole way of how I look at people.
• feel a lot more comfortable with myself and I feel that God wants me to be happy with myself as he is with me.

 What moved me spiritually?

• When the clergy talked about forgiveness and sharing.
• The love that was shown in the All Saints community. I always know I can be myself.
•  Ongoing Grace and discussion about God.
• The labyrinth
• Morning and Evening Prayer
• Ask the Clergy box
• I asked a question about the connection of science and religion, and I understand that a lot better. God loves everyone else just as much as he loves me, and that helps me love my neighbor like myself. 

To give visit the All Saints Center website ( allsaints.episcopalky.org) and select Donate to All Saints. Your gift may be a one time gift or you may set up automatic recurring monthly gifts. 

For more information, please contact Becky Meyer at (800) 222-3462 or at beckym@episcopalky.org. 

All contributions are tax deductible. 

With the purchase of Insight Communications by Time Warner, every customer with an @insightbb.com email address has to undergo a change to a @twc.com email address. 

As you share your new email address with friends and family, please send us word of your new email address as well. That way you can ensure you'll continue to receive news, stories, and important information about being an Episcopal leader in our diocese.

You may email any changes to bkinnaman@episcopalky.org. 

The ordination of the Very Rev. Mark Allen Bourlakas as sixth bishop of the Diocese of Southwestern Virginia brought together nearly 1,200 people from as far away as England and Sudan the morning of July 20, 2013. The service took place at the Roanoke Performing Arts Theatre in downtown Roanoke.

Bourlakas comes to the diocese from the Christ Church Cathedral in Louisville, where he has served as dean since 2007. In March, he was elected from a field of five nominees to lead a diocese of 56 parishes; he succeeds the Rt. Rev. Neff Powell, who retires after 17 years as bishop and will be retiring in Oregon, close to family, with his wife Dorothy Powell.

Bourlakas received his bachelor of arts and his doctor in ministry from The University of the South in Sewanee and his master of divinity from Seabury Western Theological Seminary. He moves to Virginia with his family: his wife Martha Bourlakas and their daughters Hannah, Sarah and Elizabeth.

"There's a great opportunity for The Episcopal Church right now," said Bourlakas in an earlier interview for Epiphany, the diocese quarterly. He emphasizes the importance of mission, and of reaching out to the millennials: "How do we have people come to our church from other traditions, and how do we keep our people here, and how do we be more inclusive?"

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Baptism establishes the "priesthood of all believers" and the discipleship and ministry of each individual Christian, and the baptismal covenant provides a foundational document that leads us into ministry.  Each time we repeat these vows, we are committing ourselves to a life of ministry, but if we posed the question: "Who are the ministers of the Church?" many people would limit the list to priests and bishops.  If, however, we look at the answer to this question as it appears in the Catechism in the Book of Common Prayer, we read: "The ministers of the Church are lay persons, bishops, priests and deacons" (p. 855).  The ministry of the Church is most effective when lay persons, bishops, priests and deacons are working together as a team.  When one of these roles is absent or underutilized, the Church's ministry is incomplete. 

In recognition of this fact and in response to the need for a well-defined and carefully executed program of education and formation for those individuals called to the diaconate or to intentional lay ministry in the Church, the Diocese of Kentucky established a School of Ministry in 2007.  The School of Ministry is a two-year program that meets one weekend each month (September through June) at All Saints Conference Center in Leitchfield.  Students spend the weekend (5:30 p.m. Friday until 4:00 p.m. Saturday) participating in coursework, small group discussion and spiritual formation.  In between weekend sessions, students have reading assignments, ministry projects and papers to write.  The program faculty includes seminary and university professors, clergy and laity.  Tuition for the program is $850 per year and includes housing, meals and all materials except textbooks.  Individuals who will be ordained deacons will spend a fifth semester during which they will complete a unit of Pastoral Theological Education and liturgics.

Applications are now being accepted for a new cohort of participants and will be accepted until August 15th.  It is strongly recommended that applicants have completed at least two years of Education for Ministry.  They must also be recommended by the priest-in-charge of their congregation.  Classes will begin in September 2013 and participants will graduate in June 2015.  Applications and directions for letters of recommendation are available on the Diocesan website (under "Ministries").  If you would like further information about the program, please contact The Rev. Dr. Rose Bogal-Allbritten, Director, School of Ministry, at 270-293-9490 or rosebogal@gmail.com.

There are many important dates in the upcoming months leading up to Diocesan Convention. For easier reference here they are in list form.

Bishop White announced at the 185th Diocesan Convention that work on the budget will begin far earlier in the year. At the June 27th meeting of Trustees & Council the Preliminary 2014 Diocesan Budget was approved. 

Below you will find links to both a line item budget and a narrative budget. These budgets are meant to be used as complimentary documents so that a wider range of us may have a deeper and holistic understanding of diocesan finances.

2014 Diocesan Narrative Budget

2014 Diocesan Line Item Budget

To "work, pray and give for the spread of the kingdom of God" is one of the duties that we assume as Christians (BCP, p. 856).  Stewardship is our personal response to God's generosity in the way we share our time, talents and financial resources.  While it is easy to think of stewardship as something that happens on a congregational level, we need to remember that stewardship must not be limited to our response at the local level.  We are also called to share our time, talents and financial resources to further the mission of the church at the diocesan level.

The 186th Convention of the Diocese of Kentucky will be hosted by Christ Church Cathedral, Louisville, and will be held November 8-9, 2013.  At this convention, delegates will elect members to a variety of diocesan positions.  Additionally, four members of the clergy (presbyter or deacon) and four laypersons will be elected as Deputies of the Church to the next General Convention.  As the nominating committee chairperson, I ask that every layperson and member of the clergy of our diocese prayerfully consider the time and talents that he/she can offer in support of the work of the Church, and be willing to be nominated for election to one of these positions.

Attached is a list of positions to be filled at the next diocesan convention.  The list includes qualifications for the various positions, continuing members and members whose terms will expire this year.  A one-page Nomination Form is also included.  It is important that the individuals who are nominated have given their permission to be nominated.  Please note that all lay nominees must be active members of one of the congregations in the Diocese of Kentucky.  Priests in charge of congregations will be asked to verify membership.  Nominees will be sent a biographical information sheet that they will be asked to complete and return.