Beloved Fellow Priests of Our Diocese: 

Greetings in Christ! 

For those of you who do not know me, allow me to introduce myself. I am Jason Lewis, the new Canon for Congregational Vitality in our diocese. Part of my work on your behalf is to support and provide opportunities for our clergy to continue in the formation of their vocation. In the spirit of work, I provide you with an invitation to consider joining in the following "study course" to offer a way for us to read, study and discuss together. 

We will be utilizing the book by Eugene Peterson, "Working the Angles." I have found this text very helpful in my own priestly ministry. If you are not already familiar with Eugene Peterson, he is a well know Presbyterian minster and author of the dynamic "translation" of the Bible, "The Message."  I have read many of his works and listened to many of his lectures/interviews and have found him to be a very engaging teacher. I believe this book, and the subsequent discussions that will arise form our engaging with it, will deepen our sense of calling and the practice of our ordained ministry. 

If you are interested, please take a look at the course guide for further details. In short, here is a brief overview: 

The course is simple enough: read through Eugene's work and weekly post conversation points to share your thoughts and ideas with others. "Working the Angles" can be purchased from Amazon.com in Kindle form for $10, or for $14 in the paper back edition. I believe you will find it a welcome edition to your library. We will be using a Face Book page I set up for this purpose entitle Vital Talk (www.facebook.com/episcopalvitaltalk) to carry on our conversation.  You can start your own "string" for conversation or share a reflection on someone else's "string." Our first deadline for posting on the first two chapters of the book will be Friday, January 31st. We will be finished with the course prior to Lent (so you can turn your focus and attention in your parish fully to that season) on Friday, February 28th. Please email me if you'd like to join the "course" and are starting the reading - jason@episcopalky.org. I'd like to keep a roster of all who is connecting with this opportunity. 

I believe the Face Book page will be a good format for our learning and being formed together. This is my first time to utilize Face Book in this way; I hope you will join in and "test the waters" with me. We very well may use this conversation format for future formation opportunities (and you might see if it is a possible avenue for your own formation offerings in your parish settings). 

I do hope you can join in! I look forward to sharing this formation opportunity with you! And I'd encourage you to please invite friends from other diocese/denominations to join in! All are welcome. 

Faithfully, yours in Christ, 

Canon Jason+