From September 6 to October 22, she will give an online course open to all, titled “Leadership in Ministry: Social Issues and the Church’s Response.”

“What is social ministry? How do we go about doing this ministry which flows from our baptismal covenant? This is a practical course designed to help prepare lay leaders, deacons, and others to be leaders in the Church’s social ministry. It will address major social issues facing our society – poverty, health issues, racism and violence – and analyze the Church’s response to these pressing challenges through discussion and reflection on interviews, social agency site visits, and readings provided by the instructor.”

The cost is $190 for individuals, $150 per person for groups of 3 or more. Deadline to register is August 30. If you are interested in registering and/or learning more about this course and other CDSP offerings, please follow this link http://www.cdsp.edu/center_online.php

Thank you for listening to my words today about the church in Florida that is planning to burn the Quran on September 11th. I am really grateful for your positive support, and suggestions of other ways we can respond to this church

As I mentioned, my sister – who is a blogger – is collecting as many messages of love and peace as she can to send to the church. Her hope is that she can inject this church with something powerfully positive.

Here is the link to her plan:

http://www.chookooloonks.com/blog/2010/7/31/photobomb-2010.html?lastPage=true#comment9190026

(This page also has a link to an article about the church and its plans.)

I hope you’ll participate, if you can.

Best,

Natalie Walrond

The Bishop’s Committee met on Monday evening (July 12) with Bishop Marc Andrus and Canon Michael Barlowe to discuss the transition at Holy Innocents, and we’re excited to announce some long-awaited next steps.

When Rosa Lee, Davey, and I met with the Bishop before Lent to discuss Rosa Lee’s departure and transition, we were informed that there were two alternative paths in front of us:

1) An interim priest could be appointed, during which time we would do a self-study and then engage in a search process: a process that could take 12-24 months to complete.

2) A priest-in-charge could be appointed by the Bishop for a one-year term, during which time we would do a self-study and then engage in a discernment process to determine if this ministry arrangement was mutually beneficial. If after that year, it was decided that things were good, we would move forward, calling that priest-in-charge to be our vicar; if it was decided that things were not working out, we could move forward with an interim/search process model as described above.

After much careful thought, the Bishop has suggested, and the Bishop’s Committee has accepted, the priest-in-charge model.

The benefits to this are substantial. A priest-in-charge is exactly as described, fully functioning as priest in our parish. Without having to have an interim or series of interims, Holy Innocents can begin a relationship and a discernment with a clergy team immediately. Also, this model significantly minimizes the pressure of an extended transition, allowing us all to welcome and focus on a fixed point.

That’s part one.

Part two is equally exciting. There are three congregations nearby in transition simultaneously: Holy Innocents, St John the Evangelist, and El Buen Samaritano. We have been asked to join in an area ministry collaboration with these sister parishes. For us, this means a single priest in charge for Holy Innocents who is in a close team with the lay and ordained leadership of El Buen Samaritano and St. John’s; all the other volunteer priests across the three congregations, and at least two deacons. This exciting ministry team will work together in collaborative ministry. This gives us a chance to get to know and work more closely with our brothers and sisters down the street as well, possibly opening up new ministries and opportunities yet to be discovered. We already have our shared Julian Pantry with St. John’s – this collaboration will build on that strong ministry foundation.

For our part, we have a half-time salary in our budget which will pay for our half-time priest-in-charge. A deacon will be assigned to Holy Innocents which will not represent a cost to our budget. We have also been asked to form an “Area Ministry” team comprised of lay leadership which meets independently of the clergy and Bishop’s Committee (but which will work in alignment with them). This group will meet regularly to discuss challenges in collaborative ministry, identify and propose collaborative ministries, and keep our congregation true to area ministries. The other two congregations involved have been asked to form a similar structure. We will be asking all of you to think about who from our community might serve on this VERY important committee. We are very excited that this group will help to chart our future together.

That’s part two.

Finally, the best news of all: the Bishop has appointed Bertie Pearson as Priest-in-Charge and Joshua Griffin (Griff to the rest of us!) as our Deacon. They will exercise their positions with us in an arrangement that ensures that all the energy, ministries, and needs of our community are supported.

Bertie and Griff will be with us occasionally during the summer (Griff more so) to give us a chance to ask questions, and will be working with Davey and I closely to ensure that we all hit the ground running. At the top of our tasks together will be to roll out the structure and begin a self-study process, so that we can maximize our one-year mutual ministry discernment. This self study part of our coming year will be very important and formative for all of us.

Bertie and Griff will join us officially on September 12, as we begin our new year of Godly Play and church programs.

A note on the area ministry part of this picture — our Diocese is a pioneer in the area ministry concept, which reaches out to neighborhoods, communities, and all of God’s people (those who attend church and those who do not). The central idea about area ministry is that we are all of one body, and that we are all called to love and serve one another in Christ’s name. Bishop Marc and Canon Michael believe that Holy Innocents, St. John’s and El Buen Samaritano can become a model for area ministry in the Mission/Noe Valley area. This is a tall order, and we feel honored and moved about the confidence that the leadership of the church has placed in our little community. It’s safe to say that we also feel a little daunted about the responsibility that has been vested in us.

But one thing that we know, from our experience last summer during Rosa Lee’s sabbatical, and from our past year of transition together, is that we are a community of strength and love and faith. I believe that we know how to care for one another, and that our care for our community can only multiply and grow as we think about ourselves in an area ministry context. We look forward to hearing all of your ideas about this new vision for Holy Innocents, and about our work together in the year to come.

Davey and I, and any member of the Bishop’s Committee, are available for questions that you might have, and we look forward to this new chapter for Holy Innocents. As soon as a critical mass of us are back in town after well deserved summer breaks, we’ll get together for a parish meeting about our future together.

In peace and love to all of you, Margaret

So – we are prepared for a wonderful summer, with the help of our strong and experienced clergy team of Tom Dipko, Genie Kinney, Tim Greene, and Gary Ost. We know well how to plan for the summer, having just done so last summer while Rosa Lee was on sabbatical. We’ll be working with the clergy team on this, and will have more information for you soon.

Thank you for your prayers and thoughts for our meeting – we felt them! More soon, with peace from your wardens, Davey and Margaret

Fabienne

Weeknight Services:

Monday at 7:00 p.m. at St John the Evangelist, 15th & Julian Streets, in the Mission District.

Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. at St-Aidan, 101 Goldmine, in Diamond Heights

Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. at Holy Innocents, 455 Fair Oaks Street

Holy Innocents Traditional Maundy Thursday Dinner

Potluck begins at 6:30 p.m.; service begins at 7:00 p.m.

Good Friday:

Stations of the Cross at Dolores Park at noon

Service of Meditation and Music at Holy Innocents at 7:30 p.m.

Great Vigil of Easter at St-John the Evangelist at 7:30 p.m.

(combined service with El Buen Samaritano, St-Aidan, St-John and Holy Innocents)

Easter Day

Services at Holy Innocents at 9:00 a.m. & 11:00 a.m.

This group will meet Wednesday, February 24, March 3, March 17 and March 24.

There will be a special lenten activity for everyone, especially including our children, the SECOND WEDNESDAY in March (the 10th).

On our Facebook and Twitter pages, we’ll (try to) post the suggestion du jour!  Come back to this post and let us know what you are doing, what’s easy for you to do, what’s hard, and how it affects you daily life.