Dear Friends,
At our recent Diocesan Convention, we celebrated a few of the many ministries our parishes engage in to reach out and care for their neighbors. I encouraged you to worry less about the number of people in the pews and more about the number of people you serve and work with within your communities. I believe we have the opportunity increase our engagement in our communities, particularly with our most vulnerable neighbors.
There are many things we can do as individuals, however the most powerful work can be done when we are organized. Our churches are organizations, and our churches are organized into convocations (districts), so this is not about going alone. We know that organized money and organized people can accomplish many small tasks that add up to big change in our lives and communities.
I urge you to have conversations in your parishes and convocations (like the Community Conversation we had at Convention). Your annual meeting or next clergy or convocation meeting are good opportunities to gather yourselves in small groups, share ideas and resources, and gauge the “temperature” of the community. With those seeds, deans, rectors, and vestries can choose ONE goal and put their support behind it. While a simple majority vote is all that is needed to pass a resolution, this work will be stronger with the full weight of leadership supporting it.
Here are some issues we face and ways to begin a discussion. Don’t do them all! Choose the one that is most relevant and most pressing in your context.
- Poverty: Dig deeper into the needs of the people you already serve – when you give them food, clothing, or medicine, find out what help would make the biggest difference in their day-to-day lives. Do they run out of food near the end of the month? Do they know how to do taxes? Is there a guaranteed income program in your city that could use support? How do people fix their homes, get to the doctor, and pay for prescriptions? The United Way’s ALICE database can help you explore the poverty and needs around you by county, and even by block. If you have connections with other organizations that are good partners, please share them with Steve Richards, so that he can share them with the diocese.
- Migrants, Asylum Seekers, and undocumented workers: These suggestions are from the Episcopal Migration caucus. Email episcopalmigrationcaucus@gmail.com to join.
● Have honest conversations between immigrants, migrants, and non-immigrants in congregations and communities to understand threats, identify needs, create safety plans, understand rights, and strategize how to implement.
● Assist immigrant clergy, seminarians, parishioners, family, and friends, with necessary legal work and other preparedness. See this helpful preparedness toolkit for guidance.
● Prepare NOW to provide sanctuary and other forms of accompaniment for immigrants within and beyond The Episcopal Church, undocumented AND documented. Check out the Episcopal Migration Ministries’ Neighbor to Neighbor Program, The New Sanctuary Movement, and diocesan sanctuary movements. Church Insurance provides a policy to cover legal costs associated with this work. There is risk in this work and public declarations could draw unwanted attention. Please work closely with your bishop, Will Ingle and Steve Richards should you wish to pursue this.
● Build relationships NOW with local, regional, and national partner organizations and immigration attorneys/legal groups. Our diocese is fortunate to be partners with Rural and Migrant Ministry. This Menu of Hope details many ways that you can help immigrants at this crucial time. An updated Menus of Hope will be available soon.
● Get involved with EMM’s Rainbow Initiative. The goals for the Rainbow Initiative include: working with Episcopal congregations and others to bring visibility and aid to LGBTQ+ forced migrants, and reviewing and revising EMM materials and procedures in order to ensure that they are fully inclusive of LGBTQ+ forced migrants.
● Get involved with the Episcopal Migration Response Network, which is currently forming Migration with Dignity, Rapid Response, and Local/State Advocacy Subgroups and developing exciting educational offerings. Contact Leeann Culbreath motherleeann@gmail.com about subgroups. Register to attend meetings HERE.
- LGBTQIA+ solidarity: One of my friends wrote to me saying “LGBTQ people are scared, afraid, and trying to figure out how to endure the next four years. I do believe that the church can be a part of the solution.” The diocese will be providing Safe Space training which will help congregations truly welcome, work along side of, and support LGBTQ folks; please contact Steve Richards if you wish to set up your own training in your congregation. Clergy are welcome to preside at weddings for non-members with the usual requirements:
● One person in the couple must be a baptized Christian.
● They should attend your church 1-3 times to get to know the liturgy and community.
● They must have 3 marriage preparation sessions with a licensed counselor and/or clergy person.
- Education: What does your local school have and what do they need? Can you provide a space for tutors or organizational skills for tutoring, music lessons, books, school supplies, or counseling? Can you bring in an expert to speak on topics about which parents are most concerned?
- Healthcare: Do your lay staff receive adequate health insurance benefits? Do community clinics and nursing homes need volunteers? How can you support the care givers at a nearby ESLC or other hospital, nursing home or long-term care facility? Do people need money for co-payments, rides, and advice? What policies need to change? How are your local representatives working to provide health care for all? Does your parish feel called to assist with canceling medical debt?
Finally, be clear about who you welcome to be part of your community. We all need community to get through hard times. Don’t worry if the people who come through the door are Christians, potential vestry members, or great pledgers. Your local parish may be the only light, harbor, and a home in your community. When people see your light, when they gather with us, we know God is there.
Thank you for your ministry and witness.
