July 30 Determination Letter

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My Dear Kindred in Christ,

It has been another rough week, with the highest statewide COVID-19 case numbers since the beginning of the pandemic. That reality is playing itself out differently across our counties, but in most the need for caution continues to be quite evident. Because everyone is wearing thin these days, I urge you to focus your efforts on restorative activities, both for your congregations and for yourselves. May the Wisdom of God lead us through these uncertain times.

Blessings,

Terri 

The Rev. Canon Terri L. Bays, PhD.
Missioner for Transitions and Governance
Emergency Response NGO/Government Liaison

Attachments: 7DayRollingAverage.xlsx

Becoming Beloved Community NOW

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Becoming Beloved Community NOW
July 28-30, 2020

Racial justice and healing leaders and practitioners across The Episcopal Church will gather to build community, craft strategy, and equip each other for action during a series of Becoming Beloved Community NOW online gatherings at 4-6 p.m. EDT on July 28-30. 

Convened by the Presiding Officers’ Advisory Group on Beloved Community Implementation, the three gatherings will focus on three urgent themes: Truth (Tuesday, July 28), Justice (Wednesday, July 29) and Healing (Thursday, July 30). Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and President of the House of Deputies Gay Clark Jennings will offer prayer and reflections throughout the sessions.

To register for these individual sessions, please select the session(s) you would like to attend and complete the registration forms.

Becoming Beloved Community Now: TRUTH
Telling the truth about participation in white supremacy and racial oppression. 
July 28, 2020
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm EDT

Becoming Beloved Community Now: JUSTICE
Changing racist systems, especially “criminal” justice and public health/COVID response.
July 29, 2020
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm EDT

Becoming Beloved Community Now: HEALING
Breaking free of white supremacy via training and formation.
July 30, 2020
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm EDT

July 23 Determination Letter

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My Dear Kindred in Christ,

Since the beginning of the quarantine, we have spoken about our guidelines as applying primarily to gatherings of "more than 10 persons." The 10-person distinction is one that the CDC uses in its description of a "medium intensity social distancing strategy" and Governor Holcomb used in his Back on Track Indiana plan as the cut-off between gatherings that were/were not allowed in Stage 1. In this diocese, the bishop's pastoral response when the case numbers are high, but certain time-sensitive services (such as weddings, funerals and ordinations) need to take place, has been to allow those services to proceed as long as they have fewer than 10 in-person participants.

10 is not a magic number. Instead it is a balance point between pastoral need and collective risk. 10 people are relatively easy to space and manage. Where several participants already share the same household, "10" might actually mean 12 or 13. Keep in mind the question of spacing and management, we ask that you not interpret "10" as more than 15.

When it is appropriate to host an Under-10 gathering depends both on the nature of the event and your county's risk zone:

  • Green, Green-Yellow and Yellow-Falling—Indoor and Outdoor Gathering Permitted, including both Under- and Over-10 Participants, subject to regathering guidelines.

  • Yellow-Rising—Outdoor Gathering—Outdoor Gathering Permitted, Indoor Gatherings limited to Under 10 Participants.

  • Orange—Outdoor Gathering of Over 10 Participants Not Permitted, Indoor Gatherings of Under 10 Participants Permitted only with Written Permission from the Bishop.

  • Red—No In-person Gathering Permitted, with Exceptions for gatherings of Under 10 Participants Permitted only with Written Permission from the Bishop.

As with so many of our guidelines, the issue of when an Under-10 Participant Gathering is called-for requires careful discernment. Because risk does not simply disappear when only 10 people are around, all other safety measures must remain in place. 

On a different topic, several of you have come to me with discrepancies between the recent numbers in my spreadsheet and those you see on the state dashboard on a given day. Because there were more of these than could be explained by way of my mis-typing, I contacted the Indiana Health Department and one of the relevant County Health Departments to discover whether the numbers were being updated between the time I was recording them around noon each day and the time when you were checking my spreadsheet, up to a week later. 

What I was told is that the numbers are sometimes adjusted downward within the day or two after the original posting. Common reasons for this include the realizations during subsequent contact tracing that one person underwent more than one test for the same case of coronavirus or that someone was tested in one county but actually resided in another (reporting follows the county of residence, not testing). When such situations (and others) are noticed, the state dashboard is updated.

Knowing this, I could go back and re-check the numbers for the whole week before sending out the determination on Thursdays. Re-checking 7 days of data for 15 counties, however, would both significantly delay your access to the determination and not avoid discrepancies in the data for the most recent days. I will, therefore, re-check the data for counties where a slight change would make a difference in the determination (for example, where rising numbers would shift to falling, or where a county has moved just over the boundary into a different risk zone). 

The numbers, of course, are just one factor among of the pastoral concerns you must weigh as you prepare for services each week. We are always happy to consult with you about special cases and particular challenges. We give thanks to God for the effort you have been and continue investing in the safety of God's people.

Blessings,

Terri

The Rev. Canon Terri L. Bays, PhD.
Missioner for Transitions and Governance
Emergency Response NGO/Government Liaison

Attachments: 7DayRollingAverage.xlsx

July 16 Determination Letter

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My Dear Kindred in Christ,

It has been a rough week, with two of our counties moving from Orange to Red and another moving from Rising Yellow to Orange. One of our parishes has already had to put its contact-tracing plan into effect. Let us pray for strength and courage among all those who are working together to cope with these difficult circumstances. As a reminder, gatherings in these communities are to be online-only, with exceptions (e.g. funerals with < 10 people) only with the express permission of the bishop.

In the midst of that hard news, there is some good. Cass, LaGrange and Kosciusko counties have both moved out of the Orange zone all the way to Green-Yellow and Yellow-Falling respectively. Let us join them in giving thanks for the results of their hard work! Adams and Steuben have stayed in Green-Yellow all along, so let us give thanks for their steadfastness.

I remain together with you in Christ,

Terri

The Rev. Canon Terri L. Bays, PhD.
Missioner for Transitions and Governance
Emergency Response NGO/Government Liaison

Attachments: 7DayRollingAverage.xlsx

Bishop Doug's Statement Regarding Resumption of Federal Executions

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Bishop Doug Sparks issued a statement today regarding the resumption of federal executions at the Federal Correctional Institution in Terre Haute. Portions of the statement are included in an article from The Episcopal News Service titled “Episcopal leaders call death penalty ‘abhorrent to God’ as Trump administration resumes federal executions."

The complete statement is below.

“I am saddened and troubled by the news that after a thirteen-year moratorium, our Federal Government, under this administration, has decided to resume state-sponsored and sanctioned execution at the Federal Correctional Institution in Terre Haute, Indiana. The murder of a human person by another human person is abhorrent and deeply painful.  Like you, I grieve the murder of any person and I reach out in pastoral care for those who mourn their deaths.  However, it is important to underscore that the United States of America is the only developed nation that continues to believe that state sponsored execution is a deterrent to others who commit violent crimes including murder.  At the request of the Attorney General, the Supreme Court, in a 5 to 4 decision, supported the notion that the state can humanely execute persons on death row.  For more than 60 years, the Episcopal Church has affirmed it opposition to the death penalty, that it is repugnant and an affront to God which diminishes all of us.  It is also true that the death penalty is disproportionately applied to the poor, to black, indigenous and other persons of color.  The life and teachings of Jesus remind us again and again that every person is made in God’s image and likeness and that loving God and our neighbor requires us to challenge violence of every kind and to pursue peace and reconciliation.  I am committed to seeking ways to end this kind of violence and to work for peace, justice and reconciliation.”

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Douglas E. Sparks
VIII Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Indiana

July 9 Determination Letter

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My Dear Kindred in Christ,

I present to you the determinations based on the number of new cases in each county for the past two weeks. As you will see, the situation has worsened in several places. This should not come as a surprise to you, given the way the case numbers have soared across the country. We encourage you to spend this time strengthening your online worship skills and continuing to reach out to your members in various types of pastoral care.

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We have received a number of questions regarding when outdoor worship is appropriate. Gathering outdoors only lessens without eliminating the risk of infection—that’s why we require all the other precautions to still be in place for outdoor gathering. Outdoor gathering is not appropriate when your county is in the orange or red zones. If your county is in a yellow rising zone, however, outdoor worship is a reasonable alternative. If your county is in a green, green-yellow <5, or yellow falling zone, then worship indoors and out are both permissible. In all cases, please also take steps to protect your outdoor congregations from the heat.

We give thanks for your efforts to maintain connections among our people in these difficult days. We pray for your continued patience and creativity.

Blessings,

Terri

The Rev. Canon Terri L. Bays, PhD.
Missioner for Transitions and Governance
Emergency Response NGO/Government Liaison

EDNIN Creation Care Network

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To the Clergy and Lay Leadership of the Diocese of Northern Indiana,

The current pandemic has shaken all of our routines and mindsets. We have had to re-imagine the church without our buildings and through the digital medium have made the move to worshiping in Spirit rather than in place. I hope this time has also allowed us to reexamine our use of land and resources and determine what is truly important to us. 

Over the last six months, I have worked alongside Episcopal partners from across the country as part of the ChurchLands Pilot Cohort. Although our time and discussion have not gone as we planned in January, the fruits of our labor are nevertheless evident. The global shutdown showed us how quickly nature can heal herself if we but get out of the way. And all this time indoors has taught us the strength of our holy connection to the land, the water, the air, and all of creation. We are of the earth, we are called to tend to her while we age, and we return to her to aid new growth for the next generation. 

To that end, I would like us to take the next step as a diocese to move forward in faith with God in the care of creation. This falls most clearly under the banner of our Fifth Mark of Mission: To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth. But we have found that in following the first command in the book of Genesis, “to guard and tend the garden” in a myriad of ways allows us to also live into the promise of the other four Marks of Mission. This may be through recycling, through planting and tending Good News Gardens, or simply engaging with our waste and resources as a parish and diocesan community. 

To help us engage in this work I would like to invite each parish to name one member as a Creation Care Liaison to the Diocesan Creation Care Commission. This person will be the point of contact for our commission and will be asked to provide statistical information about your parish land and use. We are following the framework laid out by the Faithful Stewards Commission to form a network within our Diocese to help us all in this godly endeavor. 

Please forward a name and contact email for your Creation Care Liaison to us at creationcare@ednin.org, by August 1, 2020. 

Thank you for your time and consideration and for the good work you are doing for the Kingdom here on Earth.

Blessings in Christ,
The Rev. Joshua Nelson
EDNIN Creation Care Commission Chair

July 2 Determination Letter

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One thing have I asked of the LORD; one thing I seek; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life; To behold the fair beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.

Psalm 27:5-6 

My Dear Kindred in Christ,

Many of you have put in long hours working out the details of your re-opening plans, training your teams, re-arranging your worship spaces and communicating with your congregations. You will not fail to receive your reward for this loving care you have taken for the people of God. Because I share with you both this labor and this longing to return to in-person worship, it is with a heavy heart that I regard the current and coming surge in COVID-19 cases.

As you know, an important part of the care we are taking for our people is monitoring the number of COVID-19 cases in our counties. Here is their current status:

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Those of you who draw your congregation from a cluster of counties will want to consult other situations as well, but the baseline for your decision making should be the situation in the county in which your building is located. The attached spreadsheet provides you with the details supporting your status designation.

We, as a diocesan staff, have made every effort to continue reviewing the ways in which we assess our situation, both according to the information being reported by our health departments and according to the changing reports about factors affecting that reporting. We have also been listening you your concerns about the differences among the situations in your various counties. As a result, you will notice a few differences between this spreadsheet and the model we showed you a few months ago.

First, we are now using a 7-day rather than a 5-day rolling average. As with the 5-day figure, the 7-day average adjusts for the fact that different people will be tested at different stages of illness. The 7-day average further allows us to account for the differing availability of testing throughout any given week.

Second, having heard your concerns about the differences in population density in different counties, we have adopted a population-sensitive severity scale used by the CDC. Different colors designate different saturation rates in the county:

Green: averaging ≤ 1 case/day per 100,000 people

Yellow: averaging 2-10 cases/day per 100,000 people

Orange: averaging 11-25 cases/day per 100,000 people

Red: averaging >25 cases/day per 100,000 people.

We have averaged the number of cases in your county for the past 14 days, compared that number with the population of your county, and assigned your county a corresponding severity color. Faith Communities in counties with an orange or red designation should not gather for in-person worship, even if they have experienced a 14-day decline in cases. 

Faith Communities in counties with a yellow designation should be exercising caution. This means not gathering for in-person worship if the county has experienced a 14-day increase in cases. The exception we are making to this is in counties where the population is so small that a single case would show up as 3-4 cases per 100,000 people. In order to adjust for this, we have marked counties remaining below 5 cases/day as both yellow and green, meaning that faith communities should remain watchful with regard to a rising number of cases, but may still gather for in-person worship. 

We are issuing this information on Thursday afternoon so that you have time to take appropriate measures before Sunday. What this means, however, is that we will be using, at best, the data from Wednesday. It is therefore your responsibility, as clergy and lay leaders, to continue monitoring the situation on Friday and Saturday and to cancel services if there is a sufficiently large spike in cases as to change the profile for your county. You always can call me at 574-850-5722 in order to consult if you are in doubt.  

We realize that this situation will require you to deliver unwelcome news to people who are longing to return to worship in a beloved and comforting setting during troubled times. Know that you are in our prayers, for strength, courage and patience now, for the health and safety of your counties to improve soon and for an ongoing renewal of faith as together we walk the path God has laid before us.

Your sister in Christ,

Terri

The Rev. Canon Terri L. Bays, PhD.
Missioner for Transitions and Governance
Emergency Response NGO/Government Liaison

Season of Creation, September 1-October 4, 2020 Devotions offered by four leaders

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Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop and Primate Michael Curry and the leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the Anglican Church of Canada and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada have prepared a series of devotions to observe the Season of Creation 2020, September 1–October 4.

The season, which begins on September 1 with the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, is a time to join with the global Christian community in renewing, repairing and restoring commitments to God, to one another and to all of creation. For the four churches, it is also a time for strengthening relationships with one another. Through Scripture, hymns, advocacy and action, the weekly devotions, which are designed to be bulletin inserts for each of the five Sundays during the Season of Creation, begin Sunday, September 6, and invite people to live out their vocation as stewards of creation.

“We pray that our actions as stewards of God’s good creation will continue to deepen not only in this season, but for all time,” said The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). “Even as our relations as churches are not bound by national or ecclesiastical borders, neither is our witness to the One who came to redeem all of creation.”

In addition to Eaton, the devotions were contributed by the Most Rev. Michael B. Curry, presiding bishop and primate, The Episcopal Church; the Rev. Susan C. Johnson, national bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada; and the Most Rev. Linda Nicholls, archbishop and primate of the Anglican Church of Canada.

“I pray that these reflections will open hearts and minds to experience our relationship in and with all of creation in new ways,” said Nicholls.

The first devotion for Sunday September 6 introduces the theme of “Renewing, repairing and restoring,” in which Curry, Eaton, Johnson, and Nichols stress the significance of a collective responsibility in caring for creation. They reflect, “Waking up to matters of climate justice and environmental stewardship are among the most important callings people have today. Over many years, through many voices, our churches have come to a growing conviction that loving our neighbor includes loving Mother Earth as a neighbor.”

“It is timely, relevant and exciting for our churches to join together in prayer, worship and reflection during the Season of Creation,” said Johnson. “With open hearts, minds and souls may we discern new actions and practices to show love for God’s creation.”

Curry said, “In this season of activism as we seek God’s liberating, life-giving love for all, may these prayers and devotions inspire us to care for a world in which all creation can flourish.”

The relations among the four churches have moved more closely toward “mutual recognition,” bringing into mutual relation the Episcopal and ELCA churches through the “Called to Common Mission” agreement in the United States and the Anglican and ELCA churches of Canada through the Waterloo Declaration. A Memorandum of Mutual Recognition (MMR) was approved by both Canadian churches in July 2019. The 2019 ELCA Churchwide Assembly adopted constitutional changes embracing the Anglican Church of Canada, and in November 2019 the Church Council adopted the MMR. One notable feature of the MMR is that it cites the experience of Indigenous people “not divided by national borders established by colonialist power” as grounds for expanding shared life among the churches. Once The Episcopal Church acts, the mutual recognition of the four churches will come into full effect.

The Season of Creation devotions are available here and here.

(Shared from a press release from the Office of Public Affairs.)

Happy Pride 2020!

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In celebration of Pride 2020, people from around the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana shared what Pride means to them.
“During June, Americans and people around the world observe Pride. Today,...I am mindful that Pride is both a celebration and a testament to sorrow and struggle that has not yet ended. Especially this month, I offer special thanks to God for the strength of the LGBTQ community and for all that you share with your spouses, partners and children, with your faith communities, and indeed with our entire nation.”
— Presiding Bishop Michael Curry
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“For over 40 years, when we gather as Episcopalians to renew our own Baptismal promises, one of a number of questions we’re asked is, ‘Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?’ and ‘Will you strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being?’ That’s what Pride means to me. LGBTQ folk made in God’s image and likeness.”
— Bishop Doug Sparks
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LGBTQ+ in the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana

To our lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender brothers, sisters, and siblings: The Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana welcomes you!

The Episcopal Church warmly welcomes our LGBTQ siblings, but it would be ingenuous to say that the entire church is in the same place on this journey. As with all spiritual journeys, everyone walks at their own pace. Some Episcopal congregations are actively involved in LGBTQ ministry and their arms are open wide; others are more reserved, but their doors are still open to all; some are still wrestling with their beliefs and feelings. But we’re on this journey together, and The Episcopal Church is dedicated to full inclusion and equality in the church as well as in society as a whole.

Our LGBTQ+ webpage has a list of churches that have self-identified as LGBTQ+ welcoming faith communities. Churches marked with an asterisk have also formally adopted an inclusive marriage policy. If your faith community is not listed and you think it should be, please ask your clergy person and senior warden to email Canon Christopher Hillak, Missioner for Digital Communications.

TENS 2020 Annual Pledge Campaign

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Dear Stewardship representatives in ONES - Our Network for Episcopal Stewardship in the Diocese of Northern Indiana:

Available now on the TENS website is all the information you need for planning a successful annual giving campaign. The theme of the TENS 2020 Annual Pledge Program is Faith Filled Generosity. 

To access this information go to: https://www.tens.org/resources/member-resources/

Username and password information was emailed on June 26. If you have misplaced the information, please email Linda Buskirk and she will provide it to you.

We hope you have recruited your Stewardship Ministry team for this year's annual campaign. For a list of other resources, check out our Diocesan website's page for the ministry of Stewardship: https://ednin.org/stewardship

With blessings for faith, health and peace,

Faithful Stewards Commission

Dove Faith Café Receives Grant Funding

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Most people love good stories told well. Our family is like that. In my extended family, we know that when Uncle Tom gets on a roll, buckle up, because he’s got hundreds of great stories, each one funnier than the last. When my mom chimes in with him, well, look out because it’s gonna be good!

As I’ve grown older, I’ve come to realize that the love of storytelling is universal. Good stories told well draw us in, captivate us, make us forget ourselves. And it’s not just for adults. As kids we would linger on the edges of the conversations as the adults told stories long into the night at family gatherings. When I was a middle school teacher the kids would beg me to tell them stories. “Please tell us the story of Squirrely Joe again!” “Was he a real guy?” I’d reply that if they finished their work and there was still time, I’d tell them again the story of Squirrely Joe and how he cut off his finger TWICE at the roundhouse in Chicago.

As my relationship with God has deepened and matured, I find that my best stories are those that involve how God has shown up in my life, usually in very unexpected ways. The problem with that, though, is that many people are more comfortable hearing the Squirrely Joe stories, not how God performed a miracle for me when I least expected it. When I’m with my Christian friends, though, they’re not so discriminating. We flow back and forth from faith stories to secular stories. For me, there’s not a dividing line. I don’t have to hold back with my Christian friends. They are just as happy to hear about the miracles as they are to hear the roundhouse stories. And they are eager to share their own. When we share our faith stories with one another, it fans the flames of our faith and enriches us both. We come away amazed at how God works in our lives. Our faith is stronger and our gratitude magnified.

That is what The Dove Faith Café (DFC) is all about. It’s a new program that takes well-crafted faith stories and shares them with a live audience of listeners. Beginning in the spring of 2021, the DFC will travel across our diocese on four different nights with five storytellers to share an evening of storytelling, live music, food and drink, and new friends. During each DFC event, our emcee will welcome the audience then introduce the speakers. After each story, the emcee will introduce the next speaker, with an intermission halfway through the event. When all of the storytellers have spoken, the emcee will invite the audience members to turn to those at their tables and tell their own faith story, as they feel called to do. The hope is that hearing one another’s faith stories will rekindle the flames of our own faith journey, reminding us of all that God has done for us.

Traditionally we think of evangelism as introducing nonbelievers to Jesus. I have long thought that it is just as important to stir up the faith in believers as well. It is easy for the embers of our faith to grow cool. Christianity is not a one-and-done event at baptism. It is a lived journey. When we stir up our faith, we can grow closer to God, his blessed Son, and his beloved Holy Spirit. I have witnessed faith stories stir and move believers. I am curious to see what effect this kind of faith sharing will have on someone who does not consider him-/herself a child of God. I believe that God will use these opportunities to draw all of us closer to God.

The Dove Faith Café was inspired by God while in prayer as I was hiking several years ago. This is God’s plan. It always has been. It has proceeded along God’s timeline, pandemic notwithstanding, and it has drawn the people and resources God has called to it. One of those resources has come in the form of a grant from the United Thank Offering. The UTO generously awarded Deacon (soon-to-be-priest) Cynthia Moore and The Dove Faith Café $5,000 from their Young Adult and Seminarian 2020 Grant monies to help bring this program to fruition. Additionally, a $670 award from the Commission on Ministry’s Continuing Education Grant will cover the cost of teaching our speakers to craft and deliver their experiences into a compelling faith story.

The Dove Faith Café is an opportunity for us to gather and enjoy one another’s stories. Perhaps along the way, it will rekindle our own embers of faith, deepen our relationship with our Creator, and remind us, “Oh, this is gonna be good!”

 

-Marie Gambetta, St. Paul’s Munster, Calumet Episcopal Ministry Partnership

2020 EDNIN and United Thank Offering Grants Awarded

EDNIN Social Outreach Grants

The Diocesan Social Outreach Committee has awarded the following grants totaling $9464.90.

  • Calumet Episcopal Ministry Partnership - Food Pantry; $1,750.00

  • The Cathedral of Saint James - Madison School Shoe Tree Project; $2,714.90

  • Saint Augustine - School Supply Giveaway; $1,250.00

  • Saint David's - Feeser School Backpacks; $1,250.00

  • Saint Michael and All Angels - SOS Ministry; $1,250.00

  • Trinity - Free Laundry and Meals; $1,250.00

EDNIN Continuing Education Grants

The Continuing Education Subcommittee of the Commission on Ministry has awarded the following grants totaling $1,797.00

  • Marie Gambetta - EDNIN Dove Faith Cafe Storytelling Training; $670.00

  • The Rev. Bernadette Hartsough - Online Spanish Courses; $872.00

  • Roscinda Rinehart - The Little Rule of St. Benedict and The Little Way of St. Therese; $255.00

United Thank Offering Grants

United Thank Offering 2020 Young Adult and Seminarian Grant

Special Diocesan Convention in October

Dear Clergy and Lay Delegates,

The COVID-19 pandemic has required all of us to change how we live, worship, and conduct business. One of the items we must now deal with is how we conduct business as a diocese and specifically whether we must be physically present to conduct that business. For us, that is our Diocesan Convention. With an abundance of caution, and following the lead of most of our surrounding dioceses, we are most likely going to have an entirely virtual or a partially virtual Diocesan Convention this year. (Partially virtual may mean people gather in socially-distanced small groups at a parish location. More details on that later.)  

The Constitution and Canons Committee have carefully reviewed Indiana state laws, our Diocesan Canons, and The Episcopal Church canons applying to virtual meetings. They suggested a three step process: 

  • First, they recommended to Diocesan Council, which acts as the interim legislative body between conventions, a Resolution (Attachment A) providing just the bare minimum change required for Convention to meet virtually (a one-time change to the Rules of Order). Council adopted this resolution at its June 13th meeting. The Committee also made a recommendation to the Bishop about the form of worship to be used for a virtual Convention, and he has indicated that he will plan accordingly.

  • Second, the Committee recommended that a Special Convention be called to consider three resolutions (Attachment B) more thoroughly amending all of the Canons that bear on virtual meetings. Those three resolutions will be the subject of the October 3 convention.

  • And third, the Committee recommended that our next non-virtual meeting of Convention, whenever that turns out to be, ratify the amendments made by the Special Convention, just to be sure that no-one can later claim that they are invalid. 

In order to simplify the process, and to both fine tune and shorten our November convention, we will have a short Special Convention on Saturday October 3rd beginning at 10am EDT/9am CDT. The only item of business will be the ratification of these resolutions (although the meeting itself requires items like establishing a quorum, approving minutes from the last convention, etc.). Please reserve 2 hours for this meeting. If there is little/no discussion, we hope to complete the meeting within 30 minutes. 

Please mark your calendar for our Special Diocesan Convention on Saturday October 3, 2020 beginning at 10am EDT/9am CDT for TWO hours. More details will be provided in the coming weeks.

Our November 7, 2020 regular Diocesan Convention will occur as planned, in some sort of virtual format. 

This is new to all of us!  If you have questions, concerns, or suggestions please don't hesitate to reach out to Missioner Michelle Walker.  Thank you!

Safeguarding in Social Media

Many of our faith communities are responding to the need for continued physical distancing by converting their summer programs for children and youth (Vacation Bible Study, Youth Events, etc.) into an online format. While many of these will be one-way video presentations, others will involve online interaction among children and adults. Please remember that many of our Safeguarding policies governing face-to-face interactions will still be relevant in this online context. These include but are not limited to:

  • 2-Deep Ministry—The presence of at least 2 unrelated adults, who have undergone Safeguarding training, is required during all Program activities.

  • Screening—No person will be allowed to volunteer to regularly work with children or youth until the person has been known to the clergy and congregation for at least 6 months.

  • Appropriateness of Content—Reference to individuals’ personal sexual conduct or drug use, and the use of sexually explicit materials is prohibited. 

  • Sobriety—using, possessing, distributing, or otherwise being under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs while participating in or assisting with programs or activities specifically for children or youth is prohibited.

  • Protecting Dignity—using harsh or degrading language or participating in or allowing others to conduct any hazing activities is prohibited.

  • Appropriate Boundaries—Adults are required to maintain appropriate boundaries among participants with regard to signs of affection and gift giving. 

Those who have undergone requires Safeguarding training should already be aware of such policies.

Other challenges also arise in the online context. If your ministry is planning an online gathering of children or youth, please review the Social Media Safety module on the Safeguarding Online website. The site requires login, and you should have received account information shortly after you completed the required face-to-face Safeguarding training. If you have not completed the face-to-face training, please contact Missioner Terri Bays to participate in such training over Zoom.

We give thanks to God for your participation in tending to the welfare of the children and youth God has entrusted to our care!

We Acknowledge...We Lament...We Repent of the Sin of Racism!

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Stewardship Webpage Launched

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Dear ONES representatives, Clergy and Treasurers:

Stewardship now has its own page on our Diocesan website!  From the ednin.org home page you will find it under “Ministries and Programs,” but here’s the direct link: https://ednin.org/stewardship   Scroll down the page to find information about Our Network for Stewardship (ONES), The Episcopal Network for Stewardship (TENS), and the list of online resources and book recommendations.   Also posted here will be copies of past E-News and other messages sent to the ONES email list. 

Thanks to Bishop Douglas Sparks for making this spot on the website available and to Diocesan Missioner Christopher Hillak for creating it so well!

With blessings for your stewardship ministry,

Linda Buskirk, Chairperson
Faithful Stewards Commission

Four Ideas for Stewardship Chairs

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  1. Set up your Stewardship Committee. Your Rector or Priest should be included. It might be helpful if your Treasurer OR Finance Committee Chair were also on this committee. This committee will review past budget information, current membership information, any plans for new or expanded programs or projects, etc. to determine the goal for your Fall Campaign. Once the goal is determined, the Committee will plan the series of events that will make up the campaign: letters that ask for a pledge commitment, homilies, testimonials, and a kick off or end of campaign celebration. (The TENS resources, paid for by the Diocese, will provide you with letter templates and bulletin inserts that can be downloaded and customized for your church).

  2. Establish the timeline for your campaign. When will you kick off? When will you end? When will you post stewardship messages on social media? When will your pledge request letters be mailed? When will you insert stewardship messages into the Sunday bulletin? When will you have members give a stewardship testimonial on Sundays? Which services? How and when will you celebrate your successful campaign?

  3. Take a good look at your church website. Changes might need to be made to allow for: online giving, monthly giving, access to the Stewardship Materials like bulletin insert messages, stewardship homilies, and the Pledge Card itself. Take a look at whether these things are easy for folks to find. How long does it take for someone to make an online gift currently? Recent research by fundraising software company Blackbaud says: “Online donations should not take more than 20 to 30 seconds to complete. If someone has to click multiple times, potential donors start dropping out of the gift process.” There is a wonderful program available through TENS called tithe.ly that can boost your online donations, online monthly gifts, and even create an app for cell phones that members can download to their phone to make gifts using a credit or debit card. There is no set- up charge, but each transaction is charged a service fee of 2.9% plus 30 cents. The 2.9% covers the credit card transaction fee, and the 30 cents goes to tithe.ly (a service fee is pretty standard across most major payment gateway services, including PayPal. But the value add for tithe.ly is that they will set up your website portal for you and give you a mobile app.). More information can be found on the TENS website.

  4. Start gathering information and success stories that you can share with the congregation via social media, your church newsletters (print and electronic) and get those messages out BEFORE you ask them for money for the 2021 budget. People will always give more generously if they know their gifts make a difference. How is their pledge helping with outreach or missions? How is their pledge helping with Christian Formation? How is their pledge helping maintain your building and grounds? Tell these stories and say thank you to the congregation for making this Kingdom work possible. Where do you find these stories? Talk to your clergy, your committee chairs, your volunteers, and your Vestry members. The stories don’t have to be amazing. They don’t have to be more than a paragraph long. They just need to tell how God is working in and through your church family.

Blog post written by Brenda Rigdon

A Joint Statement from the Bishops of Indianapolis and Northern Indiana Regarding a Phased-in Approach to Regathering

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May 1, 2020

Dear People of God in the State of Indiana,

The Rt. Rev. Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows XI Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis

The Rt. Rev. Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows
XI Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis

As you may have heard, Governor Holcomb this afternoon sketched out a five-phase roadmap that he hopes will return our state to pre-pandemic levels of openness and activity by July 4. Under this plan, communities of faith can return to worship in their buildings beginning on May 8.

In granting this permission, however, the governor made it clear that he would prefer that churches continue to worship online, or outdoors, rather than in person, and he expressly asked Hoosiers over 65 remain at home. We appreciate both the governor’s commitment to freedom of religious expression and his candid admission that gathering to worship in person still poses risks to people of faith and those with whom they come in contact.

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Douglas E. Sparks VIII Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Douglas E. Sparks
VIII Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana

We remain committed to doing everything we can to slow the spread of the pandemic. For that reason, we will not be reopening our church buildings for in-person worship this month. The restrictions that Bishop Baskerville-Burrows announced on March 24 and that Bishop Sparks announced on March 26 remain in effect, and we urge that you continue to observe them.

Like so many of you, we are eager to return safely to our church buildings and look forward to celebrating the Eucharist with the people of our diocese. But we must do so with the utmost care, or else we put the lives of vulnerable people at risk. To help guide us in this endeavor, we will release a detailed plan next week explaining the conditions and sketching out a possible timeline for a return to our church buildings. The plan will require some serious thinking on the part of each congregation about the ways a return to in-person worship might best be achieved, and we urge you to begin giving this some thought immediately.

In his recent Word to the Church, Presiding Bishop Michael Curry wrote: “As our seasons of life in the COVID-19 world continue to turn, we are called to continue to be creative, to risk, to love. We are called to ask, What would unselfish, sacrificial love do?”

We believe unselfish, sacrificial love requires abstaining a while longer from worshipping in person. We invite you to embrace this discipline as a way to express your care for the most vulnerable among us. You are in our prayers, and we will be in touch again soon.

Faithfully,

The Rt. Rev. Jennifer Baskerville-Burrow
XI Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis

The Rt. Rev. Douglas E. Sparks
VIII Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana