Podcast - Prophetic Voices: Preaching and Teaching Beloved Community

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New for Advent 2020 is a five-session podcast series, Prophetic Voices: Preaching and Teaching Beloved Community, hosted by the Rev. Isaiah “Shaneequa” Brokenleg, Episcopal Church staff officer for Racial Reconciliation. Prophetic Voices explores where that dialogue intersects with faith. Join Brokenleg and invited guests as they share prophetic voices and explore the readings for each week of Advent and Christmas Day through the lens of social justice. Learn more about this podcast here.

Hurricane Relief Aid Needed for Diocese of Honduras

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Update: Since this request was received, another hurricane maybe even stronger than Eta, hit Honduras this week, threatening another catastrophe on top of the original—third catastrophe if we include COVID.

Nov. 12, 2020

Dear Northern Indiana Diocesan Family:

You have probably heard news reports by now on the devastation caused by Hurricane and then tropical storm Eta.  Even now its remnants are soaking parts of Florida, but a week ago it was causing catastrophic damage to parts of Honduras.  San Pedro Sula, where the Episcopal Cathedral, El Buen Pastor, is located, was especially inundated, since all of the rains in the mountains flow down and collect there.  The airport our teams flew into was flooded, inside and out—by several feet according to the pictures.  A town named La Lima, close by, was particularly hard hit—waters up to the eaves of houses and everything inside lost.  There are roads and bridges destroyed and travel is impossible between certain locations.

The Bishop of Honduras has made the Cathedral a center for storing supplies and distributing them to those in need.  I am waiting to hear more particularly, but I know now that the need for money to buy supplies will be great. 

Therefore I ask you to send a contribution, if you are able, to the Diocese of Northern Indiana, marked Compañeros en Cristo, the name of our companion relationship committee.  It is sometimes forgotten that the Diocese of Honduras has been in companionship with us since 1997.  All funds sent to the Diocese marked with this committee name will be sent on to the Bishop in Honduras.

Please give as you are able.  I will update you as I hear more.  It seems urgent to get money to Honduras as soon as possible.

Blessings!

Fr John Schramm, on behalf of Compañeros en Cristo

EDNIN Partners in two Lilly Endowment Thriving Congregations Grants

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The Lilly Endowment has awarded the Episcopal Diocese of Indiana two Thriving Congregation Initiative grants in partnership with the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis and the Indiana-Kentucky Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Watch Bishop Doug’s announcement below!

The first grant is in partnership with the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis. The Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis has been awarded a three-year, $1 million grant by Lilly Endowment Inc. to establish a joint program with the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana titled “Maximizing Church Building Assets in Advancement of Mission and Ministry.” Learn more by reading the press release from the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis.

The second grant is in partnership with the Indiana-Kentucky Synod of the ELCA as well as United Church of Christ, Presbyterian USA, and Episcopal churches located in Indiana and Kentucky. The Indiana-Kentucky Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has received a grant of $994,255 from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help establish an ecumenical expansion of Connect Transformational Ministry Process. Funded through Lilly Endowment’s Thriving Congregations Initiative, the aim of the national initiative is to strengthen Christian congregations so they can help people deepen their relationships with God, build strong relationships with each other and contribute to the flourishing of local communities and the world. Learn more by reading the press release from the Indiana-Kentucky Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

About the Lilly Endowment Thriving Congregations Initiative
The Indiana-Kentucky Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is one of 92 organizations taking part in the Lilly Endowment’s Thriving Congregations initiative. The 92 organizations represent and serve churches in a broad spectrum of Christian traditions, including Anabaptist, Baptist, Episcopal, evangelical, Lutheran, Methodist, Mennonite, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Reformed, Restoration, Roman Catholic and Orthodox, as well as congregations that describe themselves as nondenominational. Several organizations serve congregations in Black, Hispanic and Asian-American traditions.

“In the midst of a rapidly changing world, Christian congregations are grappling with how they can best carry forward their ministries,” said Christopher Coble, Lilly Endowment’s vice president for religion. “These grants will help congregations assess their ministries and draw on practices in their theological traditions to address new challenges and better nurture the spiritual vitality of the people they serve.”

Lilly Endowment launched the Thriving Congregations Initiative in 2019 as part of its commitment to support efforts that enhance the vitality of Christian congregations.

About Lilly Endowment Inc.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly & Company. Although the gifts of stock remain a financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment exists to support the causes of religion, education and community development. The Endowment funds significant programs throughout the United States, especially in the field of religion. However, it maintains a special commitment to its hometown, Indianapolis and home state, Indiana. The principal aim of the Endowment’s grantmaking in religion is to deepen and enrich the lives of Christians in the United States, primarily by seeking out and supporting efforts that enhance the vitality of congregations and strengthen their pastoral and lay leadership.

Pastoral Letter - Update Regarding In-Person Worship

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Update: Per guidance from Gov. Holcomb, if the state has labeled your county as orange, then no more than 50 people are permitted for an in-person gathering. If your county is labeled as red, then no more than 25 people are permitted for an in-person gathering.

24 September 2020 

Dear Sisters, Brothers, Siblings, 

Grace and peace be with you in Jesus, the Light for all people! 

As of 13 September, we have lived with the consequences of the COVID 19 pandemic for 6 months.  Those consequences include, as of today in the United States, 7,135,603 persons who have tested positive with COVID 19 and 206,482 deaths due to COVID 19.  Other consequences include the loss of employment for millions which has led the loss of health insurance not to mention the challenges for many trying to navigate online learning for their children as well as working remotely themselves or caring for a loved one in a care facility.  Along the way, our missioners and I have done our best to consult with others about best practices, develop our Plan for Regathering for In-person Worship initially adopted in mid-May and identify platforms to enhance the information available regarding all of the data and measurements used to determine a way forward for us. 

In late March, I convened a Diocesan Disaster / Crisis Team comprised of Canon Terri Bays, Canon Carol Bianchini, Canon Christopher Hillak, Canon Michelle Walker and Bishop Frank Gray.  We began meeting weekly via ZOOM on 6 April.  I want to thank each of them for the difficult and challenging work they have done and continue to do on our behalf.  In consultation with other dioceses in Province V and the wider church, we developed the Plan for Regathering for In-person Worship.  Thanks to Fr.TJ Freeman, serving as Rector of Trinity Fort Wayne, in July, we were directed to the Harvard website which helped us adopt the Determination Color Code based on the number of cases per 100K in each of our counties in addition to the State of Indiana Dashboard. 

We know more in September regarding the spread of COVID 19 than we did in June which makes it possible to adapt our initial plan for Regathering.  The Episcopal Dioceses in Michigan began allowing 25 % of full capacity for indoor In-person Worship, which includes the protocols of physical distancing, wearing masks, using hand sanitizer along with all the other protocols in our Diocesan Plan.  In consultation with our Clergy, with the support and affirmation of our Diocesan Council and with the support of our Standing Committee, I have decided to implement the “ Michigan Adaptation” for all of our faith communities in Northern Indiana.  In doing so, I want to invoke the Anglican principle, all may, none must, some should.  Implementing this adaptation assumes that the clergy, wardens, and vestry of our 33 faith communities have prepared and submitted a Plan for Regathering for my review and approval.  As of this writing, 24 faith communities have submitted a plan.  Some of our faith communities will move to implement this adaptation this coming Sunday.  Others may choose to take some time to make sure all things necessary are in place before gathering in person.  What is most important to underscore is that each of our faith communities needs to listen to local officials, following their advice which may include closing if advised to do so. 

For those faith communities who choose to move to indoor In-person Worship, it is also important to underscore that this next phase should be a Hybrid Phase…both in-person and virtual worship should be offered so that everyone connected to your faith community may continue to gather. 

As I said earlier, we have learned some things since March and April.  First, as we moved out of lock down, the potential for achieving a 14-day decline in some of our more populated counties is virtually impossible.  Second, more testing is available in our state which gives us better sense of the positivity rate, another factor in determining the spread of the virus.  Third, the state has assumed responsibility for contact tracing which initially was the responsibility of each county. 

Bishop Andy Doyle of the Diocese of Texas sent a letter to the clergy in mid-June. He discussed several important topics:  exposure and moral leadership.  In terms of exposure, he quoted leading epidemiologist from the University of Minnesota, Dr. Michael Osterholm who said, “Exposure as a dose is a combination of time and amount.”  Exposure = time and amount.  Therefore, physical distancing, mask and brevity are essential for congregations in buildings.  This means as you do gather, we believe you need to keep the service short, between 30 and 45 minutes. 

Regarding moral leadership, Bishop Doyle pointed out that early in the pandemic, we were presented with two strong binary options:  lockdown or do nothing.  We have come to understand that moral leadership requires protocols for everyone’s safety.  Hence, that is why developing your Plan for Regathering is essential and that we may need to adapt our protocols, as the circumstances change.  Bishop Doyle then shared another quote from Dr. Osterholm, “We have to learn not only to die with this virus, which tragically we’ve had to do, but we also have to learn how to live with it.” 

So, my friends, what is required of all of us is wisdom, attention to implementing the Plan for Regathering in your context, directed by your clergy, wardens and vestry and moral leadership. 

If you have any questions, please contact me or one of our missioners.  We stand ready to continue to support you in any way that we can. 

I conclude, quoting Bishop Andy Doyle, in his letter to the clergy.  “This is hard and difficult work.  It is very difficult to do this work when your peers are not making the same choices.  It is challenging when parishioners push and pull at you.  I want to re-emphasize that we will support you if you open now, or later, if you close due to community spread, and when you are defending protocols against parishioner pushback.”  These sentiments are also true for the wardens and vestry members of our faith communities as they try make the best decisions possible. 

 Be assured of my prayer and support.  This comes with a brother’s love… 

Doug

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

September 17 Determination Letter

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My Dear Kindred in Christ,

More of our counties are in the Yellow Zone this week, and more are at the Low end of Orange. This, plus a lovely weather forecast for Sunday, is good news for our worship planning! This week’s "county to watch” is Marshall, which has been hovering in the low-Orange zone for a few weeks now but may well make it into the Yellow Zone by the time Sunday rolls around. Marshall is a county with an excellent Positivity Rate at 2.32%, so when the numbers look like they’re going down, we can be fairly confident that this is an reasonable reflection of the state of the infections in the county.

Green - N/A
Green/Yellow - LaGrange
Yellow - Adams, Cass, Huntington, Kosciusko, LaPorte, Porter
Orange - Allen, Elkhart, Grant, Howard, Lake, Marshall, St. Joseph, Steuben
Red - N/A

Thank you as always for your efforts to find safe ways to support the spiritual lives of your congregations.

Blessings,

Terri

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

Attachments: 7DayRollingAverage.xlsx

September 10 Determination Letter

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My Dear Kindred in Christ,

With our counties still adjusting to the consequences of school re-openings of various types, our COVID-numbers remain high. The bright spots on this otherwise shadowed horizon include St. Joseph County coming down out of the Red Zone and Marshall County coming within shouting distance of Yellow (watch your numbers the next 2 days—you just might make it!). Also inspiring are some of the plans emerging for thoughtful and creative indoor worship within the newly adjusted guidelines.

By the way, if you visit the state COVID dashboard at https://www.coronavirus.in.gov/2393.htm, you’ll notice a new tab entitled “County Metrics.” This tab lets you know the 7-day positivity rate for your county, a rate that can indicate how likely it is that folks who are infected are actually getting tested. The WHO and other health organizations have indicated that a positivity rate of under 5% is an indicator that testing is sufficiently robust to allow for confidence that a region has met reopening criteria. We will consider this information when looking at “borderline cases,” such as the question above of when Marshall County (with an excellent positivity rate of 1.65%!) crosses into the Yellow Zone.

Terri

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

Attachments: 7DayRollingAverage.xlsx

September 3 Determination Letter

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My Dear Kindred in Christ,

COVID numbers remain high this week, with even more of our counties in the Orange zone, though a few (notably Elkhart and Lake counties) in lower parts of that zone than they'd occupied for many months before. I would draw your attention to particularly high numbers reported for September 2 in several counties. Whether that is a result of particular events or a reflection of testing patterns remains to be seen—this uncertainty is why we try to look at averages and trends.

Indoor gathering remains a challenge, especially because infection numbers, and therefore plans, can change on short notice. We appreciate your steadfastness and resourcefulness in responding to these changing circumstances, especially as we prepare for the cooler and then the downright cold months to come. If your faith community is taking a more cautious approach than you would like, please keep in mind that the more cautious approaches allow for more safe and consistent service planning. Your patience and flexibility make all the difference.

Loosening of the restrictions on outdoor gathering in the orange zone has allowed a number of parking lot services to take place in areas that have not been able to gather in person for months. We appreciate the amount of care and consideration that has gone into insuring that all the other guidelines (distancing, masks, cleaning and shortening of services, just to name a few!) have been implemented at these services. Who knew that our clergy and lay leaders would be developing expertise in the technical requirements for am/fm broadcasting!

May your faithfulness to God and to one another be a blessing to you in the days ahead!

Terri

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

Attachments: 7DayRollingAverage.xlsx

August 27 Determination Letter

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27 August 2020

Dear Sisters, Brothers, Siblings,

Grace and peace be with you in Jesus, the Light for all people!

I want to begin this Pastoral Letter by thanking you for your steadfast faith and witness during the COVID 19 Pandemic. We are now into our 24th week since arriving at the consensus to suspend all in-person worship on 13 March 2020. While we have leaned into the experience of Virtual Worship with all its challenges, like you, I long for the opportunity to gather safely for in-person worship. I especially want to thank our missioners for their good and faithful ministry in helping us adapt...from plotting the daily COVID 19 positive cases for each county to providing the most current communication and informative infographics to preparing for our two virtual conventions this fall...our common life as the Episcopal Church in Northern Indiana continues!

We know more about managing our lives safely in this pandemic now than we did in March. In addition to the 4 criteria in our Pastoral Plan for Regathering, we also made use of the color coding formula of Green (<1 case per 100K); Green -Yellow(5 or less new cases per day per 100K); Yellow (>1 and < or equal to 10 new cases per day per 100K); Orange (>10 and < or equal to 25 new cases per day per 100K) and Red (> 25 new cases per day per 100K) to further assist us in determining the possibility of in-person worship county by county. We have had three ordination services which have helped identify what additional best practices need to be in place for in-person worship. Adhering to protocols for gathering safely for in-person worship like ours, the dioceses in Michigan have allowed for in-person worship using the lower number of 25 % of full legal capacity OR seating with 6’ between household groups.

Taking what we have learned into account, the missioners and I offered the “Michigan adaption”for consideration during our Clergy and Lay Leader Zoom Call yesterday, 26 August. After considerable discussion, most of the clergy and lay leaders supported adopting the “Michigan adaptation” for our diocese. This will require some additional work in reaching a specific number, given the size of each of your worship spaces. However, it could make it possible for more of us to begin gathering outdoors or indoors for in-person worship as we approach September. I want to underscore that how and when this adaptation begins in your faith community will be decided by the clergy and lay leaders of your faith community.

The infographic below describes,in greater detail,the number for indoor worship, given your county’s color determination as well as outdoor worship for your county, given the color determination.

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If you have any questions or concerns, please call on me.

Every blessing,

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

Attachments: 7DayRollingAverage.xlsx

August 20 Determination Letter

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My Dear Kindred in Christ,

Even as our statewide numbers remain high, the situation in some of our counties has started to improve. We give thanks for the role your vigilance has played, both in keeping those numbers lower than they would otherwise have been and for bringing them back down after a spike. May the slight downward turn we have seen in recent days continue! In light of recent numbers, we have two requests to make of you. 

The first is to ask your county health departments whether the numbers for large residential schools that do their own testing (universities and private boarding schools) are being included in your county's statistics. We know, for example, that statistics for tests done at the University of Notre Dame are not being included in the St. Joseph County statistics. This is worrisome, since those students do potentially infect faculty and staff (not to mention employees of businesses near the campus), even more so than, say, inmates in our state prisons potentially infect prison staff who then go out into the community. Knowing whether the county numbers reported to the state include these institutions can help us more accurately gauge the risk in your area.

The second request is that you provide us with feedback on how the various steps you are taking are working out. As we consider the effectiveness of our guidelines, it can be helpful to know what turned out better than expected or gave rise to some unforeseen good, what works just fine, what requires a work-around, and what needs to be re-thought. Because we realize that all these precautions take time and energy, and that people are impatient with the restraints, we want to make sure that what we're doing is, as far as we can tell, actually doing the work we intend for it to do.

May God grant you steadfastness, strength and courage in all you do,

Terri

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

Attachments: 7DayRollingAverage.xlsx