Province VIII of the Episcopal Church

Call for Nominations

 

 Greetings!

Province VIII is now accepting nominations for various offices to be filled by election at the Province VIII Synod, July 3, 2012, at the site of General Convention, in Indianapolis, IN.

Open for nominations are:

President

Vice President

Secretary

Treasurer

Executive Council (clergy representative)

Joint Nominating Committee for the Election of the Presiding Bishop

READ THIS. IT'S IMPORTANT. Leaders meet to consult on Episcopal Church’s ethnic ministries

By Lelanda Lee | January 17, 2012  Episcopal News Service

A Consultation on Alternative Leadership and Theological Training was held January 11-14, 2012, in a suburb of Oklahoma City. This was the first ever churchwide gathering of Episcopal Church leaders involved in ethnic ministries for the purpose of identifying and discussing the common elements of ministry in ethnic communities.

The four ethnic missioners of the Episcopal Church (Sarah Eagle Heart, Indigenous Ministries; Anthony Guillen, Latino/Hispanic Ministries; Angela Ifill, Black Ministries; Winfred Vergara, Asiamerica Ministries) convened the consultation. Eagle Heart, who is the team leader for Diversity, Social and Environmental ministries, explained that Winter Talk, a gathering of people in Indigenous ministry that was originally planned for the same weekend, had been canceled to focus program budget on training.

The missioners worked with acknowledged leaders in each ethnic ministry to invite eight to ten individuals to participate plus seven bishops who are actively involved with ethnic ministries. Several resource people who work directly with ethnic ministries were also invited, including a representative from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Gordon Straw, formerly the Director for American Indian and Alaska Native Ministries and now Program Director for Lay Missional Leadership Centers, represented the church’s full communion partner.

Ruth-Ann Collins, officer for Lifelong Christian Formation, served as the facilitator of the breakout

Peace & Justice Network Coordinators

Convener: The Rev. Canon Carmen Guerrero
Black African American: TBA
Asian: Mimi Wu
Latino: The Rev. Martir Vasquez
Native American, First Nations, Indigenous People's: Paul Nahoa Lucas
Peace & Justice: The Rev. Canon Carmen B. Guerrero

Anti-Racism: Judy Conley

 

Provincial Leadership Conference January 13-15, 2012 in Scottsdale

The annual meeting of the Network Coordinators and Executive Committee of Province VIII will be held Janaruy 13-15, 2012 at the Franciscan Renewal Center in Scottsdale, Arizona. The Rev. Canon Timothy Dombek will be our facilitator. We'll begin on Friday the 13th at noon and adjourn on Sunday the 15th at noon.

Annual Provincial Leadership Conference December 8-9, Newark, NJ

The Annual Provincial Leadership Conference will meet December 8-9, 2011 in the Diocese of Newark.  Every year the representatives (the Coordinator and President or Vice-President or Treasurer) from each of the nine provinces meet to hear from members of the Presiding Bishop's staff, plan for General Convention, share ministry resources and report on the work of each province. 

Commission on Ministry: Welcome to The Rev. Gretchen Rehberg

The Executive Committee is pleased to welcome Gretchen Rehberg as our new Commission on Ministry network coordinator.  Gretchen is a cradle Episcopalian, grew up in the Diocese of Spokane but left after high school to "see the world."  She went to Sewanee as an undergrad, earned a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry at Minnesota, lived in Switzerland for a year and taught at Bucknell Univ. before going to GTS for an M.Div., earning that in 2002.  
Gretchen served at St. John's, York, PA and is now the rector of the Church of the Nativity in Lewiston, ID. She currently serves on the Commission on Ministry as the Chair and on the Executive Council Committee on Science, Technology and Faith; and is a deputy to General Convention. Gretchen has  also worked as an EMT/firefighter and currently volunteers  as a pharmacy tech. at the free health clinic in town. 

Questions? Contact Gretchen at 731 8th St, Lewiston, ID 83501, (208)743-9121 (wk) (208) 816-2413 (cell), rector@nativitylewiston.com.

 

Latino-Hispanic Ministry Network: Welcome to The Rev. Martir Vasquez

The Executive Committee is pleased to welcome The Rev. Martir Vasquez as the new Latino-Hispanic network coordinator for Province VIII.  Martir is Vicar of St. George's Church, Hawthorne, CA in the Diocese of Los Angeles.  Born in Guatemala, Martir was ordained in the Episcopal Diocese of Guatemala on June 6, 1986. His leadership experience had been shaped by working in three different dioceses, Guatemala, Belize and Los Angeles, CA. In addition to his academic pursuits, he received training to function as a missionary priest, planting church in Guatemala, Belize and a multicultural congregation in Hawthorne. Martir is married to Elena and father of three sons Donato, Valentin and Martir Jr.

To add your name to our listserve or for information about networking, sharing resources, and promoting Latino-Hispanic ministry contact Martir at

Phone: 310-678-2224

email:revmartir@gmail.com

Executive Committee with Updated Emails

President
The Rev. Dr. John H. Eastwood

Vice President
The Rt. Rev. Nedi Rivera

Secretary
Pam Fern

Treasurer
Nancy Koonce

Chancellor
Miller Adams

Cluster I Convener  Education
Barbara Ross

Cluster II Convener Multicultural
The Rev. Canon Carmen Guerrero

Cluster III Convener  Women's Ministries
Cordelia Burt

The Provincial Coordinator is Patricia Erskine

Reviewing the Church for Effectiveness, Coordination, and Need

A Report from the Standing Commission on The Structure of the Church

By D. Rebecca Snow, Chair, February 01, 2011

The canons direct the Standing Commission on the Structure of the Church (SCSC) to study and make recommendations to the General Convention regarding the structure of the General Convention and The Episcopal Church (TEC). Such studies are to include periodic review of the functioning of interim commissions and committees with an eye toward their effectiveness, coordination of efforts and the need for each interim body to continue.

Within this broad mandate, four topics were assigned by the 76th General Convention for review during the triennium and a report back to the 77th General Convention:

1. the relationship of agencies (such as Episcopal Relief and Development and the United Thank Offering) to TEC;
2. the role of chancellors in the structure of TEC;
3. the role of parliamentarians in the deliberative bodies of TEC; and
4. a study of current diocesan configurations.

The 76th General Convention also assigned SCSC three other projects, without specific deadlines:

1. a review of the role and term of the Presiding Bishop;
2. a review of the challenges raised by the "cultural homogeneity of the Canons" and their application within the domestic and international diversity of TEC;
3. the provincial structure of TEC , including the Provincial Leadership Conference.

SCSC is currently working on all these issues, striving to recommend steps that honor the polity of this Church while incorporating changes that enhance the Church's ability to fulfill its mission and ministry in today's world.

A few examples of those competing concerns may be illuminating. Considering the place of provinces in our structure requires wrestling

Travel Guidelines, Expense and Travel Reimbursement Forms

The Province VIII Travel Guidelines, Check Request Expense and Travel Expense Report Forms can be found here:

Download Province VIII Travel_Guidelines

Download 2012-PVIII Check Request

Download Prov. VIII TravelExpenseReportForm