Episcopal Church Foundation Vestry Papers - for leading congregations

How did the rose ever open its heart and give to this world all its beauty? It felt the encouragement of light against its being – otherwise, we all remain too frightened. (Hafiz)

This beautiful phrase anchors tonight’s meditation during Vespers. It’s not in our usual service, but comes from the Wednesday ritual of Contemplative Liturgies for Holy Week, a new creation by the Rev. Dr. Cynthia Bourgeault and the Episcopal House of Prayer in Collegeville, MN. Using it for the first time, my community will enter into the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus with Mary Magdalene as our guide and first-person witness.

“The encouragement of light” struck me this morning after spending a week reading applications for ECF’s Fellowship Partners Program. We are discerning who will receive this year’s awards, usually selecting three people from a strong pool of emerging academics and ministry leaders across the Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion. This program, at its core, is a ministry of encouragement, risk-taking, and investing in potential. While many applicants are extremely talented and several could really use the grant money, our selection process has a bit of a spirit-filled and subjective quality to it. We’re seeking flower buds, not perfect roses. Our hope is for an ECF Fellowship to be a ray of light, encouraging the yet unknown future of an individual and his or her ministry. Testaments from ECF Fellows over 47 years of the program reflect this core mission. Many claim their courage, confidence, and capacity to bloom from receiving the encouragement and resources of this fellowship.

While the decision process can be difficult – weighing the criteria of the program, needs of the wider church, and unique qualities of the applicants – the process of reading and thinking about “what’s blooming” in the church is always interesting. Here are a few of the themes that emerged this year:

• Ethics and theology, particularly around environmental crises and human sexuality
• Baptismal ministry, prayer, and leadership, especially in the formation of lay people to be leaders in their daily lives and the church
• Ministry with people in need: children with behavioral and emotional challenges, women in prison, and victims and perpetrators of human trafficking
• Congregational change, especially in parishes with declining membership or resources, to try new models of shared ministry or mission strategy
• Ministry to people beyond the doors of our churches: young adults, people who have been disaffected from the church, or for whom a traditional Rite II 10am liturgy does not fit
• Clergy wellness, to better their own health and foster congregational wellness
• Sacred art, created digitally and communally
• Biblical studies, early Church theology, and Latin, in order to increase biblical literacy and encourage relevant theological interpretations for contemporary life

What ideas or new ministries do you see blooming around the church? What issues or models of ministry need encouragement, so they can bear fruit and spread their seeds around the church?