Discernment

In our latest blog, Canon Claire Woodley discusses spiritual gifts and how understanding them can enrich ministry.
The four years since 2019 brought a new rector to The Trinitys Collaborative in suburban Boston, as well as some fresh thinking about how the two collaborating congregations might best live into God’s calling for them.
Our latest blog is from Amy Waltz-Reasonover, a queer deaf missioner and rising seminarian in the Episcopal Diocese of Texas. In it they tell the story of how they found The Episcopal Church.
The Rev. Ken Mosesian writes the second in a two-part blog series on holding a vestry retreat. Here he talks about communication and other essential components to create a successful experience.
Dr. Luisa Bonillas discusses the importance of the Spanish language for her faith in our latest blog.
Maria Teresa Bautista-Berrios relates the story of her wonderful family and how they are her rock as she pursues the priesthood.
Lisa G. Fischbeck explores an overlay between authentic acting and church in our latest blog. Being open to the spontaneous and being able to move in and out of a variety of roles are vital practices for good actors as they a…
Joe Merlino talks about discernment in his first blog post for ECF. A capital campaign consultant, Joe meets with parishes that often have tried various approaches before turning to ECF. Here he explains the holistic approach…
Hilary Bogert-Winkler argues that millennials as a group have a particular relationship with authenticity. The churches she’s seen that are thriving and that have a healthy number of millennials and their families are churche…
Cottage meetings are gatherings in homes where folks can explore faith and pray for guidance. Meeting in homes allows people to get to know each other in comfortable, relaxed settings while working on a question.
Every so often the leadership of a congregation decides that it is necessary to spend some valuable time discerning what needs to be addressed.
There’s much we can learn as Christians from the news around us. Including business news.
A new calendar year brings renewed resolutions to do things right.
The Discernment phase of a capital campaign is as important as either the Feasibility Study or the Solicitation phase, and it is a unique part of ECF’s capital campaign method.
In this time of returning back to ordinary activities, it is a good time to be asking why are we here?
This month we offer five resources on discipleship. Please share this digest with new members of your vestry and extend an invitation to subscribe to ECF Vital Practices to receive Vestry Papers and the monthly digest.
What if collectively as congregations we agreed to rid ourselves of bad habits and engage in new practices that enhance the overall life of our church?
The church today is not so unlike Luke’s audience. As we invite new neighbors and speak to new people, we are less and less able to presume a common vocabulary of faith or a common set of agreed-upon hopes.
When we come to an end, what do we hope others remember of us? And how can we change what we’re doing right now to make that a reality?
There is a scary sense of the unknown at the start of a period of congregational discernment, whether for a potential capital campaign or for strategic visioning.