in Vestry Papers and filtered by Buildings and Grounds, Conflict, Hospitality
By Dustin Seo
How many times has your faith community thought about what it can do to bring and keep young people at church? In Worship as an Invitation to Belong, Dustin Seo describes his journey into the Episcopal Church as an active participant who knows he belongs, the role that music played on that path and how worship is something we all actively create, not something we passively consume.
By Cate Anthony
Cancel-culture and the associated idea of irredeemability it carries has become common in our world. But how do we reconcile that as Christians? In Call-out Culture’s Shadow Side, Cate Anthony raises important questions on justice, othering and redemption.
By Jon Davis
What is our modern day understanding of the mission of the church? In The Third Place, Jon Davis tells us about spaces where people gather outside of home and work, to witness and experience redemption, reconciliation and repentance, making these sacred communal places also ‘thin places’, where the Holy Spirit can be felt working in and through us.
By Diana Wheeler
In Vocation in an Unsafe World, Diana Wheeler tells us about the Companions of Dorothy the Worker, an ecumenical Christian community that brings radical hospitality to the queer community, modeling Christ’s unfailing and constant love to the most marginalized among us. This article is available in English and Spanish.
By Janet Waggoner
How do congregations who lose their buildings and possessions refocus on what truly makes “church”? In Church Without Walls, Janet Waggoner shares the story of the Episcopal Church in North Texas, where its people have not just continued doing God’s work in the face of material loss, but have poured even more into their communities, never failing in love and faithfulness.
By Beth Wyndham
What does it mean to be centered in joy? Are you searching for a way to engage your church leadership in reflection on their joy and gratitude as a community? In her vlog, A Pandemic Church Plant Inspires Joy, Beth Wyndham invites us to consider where the Holy Spirit may be calling our faith communities to seek joy.
By Luisa Bonillas
Cuando nuestra hija que solo hablaba español cumplió tres años de edad, decidimos dejar nuestra comunidad episcopal anglohablante en un suburbio de Phoenix por una feligresía episcopal hispanohablante en el centro de Phoenix.
By Alissa Newton
Can satisfaction be an impediment to positive change? In Satisfied Churches Don’t Change, Alissa Newton narrates a personal story of how dissatisfaction becomes a powerful way to move change forward.
By Adriane Bilous
In Shepherding Change, Adriane Bilous offers real stories of change, shared by participants in ECF’s Congregational Leadership Initiative program, that provide practical advice on how to tackle difficult changes in ministry.
By Luisa Bonillas
Change can be deeply painful, especially when it affects our emotional and spiritual wellbeing. In Conflict and Change, Luisa Bonillas describes the impact of difficult change in her church and what she learned from the experience.
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