in Vestry Papers and filtered by Capital Campaigns, Outreach, Mission + 5 other(s)
By Diana Wheeler
Los Companions of Dorothy the Worker [Compañeros de Dorothy Trabajadora] han trabajado en pro de las personas más marginadas de la comunidad LGBTQ+. Muchos de los compañeros son personas que fueron heridas por la Iglesia institucional, rechazadas en ocasiones por congregaciones que decían ser “abiertas y afirmativas”. Unos son activistas queer de muchos años que recibieron formación en seminarios para ejercer un ministerio en diferentes denominaciones.
By Charis Bhagianathan
In parking lots and picnic grounds. By rivers and along the mountainside. On TikTok and the Metaverse. Church is happening all around us, and we are discovering new spaces in which to praise, to pray and to build Christ’s community. In this issue, hear from people doing profound and deeply inspiring work in non-traditional church settings, creating meaningful relationships through powerful ministry.
By Ben Maddison
Leaving your comfort zone and trying new things is always a learning experience. Sometimes it’s also incredibly fun. In TikTok and Real Ministry, Ben Maddison describes his foray into TikTok which started out as a way to make people laugh and has now become a powerful source of real ministry.
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 Charis Bhagianathan
Editors letter for Vestry Papers issue May 2022 Beyond the Pews.
By Nancy Jacobs
Este feligresia practica su ministerio en Bushnell Park para la gente de Hartford, Connecticut.
By Alissa Newton
Can ASA give us an accurate indication of a parish’s health? In How the Pandemic Cured my ASA Obsession, Alissa Newton talks about her fixation with attendance and numbers, and how the pandemic forced her to reframe ‘metrics’ in a new light.
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 Nancy Jacobs
In Church By The Pond, Nancy Jacobs describes how the people of Christ Church Cathedral realized their dream of bringing church to the park, a dream that was strengthened through the pandemic as the community continued to gather united in prayer.
By Audra Abt
The Rev. Audra Abt, vicar of Church of the Holy Spirit in Greensboro, North Carolina, views caring for God’s creation as a ministry, not a program or activity. In Creation Care and Community Engagement, she shares ways her parishioners nurtured their relationships with their land and their neighbors. They started by asking the community how their church might be a place where creation care is experienced and taught, and from that beginning, innovative, community-based partnerships were formed.