Dear Siblings in Christ,
We are grateful for the Joint Diocesan Convention, where we prayed, discussed, and reminded ourselves that God is making all things new! In this next phase of the Building Bridges conversation, our Steering Committee is reaching out to people across our two dioceses to hear what is important to you as we explore this new season of practice and dream about what we might do together.
To that purpose, the Building Bridges team is hosting both in person and virtual Listening Sessions from December 2022 through February 2023.
I will attend the in-person gatherings, which will each start at 2:00pm and last about 90 minutes. The dates scheduled for these sessions are:
- Sunday, December 4, 2022 – St. John’s, Dryden
- Sunday, December 18, 2022 – Church of the Resurrection, Battle Creek
- Sunday, January 15, 2023 – St. Mark’s, Newago
- Sunday, January 22, 2023 – Holy Family, Midland
- Sunday, January 29, 2023 – Grace Church, Traverse City
- Sunday, February 5, 2023 – St. Andrew’s Gaylord
In addition, we are offering five virtual sessions that will take place on Zoom in the evenings, starting at 7:00 p.m. I will be present at those conversations, as well, and members of the Building Bridges team will guide us in the discussion. These sessions are scheduled for:
- Tuesday, January 10, 2023
- Wednesday, January 18, 2023
- Thursday, January 19, 2023
- Monday, February 6, 2023
- Thursday, February 9, 2023
I invite every one of you to participate in one of these opportunities so we can hear from everyone in this significant time of listening. We request that you register in advance so that the facilitation teams know who is coming and can prepare accordingly. Please register for the session that works best for your schedule.
These conversations will be a critical part of our discernment to how we move forward together, and I ask you to encourage the members of your congregation or community to attend one of the sessions. You may use this PDF as a bulletin insert or as content for newsletters and social media to announce the sessions to your congregation or faith community.
If your congregation prefers to hold its own Listening Session, please contact our consultant, Katie Ong, at katieongconsulting@gmail.com. Although I will not be able to join such a session, a team from the Building Bridges Steering Committee will facilitate.
I am grateful for your participation as we continue to explore how God is calling us forward together, and I look forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming listening sessions.
Faithfully,
The Rt. Rev. Prince Singh
Bishop Provisional
The Episcopal Dioceses of Eastern and Western Michigan
