Dear Friends,
As I shared at our diocesan convention, in light of upcoming staff departures and with the support of our diocesan leaders, I am moving forward with a slight restructuring of our diocesan staff and regional model.
Click here to read/watch the Bishop’s Address to Convention.
Click here to read the announcement about upcoming staff departures.
Click here to read/watch the Bishop’s Introduction to the Season of Practice.
With the specific regional delineations yet to be defined, we are moving forward with the search for three Regional Canons. These three leaders will join with the Rev. Dr. Tracie Little, current Canon to the Ordinary for Eastern Michigan, in supporting the work of our congregations both regionally — equipping and supporting up to twenty-five congregations in a geographic area — and across our two dioceses in one of four specialties: discernment, digital community, campus ministry, and formation and transitions (the specialty that Tracie will hold). With the rest of our staff and leadership, these Regional Canons will coach, encourage, and equip congregations to achieve the mission and vision of our dioceses – precisely what we’re exploring in this Season of Practice.
We seek three experienced, innovative, and future-oriented priests to serve in these full-time roles. Click the following links to read the position postings by specialty – Campus Ministry, Digital Communities, Discernment. These have been posted to the churchwide job board in the Office of Transition Ministry. If there are priests in your network that you feel have these gifts and capacities, I invite you to share the position with them and ask them to consider joining us in these hope-filled and creative dioceses. The deadline to apply is January 15th.
I am glad to also share that we’ve compiled a bi-diocesan search team, including myself, Martha Bartlett (St. James, Pentwater), Barb Ilkka (St. John’s, Saginaw), Beckett Leclaire (Grace, Port Huron), the Rev. Tom Manney (St. Paul’s, Bad Axe and St. John’s, Dryden), Matthew Neddo (Emmanuel, Petoskey), the Rev. Diane Pike (Retired, Niles) and Canon Little.
Please join me in praying that the candidates God is calling to serve our beautiful peninsula in these capacities will see and respond to that call. And pray for our search committee and dioceses that we will continue to prepare to receive them and be ready to move with the Spirit, as God makes all things new!
Yours in Christ,
The Rt. Rev. Prince Singh
Bishop Provisional
The Episcopal Dioceses of Eastern and Western Michigan