Province I - New England

My travel blessing this week has been meeting with the Province I Youth Ministry and Christian Formation Networks in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. This Province is made up of seven dioceses and is also home of Episcopal Divinity School. The two province networks that interface with the Episcopal Council for Christian Education (ECCE) network and Provincial Youth Ministry Coordinators  (PYMC) network decided to meet together to explore resource sharing and discern if they might be called to continue blending their work given the spirit of The Charter for Lifelong Christian Formation adopted by General Convention last summer in Anaheim.

As the group convened there was deep sharing about the nature of their individual ministries, their diocesan situations, and generous sharing of a variety of resources for mission and ministry. Eventually we moved into an Asset Mapping exercise as designed by Luther Snow. I facilitated a dual process of teaching these church leaders gathered a tool that can be used for ministry discernment, planning and action, while using the tool to identify connections and common mission potential within the province.

Our time together affirmed a deep longing for connectivity, resource sharing, and collegial support across congregational, diocesan, and provincial lines.Every time I am invited to gather with groups engaged in the mission and ministry of lifelong Christian formation, I am reminded of the faithful commitment shared by so many gifted ministers; lay and ordained, paid and volunteer. We are truly blessed with abundance.

As Province I continues to explore their assets for ministry and discern how they might share resources and support one anothers' ministries and needs, I would love to hear how your diocesan and province achieves connectivity and collegial support. Enter a comment for the blog or send an email for me to post.

I offer prayers of gratitude for my time with my New England friends. Thank you Province I, for your generous spirit and gracious hospitality.

Blessings on your ministries!