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| by Herb Gunn
 [Belleville: August 23, 2008] Diocesan Council on Saturday, August 23, overwhelmingly approved a report of the Extended Ministries Fund Task Force that calls for a massive revitalization plan for the Diocese of Michigan. The plan, if approved in October by the Diocesan Convention through the 2009 budget process, would combine a coordinated strategy to grow congregations with realigning building and physical assets to more closely reflect the mission priorities of the diocese and inspiring confidence that support for diocesan program will grow through more efficient and focused use of available funds.
“If we are really going to do this,” said Lisa Gray, canon to the ordinary, “make no mistake—every stone will be turned over; every rock will be looked underneath; every parish will be called into accountability and celebration and support. Every community, every committee structure, how we do governance: this is unprecedented."
SEE STORY HERE >>
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Looking back, looking forward
Women bishops reflect on a decade of change |
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[Canterbury, England: August 2008]
 by Herb Gunn
There are now 24 female bishops in the Anglican Communion from four provinces including the Episcopal Church, the Anglican Church of Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. A total of 15 of the 38 provinces have approved access of women to the episcopacy, but most have not yet elevated a woman to the position.
Eighteen of the 24 female bishops attended the Lambeth Conference this year (retired and part-time bishops were not invited), including 12 women from the Episcopal Church. Of the dozen, four—Bishop Chilton Knudsen of the Diocese of Maine, Bishop Cate Waynick of the Diocese of Indianapolis, Bishop Catherine Roskam of the Diocese of New York and Bishop Geralyn Wolf of the Diocese of Rhode Island—have now attended two Lambeth Conferences and can offer insights into what has changed since 1998.
SEE HERE>>
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| Diocesan Council to suspend retreat center operations at the Emrich Retreat Center |
 [Belleville, Mich: June 24, 2008]
At its June 24 meeting, the Diocesan Council temporarily suspended retreat and conference center programming at the Emrich Retreat Center in the wake of a close examination of the center’s business and financial operations. Following a penetrating task force report, council accepted the recommendation of the task force to close down conference programming on July 1.
A new Emrich Center Task Force will be asked to assume oversight of the retreat center near Brighton.
SEE MORE HERE>>>
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I once was lost
but now am found
During the night of June 2, the Church of the Messiah near Belle Isle in Detroit was hit again by an all-too-common crime. Thieves returned to the church that had been hit before to strip the building of copper pipes, aluminum siding and other metals to sell for scrap. They walked off with a statue of Jesus, taken from an exterior wall of the church.
Within 48 hours, the statue was returned to the church, but Messiah Priest Barry Randolph with Brian Gregg and other parishioners decided to hold a Town Hall meeting to address the serious costs of this kind of urban crime. In what organizers promise will be the first of several town hall meetings, Messiah hosted a gathering of about 100 people on Friday evening, July 11. Randolph and Gregg announced the formation of Citizens United For Safety (CUFS), a group that will expand to confront the epidemic of urban theft.
Future meetings are planned at Messiah on Saturday, July 19, at 1 p.m. followed by a town hall meeting at St. Matthew and St. Joseph's on July 24 at 6 p.m. and again at Messiah on September 11 at 6 p.m.
See More HERE
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Mariners' Inn
New Executive Jim Hartz
 by Herb Gunn
At the begnining of June, Jim Hartz was appointed chief executive officer at Mariners' Inn—the shelter and treatment center for men on the north side of downtown Detroit.
Mariners' Inn maintains a three-tier program of treatment and recovery from substance abuse and chemical dependency for men. Through a Residential Program for 60 men, the Mariners’ Extended Residency Program for 28 men who have completed the residential program, and a Transitional Housing program, Mariners’ Inn puts men on the road to recovery.
Hartz is eager to strength the mission-relationship between Mariners' Inn and the congregations of the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan. Give him a call at 313/962-9446 and ask how.
‘“Mariners’ Inn is in the mission of providing hope,” said Jim Hartz, the new chief executive officer for the shelter and treatment center for men on the north side of downtown Detroit. “A lot of the guys who come to us, because of the addiction process, have to some extent lost hope and faith. Sometimes life is just not okay. Our task, specifically around the issue of chemical dependence and addiction, is to let the men know that they can recover; they can obtain a joy in life that can be restored to them.”
See entire story HERE.
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Detroit, MI
