Upcoming Workshops
- Congregational Mental Health: Suicide and What to Know 6/26, 3pm EDT
- Ministries for Families and Children: What’s Next for Christian Formation 7/11 3pm EDT
- Endowments and Finance Committees – Fiduciary and Governance Best Practices 7/25, 3pm EDT
- Churches and ERC – They do qualify – and other myths dispelled! 8/9, 3pm EDT
Episcopal Parish Network is honored to present the learning opportunities below. EPN members and our partners offer these digital workshops to strengthen parish ministry across the church.
If your parish (or cathedral) is not a member of EPN, we invite you to join our ministry. Your support helps present these and other learning opportunities throughout the year. Please join our work.
If you have suggestions for future digital workshop topics, please send them to info@episcopalparishes.org.
Subject: Wellness
Congregational Mental Health: Suicide and What to Know
Monday, June 26th | 3:00pm EDT
Suicide. It’s an occurrence that is all too common and nearly unparalleled in its capacity to devastate families, communities and congregations. While suicide is often linked to depression, it is more accurately described as the worst possible outcome of a complex combination of things that often includes mental health challenges but also includes isolation and despair. Given the Surgeon General’s recent announcement that named loneliness as a public health crisis, this should get our attention. As leaders in your congregation, Episcopal Parish Network is honored to work with our partner Soul Shop to offer an overview of the societal situation, the risk factor, and how you can address this in your community.
During this workshop, the Soul Shop team will discuss the dimensions of suicide including:
- How prevalent it is in the general public and in your congregation;
- Some of the often undetected indicators of suicide risk and what some of the complex variables are that lead to suicide; and
- How parishes can begin to think about building out their infrastructure of support to minister to all those impacted by suicide, including loss survivors and people with previous lived experience of suicidal thinking.
Panelists include:
- Michelle Snyder – Co-Director, Soul Shop; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Christopher Epperson – Co-Director, Soul Shop; Little Rock, Arkansas
- Matt Holcombe – Priest, St. Michael’s Episcopal Church; Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Marna Franson – Missioner, Diocese of Northern Michigan and Trainer, Soul Shop; Marquette, Michigan
Please register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/638989834797
Subject: Christian Formation
Ministries for Families and Children: What’s Next for Christian Formation
Tuesday, July 11th | 3:00pm EDT
Congregations are emerging from the pandemic and recognizing that ministry for families and children looks significantly different from what came before. The questions we confront include:
- Where are the young families?
- Why are they not coming back?
- What can we do to get them back?
The challenges we face are:
- Sunday morning is different now – hybrid, in-person, non-attendance;
- Budgets can be tight – and, resources for children and family ministry might not be available; and,
- Children and families want something different than what came before – what that is hasn’t been defined.
Church leaders are looking for answers, and the toll of navigating the new “normal” is leading to a high level of burnout for many. Relying on research conducted by the Godly Play Foundation with both caregivers and congregational leaders, the panelists in this workshop will help answer these questions. They will seek to demystify the absence of families and what that forebodes for the future if not addressed.
The findings indicated that congregational leaders perceive the lack of family engagement as a disinterest in spirituality. In contrast, parents indicated a high regard for their children’s spirituality but a skepticism that religious institutions can adequately support their children and their family’s needs.
Leaving this session, we hope to provide a bridge to pass over the disconnect between church leadership and parents. Join this session to learn about Godly Play Foundation’s emerging pathways for congregations desiring new ways to meet the needs of families and support congregations across the church and around the country.
Panelists include:
- Cheryl Minor – Director of the Center for the Theology of Childhood; Belmont, Massachusetts
- Raenelle Tauroa – Administrative Director of Everyday Godly Play; Concord, California
- Joy Studer – Creative Director of Everyday Godly Play; Lake Stevens, Washington
- Heather Ingersoll – Executive Director, Godly Play; Wilsonville, Oregon
Please register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/662474227247
Subject: Finance and Endowments
Endowments and Finance Committees – Fiduciary and Governance Best Practices
Tuesday, July 25th | 3:00pm EDT
Are you on a parish finance committee? What about the endowment committee? Perhaps the vestry?
If you find yourself serving the church in any of these roles, you are likely a fiduciary and have specific governance responsibilities. What does that mean?
Join this panel for an overview of the responsibilities lay leaders have when serving the parish or local Diocese in a financial capacity. They will also cover best practices on governance for your parish team. Among the topics the team will cover are:
- UPMIFA – Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds
- Fiduciary Best Practices
- Governance Best Practices
- Investment Policy Statements
This session is the first in a series of conversations Episcopal Parish Network will host on these important topics. We are honored to partner with CAPTRUST on this workshop. CAPTRUST is a leading, national registered investment advisor working extensively with endowments and foundations, retirement plans and individuals and families.
Panelists include:
- David Hansen, JD – Principal, CAPTRUST, Chair of local Parish Investmen Committee, President of Trustees of Funds of Southwestern Episcopal Diocese; Lexington, Virginia
- Bill Paxton, JD, CFP – Principal, CAPTRUST, Active in Church Treasury matters; Lynchburg, Virginia
- Heather Shanahan – Director, CAPTRUST Endowments and Foundations; Raleigh, North Carolina
Please register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/662458169217
Subject: Finance and Endowments
Churches and ERC – They do qualify – and other myths dispelled!
Wednesday, August 9th | 3:00pm EDT
There are so many myths regarding the Employee Retention Credit. Come hear a CPA expert on the subject dispel the myths and tell us what we need to know to obtain our refund. If you or your church has decided you do not qualify for ERC, come listen and reevaluate that decision. If you do not know what ERC is – you should; it is money refunded by the IRS for a church that usually makes a profound difference in your budget this year. If you have a school or other auxiliary organization, you especially should attend.
Mr. James B. Jordan is the author of Financial Management for Episcopal Parishes published by Church Publishing, Inc. He teaches at Emory’s Candler School of Theology in Atlanta to MDiv students. His nationwide CPA firm conducts audits and reviews, provides remote bookkeeping services, forensic examinations, and taxes for dioceses and parishes.
Panelists include:
- James B. Jordan – Auditor, Fraud Examiner, Consultant, Educator, Author, James B. Jordan CPA LLC; Atlanta, Georgia
Please register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/662509903957
