Tag: diocese

The first Chapel Chat in Oregon 

Brother Robert James and Sharon will be hosting their first Chapel Chat on Saturday, April 18th from 1:30 to 3:30 in Albany OR. Join them in their home chapel for some prayer, reflection, and sharing (featuring some of Sharon’s famous baking!). The first topic will be our loved ones who have supported us along our faith journeys. We will remember and share stories about people in our lives who showed us God’s love and helped nurture our spiritual growth by their love. 

Chapel Chat: Saturday, April 18, 1:30 to 3:30 pm

Topic: Loved ones who have supported us on our faith journeys

A new ECC community is being developed in Oregon. This community is starting off as a lay led community with a warm connection to the Episcopalian community nearby. The Chapel Chats will include both communities. There is room for more! Come join them and explore your faith with others.

Contact Bishop Kedda at bishopkedda@comcast.net and I will get you in touch with Rob and Sharon.

News from Mount Vernon WA — The Millers

The Revs. Jack and Liz Miller have a new website. They write: “In November 2022, Rev. Liz and I retired from active ministry, the Pastoral Center closed, and Haven of Rest was born. We changed the focus of our website to include reflecting on the weekly liturgical readings and intercessory prayer. Our ministry continues.”

Visit their website: Haven of Rest (havenofrest.net) They have many resources that you will want to check out.

The Millers have also moved to a new home. They keep trying to tell us they are retired, but their wonderful ministry continues!

Changes Are Coming

The diocesan council meeting of July 8th, 2024 recommends that the boundaries of our diocese be redrawn to reflect the current situation. We have discovered over the past several years that having a diocese that is too widespread is not feasible. The Cascade Range has proven to be stumbling block for the unity of west and east in the Pacific Northwest region. The costs of crossing that barrier have prevented us from coming together and getting to know each other as we should.

Bishop Kedda can easily travel up and down the I-5 corridor seeing to the needs of the people on the west side of the mountains, but travel to the east is costly. There is a reluctance for our members to travel over the mountains to come together. We really only had one occasion when we were able to gather in person and that was for a retreat in Spokane, but only a few of those living on the west side attended. Other attempts to find a central meeting place occurred at the retreat center called Rainbow Lodge in North Bend, but these met with disappointing results.

Discernment also tells us that the spirit and flavor of the cultures of east and west are different from one another. Therefore, it was resolved that the boundaries of the diocese will be redrawn. We anticipate that the new boundaries will be from the Cascade Range to the ocean, and from Canada to California. We acknowledge that if we had been the ones to draw the boundaries in the first place, this would have been our choice. Our assumption is that those who drew the first boundaries of this region were looking at a flat map!