Mutual Ministry Review 2021

Sisters, Brothers, Siblings of the Episcopal Church in Northern Indiana!

Grace and peace be with you in Jesus, the Light for all people!

On the 25th of June, I begin my sixth year serving as your bishop in the Diocese of Northern Indiana. Part of my Letter of Agreement includes a Mutual Ministry Review ( MMR) facilitated by the Standing Committee. Our last MMR was done in 2017. The Standing Committee and I agreed to have our next MMR in 2020. However, due to the pandemic, we decided to postpone the MMR until 2021. I want to thank Canon Bill Spaid of the Diocese of Western Michigan who has facilitated our work in preparing a survey as part of our Mutual Ministry Review.

After some general questions, the survey will ask you about your participation in three initiatives: Evangelism, Racial Reconciliation and Racial Justice...referred to as Becoming Beloved Community and Creation Care. In December 2016, I offered an educational and formational process that the Clergy, Wardens and Vestry of our faith communities could use to adopt an inclusive marriage policy. Some of our faith communities have utilized this material and process and we are looking for some feedback from those who engaged in this process. The final section of the survey asks for your feedback regarding our work collaboratively during the COVID 19 Pandemic...from Virtual Worship to ZOOM Calls to the various protocols and adaptations of our Diocesan Plan.

We are offering a 3 week window for everyone in our diocese to complete the survey...from 14 June through 4 July. I want to encourage everyone to take the survey and am asking our clergy and lay leaders to provide opportunities on Sunday, and perhaps throughout the week, for those who do not have access to a computer at home, to make use of a laptop or other device at the church.

Thank you again for your time and commitment to this part of our mutual ministry review.

Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to God from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen.

Every blessing,

Bishop Doug
(he, him, his)