DEAR MINISTERIUM FAMILY AND FELLOW LEADERS:
As we prepare for the first ever online ECC Ministerium Annual Meeting next month, and hold so much in this season, the Ministerium Executive Board wants to reach out and invite you to an optional, online event that we’re hosting this week.
The purpose of this meeting is to respond to some common concerns and questions that we’ve been receiving, to name plainly some places of lament and lack of clarity in our common Body, and to hopefully encourage everyone – everyone – to show up, be heard, and be part of deciding where the ECC goes in this coming season. We will be encouraging members of the Ministerium to feel empowered to lead as we name some of what might feel hard to see clearly by bringing it into the light – addressing what’s been happening in various spaces in the ECC, who is holding the cost of the gaps, what there is to celebrate, where God is calling us to go in the future, and what we each can do to make a difference. This meeting will address questions we've been repeatedly fielding related to: the reorg and the letter circulated, the Ministerium Bylaws proposed amendment, what has happened since the 2019 Annual Meetings and what is left undone, the particular work leaders of color and women continue to hold, the AntiRacism pathways, the Resolution Repudiating the Doctrine of Discovery, why churches and pastors are being told to leave the ECC, and where clergy can go when there are gaps in communication, advocacy, or questions. We also are opening an online form to hear back from you starting today (5.18.21), during the event, and through 6.1.21, re any additional questions.
We know that no meeting or parliamentary procedure can do all the things, but we're committed to trying new things, reimagining healthy leadership, and making more space for voices to speak into the 2021 Min Ann Mtng. We intend to give transparent answers wherever we can, carve out spaces of hope and voice, pray together, and join together in this work of encouraging our Body in following where Jesus leads. Grateful for you Ministerium, and we hope to see you there!
LEAD LOUDLY – A Ministerium Informational Address
Friday, May 21, 2021, 1:00-2:00pm (CST), live on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/eccministerium
Link to event and feedback form at: www.eccclergy.org // https://forms.gle/YJuxa2Ko3jF9Qqc37
This will be a facebook live event with some time for comments and submission of questions/feedback alongside the address. If you can’t join us live, no worries; you can watch the update anytime afterwards, and everyone is invited to use the submission form anytime from 5.18.21 through 6.1.21, to ask questions, suggest content to be considered for the 2021 Min Ann. Mtng Agenda, share your questions or hopes or discernment, etc.
-President Liz Mosbo VerHage, along with the Ministerium Executive Board