Join Us for the Youth Leader’s Retreat
Convocation youth leaders are invited to attend the annual Children and Youth Leader’s Retreat from 19-22 Sept. 2025 in Strasbourg, France.
This is an opportunity for leaders to relax, get to know one another, and share experiences and best practices. Activities will include exploring the old town and Petite France, as well as taking a boat tour on the Ile (weather permitting).
“We want to say ‘thank you’ for all the hard work and love that our leaders provide every Sunday to give our youth a safe and loving environment to explore their faith,” said Heidrun Alfke, chair of the Children and Youth Commission.
Cost of the hotel and meals will be covered by the Convocation. Attendees are responsible for their own travel costs.
Registration is already open: https://episcopaleurope.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/2822121. For more information, contact Heidrun Alfke.
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The Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe will begin training approximately six to eight prospective lay preachers in September 2024. Candidates should be committed parish members keen to share their faith and deepen their own formation, who are also active and respected members of their local communities. Interested individuals should contact their local clergy, who will propose suitable candidates to the Convocation. The cost is €250 per person.
COURSE OUTLINE
The one-year course combines regular self-study and personal meetings with our trainers, The Rev. Michael Rusk and the Rev. Scott Moore. Curriculum materials in video and PDF document form are accessed online through a dedicated Google Classroom platform. Trainees will be expected to devote an average of 90 minutes per week to self-study and an additional half-day per month attending a group meeting via Zoom.
BACKGROUND
The Lay Preacher Training Initiative is a local formation experience designed to prepare effective, confident, and passionate licensed lay preachers for our churches. A grant from Trinity Church Wall Street enabled the development and rigorous pilot testing of the program in six dioceses. The result was as many as two local trainers and six lay preachers in each diocese, all of whom completed studies of scripture and theology, exegesis, and practical homiletics. The cornerstoneß of the program requires each candidate to receive feedback by preaching to both their peers within the cohort and regularly in their local congregations.
The first 30 lay preachers to complete the Lay Preacher pilot program celebrated their new ministry at Washington National Cathedral in November 2023; one of these, Dr. Freida Herron was invited to preach the closing sermon at the 2024 annual conference of the Episcopal Parish Network.
DIOCESAN TESTIMONIAL
“For many years, we have been making noise about the ministry of all God’s people, but with little concrete progress. The Lay Preaching Initiative provided us the means to act. The cohort of lay preachers is developing an authentic lay voice of Gospel proclamation in our diocese that is both encouraging and challenging. Their good work has stirred our imagination to explore new possibilities for lay ministry in other areas and I am extremely grateful to the participants, diocesan tutors, the Episcopal Preaching Foundation and Trinity Wall Street.”
The Rt Rev Mark Van Koevering, VIII Bishop of Lexington June 2023