Episcopal Diocese of Albany - Priests and Deacons Update

Business Office: 68 South Swan Street - Albany, NY 12210 - (518) 465-4737
Christ the King Spiritual Life Center: 575 Burton Road - Greenwich, NY 12834 - (518) 692-9550

July 31st, 2007

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Growing a church takes vision, and part of our vision in the Albany Diocese is to help every person grow in their love and understanding of Scripture. The pages of the Bible are filled with love stories, adventures, lessons and poetry—and yet only 14% of adults in the US are involved in a small group bible study. One in two adults does not know any of the gospels by name, and 12% believe that Noah’s wife was Joan of Arc!

Bible conferences, like the one we are planning in August called “On Fire for the Lord”, can help us understand how to invite more people into a deeper relationship with God through the Scriptures. And through this, people will learn not just about Noah’s wife, or the Ten Commandments, but they will learn about the incredible love and sacrifice of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Knowing Jesus changes everything.

Our main speaker, Robin Capcara, has been invited from Ascension Church in Pittsburgh to help motivate, excite and teach us about scripture and small group bible study. She will lead one segment on “Genesis through Revelation”—a one-hour overview of the entire Bible—and she will give us practical advice on how to set up small group bible studies in our churches. Robin has been involved in small group ministries and conference.

In the afternoon, some of our own talented diocesan leaders will provide us with a choice of workshops: Fr. Derik Roy will focus on leading adult bible studies, Patti Gibbons will help us learn about structuring teen bible studies, and Mother Diana Freeman will give us new insights into bible study and knowledge with elementary-aged children. All of our presenters will have resource information to hand out and will be available for questions and problem-solving.

My goal for the Diocese is to see the spread of bible study programs in every church, not just on Sundays, but during the week at lunch time, after dinner or early on Saturday mornings, for example. How creative can we be so that people who come to our churches are drawn into the heart of God’s word for his people? You might come with some success stories as well—this might be a great place to share some of those so that others can benefit from your wisdom and experience too.

The Chili Cook-Off is offered as part of the event because we wanted to include some fun for each parish that participates—every entry gets a prize, but we will have an award for the best chili--- and I warn you—my chili recipe is hard to beat!

However, you don’t need to bring chili to attend, and the main event happens when we are engaged in the work of learning about the love and faithfulness of our God as revealed in the Scriptures. While September is not the beginning of our church year, it is the traditional beginning of new church programming and my goal for this year is that every church will offer small group bible study for all ages. Learn about how you can make this happen at your church by signing up for our August conference at http://www.albanydiocese.org/ and click on ‘Events’.

I personally invite you to send at least two representatives from your church. Come join me on August 18th, 2007 so we can begin this journey together.

Faithfully yours in Christ,
+ Bill

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