Diocesan “Realities Intensive Workshops” address key issues for the Episcopal Church

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Our new Bishop, Rt. Rev. Kym Lucas, has been listening to area churches to discern the hot issues of interest in the Episcopal Church in Colorado. These issues (protecting creation, suicide, inclusion and racial inequality) will be addressed in a series of new workshops being offered at Cathedral Ridge in Woodland Park.  The first workshop on protecting creation was attended by Fr. Gary and Jim Wolfe back in January. The remaining three workshops will be offered through mid-May, and you can find links at the end of this article for information and registration.

Father Gary Brower and Jim Wolfe attended the first seminar entitled “Honoring and Protecting Creation,” which was offered in January at Cathedral Ridge Camp and Conference Center. The seminar was led by Rev. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas, Missioner for Creation Care for the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts. The weekend was described as a weekend for educating, empowering, and equipping creation care leaders and advocates to implement effective creation care ministry.

Rev. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas is an engaging personality and she has written a book jointly with Leah Schade on creation care entitled “Rooted and Rising” – Voices of Courage in a Time of Climate Crisis. We had four sessions on Praying with Nature, the Awakened Heart, the Broken Heart and the Radiant Heart. Rev. Margaret also offered several resources regarding the proper use of creation:

  1. Take the Pledge to Creative Care – on the Episcopal Church website

  2. Explore “Honoring and Protecting Creation” on the Colorado Episcopal Church Website

  3. Lighten your Carbon Load – sustainlslandhome.org

  4. Join the climate justice movement – 350.org

  5. Receive a weekly Bulletin Insert – EpiscopalClimateNews.com

As an engineer that spent over 30 years in the Oil and Gas Industry this was a very interesting Seminar for yours truly. I explained to the group that just because I spent most of my career in the Oil and Gas Industry that does not mean I don’t care about the environment. It was an enjoyable experience and it was fun and educational to hear the stories about the care of creation and the current work going on from the environment viewpoint.

There are three more seminars’ coming up, and I plan to attend the next one. The cost is $150 each and you can register for them on the Cathedral Ridge Camp and Conference Center website. You can also go on the Episcopal Church of Colorado website and there is extensive information on each subject for the use by Churches or for your personal use.

The remaining seminars and the information on the Episcopal Church of Colorado website are: