Innovating Beloved Communities Cohort Info and Application
Join Episcopal Divinity School (EDS) for a special community book read and virtual conversation with Dean Lydia Bucklin and one of The Episcopal Church’s leading thinkers around 21st-century ministry and mission, who we’re proud to call an EDS alum, the Rev. Canon Dr. Stephanie Spellers ’04. We’re diving into her latest book, Church Tomorrow? What the 'Nones' and 'Dones' Teach Us About the Future of Faith, where Canon Spellers wrestles with questions including:
- Why are younger generations passing on church?
- What spiritual pathways and communities are they creating?
- How could their insights help to shape the future of Christian community?
We will explore how the church can move beyond survival and toward a future defined by:
- Embracing Innovation: Breaking from the idolatry of buildings, policies and institutions in order to embrace new ways of organizing for mission.
- Forming Authentic, Liberating Communities: Building embodied, flexible circles centered on justice, solidarity, and the gospel of Jesus.
During this webinar, we are excited to offer a preview of the Innovating Beloved Communities Cohort that Canon Spellers is launching with EDS this spring that will make the themes and knowledge garnered in this book a reality. Directed by Canon Spellers, this year-long certificate program is designed for innovative ministry leaders ready to discern, design, incubate, and experiment, with the goal of launching a ministry the church has never seen.
Join us for this event to be among the first to hear how this cohort will catalyze faithful innovators to dream and create new ministries that respond to-and bring forth-tomorrow’s church.
Come with your questions, your curiosity, and your hope for the future of faith.
Resources:
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Learn more about our upcoming Innovating Beloved Communities Cohort, led by Canon Spellers: https://eds.edu/programs/607/innovating-beloved-communities-cohort
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Learn more about Canon Spellers's book and request the study guide: https://stephaniespellers.com/church-tomorrow
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An example Wild Church from Michigan: www.upwild.org
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The Rev. Canon Dr. Stephanie Spellers ’04
The Rev. Canon Stephanie Spellers is one of The Episcopal Church’s leading thinkers around 21st-century ministry and mission. The author of several books, she recently wrapped nearly a decade as canon to The Episcopal Church’s Presiding Bishop Michael Curry. She currently serves as Canon in Residence at St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church.
Spellers previously served as chaplain to the Episcopal House of Bishops, directed evangelism and reconciliation at General Theological Seminary, and led church vitality efforts in the Diocese of Long Island. Her professional ministry began in 2005 at St. Paul's Cathedral-Boston, where she founded The Crossing, a ground-breaking church that weaves Episcopal tradition together with voices from the margins. Before that, she was an award-winning religion journalist.
Spellers earned master’s degrees from both Harvard Divinity School and Episcopal Divinity School. She received an honorary doctorate from the General Theological Seminary. A native of Kentucky, she is passionate about helping people to fall in love with God and get free.