Coffee Hour At The Commons

Today we're having a conversation with Rich Stein about the Global Philanthropy Leaders (GPL) initiative that works in churches with small groups of motivated, reliable, and curious youth to help them make microloans to those who wouldn't otherwise have access to capital. Rich lives in Sandy Hook, Connecticut with his wife and they are members of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Ridgefield. Rich is a co-founder of the GPL initiative, along with St. Stephen's rector the Rev. Whitney Altopp and their youth coordinator, Jane Lindenberg. Rich has worked as a private investor for the past two decades. He has a BA in Economics from the University of Chicago and an MBA in Marketing & Strategy from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management of Northwestern University. In addition to being a member of St. Stephen's he now chairs their investment committee, and he also serves on the board of trustees for the investment funds of the Episcopal Church of Connecticut, or ECCT. Rich joined us by phone, from Chicago.

In this episode, Coffee Hour at The Commons is on the road again, back at Camp Washington, the summer camp and year-round conference center of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut and located on 300 acres in the northwestern hills of the state.  Technically, they’re in Morris but their mailing address is in Lakeside. The topic is inspired by a resolution passed at last summer’s General Convention, A010, which called attention to the role that these diocesan camps play in the work of caring for creation. It also asked them to plant groves of trees. (See the resolution for details). Our guests are two camp staff members and a trustee on the board: Bart Geissinger, Executive Director of Camp Washington since 2015 whose previous work had been as development director at several private schools and foundations; Ben Thompson, the chef and food services director at Camp Washington for nearly two decades; and the Rt. Rev. Laura J. Ahrens, Bishop Suffragan of Connecticut since 2007. Laura oversees several environment m

Our guest today is the Rev. Ann Perrott, a specialist in prison ministry who has facilitated healing courses in four different prisons. Ann comes to us from Massachusetts, though she lives in southeastern Connecticut now. She earned her first degree in speech pathology from Emerson College and her first career was as a social worker with developmentally disabled adults. After discerning a call to ordination, she attended EDS in Cambridge, Mass, graduating with an M.Div. in 2013, and was later ordained to the priesthood. She has served several interim positions and in January 2019 will begin serving as conditional priest in charge at Christ Church, Middle Haddam. In this episode, however, Ann will talk to us about prison ministry, and her work as president of New Life Ministry of Southeastern Connecticut. We began with finding out what “New Life Ministry of Southeastern Connecticut” is – it’s a program for women coming out of York Correctional Institution, in Niantic. They providing transitional housing via

Today’s guest is the Rev. Rowena Kemp, priest in charge of Grace Episcopal Church in Hartford. She is also a member of ECCT's Standing Committee, chaplain for the national Girls Friendly Society USA, and participates in or leads numerous other committees and groups including one we'll be talking about today, the Racial Healing, Justice, and Reconciliation Ministry Network. Her first two advanced degrees came from New York Medical College: She has a Master's in Clinical Research Administration and a Master's of Public Health, Health Policy and Management. Before her work with the church, Rowena worked as a program manager for Yale University School of Medicine and is skilled in molecular biology, biochemical research, DNA sequencing, and biomarkers. Rowena graduated with an M.Div from Yale in 2013 and was ordained that year. She then served as a priest for the Middlesex Area Cluster Ministry, then assistant rector at Trinity on the Green in New Haven, and since 2016, as priest-in-charge of Grace Church, Hart

Today we have five of the six founding members of YAE spelled, “Y A E” Young Adult Episcopalians, in the South Central Region. The group launched in fall 2017 and has held several events for young adults in the New Haven area and larger South Central Region.  The Rev. Elise Hanley is the Assistant Rector at Trinity Church on the Green in New Havenand an Assisting Priest at the Episcopal Church at Yale. She has been ordained for two years, and is originally from New York.   The Rev. Paul Carling is the Chaplain for the Episcopal Church at Yale,a position he has held for five years. Before Yale he served in a variety of parishes in Vermont and Connecticut and was a professor of Psychology for many years.   Mary Beth Mills-Curran is a candidate for ordination with the diocese of Massachusetts and is in her third year at Yale Divinity School and Berkeley Divinity School. She serves as the program director for the Episcopal Church at Yale.  The Rev. Rachel Field, a returning guest on our podcast, is the Region

The Rt. Rev. Laura J. Ahrens is bishop suffragan for the Episcopal Church in Connecticut (ECCT). Laura is a graduate of Princeton University and Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, and has a D.Min. from Hartford Seminary. She was ordained to the diaconate and priesthood in Massachusetts and served two parishes in Massachusetts before being called to Saint Luke’s, Darien and later to St. James’, Danbury. She was elected as bishop suffragan in 2007 and consecrated later that year. Laura has been to the Holy Land twice, and is a co-leader for the upcoming 2019 pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The Rev. Harrison West, rector of Christ Church in Guilford. A native of Oregon, he received in BA from Carleton College in Minnesota, and studied architectural history at the University of Oregon, and earned his M.Div. from the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee and after his ordination served parishes in Maryland, Oregon, and Tennessee before taking the position in Guilford in 2010. Harrison has taken one trip to th

Today we sat down with two people who work for a Connecticut-based organization that works across The Episcopal Church, the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, AFEDJ. These were John Lent, AFEDJ's executive director, and Heidi Shott, their communication director. John was appointed in June 2018 after serving as deputy director since 2016, then acting executive director after Anne Lynn retired in January 2018.John is an experienced non-profit, education and corporate leader who started his career as a teacher and worked in educational publishing for many years. He served as Executive Director of a national non-profit that recruits and trains school leaders in partnership with many of the largest urban school districts in the country and previously served as COO of an educational technology company. John is active in his Episcopal parish, where he has served in numerous leadership roles. Heidi is AFEDJ's first communications director. She came on board in September 2018 and credits her thr

Sharon Pearson is currently the Christian Formation Specialist with Church Publishing Incorporated, or CPI, and supports congregations through consulting and workshops. Also an editor and writer, she brings new initiatives in formation to the wider church through publications. She has 40 years’ experience in Christian formation at the local and church-wide levels including her home parish of St. Matthew's, Wilton and for a number of years, working on the staff for the Episcopal Church in Connecticut. She is on the Mission Council and helped them develop resources for their conversations and ongoing work addressing racial justice, healing, and reconciliation. She has a blog, Rows of Sharon: Thoughts of a Christian Educator and was a founder of the very popular blog, Building Faith, now owned by Virginia Theological Seminary. She contributes to Episcopal Teacher magazine; and has published 10 books. She specializes in teacher training and leading workshops and has experience as an Education for Ministry mentor

Today’s guests come from no further from The Commons: Both work here. And when they’re not here, they do interesting things like quilt and paint. In a way, these are spiritual practices – but for very different reasons given by our two guests. Maybe your experiences are more like one or the other - or something entirely different. Karolyn Nicolaides works in finance and operations for the Episcopal Church in Connecticut where she’s responsible for accounts receivable. She’s had that position since August of 2012. She’s very active in her home parish of St. John’s in North Guilford, loves surfing and sailing, and has two grown children and two grandchildren. Karolyn has painted for 35 years, studying under the same teacher, in the same studio, with the same group of women. “Doreen’s Artist Club," Karolyn's art group, thanks the Rev. Mo Lederman for welcoming our artists to paint in Keisel Hall at her home parish, St John’s North Guilford, where the ‘natural light shines bright on our canvases’. For the firs

On this episode, Alli sits down with the Rt. Rev. Anne Dyer, bishop of the Diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney in the Scottish Episcopal Church. Bishop Anne shares her story coming from her home parish and the encouragement she received from her vicar to serve in the church, before women were ordained. Bishop Anne has been a first in many things: she was in the first group of female deacons, first group of female priests, and first female bishop. She talks about the push back she has experienced, as well as the support she has received and how she maintains balance in her life.   Bishop Anne talks about the importance of “resetting her compass” and sabbath in her ministry as a bishop and as Christians, something she hopes to become a model for her clergy—that rest and renewal are critical to ministry. She also discusses the impact art has had on her spiritual and prayer life, she tries to be in an art gallery a week. She has brought this love of art to ministry as a bishop by starting a Monday morning blog post

The Rt. Rev. Ian T. Douglas is the bishop diocesan for the Episcopal Church in Connecticut. He keeps talking about the "new missional age." What is it? What isn't it? He explains! 

The Rev. Adam Yates is the rector at St. Stephen’s, East Haddam and the Secretary of Convention for The Episcopal Church in Connecticut. This past summer he took a sabbatical and biked the East Coast Greenway beginning in Greenwich, CT along the coast and ended in Calais, Maine. He has been ordained as a priest for 8 years, and is originally from Virginia. He came to Connecticut via Wisconsin and Chicago. He lives with his partner Matt and their beagle Daniel in Andover.      

In 2016 the Episcopal Church in Connecticut decided to reorganize itself into six geographic Regions. They hired missionaries to help the churches connect and collaborate. In the first season we met three missionaries, and now in the second season we're talking to the other three.    We talk about lay preaching, Laundry Love ministry, youth philanthropy leaders, and the role of the missionary in helping make connections that support the existing leaders.   "We get to connect what is already growing!" said Eliza. We don't have to do it ourselves, added Maggie, who talked about Celtic services, centering prayer, and eco-justice ministries in her Region.    If you've wondered what missionaries do, this will help explain it. You can hear the similarities and the differences among the missionaries, and the Regions. Eliza suggested that it might be about breaking down isolation, saying that parish ministry can be isolating, said Eliza for both clergy and lay leaders. So she thinks of her work and ministry as breaki

Our guest for this episode is Carolyn Clement, the Digital ministry passionista at her home parish of Trinity Episcopal Church in Tariffville, Connecticut. She is an innovator, singer, teacher, mother of three, wife, digital ministry advocate, and Episcopalian!     In her day job, Carolyn works on the product development and innovative team for a financial services organization.    When she is not tweeting over at @singingcarolyn, you can find her in Simsbury singing in her home with her two standard poodles and helping her daughter plan her wedding. When she’s available, Carolyn leads sessions on Social Media at ECCT’s Spring Training and Gathering, held in Meriden annually, usually on the first Saturday in April.   We know Carolyn best as the creator of Social Media Sunday (#SMS18, this year), which began in 2013 as a movement to help parishes and worshiping communities use social media to spread the gospel—encouraging folks to take their smart phones out and tweet the sermon, snap a selfie, or just s

The Rev. Katharine “Katy” Piazza, rector of Emmanuel, Weston and the Rev. Kevin Olds, rector of St. Timothy’s, Fairfield talk about the new worship service they’re planning to launch fall 2018, “Special Grace.” It’s designed for children with special needs, their families, and friends and supporters. Both have children with special needs, and they share that towards the end of our conversation. Both Katy and Kevin are relatively new to ECCT (Katy in 2015 and Kevin in 2017) and both knew they wanted to get involved in special needs worship services here in ECCT. Kevin explains how they happened to meet at ECCT’s “Spring Training & Gathering” and connect over a possible shared ministry. Over the last program year, St. Timothy’s sponsored a “Grace2Go” service led by an outside person. Katy created and leads Christmas service at Emmanuel for children with special needs and their families. It’s designed especially for children who get overwhelmed by even regular children’s services. Kevin went with his son t

Today’s guests are some of ECCT’s elected deputies and alternates who went to Austin, Texas for nearly two weeks in early July to be part of the triennial General Convention of The Episcopal Church. They share their reflections and some of the highlights from their time as official participants there.  The General Convention of The Episcopal Churchtook place July 5-13 in Austin Texas and ECCT was among more than 100 dioceses that sent their bishops and elected deputies (and alternate deputies) to participate, listen, pray, discern, and vote (in either the House of Bishops or the House of Deputies) on what turned out to be more than 500 resolutions. True, a good number came “bundled” together for a single up or down vote. Other considered one at a time garnered more press, notably the revision of the Prayer Book, welcoming the Church in Cuba back into The Episcopal Church, and approving marriage rites and expansive language liturgies. Still more set policies to form the basis for advocacy in Washington, D.C.

Today’s conversation is an interview with our regular co-host Karin Hamilton and our colleague the Rev. Molly James. The General Convention of The Episcopal Church begins next week in Austin, Texas. It runs July 5 to July 13, with pre-convention events and preparation taking place July 2 - 4. So this episode will be General Convention 101!    Karin Hamilton, Canon for Mission Communication and Media has gone to seven General Conventions, making this year her 8th. Karin reports from General Convention to the Episcopal Church in Connecticut in a daily newsletter. She follows topics and debates, interviews individuals from CT, and generally gives folks at home a taste of what has gone down each day and what is to come (sign up here).    The Rev. Molly James, Dean of Formation for the Episcopal Church in Connecticut, will be serving this year as a Clergy Deputy from Connecticut. This is her third General Convention and her second as a deputy. She will be serving as Chair of the Legislative Committee on Ministry.

Today our guests are from New Haven’s refugee agency, IRIS, which stands for Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services. The agency was founded many years ago by Episcopal churches, and now works with our federal government to resettle refugees in the State, with the help of faith communities and other groups and individuals. World Refugee Day is June 20and IRIS is sponsoring a festival on June 23, from 2-6 p.m., at Trinity on the Green in New Haven, with world cuisine tasting, world music, and more.(Ticketedevent! Get one at http://www.irisct.org)    Back in March, we went to an event sponsored by the Episcopal Church in Connecticut’s Women’s Ministry Network, held at Christ Church Cathedral in Hartford, which was followed by joining a public witness against gun violence at the Capitol. The morning program was about celebrating the gifts of women and hearing about challenges, and it asked everyone who attended to think about how we’re called to participate in the work of equipping and empowering women. Two of

The Dadsode: Conversation with priest/dads the Revs. Matt Lindeman and Adam Thomas In honor of Father’s Day, we had a conversation with two Episcopal priests who are also fathers. This is somewhat of a partner podcast of the one with“Reverend Moms” we did for Mothers’ Day.   Our guests are the Rev. Matt Lindeman rector of St. Peter’s , Milford. He was born in New Haven, grew up in Nebraska, a teenager in San Diego, and lived in many places. He has an M.Div from Yale Divinity School and was ordained priest in 2015. Matt is the father of Jonah, 6 and Ruth, 2   The Rev. Adam Thomas is rector of St. Mark’s in Mystic. He’s from everywhere: he’s lived in 11 states so far. He received his M.Div. from Virginia Theological Seminary and was ordained a priest in 2008. Adam is the father of twins Charlie and Amelia, who are 4.   All four of the children are “PKs” and the two dads are both “PKs” (PK = Preacher’s Kids) BOTH of Matt’s parents are Episcopal priests! So, we talked about that a bit. Matt said he thought he wa

The Rev. Ranjit K. Mathews: Going Deeper in the Realm of God   Today’s guest is the Rev. Ranjit Mathews, rector of St. James’, New London, where he’s been for about a year now.   Ranjit was born in Brighton, Mass. to immigrant parents who came to the U.S. in the 1970s. He grew up in Sharon, Mass., majored in business administration at George Washington University, and received his M. Div from Union Theological Seminary in New York City. As a seminarian he served at St. Mary’s in Harlem and studied abroad in Bangalore, India. Ranjit was ordained deacon in 2006, and priest in 2007, both in the Diocese of Massachusetts.   His father, the Rev. Koshy Mathews, is also an Episcopal priest, who has been serving as rector of St. Peter’s in Phoenixville, PA for more than a decade. (Ranjit’s middle name is Koshy, after his father.)   Before coming to Connecticut, Ranjit served on Presiding Bishop Michael Curry’s staff as the Partnership Officer for Africa. Prior to that he was associate rector of St. Luke’s, Lon