April 6, 2024
Dear People of God in the Diocese of Southern Ohio,
In my first weeks as your bishop, I have been so grateful for the opportunities I have had to meet with many of you and learn about your ministries. I feel the Holy Spirit moving powerfully in our midst, and I am eager to continue learning from you so that, together, we can shape a vision for our ministry.
To jumpstart our work, I have asked Ministry Architects to facilitate six days of discernment gatherings from April 29 to May 1 and from May 6 to May 8 in locations across the diocese and on Zoom. I hope that you will attend one of the meetings so that your voice and experience can inform the future of our ministry together.
Each one-hour gathering will be led by two Ministry Architects consultants, and sessions will be capped at 15 participants to ensure everyone has a chance to be heard. By the time these gatherings are concluded, I hope that we will have gathered the wisdom of clergy, lay leaders, vestry members, staff, and church members from all parts of our diocese and all walks of life. You can find a schedule for the discernment gatherings and sign up to attend below.
I know that in the past several years, you have been asked to give your input at listening sessions and on surveys several times. I am grateful to you for your willingness to participate anew in these gatherings as we move forward into the future that God has in store for us.
I am grateful to be in ministry with you.
Faithfully,
The Rt. Rev. Kristin White
Bishop
Discernment Gatherings
Week One
Monday April 29: Church of the Good Shepherd, Athens 1:30, 2:45, 4:00 and 5:00 p.m. (1:30 session full)
Tuesday April 30: All Saints, New Albany 10:00 and 11:15 a.m. and St. Mark’s Upper Arlington 2:30 and 3:45 p.m. (2:30 session full)
Wednesday May 1: Procter Center 10 a.m.
Learn more and sign up at this link.
Week Two
Monday May 6: Redeemer, Cincinnati 11 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. (11 a.m. session full) and Ascension & Holy Trinity, Wyoming 3:30 and 4:45 p.m.
Tuesday May 7: Calvary, Clifton 10:00 and 11:15 a.m.; St. Patrick’s, Lebanon 2:30 and 3:45 p.m. (3:45 p.m. session cancelled); and St. Margaret’s, Trotwood 5:30 p.m. NEW
Wednesday May 8: St. Margaret’s, Trotwood 10:00 and 11:15 a.m.; St. Patrick’s, Dublin 2:00, 3:15 and 7:30 p.m. NEW (limited remaining availability at 2 p.m.)
Learn more and sign up at this link.
Zoom
Monday April 29 at 6:30 PM (open) Session full
Wednesday, May 1 at 7 p.m. Session full
Monday May 6 at 6:00 PM (clergy only) Session full
Tuesday May 7 at 5:00 PM (youth only)
Learn more and sign up at this link.
If you are unable to attend a discernment gathering, please click here to provide your thoughts, insights, and observations about our common life in the Diocese of Southern Ohio. Ministry Architects will be incorporating all responses submitted between April 29-May 8 into their final report.
