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Hey there, Diocese of the Rio Grande. This is your weekly update for the week of January 20th, 2024.

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In this weekly update, we've got a lot of exciting information to share about the movie about the presiding bishop coming up next week.

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Some ordination updates for the Reverend LeAnna Braun, Snow Slam, and a lot more that you're not gonna wanna miss.

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So stick with us. I Said it last week.

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I'm gonna say it again This is the first time in the history of the Episcopal Church that there has been a feature film about the That is led by the presiding bishop about his ministry and this is called a case for love and it is a feature film that is in theaters only on January 23rd, that's next Tuesday.

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It is showing in select theaters in Albuquerque and in El Paso.

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And in both Albuquerque and in El Paso there's a 4 o'clock showing where we're gonna have a gathering of the Diocese of the Rio Grande to see the film and hopefully talk about it afterwards unless they chuck us out for the next showing of the film.

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But the purpose behind why we're trying to get a lot of people to come and see the movie is, first of all, we think it's going to be a great movie.

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And who doesn't want to learn more about The Case for Love and hear Michael Curry talk about that? But we also want to have a bunch of people come to the theater because part of what is happening here with this one day only screening is to test the market for the film and see if there are people who are interested in watching the movie.

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Part of what we want to do is help fill the theaters on Tuesday, January 23rd.

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If you can't go to a four o'clock showing, go to whatever showing makes sense for you.

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And you can find details about it at a case for love.

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org, which is the website for the film.

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And I encourage you to go and do that.

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In fact, I'm going to give you right here.

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You can probably get the code right off of this screen.

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So we'll see you Tuesday to watch the film A Case for Love.

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The hope is that if a lot of people want to see it and the theaters have a good showing then they'll be able to syndicate this maybe to Netflix or one of the other streaming services so that everybody can participate.

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There's a case for love, um, journal and guide and there's a student curriculum as well.

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So I'm eager for this film to go beyond just Tuesday's screening so that we can use it for Christian formation, both for young people and adults.

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So go and see a case for love that's coming up next Tuesday.

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Tickets are available online already.

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There's a second exciting cinematic experience that is relevant to the Episcopal Church, which is coming up soon.

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The film is about the first women ordained in the Episcopal Church.

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They're called the Philadelphia Eleven.

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And some of you may remember that period of time.

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I was a little young, but I still remember it.

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The Philadelphia Eleven were ordained irregularly as a prophetic witness that the ordination of women needed to come, and it needed to come quickly.

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And 11 women were ordained.

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They are called the Philadelphia Eleven.

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And this film has been made about their lives and their ministries and the impact that the Ordination of Women has had on the Episcopal Church.

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The here at the Cathedral of St. John Dean Kristina Maulden is hosting a special event to show the film and to have a Eucharist and to celebrate the ordination of women throughout the Episcopal Church.

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That event is happening on February 23rd, 2024, and it's a Friday.

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The event will start at four o'clock with the screening of the film, followed by a Eucharist and a festive dinner.

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And Dean Kristy is inviting particularly all of you who are ordained women in the church, whether you're a deacon or a priest or a bishop, we'd like to have you come to the cathedral and join us for that celebration.

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All of the women who are ordained and are here participating will be able to participate in the Eucharist, which will be a celebration of women's ordination and how important that has been for all of us in the Episcopal Church.

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But of course, you don't have to be ordained and you don't have to be female to come.

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We want this to be a diocesan wide event hosted at the cathedral in order to celebrate the blessing to all of us that women who are ordained are giving and continuing to give to the Church of God in Christ.

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I'm a super fan of Women's Ordination.

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I'll be there for the screening of the film and to celebrate the ordination of women throughout the Episcopal Church.

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And I hope to see you there on February 23rd.

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You probably already heard the news that LeAnna Braun, our missioner for family ministries has got COVID and that's a bummer because she was due to be ordained to the priesthood today.

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But We can reschedule these things, and it's important that we spread the Holy Spirit at an ordination, not the COVID virus.

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And so, we'll bring you updates, but for the moment, LeAnna's doing okay, and all is well, but just keep praying that she will heal quickly, and, uh, we'll get back to you with more information.

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Oh, so hey, this just in, update on LeAnna Braun's ordination to the priesthood.

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It's gonna happen on Wednesday the 24th, that's next week.

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So, We're going to go see the movie on the 23rd, the 24th.

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Join me in Taos at St. James Episcopal Church at 6 p.

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m. for the God willing and the people consenting the ordination of LeAnna Braun to the sacred order of the priesthood.

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See you there. Snow Slam is coming up February 16, 17, and 18, and it's going to be a fun time.

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Hey everyone, my name is the Reverend Deacon Jack Karn and I'm coming to you from St.

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John's Episcopal Cathedral here in Denver, Colorado.

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It's great to be with all of you to share about my journey and about the work I'm involved in called Jerusalem Peace Builders.

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I grew up in Portland, Maine and went to a Catholic high school, which soon led me to the Episcopal Church, that balance of tradition and reform.

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I learned about the diaconate and I felt called and compelled to pursue.

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This nudge in my life to serve, to bring the church out into the world and the needs of the world back to the church.

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That discernment journey led me to an organization called Jerusalem Peace Builders that I've served with for over 10 years.

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It brings together Americans, Israelis, and Palestinians for peace and leadership programs and is deeply transformational, life changing, and profound.

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It's needed more than ever and so I hope you'll join me at the snow slam event coming up in February and if not that you'll check out Jerusalem Peace Builders online www.

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jerusalempeacebuilders. org God bless you.

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Happy New Year. Snow Slam is our annual gathering of youth and young people.

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This year Snow Slam is going to be happening at Bishop's Ridge, and there's been lots of good snow in Santa Fe this year.

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Snow Slam is going to be a wonderful opportunity.

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So, if you are a person under 18, or you know a person under 18, please check out Snow Slam.

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We'd love to have you there. It's going to be a blast.

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Well, it's that time of year again, parochial reports are now active and online.

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You know, every year the Episcopal Church gathers data, how many people have attended our churches, what our church membership is like, and that information is really helpful in tracking trends with respect to the Episcopal Church and giving the leaders of the Episcopal Church some strategic help in planning for the future.

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And so, your rector, your parish administrator, your senior wardens are working on the parochial report.

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You might check in with them this Sunday and ask them, how's it going with the parochial report? Just to give them some encouragement.

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Parochial reports are not always the most favorite thing for clergy to do, but it is really mission critical that we keep those records.

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The deadline for the 1st, so that's going to be with us before we know it.

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But, the online way to fill out the parochial report is already up and available.

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So it's parochial report season.

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Thanks be to God. This past weekend there was a wonderful event that happens once every year in the Episcopal church.

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It's called winter talk, and it is a gathering of indigenous Episcopalians from around the Episcopal church, not just in the United States, but also from Central America and province nine.

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It was offered for the first time in both Spanish and English.

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Many people were there in person.

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I was not able to be there in person, but I attended the entire weekend on Zoom.

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Michael Drinkwater, who is our Diocese of the Rio Grande Indigenous Missionary, was there in person.

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And coming up, I'm going to share an interview with him, so you can get the full sense of what happened at Winter Talk.

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But I want to share with you one exciting detail that is coming to, that is coming soon.

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But I want to share with you today one exciting detail.

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of an opportunity that is coming your way in the near future.

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Sarah Augustine is the leader of a group called Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery.

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If you don't know what the Doctrine of Discovery is, let me give it to you in a nutshell.

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There was a doctrine promulgated in the church starting in Spain, but going all the way through until today.

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And that doctrine was that any European Christian who was exploring the world, whether your name was Christopher Columbus or Juan de Onate, you had the obligation to colonize and convert any non Christian person that you met.

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And if you discovered people or lands, you could claim it for Christian kingdoms.

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That thinking The Doctrine of Discovery is the undergirding theology and it's a theological principle.

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It's the undergirding theology for colonialism, which also led to racism and the subjugation of indigenous peoples all around the world.

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And that impact of the Doctrine of Discovery and that racism and subjugation is still happening right now, today, all around us and throughout the Diocese of the Rio Grande.

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So I think it's really important for all of us to really understand what the Doctrine of Discovery is, number one, and number two, how the Doctrine of Discovery has impacted the Diocese of the Rio Grande and the lands that we occupy right now, and also how it is still impacting our friends, neighbors, and parishioners who are of indigenous descent.

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So there's an exciting program that's just about to be released.

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It's a three part series on the Doctrine of Discovery.

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It's a curriculum designed to be used in churches that will take about a half an hour to have a short video and then a discussion where we can all learn about the Doctrine of Discovery.

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And so in the near future, you will hear me once it's rolled out.

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So in the months to come, look for more information.

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We'll spread that information right here about how you can get a hold of this three part video series on the Doctrine of Discovery.

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And I encourage you to use it in vestry meetings.

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I encourage you to use it in Christian formation hours.

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I encourage you to just get a group of friends together and do the curriculum over dinner.

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We all need to know about the Doctrine of Discovery and the tremendous damage that it continues to have in our world and in our church.

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That's your weekly update for the end of this second week of Epiphany 2024.

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God bless you, Diocese of Rio Grande.

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I love you, and I can't wait to see you soon.