A Vessel to be Filled

Haley Bankey told me, at my first Gathering in San Antonio last fall, that we provide a vessel to be filled. The Leaders pour into that vessel all of their experience, their expertise, the amazing ideas, and the radical hope that so infiltrates who we are. Our shared knowledge grows and grows and it changes us. It changes our parishes and our communities too.

As we make plans for 2023 I keep thinking of that vessel. We’re bringing back the really successful Lay Leader Gathering, continuing to support our clergy colleagues with Gatherings just for them, and also welcoming back our Bi-Vocational Leaders this year. All of these are opportunities for rest, learning and connection. If you haven’t been to a Gathering lately I really hope you’ll try to join us this year.

We’re also launching a new project called Ministry Moments. These are virtual events, hosted in Mighty Networks, that will allow more instances of vessel filling. Ministers who are experts in a field will present and we really hope you’ll come and learn. The first one will be with the Rev. Erin Jean Warde, an expert in the field of clergy wellness and sobriety. Erin will present in March. The Rev. Lorenzo Lebrija, founder of TryTank, will present in April. Stay tuned and plan to attend these events, especially if you know you can’t join us in person.

We will also be gathering stories of hope for a just hatched project called Magnify Hope. Haley and I will be at the EPN/CEEP conference next month, come find our table, say hello, and record your own brief story about where hope is apparent in your ministry.

It is your stories, your ministries, the topics you are so deeply passionate and knowledgeable about that make us what we are. You pour yourselves into one another, instilling knowledge and hope, passion and experience.

You are changing the world.

Alicia+

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Mtr. Alicia Hager Community & Communications Curator, The Gathering of Leaders