We are imaging a calendar for:

• Diocesan-sponsored events, be they programmatic or governmental
• A “use of space” calendar for St. James Commons—that will include all events at St. James Cathedral, as well as those in diocesan offices
• The aforementioned “events around the diocese” calendar

The events calendar will comprise sub-calendars for particular types of events. We are in hopes that congregations and church-related organizations from around the diocese can submit items to these calendars using an online form.  We are currently considering sub-calendars for:

• Arts and music
• Education and formation (lectures, panel discussions, etc.)
• Special worship services

Keeping in mind that these calendars exist primarily for publicizing distinctive events that might be of interest to those outside of the parish (So it would not be appropriate to post your Sunday morning service times, or reminders for your vestry or altar guild) what other categories might be helpful?

Would it make sense to have a category called something like Advancing Good Causes in which we could list activism, advocacy and fundraising initiatives? Do parishes hold youth events that might be of interest beyond parochial borders? Should we have a Miscellaneous category for events that don’t fit easily into any particular category?

We could also use some advice regarding the Church Finder that is in the works. It will, in all likelihood be possible to search for churches using the name of the church, or the zip code in which you hope to find a church. (And, obviously, we will have a list of all diocesan congregations.) Are those two fields enough? Should we try to make it possible to search by the name of a town or neighborhood? If so, what kind of language should we use to help people find churches in the city of Chicago? Should we use geographic language? Neighborhood language? We’d appreciate your thoughts on this.

• reviewing the information architecture (the way information is categorized) in an attempt to make information as easy to find as possible,
• working on a new flag for the top of the page (unless the current one is greeted with great acclaim)
• building a better calendar
• building a better church finder
• adding pages for which we currently lack essential information
• seeking your opinions on what we’ve done, and what we should do next.

Please give us your feedback by leaving a comment on this or any successive posting on this website creation blog, which is dedicated entirely to the development of the new episcopalchicago.org website. We will try to respond to in a timely fashion.

Here are a couple of questions to get the ball rolling:

• Do the names of the categories (Our Diocese, Our Work, etc.) work for you? Do they need subheads to make clearer what content lives in each section? Would other names work better?
• Are individual pages in the categories where you would expect to find them?
• Do you think the site serves the needs for regular users (who are likely to be Episcopalians who are involved in the life of the church) as well as those of seekers who are curious about the Diocese of Chicago and the Episcopal Church? (The lack of a church finder makes it hard to say a resounding yes to this question, but one is in the works.)
• What other comments do you have?

You will notice that this site has less content on it than the old site. That is mostly by design.  An enormous amount of material can be archived on a web site, but the more material that is added, the harder individual pieces of information can be to find. Additionally, making space for every short-lived enterprise and fleeting initiative can dilute the focus on the diocese’s core commitments (Build the Church. Form the Faithful. Change the World.).

If you are looking for information about a particular program or ministry that was on the old site but isn’t on this one it is possible we are unaware of it, in which case we’d appreciate knowing about it. It is also possible that the program or ministry is inactive, or has no contact person or events or meetings scheduled in the foreseeable future, in which case we’d appreciate knowing about it once it becomes more active.

As a general rule, we did not include pages in the Our Diocese section if a commission or committee had become dormant, or nearly dormant, and we did not include pages in the Our Work section if visitors to the site could not participate in or benefit from an on-going diocesan-sponsored ministry. However, there are on-going diocesan sponsored ministries that don’t yet have a presence in this section, and if yours is one, please let us know.

That’s about it for now. Let’s talk.

Dear Friends:

On September 1, I wrote to you about our executive team search and said that I hoped to have the new team in place by Diocesan Convention. I am very glad to tell you that we have met that goal with nearly three weeks to spare.

Late last week, I extended offers to three talented people who have all agreed to join the bishop’s staff at the Diocese of Chicago. Please join me in welcoming my new executive team:

Director of Ministries:  The Rev. Jim Steen, who currently serves as associate for congregations and administration, will become our director of ministries. Jim’s passion for congregational ministry and vision for the church of the future are familiar to many of you, and he has been an invaluable support to me during our diocesan restructuring. I am very grateful to him for agreeing to continue his service.

Jim served as rector of St. Paul and the Redeemer Episcopal Church from 1998-2010, a period of extraordinary growth for that congregation, and has also served congregations in Washington DC and New York City. Jim holds an MDiv from General Theological Seminary and a bachelor’s degree from Washington and Lee University. Jim, the father of a grown son, lives in Hyde Park with his partner, Tom Chesrown. Learn more about Jim here.

Director of Networking: The Rev. Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows, who has been rector of Grace Episcopal Church in Syracuse, New York and Episcopal chaplain at Syracuse University since 2004, will become director of networking at the end of January 2012. I serve with Jennifer on the Standing Commission on the Structure of the Church, and have come to admire her keen listening, articulate questioning, and passion for creating a church for the next generations.

Jennifer was previously director of alumni and church relations at Church Divinity School of the Pacific, from which she holds an MDiv. She is also a graduate of Smith College and holds an MA from Cornell University in historic preservation planning. Jennifer, a triathlete, blogs at Cookin’ in the ‘Cuse, is an editor at Edible Finger Lakes magazine and has been published in the anthology Bread, Body, Spirit. She will be moving to Chicago with her husband, Harrison, their ten-month old son, Timothy, and a miniature dachshund, Chase, who I’m told is famous around the church. Learn more about Jennifer here.

Director of Operations:  Courtney Reid, currently senior director of organizational effectiveness at the Center on Halsted, a community center for Chicago’s LGBT community, will become director of operations on November 14. Courtney, who is a member of All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Ravenswood, impressed me with her skill and experience, but especially with her enthusiasm and passion for ministry.

Courtney has worked in management at Chicago-area health and social service non-profit organizations for fifteen years. She holds a BA from the College of William and Mary and an MDiv from Yale University. She has done work at the Center for Non-Profit Management at Northwestern University and earned a certificate in non-profit financial accounting. Courtney and her partner, Pam, live on the north side of Chicago with their three young daughters. Learn more about Courtney here.

As you can imagine, the prospect of working with these gifted people has ignited in me a new sense of possibility and a passion for our work together. I’m looking forward to seeing you at Diocesan Convention and sharing the fire.

I owe thanks for overseeing this search to Anna Stefaniak, our excellent associate for human resources, and to those who helped with interviews, including Standing Committee member M.E. Eccles, Congregations Commission co-chairs Andrea Mysen and Steve Godfrey, Chancellor Todd Young, Lonn Myers of Bishop and Trustees, Alvaro Áraica of the Hispanic Affairs Committee, Idida Pérez of the Anti-Racism Commission, and Canticle Communications partners Rebecca Wilson and Jim Naughton.

Thanks, too, to all of you who have continued to advance the mission of the diocese as we searched for new leaders. Please pray for our new team and welcome them to our ministry.

In peace,

Jeffrey D. Lee

Read more about Imam Hendricks here.

Bishop Jeff Lee; the Rev. Dr. Bonnie Perry, rector of All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Chicago and co-founder of the Chicago Consultation; and Ruth Frey, director of continuing education at Seabury Western Theological Seminary and member of the Chicago Consultation Steering Committee, will travel from Chicago to South Africa for the event.

The consultation, which will involve about 55 people and last for three days, will be grounded in the Indaba process, prayer and Bible study and will explore theological perspectives on human sexuality and justice. Participants will include theologians, bishops, church leaders, grassroots advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and other people willing to engage in intensive conversations across cultural boundaries. Both Lee and Perry will make presentations during the consultation.

The participants in the consultation will share their experiences with the wider church through stories and video reflections and through the report of a listening team led by the Rev. Janet Trisk, a representative to the Anglican Consultative Council from the Church of Southern Africa. Frey will serve as a member of the listening team.

Annual Clergy Conference

SCHEDULE

Sunday, October 16, 2011

3:00 – 5:00 pm     Registration/Check-in   St. Mary of the Lake Conference Center

5:30 – 6:45 pm     Holy Eucharist with Renewal of Ordination Vows
St. Lawrence Church, 125 West Church Street, Libertyville, IL 60048

6:45 – 8:30 pm     Clergy Appreciation Evening

Monday, October 17, 2011

8:15-9:00 am     Breakfast

9:00-9:20 am     Morning Prayer – Dormitory Chapel

9:30-11:20 am     Keynote speaker

11:45 am – 12:45 pm      Holy Eucharist – Dormitory Chapel

12:30 – 1:15 pm     Lunch

1:30–5:00 pm     Free-time

5:00-5:30 pm     Evensong – Dormitory Chapel

5:30-6:15 pm     Dinner

7:00 -8:30 pm     Keynote speaker

8:30 pm     Sung Compline – Lecture Room

9:00 pm     Social Hour

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

8:15 – 9:00 am     Breakfast

9:00 – 9:20 am     Morning Prayer – Dormitory Chapel

9:30 -11:45 am     Keynote speaker

12:00-1:00 pm     Holy Eucharist – Dormitory Chapel