The New England Deacons Network, a ministry support and educational network of deacons, deacons in formation and friends who support deacons and diaconal ministries in Province I of the Episcopal Church, will be gathering for its biennial conference Sept. 28-30 at the Sheraton in Framingham.
"Crushing Poverty: Service and Solidarity with Those on the Edge" is theme around which participants will grapple with fundamental questions of how to live and work meaningfully and faithfully alongside and among those who are poor, while serving with dignity and a sense of empowerment. Guest speakers and workshop leaders will guide participants in a variety of ways to explore what serving among those who are poor can mean. The conference includes workshops addressing urban and rural poverty and explores how church and secular leadership engages in these vital issues.
Guest speakers include the Rt. Rev. M. Thomas Shaw, SSJE, Bishop of the Diocese of Massachusetts; the Hon. Byron Rushing, Massachusetts State Representative; and Professor Willis Jenkins, author and professor at the Yale Divinity School. Workshop leaders who will focus on urban and rural poverty include Beth Mattingly, director of research on vulnerable families at the Carsey Institute, University of New Hampshire; and deacons Ricky Brightman and Buck Close from the George Hunt HELP Center in Providence, R.I. The conference will also provide small group sessions featuring lay and deacon leaders from across the province.
Conference registration is now open, and can be found at: www.newenglanddeacons.wordpress.com.
For information contact the Ven. Geof Smith, Archdeacon, Diocese of Massachusetts, at geoffrey [dot] smith [at] ironmountain [dot] com.
New England Deacons Network (NEDN)
Since the 1980s there have been periodic regional gatherings to provide education, support and fellowship for deacons, deacons in formation and those family, friends and colleagues who support deacons and diaconal ministries in New England and neighboring dioceses of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church in Canada. Since 2004, there have been three regional gatherings planned and conducted by volunteer design teams led by a convener or co-conveners and in coordination with staff and administrative support from Province I of the Episcopal Church. The design teams seek widespread representation from across the New England dioceses and welcomes participation by lay and ordained people. For more information contact Deacon Kyle Pedersen, NEDN Convener, at kyle [dot] pedersen [at] sbcglobal [dot] net (mailto:kyle [dot] pedersen [at] sbcglobal [dot] net) or 203-772-0294.
