Events
2022 Mondays in September:
A DOTAC Study Serieson the World Council of Churches document
“Called to Transformation: Ecumenical Diakonia”
On August 31-September 8, the World Council of Churches will met/met in Karlsruhe, Germany. The important document “Called to Transformation: Ecumenical Diakonia” was presented for discussion. DOTAC has decided to offer an on-line Zoom study group of the report. We have asked three presenters to begin each of our three sessions. All of them will attend/attended the Assembly: Matthew Ross as WCC Staff and editor of the report, Marianne Uri Øverland as representative of DIAKONIA World Federation, and Hyuk Cho as a delegate of the United Church of Canada.
September 12: Reverend Dr. Matthew Ross September 19: Reverend Marianne Uri Øverland
September 26: Reverend Dr. Hyuk Cho
They are asked to share in their brief presentations, from their perspective
- What does the report mean to you?
- What are the most important elements of the document for you?
- What aspects of the Assembly’s discussion and debate on the report stood out for you?
Breakout rooms will follow the presentations. Each small group will be assigned chapters (with synopsis and/ or quotes of the chapter with open-ended questions). Then groups will be asked to report back to the plenary. The document can be found at:
https://www.oikoumene.org/resources/publications/ecumenical-diakoniaYou are encouraged to read the whole document but there will be synopsis and/or quotes to summary the various chapters.To register, send an email to teddodd@live.com
You will be sent a Zoom link closer to the time of the event. All sessions will last just slightly over an hour and begin at 1 pm Central Daylight Time.
(Check an on-line time zone converter for local times.)
Blessings and greetings! For us, meditation of any kind is simply and primarily another way to sit with God. Oh yes, there are physiological and psychological benefits, but our only purpose is to spend time with God. As our world rages and spins out of control, what a wonderful treat to sit and relax in the presence of our creator. While you need nothing to fully participate in this time of reflection, it will help to sit in a comfortable chair. Also, if you wish, you could have a focus object available: a candle, a shell, a turtle, a rock, etc. It may help for our particular guided meditation to have 3 pictures, one of someone you love very much, one of someone you have trouble getting along with, and one of someone you hardly know. Don’t worry if you don’t have pics, you can bring the person to your mind’s eye. I look forward to sitting with you and God in holy space. Sister Davia Evans has been a Lutheran Deaconess seemingly since forever. She has served congregations in the inner city, suburbs and the rural area of Central Pennsylvania. She has worked as a surgical intensive care registered nurse and more recently a rural parish nurse and choir director. With a Master of Sacred Theology Degree specializing in Lutheran Spirituality, for the past 25 years she has focused her ministry on spiritual direction, prayer, and wellness coaching. Free time is spent reading, enjoying nature, knitting, and any other craft activity that comes by. The past several years have been difficult for many of us, due to the challenges of a worldwide pandemic, the rise in civil unrest, the increasing urgencies brought about by climate change, not to mention the usual stresses of everyday life today…the list seems endless. To help us cope with some of the tensions we all may be feeling, and to promote health and well-being for all within DOTAC and beyond, a series of ZOOM gatherings will be held in the Spring of 2023 to equip participants with some tools to address the pressures of life in the past few years, for the wellness of all. Presented by talented and experienced DOTAC members, topics include: Mindfulness (April 19,) and Trauma Release Exercises (May 17. To register to receive the link for this presentation, please email Deacon Dave Hellerich: dave@hellerich.com To Claim Healing for Ourselves
A series of Spring 2023 ZOOM Gatherings on Wellness!
April 19- “Guided Meditation” 1 pm Eastern Time
With Sister Davia Evans, The Deaconess Community of the ELCA
Thursday in Black. And today I am thinking about, and holding space for, John Gordon Smith and his family. Last week his 12 year old granddaughter was brutally taken from them in an act of gender based violence. As they remember Elaina, celebrating her life and mourning her going from them, may we continue to advocate for an end to violence against women.
😢
We pray ofr the family and deepest sympathy. Yes, we pray for Gender Violence to cease.
Kathy’s DOTAC Story A Growing Community When the Covid pandemic hit Canada three years ago, Kathy was recently retired and just beginning to forge new connections in the town where she and her partner were now living. Covid social distancing measures cut off the usual ways of gathering and meeting people and soon Kathy soon felt isolated and cut off from friends new and old. Thankfully, that isolation was relieved in part by the initiatives of DOTAC. As a long-time member of Diakonia of the United Church of Canada (DUCC), Kathy had been active in her own denominational association; but had very little connection with DOTAC. Covid changed all that! “By taking part in the DOTAC Zoom gatherings, like ‘Mondays in May’, or the ‘DOTAC Racial Justice Workshops’, I was suddenly linked to a much larger community than I had thought possible. Learning and reflecting, worshipping and engaging in Bible study with members of the diaconal community from Brazil, the Caribbean, USA, and on occasion, Great Britain, kept me grounded and connected during those pandemic months and yes, even years!” So, when I was asked if I would help plan the Bible Study sessions at the DOTAC assembly in Minneapolis in August 2023, I didn’t hesitate to say, ‘yes’! The Bible Study will lift up the themes of ‘Longing and Lament’ and ‘Hope and Holy Joy’ both in our own contexts and in a world that has been impacted by so much disruption, chaos and change in the past few years. It has been such a creative process to work with Ted Dodd (DOTAC President) and Rev. Dr. Lynda Reid, Diaconal Minister with The Presbyterian Church in Canada. Together, we have planned Bible study sessions that will weave together music and song, silence and discussion, visuals and readings from a wide variety of biblical versions. And best of all, we will be able to be together and face to face. How I look forward to being in person with those I’ve only met on a Zoom screen!” Connect! Heal. Engage. Register now for Gather at the River, the 2023 DOTAC Assembly, August 14-18, Minneapolis, MN, USA. https://form.jotform.com/221875117654157 Early registration special pricing ends June 1, 2023.
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