Faithful Innovation Commission
Who
are we?
Faithful Innovation Commission was formed to understand how to be Jesus Followers in the 21st Century. The Commission is working diligently on how to equip church members to come alongside people who are spiritual, yet they see no reason to meet their spiritual needs through traditional Christian worship. Questions like this: How can we become better acquainted with our neighbors? Do we, as Christians, need to ask why we attend worship services? Faithful Innovation Commission is here to help our diocese explore ways to bring the presence of God into our neighborhoods.
Forming a Commission …
How did Faithful Innovation get its start? It all began back in 2017, when 3 people, Joyce Atchley, Joann Dickson and Marilyn Roth attended a faithful innovation training session offered through Luther Seminary in Minnesota. Over time the three of us began to explore ways on how to connect church people with their neighbors. The Covid pandemic took place in 2020, just when strong thought was being given to forming an evangelism commission for our diocese. However, God’s Spirit was forming something new right under our Episcopal feet, when the national church organized an evangelism process called “Genesis II: Re-Vision and Renew, under the leadership of Tom Brackett, Missioner for the Episcopal Church. Our commission is eager to take part in the training offered by the Genesis II project, and will be working toward gaining 5-6 parishes who might want to commit to the 18 month training.
Faithful Innovation Commission was formed in the Fall of 2022 with 3 members: Joyce Atchley, Joann Dickson, and Marilyn Roth. Katy Nesbitt was added in June 2023, with Sean Rogers coming on board in September 2023. We hope to add 4 more people to represent our different churches in our diocese. Here is the team:
Our Prayer
Next Steps …
The Faithful Innovation Commission is eager to gather a minimum of 4 teams from 4 different churches to engage with the Genesis II project. To do that, a church will need to appoint 4-5 lay people who are willing to meet by Zoom bi-monthly for 18 months. This will be an energizing and life-changing learning experience, where each team will be assigned to meet with other participants throughout the Episcopal Church. You will learn new ways of being church, and you will then share your learning experience with members of your church.
You may think, well, this is a good opportunity to implement ideas already tested in other church locations, but nothing is further from the truth. If there is a goal involved in this project, it is this, the Holy Spirit will be the guide for your team’s group experience. Your outcomes may look very different than other teams located in the mid-west or on the east coast.
How does my church sign-up to join Genesis II?
First, you contact a member from the Faithful Innovation Commission by email or phone. Each member is willing to come to your church to share information about the Genesis II project with your leadership. A church may need to select 4-5 people from neighboring churches to meet the number requirements to become part of the process, but at least it is a beginning. The Genesis II project is an amazing opportunity for every size congregation, as a diocese, we just need to get started. It is a long commitment to make, but it is a commitment needing to be made.
Please join us:
Rev. Deacon Joyce Atchley deaconatchley@gmail.com 541-270-5903
Rev. Deacon Joann Dickson joanndickson313@gmail.com 541-219-0573
Rev. Katy Nesbitt katynesbitt@hotmail.com 541-263-0126
Rev. Sean Rogers sean@seanrogers.org 208-353-6135
Rev. Marilyn Roth, Chairperson Marilyn.roth60@gmail.com 541-980-9291