Eastern Shore Episcopalian - Pre-Convention 2020

The Bishop’s Institute
by Dee Rinehart
“For everything there is a season, and a time
for every matter under heaven… God has put a
sense of past and future into their minds.”
With those familiar words
from Ecclesiastes 3:1-7,11a, the
Proclamation of the Word began on
January 4th during a Celebration
Eucharist, one that launched the
Bishop’s Institute and a new ministry
for St. Paul’s Spring Hill, now the St.
Paul’s Worship Center.
The Bishop’s Institute arises from
Bishop Marray’s vision for the
Diocese of Easton in his “Parousia.”
Its call is “To provide all the faithful
saints of the Diocese of Easton
training and formation needed to
become intentional disciples and
effective evangelists sharing Jesus’
love.” The Institute will be housed at
St. Paul’s Worship Center, Hebron
with two satellite sites: St. Stephen’s,
Earleville and Bray House, Easton.
A training site in each Convocation
will allow training sessions closer to
home for the people of our Diocese.
Course offerings for 2020 include
training for discernment committee
leaders, identification of spiritual
gifts, and annual training for
licensed lay ministries, new lay
ministers and those who wish to
renew their licenses. As the Institute
opens its doors, our vision is to
provide spaces and resources for
varied formation offerings as needs
arise in the diocese. In the spring,
we will offer the first training for
Worship Leaders, those who are
licensed to read the Daily Office. In
early autumn, we will offer training
for lay Eucharistic ministers and
Eucharistic Visitors.
We acknowledge the people of St.
Paul’s, Spring Hill, whose vision and
generosity has provided a home for
both the Bishop’s Institute and the
St. Paul’s Worship Center. After a
year of self-study and discernment
they determined that their site
and resources should be a place
which would carry on the heritage
established by their parish and form
disciples for Jesus Christ in the
Diocese of Easton, “…to equip the
saints for ministry…,“ Ephesians
4:12.
The Bishop’s Institute Launch was
marked by the welcoming key
leadership:
The Reverend Dr. Daniel Dunlap
was installed as Canon Theologian of
the Diocese of Easton. The Reverend
Canon Dunlap will supervise the
theology of the Bishop’s Institute and
those on an ordination track through
the Bishop’s Institute.
There followed the commissioning
of the Officers and Advisory Board
Members of the Bishop’s Institute.
The Executive Committee of the
Bishop’s Institute is comprised of Dee
Rinehart, Director; Laura McCarthy,
Deacon Postulant, Associate Director;
the Rev. Laura Dorsey, Vicar, St.
Paul’s Worship Center; and the Rev.
Dr. Barbara Anne Fisher, Missioner:
Church Beyond the Walls/Diocesan
Liaison for Creative Ministry.
The Bishop’s Institute Board of
Directors are the Rev. Canon Dr.
Daniel Dunlap, Canon Theologian;
the Very Rev. Michael Moyer,
Chair, Commission on Ministry;
the Rev. Laura Dorsey, Vicar, St.
Paul’s Worship Center; the Rev. Dr.
Nicholas Sichangi, Rector Trinity-
Elkton and St. Stephen’s-Earleville;
Hank Phillips, Treasurer; Chris
Sabas, Deacon Postulant; Mrs.
Billie Jo Russell, Senior Warden and
Representative, St. Stephen’s; and Mr.
Eric Broussard, Representative, St.
Stephen’s.
6 7