The Christian Formation Network at Province I seeks to collaborate, curate and catalyze relationships and resources to nurture and expand opportunities for faith development across the lifespan. We know that our world is changing but our God is constant, so we support one another in sharing what’s working, asking big questions, and committing to worship and gratitude to God for the journey. We invite you to join us at our yearly conference in March at the Barbara Harris Camp and Conference Center, on our monthly Zoom calls that feature different aspects of forming Christian disciples in a variety of contexts, or to be in touch in other ways so we can connect and share the gift of the formation work God has given us. To connect with this ministry network, email Emily Keniston at ekeniston@episcopalmaine.net.

The Diaconal Ministry of Province I provides opportunities for networking, support and further enrichment of deacons and various supporters of this servant ministry.

Since the 1980s there have been periodic regional gatherings to provide education, support and fellowship for deacons, deacons-in-formation and those families, 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 biennial 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. In the Spring of 2015, diaconal leaders piloted a series of web conferences designed to share wisdom and continue conversations between biennial conferences. Deacons Talking on the Road to Emmaus was launched as a monthly web conference series (October to May) after the 2016 conference. In September 2015, after two years of development, diocesan representatives interested in sharing diaconal education, training and formation activities launched the Province I School for Deacons with a two-year deacon formation program.

Province 1 Indigenous People’s Justice Network Invites You to a Book Study Series

The Province 1 Indigenous People’s Justice Network invites you to join the first in a series of book discussions. Discussion of The Gatherings: Reimagining Indigenous-Settler Relationships by Shirley N. Hager and Mawopiyane will take place on Wednesday, September 13, 7:00-8:15pm on Zoom. Co-authors Rev. Shirley Bowen of the Diocese of Maine and Shirley Hager of the Friends (Quakers) Committee on Maine Public Policy will join the discussion.

The Gatherings shows how Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples can come together to create meaningful and lasting relationships. Indigenous and non-Indigenous people participated in a series of long weekend gatherings over several years, in an Indigenous-led traditional Council format. Assumptions were challenged, perspectives upended, stereotypes shattered, and friendships formed that have lasted many years. Seven Indigenous and seven non-Indigenous authors, collectively Mawopiyane (a Passamaquoddy word that translates “Let us sit together”), share their experiences of the gatherings in their own words.

To register for this book study, please click here.  The Gatherings may be purchased through any bookstore or online book outlet. The link to purchasing the book from the publisher is here:  See also the book’s website where you can view many options for purchasing the book, find out “more from the authors,” and read the many endorsements.

A teacher’s guide for The Gatherings is available for free here.

Save the dates for these additional book studies:

Nov. 8 – This Land is Their Land: The Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the Troubled History of Thanksgiving, by David J. Silverman

Jan. 10, 2024 – Our Beloved Kin: A New History of King Philip’s War, by Lisa Brooks (Abenaki)

March 13, 2024 – Path Lit by Lightning: The Life of Jim Thorpe, by David Maraniss

For additional information about the book discussion or the network, contact Martha Gardner, Missioner for Networking and Formation, Diocese of Massachusetts, at mgardner@diomass.org. 

Faith formation is the lifelong, life-wide and life deep process of growing in our relationship with God, self, others and all creation.

Province I supports faith formation practitioners all across New England. Lay and ordained, full-time and part-time, non-paid and paid, these professionals work in parishes, dioceses, camps and schools to ensure that our children, youth and adults have opportunities to learn about and express our faith. Designing holistic processes that connect God’s story with our own as we participate in the life of a faith community, these women and men help faith community members engage Scripture and the Christian tradition, embrace spirit-led principles and practices, pray and worship alone and with others, serve individuals and groups in their communities and beyond as well as act to create a just world.

Each year, the province invites everyone associated with faith formation to gather for informal networking, resource sharing, and lifelong education. Together we have explored The Way of Love, Parts I and II (2019 and 2020, Jerusalem Greer), incorporating elements of Godly Play and Montessori-like storytelling into our communities in non-traditional ways (2017), Alternative Models of Sunday School (2016, Prov I leaders), Faith @ Home (2015, Wendy Barrie), and The Once and Future Church (2014, Lisa Kimball and Tricia Lyons). If you have suggestions about what you’d like to explore deeply in the context of an in-person gathering, please email Will Harron at coordinator@province1.org.

The ministry network gathers on Zoom monthly for a facilitated conversation; to join those meetings or learn more about the topics, email Will Harron at coordinator@province1.org. This network is also a place to learn about grant opportunities for young adult and campus ministries, and we’re hoping to plan retreats for students, young adults, and chaplains and ministry leaders.