Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida
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To all Clergy:
Bishop Smith is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, May 19. In this email you will find links to many resources that may be helpful in advance of the meeting and for your further planning.
Topic: Bishop-Clergy Check In Zoom
Join Zoom Meeting
https://episcopalswfl.zoom.us/j/634711897
Meeting ID: 634 711 897
Dial
+1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
Meeting ID: 634 711 897
Find your local number: https://episcopalswfl.zoom.us/u/axFpSCJ4j
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Topics From Bishops & Canons Call:
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Each week there is a Bishops and Canons Coordination Call that takes place on Monday afternoons—this coordination call is coordinated by the Presiding Bishop’s Office in conjunction with Episcopal Relief & Deployment. For the last few weeks, two of the topics that have arisen during each of the calls are: safe distancing and the risk of transmission posed by singing in worship. This is something for our congregational leaders to keep in mind. Katie Mears, Senior Director, US Disaster Program, of Episcopal Relief & Development, has shared the following resources:
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A Note from Canon Richard Norman:
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This past week I did some reading on the topic of singing and the transmission of COVID-19. I was really struck by a quote from Dr. Kevin Kavanaugh in an article he wrote for MJH Life Sciences in which he states “The combination of singing in close quarters and decreased ventilation is nothing short of a petri dish for viral growth.” And then there were these takeaways:
- Speaking releases 2–10 times as many particles as coughing.
- Airborne droplet nuclei generated by singing is 6 times more than that emitted during normal talking.
- A 10-minute conversation, talking in a normal volume would yield an invisible 'cloud' of approximately 6,000 aerosol particles.
- Singing = coughing in number of particles emitted. Singing, however, is sustained.
The following articles on speaking, singing, and the risk of transmission are worth reading:
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The College for Bishops Leadership Institute, May 2020 Update:
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Church & the COVID-19 Pandemic?
The COVID-19 pandemic will surely have a long-term impact on the financial life of congregations. How can churches survive and even thrive in a post-pandemic landscape? Faith & Leadership asked 12 church and ministry leaders in a variety of contexts across the country to share their views of the future.
What Relaunching the Church Might Look Like Over the Next 3-12 Months
We are in the midst of a crisis that is forcing the church to learn a new song and dance. It’s important that we understand that the virus has affected: how people gather, how people live, and how people give. Understanding those three things well will help us move from learning the dance, to dancing the new dance, to perfecting the dance, and finally to thriving after the new dance.
10 Questions to Ask Your Congregation Before You Reopen
“When can we reopen our church?” That is the question that keeps getting asked. Here are some questions to consider (as well as options for congregational surveys) to help make an informed decision. This brief article also includes a lengthy list of additional articles and resources.
Be Weird, Be True
Social media is the new town square. Being present in your community means you are present on social media. Here are some tips that may help you develop your ministry online. This article comes from the Episcopal Church Foundation Vital Practices May issue: Telling Our Story. |
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The Church and Society
Americans’ Views on Trump, Religion, and Politics
Heading into the 2020 election season, a new Pew Research Center survey delves into the relationship between religion and politics.
How Should Christians Act During a Pandemic?
The coronavirus pandemic is doing what wars, depressions and natural disasters have not: shutting down places of worship for Christians all over the world.
Digital Worship May Create America’s Next Spiritual Awakening
For decades, the church has been trying to reach America’s youngest generations with the gospel. All the while, we’ve seen headline after headline reminding us that church attendance has been falling rapidly. Enter a global pandemic. Could it be that simply by responding as best and as quickly as we could to something no one saw coming, we’ve unwittingly stumbled into part of God’s answer to a generational riddle? |
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Educational Leadership
A Side Effect of the Covid-19 Pandemic? Reading Got a Lot Harder
Lots of people, it seems, are struggling to stay focused on the written word. (Are you still here? Good!) College instructors have expressed an inability to read at the breadth and depth that they’re used to. And that’s fine, they’ve decided.Their recent struggles, they say, have made them more empathetic to the ways their students are struggling, too.
8 Ways to Be More Inclusive in Your Zoom Teaching
Faculty members and students together are diving into Zoom teaching, often with little to no prior experience. As you lead a class discussion or a meeting on Zoom, it’s all too easy to lose people in the process. But the principles of inclusive teaching can help you reach students in a virtual classroom, just as in a physical one.
The Secret to Making Zoom Meetings More Meaningful for You and Your Coworkers
Many of us are now working at home due to the pandemic. To our surprise, we’re seeing our coworkers more than ever before--but as tiny heads on our laptops in video meetings. Instead of bringing us closer, all this togetherness can sometimes make us feel miles apart literally and emotionally. TED asked Adam Grant to take a look at loneliness at work and how virtual meetings could be re-imagined as ways to connect rather than feel disconnected. |
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Spirituality & Personal Growth
Advice for Dealing with Uncertainty, from People Who Have Been There
This pandemic that we're all going through feels unprecedented — but the feeling of uncertainty is not. People live through all kinds of scary things all the time. NPR’s Life Kit talked to some folks who've lived day to day with looming uncertainty, to hear how they got through it and to see what we might learn from them right now. Here are seven tips learned about uncertainty, from people who've been there.
This Too Shall Pass: Mourning Collective Loss in the Time of Covid-19
Covid-19 forces us to look our unease with death squarely in the face. Suddenly, millions of us find ourselves grieving not just the passing of people we love who have died alone, but the deaths of millions of people worldwide, as well as the passing of a way of life as we realize how many things will not go “back to normal” after the outbreak has ended. Humans have faced similar cataclysms many times before. Our ancestors knew all about the challenges we now face, and they have plenty to tell us. |
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