From Monday afternoon to this morning more than 325 Episcopalians and members of the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church of America) gathered together to Nuevo Amanecer -- a conference dedicated to COMMUNITY -- MISSION -- FIESTA! This conference was designed for those involved in Hispanic/Latino ministry. Here you can see a picture of the Diocese of Los Angeles team (with the exception of Anthony Guillen who was pulled away from us right before this photo was taken).
It was wonderful to be with our ELCA brothers and sisters and to hear their stories. From the two plenaries (I did one!) and all the workshops, there was no lack of opportunity to be together and learn. In addition to the workshops and plenaries, there were daily walks built into each morning and afternoon schedule as well as opportunities to participate in zumba or yoga. It was a holy time of gathering together to talk about this important work in our church!
This was also a time for me to be with two of my Bishop colleagues -- the Bishop of New York, the Rt. Rev. Andrew Dietsche, and the Bishop Suffragan of North Carolina, the Rt. Rev. Anne Hodges-Copple. While only three of us from the House of Bishops gathered here with the group, what we were told was that it is more Bishops than they had in 2012! With Episcopal groups coming from West Texas, Michigan, Kansas, Texas, Washington, New York, Olympia, Massachusetts, Virginia, Southeast Florida, Los Angeles, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, North Carolina -- and I know I'm not remembering them all -- it would be great to have my brother and sister bishops here with us! Hopefully in 2016!
The fruit of this time were the connections made, the learnings to be shared, and the commitment to come again in two years! I will be processing all I learned and heard over the next few weeks -- there was much that was shared, and I have lots of new food for thought.
The next gathering -- again at Kanuga in North Carolina -- will be August 29 to September 1, 2016. I wonder as I wander to Kanuga for Nuevo Amanecer 2016 what new friends I'll make, and what old friends I'll see? Interested in learning more? Look for information from the Office of Anthony Guillen! I will also be posting more about it as it gets closer.
I'm so grateful for this time together!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Kanuga, North Carolina
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