Diocesan Council/Standing Committee Meeting

[Ward Lewis]

Any news? There has been very little activity since The Presiding Bishop was in Peoria, IL.
How can we help with the cause? I am finding no real communication between fellow believers on this sight. Does anyone else have an idea to keep us up to date?

[Tobyn Leigh]

Hi Ward --
I can't speak for anyone else, but I know I needed a little break over Easter after the organizing Synod April 4. We talked a little bit Tuesday at the first Standing Committee meeting about the Web site and communications. I know that we need continuing news and information distributed but I hope you will be patient with us as we get organized.

I can tell you that responding to the suit filed by the Southern Cone/Quincy group was discussed this week, and our chancellor is working on that, but I can't comment further on pending litigation.

You will notice the name change and mission on this Web site and that's another thing discussed this week.

One of the things we continue to look for is help finding and contacting Episcopalians who have fallen away from the Diocese, discouraged by the steady march over the past years toward schism. A number of cases have come to light where individuals and families have been made to feel unwelcome or dropped from membership -- essentially shunned. So that's a great place where assistance is needed.

Also there are women who have expressed interest in active ECW development and organization.

If there are specific topics you want to discuss or questions you want to ask, I encourage you to initiate.

++Blessings!

[Joan R. Gundersen]

I am hoping that you will soon publish a list of those elected to the various diocesan committees. This will be very helpful both to those within the diocese and to those, like me, in other dioceses. We need to know whom to contact and how.

JRG

[Ward Lewis]

That would be a huge help!!! Thank you for the suggestion.

[Tom Rezner]

Try finding this website or anything to do with the Episcopal Diocese of Quincy doing a Yahoo search 99% of what you find is links to the Gaucholand affiliated Diocese. If the Diocese is to be a Diocese it needs to act and look like a Diocese. This means it needs a web site listing Parishes, Diocean Officers, Diocean Committes Diocean events, news, etc. What exists now is more a blog site than an official directory. Since the Gaucholand folks continue to use a name they are not entitled to the Website needs a clear tie to TEC in it's title. To grow you need more of a sembalance of permance. Right now you look like unorganized folks that left rather than organized folks that stayed in the church. Image is everything, the Council and Standing Committee need to shake a leg on this.

[Tobyn Leigh]

I agree with you Tom, as do a number of others on the SC/DC, which met today in Peoria and discussed the point you have made here. Plans are in the works to address the Web site/communication/image issue.