Diocesan Staff Transitions

December 10, 2020

“But how can you leave us?” -- Diocesan Staff, upon Cheryl Daves Wilburn and the Rev. Sarabeth Goodwin informing us of their plans for retirement. 

“Hooray!” -- Diocesan staff, upon the news that Mildred Briones Reyes will serve as the new Missioner for Latino/Hispanic Ministry and Diocesan Initiatives for the diocese. 

Cheryl Daves Wilburn
Cheryl will retire February 1, 2021, after just shy of 50 years of devoted service to the Diocese of Washington. An anchor of calm and care in a too often turbulent world, we give thanks for her pastoral presence among us and her ministry of love. Watch Cheryl’s “exit” interview with Keely Thrall. 

Sarabeth Goodwin
For over 16 years, both in her parish ministry work and as the diocesan Missioner for Latino Ministries, Sarabeth has placed a love of God and an understanding of community and the common good of the people she serves at the center of her grace-filled ministry. In advance of her retirement on February 1, 2021, she reflects on her time among us in a video conversation with Mildred Briones Reyes. (En Español)

Mildred Briones Reyes 

Bishop Mariann is pleased to announce that Mildred Briones Reyes will serve as the Missioner for Latino/Hispanic Ministry and Diocesan Initiatives for the Diocese of Washington beginning on February 1, 2021 in addition to continuing to offer her organizational skills to manage and support key diocesan programs and initiatives to advance the diocesan strategic plan. Read the full announcement | Leer en español

 

Mildred Briones Reyes to Serve as the Missioner for Latino/Hispanic Ministry and Diocesan Initiatives

December 10, 2020

Bishop Mariann is pleased to announce that Mildred Briones Reyes will serve as the Missioner for Latino/Hispanic Ministry and Diocesan Initiatives for the Diocese of Washington beginning on February 1, 2021, transitioning from her current role upon the retirement of the Rev. Sarabeth Goodwin. 

Since her arrival on the bishop’s staff in January 2018, Mildred has been an invaluable member of the diocesan team, bringing her joy-filled faith, superb organizational skills to every initiative she has tackled, and her passion for helping others. “Given Mildred’s deep ties to Latino Ministry, not only in this diocese but in the wider church,” Canon Paula Clark says, “it felt like a natural evolution in Mildred’s ministry path for us to explore how her gifts might align with our goals for Latino/Hispanic Ministry in the diocese.” 

Mildred says, “I am proud to be a product of the Latino Ministry in this diocese that allows mi gente -- mi familia -- and me to journey in God’s transcending love. I look forward to the work ahead."

Mildred will be responsible for advocacy and oversight of Latino/Hispanic ministry in the Diocese of Washington, working with the Bishop, diocesan staff, clergy, congregations and diocesan organizations to advocate, develop, and enhance initiatives among people of Latino/Hispanic cultural backgrounds within their missional contextual communities. In addition, Mildred will continue to offer her organizational skills to manage and support key diocesan programs and initiatives to advance the diocesan strategic plan.

In taking on this position, Mildred will be one of the few Latina lay Missioners for Latino/Hispanic Ministry in The Episcopal Church. 

Mildred Briones Reyes servirá como Misionera para el Ministerio Latino/Hispano y las Iniciativas Diocesanas

December 10, 2020

La Obispa Mariann se complace en anunciar que Mildred Briones Reyes servirá como la Misionera para el Ministerio Latino/Hispano para la Diócesis de Washington a partir del 1 de febrero de 2021, pasando de su cargo actual al retiro de la Reverenda Sarabeth Goodwin.

Desde su llegada al personal de la obispa en enero de 2018, Mildred ha sido un miembro inestimable del equipo diocesano, trayendo su fe llena de alegría, sus magníficas habilidades organizativas a cada iniciativa que ha abordado y su pasión por ayudar a los demás. "Dados los profundos vínculos de Mildred con el Ministerio Latino, no solo en esta diócesis sino en la iglesia más amplia", dice la Canóniga Paula Clark, "nos sentimos como una evolución natural en el camino del ministerio de Mildred para que exploremos cómo sus dones podrían alinearse con nuestras metas para el Ministerio Latino/Hispano en la diócesis".

Mildred dice: “Estoy orgullosa de ser un producto del Ministerio Latino en esta diócesis que permite a mi gente -- mi familia -- y a mí viajar en el amor trascendente de Dios. Espero con mucha ilusion el trabajo que vamos a realizar por delante.”

Mildred será responsable de la promoción y supervisión del ministerio latino/hispano en la Diócesis de Washington, trabajando con la Obispa, el personal diocesano, el clero, las congregaciones y las organizaciones diocesanas para abogar, desarrollar y mejorar iniciativas entre personas de origen cultural latino/hispano dentro de sus comunidades contextuales misionales. Además, Mildred continuará ofreciendo sus habilidades organizativas para manejar y apoyar programas e iniciativas diocesanas clave para avanzar en el plan estratégico diocesano. 

Al asumir este cargo, Mildred será una de las pocas misioneras laicas latinas del Ministerio Latino/Hispano en la Iglesia Episcopal.

Stress Relief in Stressful Times

November 12, 2020

I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord  in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!
Psalm 27:13-14 (NRSV)

Stress became an ever-increasing dynamic in my life at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Some semblance of relief was my fervent prayer, so I found myself constantly trying to live my faith in new ways, albeit without any familiarity of the emotional and spiritual terrain in which I found myself.

Everything about coronavirus was virtually unknown except the viciousness with which it devastated our lives, hurling our levels of grief and loss to all time highs. Work life, personal life, and family life all seemed to blur together with a total disregard for healthy boundaries and balance. A colleague shared a Facebook posting which restated an old familiar mnemonic to remember the number of days in each month… “Thirty days hath September, April, June, and November. All the rest have thirty-one, except March which has 8,000!” I agreed, for my life had become one extended period of hours leading to the next extended period of hours leading to whatever came next.

To my dismay, what came next was an onslaught of racial injustice that ripped the country apart in ways that had not been experienced since the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. As an African-American man, I felt anxious and afraid that I lived in a country that was actively killing people who looked like me. I remember rerouting my daily walks through predominately white residential neighborhoods to busy thoroughfares in an attempt to avoid any confusion that I may have been staking out their house for a future violent intrusion. The days continued to blur together, but now with an energy that was even more disturbing than before.

In the midst of it all, I strived for a rhythm that would enable me to navigate through the emotional volatility of the current time. I “ZOOMED” with friends. I exercised regularly. I continued my spiritual practices of reading scripture, prayer, and meditation. 

I tried everything and allowed myself to fall into a false sense of security, thinking that I was surely closer to a space of mental health than I was before all this madness started. 

But then the 2020 election season kicked into high gear, bringing with it a madness and chaos that further exacerbated all of the happenings of the previous eight months. I didn’t think the emotional terrain could get any more treacherous, but it did. And all I could do was to wait for some semblance of a breakthrough, for better or worse.

I was stressed out! But I also knew that claiming my emotional state would not be enough to shift my emotional state. 

So, I reflected upon the reality that situations, in and of themselves, are not stressful. What makes a situation stressful is your assessment of your ability to handle the situation. Well, my assessment of my ability to handle the madness of the current time was fair, at best. Sure, I had been in many situations in the past in which I had to multitask very difficult and seemingly impossible situations, but currently, I found myself in a space in which past tools for stress relief just didn’t seem to do the trick. Past tools helped, but there was something missing and I was at a loss to identify it. 

Truth be told, all of the current happenings had a personal common denominator--racial injustice and inequity. My keen sense of the obvious kicked in and I realized that I had not been specific enough in identifying my core emotion…anger. 

I remembered that anger is a manifestation of two emotions; greatest fear and deepest hurt. 

As an African-American man, one of my greatest fears is that I will be totally devalued. That fear is connected to my deepest hurt, which is living in a nation that endorses such a fear solely based upon the color of my skin.

When I identified what I was feeling, my next step was to identify what I needed. I needed encouragement. Encouragement that affirmed me as a child of God made in God’s image. Encouragement that affirmed me as a product of my family that worked diligently to equip my younger brother and me with an excellent education which opened doors of opportunity that had been closed to them. And encouragement that affirmed me as a sojourner in faith connected to a God who has consistently looked beyond my faults and seen my need.

Intentionally waiting for both personal and spiritual revelation is a game in life that can relieve your stress by stretching your being. So in the midst of this stress-inducing season, I invite you to be encouraged by the Psalmist who affirms,

I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!

Amen.

The Rev. Dr. Robert Phillips
Canon for Leadership Development and Congregational Care

Ministerio Latino en EDOW: futuro y oportunidades

October 15, 2020

El futuro a corto y mediano plazo de la Diócesis Episcopal de Washington está anclado necesariamente al Plan Estratégico que la diócesis ha aprobado recientemente. Los tres ejes principales de este plan son: revitalizar la vida de las congregaciones, fomentar la formación espiritual de todos los feligreses (niños, jóvenes, adultos, ancianos) y promover la justicia y la equidad en todo lugar -- pueden ser una oportunidad para que nuestras congregaciones latinas continúen siendo testigos de la obra de Dios en nuestro medio. 

¿Cómo este Plan Estratégico es ya una realidad en los ministerios latinos de nuestra Diócesis y cómo puede ser un instrumento para que nuestras congregaciones re-piensen su misión y ministerios?

Revitalización de las congregaciones: El Plan Estratégico Diocesano nos permite dar mayor prioridad a la revitalización de nuestras congregaciones latinas. Nuestras congregaciones latinas ya están mostrando signos de salud de acuerdo con nuestros Signos Vitales de Salud Parroquial recientemente adoptados. Por ejemplo, San Mateo/St. Matthew’s se encuentra entre las congregaciones de nuestra diócesis con la tasa anual más alta de confirmaciones y recepciones. El número de compromisos sacramentales que se hacen cada año en una congregación es una de las métricas clave que puede ayudar a los líderes de la iglesia a discernir la realidad de su circunstancia actual y ajustar su misión y ministerio según sea necesario para diferentes resultados en el futuro. Cada una de las métricas puede usarse de esta manera para enfocar mejor el tiempo y el esfuerzo dentro de una parroquia a las áreas más necesitadas de atención.

Formación Espiritual. En las sesiones de escucha del plan estratégico del año pasado quedó muy claro que los feligreses de nuestra diócesis valoran la formación espiritual. Y aunque se han ofrecido varias oportunidades formativas en la diócesis a través de los años, con temas que van desde la liturgia y la identidad anglicana hasta la raza y la diversidad cultural, carecimos de una estrategia coherente para la formación-- y una que abordaría las necesidades específicas de las congregaciones latinas para prepararlas mejor para llevar a cabo su misión. En respuesta, uno de nuestros objectivos iniciales en el Plan Estratégico fue desarrollar una Escuela diocesana de Liderazgo y Fe Cristiana. En septiembre, lanzamos las primeras ofrendas de la Escuela. Y aunque la Escuela está en sus primeros pasos, una de sus prioridades es asegurar que los individuos y las congregaciones latinas en nuestra diócesis se involucren más profundamente en su programación y puedan tener acceso fácilmente a oportunidades de capacitación en formación en idioma español y culturalmente competentes.

Justicia y equidad: Los temas de la justicia y la equidad son vitales para los ministerios latinos ya que nuestros feligreses y comunidades sufren diariamente de inseguridad, discriminación y dificultades para acceder a servicios básicos en este país. Estas dificultades han aumentado durante la pandemia y se han vuelto más evidentes para la comunidad en general. En medio de la lucha, hay una oportunidad para reconocer el racismo entre los latinos y lograr justicia racial y equidad más allá de la comunidad latina. La educación, la capacitación y las acciones para promover la justicia en temas específicos serán vitales en la expansión de la voz profética latina en nuestro medio.

El futuro es amplio y Dios está constantemente abriendo puertas para nuestro ministerio latino diocesano. Oremos para que Dios continúe proveyendo oportunidades de crecimiento y testimonio para todos.  

The Rev. Yoimel González Hernández, Dean of the Latino Deacons School
Mildred Reyes, Missioner for Diocesan Initiatives

Mildred Reyes