The 2023-2024 Diocesan Cycle of Prayer is available for congregations to use in their weekly intercessions. Each congregation is prayed for during the week which includes their Feast of Title.
Morning Prayer is offered in the chapel at Diocesan House on Wednesdays and Fridays at 9:30 AM. You are welcome to attend Morning Prayer — mindful that the office is closed on holidays and some days specific to the Diocesan House.
Here is a listing of Christmas Services happening in Episcopal congregations around Rhode Island; for more details, please contact the individual parishes or check their webpages:
| Cranston | St David’s on-the-Hill | 10:00 PM | |||
| Hope Valley | St Elizabeth’s | 4:00 PM | |||
| Providence | St Martin’s | 4:00 PM | with Pageant | ||
| 9:00 PM | |||||
| Warwick | St Mark’s | 5:00 PM | |||
| 10:00 PM | |||||
| Westerly | Christ Church | 5:00 PM | with Pageant | ||
| 10:00 PM | music begins 9:45 | ||||
| Woonsocket | St James | 7:00 PM |
| Charlestown | Church of the Holy Spirit | 9:30 AM | |||
| Warwick | St Mark’s | 9:00 AM | |||
| Westerly | Christ Church | 8:00 AM | |||
| 10:00 AM |
The 2022-2023 Diocesan Cycle of Prayer is available for congregations to use in their weekly intercessions. Each congregation is prayed for during the week which includes their Feast of Title.
Morning Prayer is offered in the chapel at Diocesan House daily at 9:30 AM. You are welcome to attend Morning Prayer — mindful that the office is closed on holidays and some days specific to the Diocesan House (e.g., the Monday after Diocesan Convention!).
Diocesan Guidelines for Licensed Worship Leaders
According to Title III, Canon 4 of The Constitution and Canons of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church, 2018 Of Licensed Ministries:
Sec. 1
A confirmed communicant in good standing or, in extraordinary circumstances, subject to guidelines established by the Bishop, a communicant in good standing, may be licensed by the Ecclesiastical Authority to serve as Pastoral Leader, Worship Leader, Preacher, Eucharistic Minister, Eucharistic Visitor, Evangelist, or Catechist.
Sec. 2
The Member of the Clergy or other leader exercising oversight of the congregation or other community of faith may request the Ecclesiastical Authority with jurisdiction to license persons within that congregation or other community of faith to exercise such ministries. The license shall be issued for a period of time to be determined under Canon III.4.1(a) and may be renewed.
Sec. 4
A Worship Leader is a lay person who regularly leads public worship under the direction of the Member of the Clergy or other leader exercising oversight of the congregation or other faith community.
Steps for Licensing:
Once these steps are completed, please submit application with supporting materials to maryann@episcopalri.org
The diocese will reimburse $150.00 half of the cost of the $300.00 Bexley Seabury Worship Leader class-please submit receipt to maryann@episcopalri.org
Licensed Worship Leaders are not paid, and the Bishop prefers that they serve as Worship Leaders only in their own congregation.
The Bishop will license a lay person at the request of the priest in charge. In order to be considered for licensing, a lay person must be a confirmed communicant in good standing. The license is issued for three years and may require additional training before renewal. Lay worship leader applicants are asked to complete the training offered by Bexley-Seabury Seminary, the details of which will be found here. The Diocese will contribute to the required tuition, with the remainder to be split between the parish and applicant.
A licensed Worship Leader may read a sermon from Sermons that Work, the approved resource for The Episcopal Church, https://www.episcopalchurch.org/sermons-that-work/, a sermon from a resource that has been approved by their priest, or occasionally offer a personal reflection approved by their priest. Only a licensed Preacher may compose their own sermon and preach regularly in public worship, and the process to prepare for that ministry may be found here https://www.episcopalri.org/lay-preacher/
Bexley Seabury Seminary Preaching Sermon Camp Registration
Now is the time for lay leaders who are called to serve as licensed Preachers to sign up for Bexley Seabury Seminary’s Preaching Sermon Camp. In order for Bexley Seabury to reserve the correct number of spots in the class, those who have either gone through Education for Ministry or who are completing the series of three pre-requisite courses need to register as soon as possible to reserve a space in the program. The Preaching Sermon Camp will be held April 11- June 12, 2022.
The Bishop will license a lay person at the request of the priest in charge. In order to be considered for licensing, a lay person must be a confirmed communicant in good standing. The license is issued for three years and may require additional training before renewal. Lay preachers “have at least two years of seminary education, successfully completed Education for Ministry, or other equivalent training or preparation accepted by the Bishop.” Equivalent training includes either successful completion of the three pre-requisite classes offered by Bexley Seabury or graduation from Education for Ministry, followed by the Preaching Sermon Camp at Bexley Seabury. REGISTRATION LINKS ARE BELOW.
The Diocese of Rhode Island, as part of Province I, has partnered with Bexley-Seabury Seminary to offer Pathways for Baptismal Living. Currently there are two courses we bring to your attention:
Over the course of seven weeks, you will learn an adaptable rhythm of sermon preparation so you routinely complete your sermons by Friday. This rhythm incorporates your spirituality so you preach Good News you believe, and preach it more effectively. This process of studying the sermon text is adapted from the ancient rhythm of Lectio Divina: read, study, express, and pray. While you will learn to employ this process over five contiguous days, it is expected you will adapt this process and schedule to suit your personality and calendar. In addition, you will learn and apply BsP’s “Heart of the Message” process to clarify and articulate your sermon’s message and content. You will also appraise sermons based on BsP’s definition of an effective sermon, with two sermons of your own and two of your peers. By the end of this course you will:
This course is for those preparing for a Lay Preaching License and is meant for those who have gone through Education for Ministry, or taken the pre-requisite courses. Additional information on this course is here. If you are interested in becoming a Licensed Lay Preacher or Minister, please begin here.
More information and registration for Bexley Seabury courses is found here.
More than a course, this innovative communal process invites participants into a time of deep listening, practice of ancient and modern spiritual disciplines, and insights offered and received regarding individual gifts and passions — all within a brave/safe circle of trust. In addition to monthly synchronous Zoom meetings in small groups of 6-8 with a trained facilitator, participants will engage classic and current texts, videos and articles on discernment, spiritual practices, and the ministry of the baptized. Our journey together will be enriched with activities for self-reflection, guided conversations with others, and exploration of our own contexts. Our goal is to encourage each person to practice discernment of their call as a baptized Christian and equip them to actively be the Body of Christ in daily life.
This discernment process is meant to assist persons in finding their lay vocational ministry; it is not intended as a step towards ordained ministry.
More info here.
You can watch informational videos from the Instructor, and past participants.
Complete this online form.
The Diocese of Rhode Island is offering to pay $100.00 towards each tuition; it is expected that the participant and their parish will make up the difference. There is scholarship funding available, based on need.
Other formational opportunities with Bexley-Seabury will be coming. Please stay tuned.
We are pleased to offer a virtual Stations of the Cross this year. Churches from around the Diocese have contributed to this video and we hope that it will have meaning for you this Lent.
The Order of Service was taken from the Book of Occasional Services.
The Rhode Island Chapter of the American Guild of Organists (RIAGO) is pleased to announce its Second Annual Lois Conboy Memorial Awards 2021, established by The Reverend Thomas Conboy, Jr. in memory of his wife Lois, to further interest in and study of the organ. There are three Scholarship Awards: a Young Artist Award ($1,200), an Encouragement Award ($500) and a Discovery Award ($300).
The Young Artist Award is open to anyone who is a New England native or resident, 30 years old or younger, and is or has been or will be enrolled in a program of organ study at a University, Conservatory or College, or is a graduate of any music program. The Encouragement Award is open to any undergraduate or graduate student who is a Rhode Island native or resident, 30 years old or younger, and is or has been or will be enrolled in a program of organ study at a University, Conservatory or College, or is a graduate of any music program. The Discovery Award is for anyone in Rhode Island who wants to learn more about the organ, regardless of age. The Award money may be used to pay for organ lessons, Pipe Organ Encounters (POE) workshops or any other program involving organ discovery and learning.
Application deadlines:
For more information please see the attached materials or write RIAGO.Awards@gmail.com
