News & Messages

Trialogue Reunion Goals and Opportunities

Greetings from the Trialogue Communications Task Force. The Trialogue is composed of the three Episcopal dioceses of Wisconsin that are exploring how reunification to one diocese may better equip us to be the church God is calling us to be.

The job of our task force is to regularly update the clergy and parishioners about the Trialogue process. Our goal is to keep you informed about how the reunion conversation is progressing and the steps taken along the way. There will be many opportunities for your input and questions as we proceed. This is a work in progress and we value all participation and input.

Bishop Matt Gunter representing the Dioceses of Fond du Lac and Eau Claire (with Milwaukee Provisional Bishop Jeff Lee) presented the Trialogue steering committee, and seven task forces, the reasons below that support reunion during the initial Trialogue meeting.

Pursuing reunion as one diocese provides us an opportunity to engage a changing world and become the church God is calling us to be. The outcome of this process is uncertain as we discern our strengths, challenges and seek to improve the way we embrace a hurting world, raise up disciples and share the Good News of God’s grace and transformation. Our goal is to encourage and challenge all people to be transformed by the Holy Spirit.

It is an opportunity to

• reconfigure ourselves into a strengthened diocese organized to engage our changed and changing world
• combine our financial, human and spiritual resources, into a diocese organized for mission, evangelism, and public witness
• organize ourselves to better support each of our existing congregations
• encourage, cultivate, and nurture new communities of worship and discipleship; some may look like conventional congregations, others may not
• form disciples equipped to live faithfully in these times
• find ways to faithfully and responsibly use various communication methods to better reach all ages
• encourage and train lay leadership
• draw on our heritage and organize ourselves to be a missionary diocese for the 21st and 22nd centuries.

The world is changing and changing significantly. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. We need to adapt, not for mere existence, rather as a dynamic reflection of the Good News and love we know in Jesus Christ. It is the Good News the world desperately needs. We can become a church that confidently lives and bears witness to the Good News, with due humility, as we listen to and learn from our neighbors. Together, we can become a missionary diocese organized to embrace growth, challenges, and opportunities before us.

We will have more information for you soon. We conclude today with this prayer from the Prayer and Discernment Task Force.

Almighty God, we come before you asking grace and wisdom for all who are called to discern your mission for the church in Wisconsin. May we listen to one another in humility and always seek your will. We pray in the name of Jesus, the head of the church. Amen.

pdf version
https://www.episcopalwisconsin.info/ 

Outreach around the Diocese: St. Paul's, Watertown and Mary's Room

The expectant mom texted a message to Mary’s Room Facebook page: “I am a single mom, expecting any day now, and I have nothing for the baby. Can you help?” The response was immediate as this is what we do at St Paul’s. We were able to help her with baby furniture and equipment, clothes and diapers and our stash of new blankets and quilts made with love and donated from members of the parish and the Watertown community. Forty-five minutes later she was prepared for the new arrival!

This was not an unusual circumstance for our outreach program. We have a lot of moms and dads who visit us for diapers, clothes and baby equipment on a routine basis, but we often deal with emergency needs and coordinate community resources as they arise.

Mary’s Room is supported by the parish and the entire community. Many area churches have fundraisers and collections for us, and secular organizations give to us regularly. We collaborate with other outreach programs such as the food pantry, the free laundry service, and family services, creating a community safety net for families. In addition, we have received substantial support from the Watertown Health Foundation and Watertown Public Health to create a safety net for families in the greater Watertown area. We also have a trusted relationship with Jefferson County Human Services, and they accept referrals from us for families needing help with employment, housing, and child care.

We're proud that the Mary’s Room model has been adopted by the Methodist Church in Fort Atkinson, and St. Paul’s donated clothing items and equipment to get them started. It’s good to have a sister agency in southern Jefferson County as the need continues to grow. We have no geographic limits at Mary’s Room, and we are willing to serve anyone even if they are just passing through!

We are blessed with dedicated volunteers both from the parish and from the community. It is interesting to note that two of our regular volunteers joined the parish family after volunteering in Mary’s Room as community members.

If you would like to donate to Mary’s Room there is a donate button on our St. Paul’s website under outreach/Mary’s Room. Or, you can send a check directly to St. Paul’s with Mary’s Room in the memo line. If you are interested in setting up a similar outreach program in your community or with your parish, you can contact Alice Mirk, St. Paul’s Outreach Coordinator, at or 920-219-0427.

Alice Mirk
Outreach Coordinator, St. Paul's, Watertown

Outreach around the Diocese: St. Mark’s, Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Diaper Mission

I spent a few years in my early 30s living in Washington, D.C. While there, I connected with a great group of women that held a big Christmas party each year. In addition to catching up and exchanging cookies, they always collected diapers and menstrual supplies for the D.C. Diaper Bank. I had never heard of a diaper bank, but I was so impressed with how many supplies they collected to help their neighbors in need.

St. Mark's first Diaper Drive, Advent-Christmas 2016-2017

When I returned to Milwaukee in mid-2015, I resumed attending St. Mark’s. I occasionally volunteered with some of our various events, but I couldn’t stop thinking about my friends back in D.C. and their diaper project. So in the fall of 2016, I approached the rector at St. Mark’s and told him I’d like to host a diaper drive. We scheduled our diaper drive for Advent and Christmas because diapers are far more useful than frankincense to new parents, even when their child is the Messiah.

While preparing for our drive, we learned that as many as one in three families experience diaper need at some point. Diapers are not eligible for purchase with WIC or SNAP (food stamps) funds. Clean diapers are necessary for healthy babies, and as I was soon to find out when I had my own child in 2017, infants can go through as many as 12 diapers per day.

For our 2016-2017 drive, we collected somewhere around 4,000 diapers. The next year, we collected a bit more. By the 2020-2021 drive, we were able to supply 10,000 diapers to Riverwest Food Pantry, Robyn’s Nest, and HOPE Network for Single Mothers.

Volunteers during St. Mark’s 2021 Summer of Service

As the ministry began to grow, I knew we needed to get more strategic about where we donated the diapers we collected. I thought we might be close to needing to start a full-fledged diaper bank. Like a food bank, a diaper bank supplies diapers to direct service agencies like food pantries and community centers. When I began this research in the spring of 2021, I quickly discovered that Milwaukee Diaper Mission had launched in the fall of 2020, supplying both disposable and reusable diapers and menstrual products. Rather than duplicate efforts, we quickly pivoted our existing diaper ministry into a partnership with Milwaukee Diaper Mission.

 Packaging diapers last summer

A large benefit of partnering with Milwaukee Diaper Mission has been the opportunity for parishioners to volunteer and feel more connected with this basic needs ministry. For the St. Mark’s 2021 Summer of Service, we had 17 parishioners volunteer in some way or another. We primarily worked at Milwaukee Diaper Mission’s cramped Bay View warehouse, but we even had a fearless group of four women who spent one Saturday morning moving 40,000 diapers from a basement in the Lindsay Heights neighborhood to Milwaukee Diaper Mission’s warehouse.

Volunteers at the new warehouse in Franklin

Milwaukee Diaper Mission recently moved into a much-needed larger space in Franklin, and St. Mark’s has already sent half a dozen volunteers to the new warehouse, where we packaged diapers, assembled period kits, and recorded inventory. Volunteering with Milwaukee Diaper Mission is a great way to help provide basic needs for those in our community. Tasks are available for all abilities and ages – that baby I had in 2017 is now four and has helped pack period kits and put packages of diapers on the shelves. St. Mark’s has four more volunteer dates scheduled for 2022, as well as plans for a midyear menstrual product drive and our Advent and Christmas diaper drive. If you would like to join us in volunteering at the warehouse, host your own drive, or discuss how else your parish can get involved in this basic needs ministry, please reach out to me at  .

Brooke Frizzell
Senior Warden, St. Mark’s, Milwaukee