The Living Stones Diocesan Partnership came into being through the inspiration and effort of Charles and Lynne Wilson. With a vision of an association of partner dioceses seriously committed to Baptismal Ministry development, they sought the support of Jim Fenhagen and the Cornerstone Project of the Episcopal Church Foundation. Cornerstone and Roanridge Foundation provided initial development funding. The Wilsons served as project convenors until the Living Stones partnership was well launched.
Overall leadership has now been assumed entirely by the Living Stones coordinators. Each partner diocese pays its own expenses associated with membership in the partnership.
Living Stones began as a coalition of eight Anglican dioceses, both American and Canadian, working together under a covenant to renew and revitalize ministry at the local level. As of June 2005 the partners are 23 dioceses and one religious community: Arkansas, Community of the Holy Spirit, Connecticut, Eastern Michigan, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Navajoland, Nebraska, Nevada, Northern California, Northern Michigan, Northwest Texas, Nova Scotia & Prince Edward Island, Rupert's Land, Southern Ohio, Spokane, Vermont, West Virginia, Western Michigan, Western New York, and Wyoming.
The Living Stones commit themselves:
- To use discernment processes to identify gifts for ministry.
- To nurture and support all who minister in the name of Jesus Christ;
- To offer innovative thinking for leadership and organizational structures that encourage shared/mutual ministry, appropriate in each diocese.
New Leadership Team
Kevin Thew Forrester kevintf@upepiscopal.org
Jo Gantzer jgantzer@edomi.org
Claire Cowden ministry@nwt.org
C.J. Adams ourcj@mts.net
Mailing Address:
c/o Claire Cowden
Diocese of Northwest Texas
1802 Broadway
Lubbock, TX 79401
ph. 806-763-1370
A spin-off of Living Stones is the Ministry Developers Collaborative http://www.mindevelopers.org/ , begun in 1999. The purpose of this organization is to provide education, training, and support for those called to be ministry developers. A competency-based curriculum has been written, and an internship program for ministry developers got under way in the 2003.
