Dear Clergy, Parish Administrators and Senior Wardens,
During this time of Transition in the Diocese of Easton as Bishop Santosh enters his final months with us, the Diocesan Discernment Committee is calling the Diocese to pray this summer: for our discernment and healing, for our bishop and his family, for our diocesan staff, and for the Standing Committee and Discernment Committee.
We are asking each parish to commit to:
1) Incorporate discernment prayers in your Sunday worship each Sunday; and
2) Have an existing parish prayer group commit to adding discernment prayers as part of their prayer practices every week – or form a new prayer team that commits to praying for discernment on a weekly basis.
Will you see that your parish takes these two actions this summer into the fall?
We would be extremely grateful if you would report by July 11, 2025 via email or text to the Discernment Committee’s prayer team about what your parish is undertaking to pray for discernment for the Diocese of Easton. The Prayer Team’s contact information is below:
- The Rev. Suz Southern: stpaulsrector.suz@gmail.com; 443-614-7187
- The Rev. Andrew Cropper: revandrewcropper@gmail.com; 757-894-8248
To help you, the Prayer Team has put together a number of prayers that you can use or modify which can be found on the Discernment Prayers page: https://dioceseofeaston.org/transition-prayers.
Sunday discernment prayers could be part of the Prayers of the People, an additional collect, or inserted in some other appropriate part of your worship.
A prayer team could take many forms, from a weekly meeting in the church or part of a Bible study group. The team could pray at a zoom meeting, conference call, or digital meet-up of some sort. It could be lay-led or clergy-led.
Each parish is different and so you know best how to call your congregation to pray for the diocese.
The Discernment Prayer Team is also interested in any creative ideas you have or are implementing regarding holding the diocese in prayer during this time of transition and is available to help you in organizing your parish to pray as we prepare to discern our future. Please contact Suz and Andrew with any questions, suggestions, or needs.
With the Standing Committee’s decision to hold off engaging in conversations about discerning our future until we undergo a process of listening and healing beginning in the fall, the Discernment Committee is emphasizing engaging now in prayer as it does some data gathering. As co-chairs we welcome your comments and suggestions as we move forward in the discernment process.
Thank you for your participation in discerning our future as the Diocese of Easton.
In Christ,
The Very Rev. David Michaud (St. Peters, Salisbury) davidmichaud07@gmail.com
Ms. Diana Marit Kunkel, PhD (Emmanuel, Chestertown) maritco@comcast.net
Co-Chairs, Discernment Committee, Diocese of Easton