Living Life Abundantly (From the Episcopal Diocese of NH Diversity Committee)

CELEBRANT Do you believe in God the Father? People I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. CELEBRANT Do you believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God? People I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. CELEBRANT Do you believe in God the Holy Spirit? People I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. CELEBRANT Will you continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers? People I will, with God’s help. CELEBRANT Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord? People I will, with God’s help. CELEBRANT Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ? People I will, with God’s help. CELEBRANT Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself? People I will, with God’s help. CELEBRANT Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being? People I will, with God’s help. (Book of Common Prayer, pp )Book of Common Prayer, pp

 Major world problems?  Poverty  Discrimination  Inappropriate use of resources  Baptismal Covenant  Proposed Solution  Love - Benefiting from Diversity Why are we here?

Goal  Excite you to drive living life abundantly in your parish. Agenda  What is Diversity?  Desired State  Journey to Benefiting from Diversity  Summary/Call to Action Goal & Agenda

Causes  Ignorance  What is “diversity”? (race, creed, color, religion, culture, gender, sexual orientation, economic station, disability, age)  Intolerance  Greed/Fear What is Diversity? Hate Ignore Tolerate Appreciate / Respect Celebrate DetrementalDetremental B e n e fi c I a l Uphold Denounce

 A DAILY WAY OF LIFE – “the Kingdom of God”  Sharing/proper distribution of resources & wealth brings  Peace: no need to fight for what you need  Love: sharing is loving, reduces stress, no need to worry about not having what you need  Happiness: you have what you need and can focus on relationships in community which are what make you happy and create the Kingdom of God.  Millennial Developmental Goals (MDG) impacted  Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger  Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women  Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability  Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development Desired State

Year 1: Understandin g Diversity in NH Year 2: Develop An Action Plan Year 3+: Implement The Action Plan  Individual Mission?  Episcopal Church Mission? Journey to Benefiting from Diversity

Poverty Discrimination Insufficient Resources From Racism to Diversity Common Understanding Develop Action Plan Implement Action Plan Ignorance Intolerance Greed ProblemCauseSolution Live Life Abundantly!!!! Hate Allow Tolerate Appreciate Celebrate Engage Denounce What will you do? Summary/Call to Action DetrementalDetremental B e n e fi c I a l

 The Baptismal Covenant or p Book Common Prayer  Read up on Diversity  1994 Bishop’s Statement n_koinonia.htm n_koinonia.htm  The Church Awakens: African-Americans and the Struggle for Justice Anglican_history/exhibit/ Anglican_history/exhibit/  “Becoming Bridges: The Spirit and Practice of Diversity” by Gary Commins  Biblical References  Luke 6:27 – 35, Micah 6:8, Numbers 22:37 – 40, Matthew 22:37 – 40, Matthew 25:31 – 45, James 2:1-26, John 10:10  Help with/Attend the EGADD (Episcopal Get Acquainted Diversity Dinners Resources