Two new Episcopal Service Corps program sites, in Memphis, TN, and Berkeley, CA, announced their opening this week.
In Memphis, TN, two parishes joined forces as sponsors Grace-St. Luke’s and Church of the Holy Communion have been accepted as an Episcopal Service Corps site for 2015-2016.
“City of Soul: Episcopal Service Corps in Memphis, Tennessee” will seek and place five young people in five Memphis organizations for one year of service starting next August.
Three interns, sponsored by Grace-St. Luke’s, will be at BRIDGES, St. Columba Episcopal Conference and Retreat Center and the Shelby County public defender’s office. Holy Communion will sponsor interns at Emmanuel Center and MIFA (Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association).
Church of the Holy Communion’s joining the proposal, at Grace-St. Luke’s invitation, allowed for the sponsorship of an additional two corps interns so the proposal could reach the recommended minimum of five corps members.
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And in Berkeley, a new program is being launched jointly by the Church Divinity School of the Pacific (CDSP) and the Diocese of California where up to eight interns with the Diocese of California’s Episcopal Service Corps program will live on the CDSP campus and participate in the life of the seminary.
Living on the seminary’s campus will provide richer educational and social opportunities for the interns and immerse them in the life of a Christian community dedicated to study, prayer and fellowship, said leaders of the diocese and seminary. The seminary will benefit from the diverse perspectives and experiences of the interns who will be working at churches and non-profit organizations in the Bay Area while living on campus.
“This partnership is an excellent example of vitality practices we seek to employ in the Diocese of California,” the Rt. Rev. Marc Handley Andrus, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of California, said. “This partnership demonstrates collaboration between CDSP and the Diocese of California, offers chances for embeddedness in a variety of communities for interns, and the Bay Area is teaming with diversity — to which the interns have continually contributed with their presence.”
Tom Poynor, the program’s director, said, “I am excited about this opportunity to strengthen the work we do in forming leaders, both lay and ordained, for the larger church. The cooperation with CDSP creates a stronger locus for our commitment to intentional Christian community while immersing interns in vibrant traditional and cutting-edge theological conversation.”
To learn more about Episcopal Service Corps programs and intern opportunities, visit their website, episcopalservice corps.org
posted by Jon White