We had a great turnout at the 2020 Winter Convocation which was held at Kalahari Resort and Convention Center on February 7-8. The theme was "We're Trying!"

Nearly 300 people attended from 68 of our parishes. This was one of the highest turnouts in regards to number of parishes represented.

The keynote speaker was the Rev. Lorenzo Lebrija, the founding director of TryTank, the Experimental Lab for church growth and innovation.

In his keynote presentation, the Rev. Lebrija discussed successful and failed TryTank experiments including an Amazon Alexa prayer skill, Apple News prayer feed, Digital Collection plate, and Spin Church. The Rev. Lebrija also discussed three steps for trying: research, ideate, and execution.

On Saturday morning, participants gathered to celebrate Holy Eucharist as a community.

Everyone then moved onto morning workshops which included an opportunity to dive deeper into "trying" with Rev. Lebrija. Other options offered focused on lay leadership in the church, theological reflection, and building relationships through food ministries.

During this time, the children had the opportunity to engage in activities regarding "We're Trying!" that were tailored to their age groups. Convocation is truly an intergenerational event.

In addition to the children's program, a youth lock-in was offered for those in grades 6-12. Nineteen youth from 10 parishes participated. The lock-in included time to attend workshops, play games, visit the water park, and build relationships.

Their involvement at Convocation is a good reminder that these youth are not only the future leaders of the church, but vital members of it today.

Lunch followed the morning workshops with additional time to mingle, network, and share conversation.

During the break, many individuals visited the exhibit tables, including Bellwether Farm and "Solarize the Diocese."

Convocation then resumed with afternoon workshops that included presentations about discerning new ministry, storytelling, communities of intentional living, creating a culture of generosity, the language of prayer, and more.

It continues to be an opportunity for people to come together from across the diocese and become engaged and inspired with ideas and information to help us move forward into the future together.

Photos can be found on our social media pages as well as on our website. Save the date: February 5-6, 2021. We look forward to celebrating with you again next year!