This is an opportunity for all participants to dream big and create a vision with like-minded individuals and congregations interested in building healthier communities. It is organized into one keynote event and two workshops hosted virtually via Zoom.
Congregations will learn how to work within their communities and alongside ministry partners to address the impacts of poverty, strengthen social networks, better understand food insecurity, and support mental health and wellbeing efforts. In Common 2021 is free for all clergy, lay leaders, parishioners, and partners of the Episcopal Church.
Monday evening will begin the 3-night gathering with a keynote address from Jeremy Everett, Founder and Executive Director of the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty. Following the keynote will be a panel discussion on food insecurity. Tuesday evening you can participate in a workshop about the impacts of poverty on mental health. Wednesday evening will conclude the gathering with a workshop titled Practical Steps to Starting Your Poverty Ministry.
COVID-19 has deepened the need to address poverty in our communities. In Common 2021 will focus on what you and your congregation can do to help identify the needs of your community, shine a light on the mental health impacts of living in poverty, and develop practical and transformative approaches to address poverty.
Registration is required for each of the three nights. We will gather each evening from 6:30PM to 8:00PM. Workshop descriptions are below and information including a promotional video can be found on the In Common 2021 webpage.
Please register and invite others from your congregation to join you. We encourage teams of people from churches to join EHF In Common gatherings so that together you can dream, plan and create meaningful community-based ministries. Everyone deserves a place to live, work, play and pray together as one healthy community.
Keynote and Panel Discussion | Monday, April 26, 6:30 – 8:00PM
Jeremy Everett, Author and Founder, Executive Director of The Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty (formerly The Texas Hunger Initiative)
Jeremy will speak about working intentionally across ideological divides to build trust with one another and impoverished communities to effectively end America’s hunger crisis.
Workshop | Tuesday, April 27, 6:30 – 8:00 PM
Mental Health, Poverty, and Systems Change in Texas
In this interactive workshop, participants will deepen their understanding of the complex relationship between poverty and mental health. The workshop will focus on a systems view of the policies and practices that are influenced by and influence poverty dynamics, while connecting these abstract ideas to examples and experiences of people in mental health recovery. Participants will walk away with ways to identify how people in congregations can meaningfully support those navigating mental health and economic challenges in their own communities.
Guest presenters include:
Lynda Frost, JD, PhD, Lynfro Consulting
Anna Jackson, MSSW, Alpinista Consulting
And other Featured Speakers
Workshop | Wednesday, April 28, 6:30 – 8:00 PM
Practical Steps to Starting your Poverty Ministry
Want to create a ministry to address poverty or restart/refocus a ministry post pandemic? This workshop will explore different approaches to impact poverty as a community focused ministry. Workshop presenters will focus on how to develop your ministry approach, how to identify and recruit team members, how to survey your community for actual needs, and more.
Guest presenters include:
Willie Bennett, Episcopal Health Foundation
The Rev. Bill Cruse, Associate, Kaleidoscope Institute
Doug Greco, Lead Organizer, Central Texas Interfaith
For more detailed information about the In Common workshops and speakers, please visit the In Common 2021 Webpage
We encourage churches to include this link in your e-communications: https://vimeo.com/530946398
