Nine opportunities to gain new perspectives and inspiration for taking action this Fall!

EHF offers numerous opportunities for congregation members to develop leadership skills, build relationships with communities, and improve community health through ministry and outreach programs. In addition to training opportunities through EHF, we’ve identified some opportunities for training and development through partner organizations. EHF can cover registration costs for these events if you are attending in support of work with your congregation. See below for details!

EHF Opportunities

Mental Health First Aid

EHF continues to offer Mental Health First Aid workshops throughout the diocese to equip people with the tools necessary to help someone who is developing a mental health need or experiencing a crisis and gain a better understanding of mental health issues to support the needs in their community.

Click here to learn about upcoming training sessions in the Houston area, the Austin area, Livingston, and Palacios (August – November 2018)

If your congregation is interested in hosting a training in 2019, please contact us.

#mentalhealth #wellness

Bridges Out of Poverty

EHF is partnering with congregations to offer the full-day, 8-hour workshop to introduce participants to a comprehensive approach for understanding the dynamics that cause and maintain poverty.  Bridges Out of Poverty uses the lens of economic class and provides concrete tools and strategies for a community to prevent, reduce, and alleviate poverty. It’s designed to provide a broad overview of concepts.

All workshops are free to the community and include lunch and workshop materials.

If your congregation is interested in hosting a 1-hour Bridges Out of Poverty lunch presentation for your area or a full-day workshop for your congregation and community partners, please contact EHF Congregational Engagement Officer Eric Moen.

The Community Health Leader Convening invites greater collaboration and cooperation across institutions and works to engage emerging community health leaders (volunteers and staff actively engaged in creating healthy communities) in a locally-focused day-long forum to:

• learn about each other’s work
• strengthen relationships
• identify key opportunities for policy change at the state and regional level

Please visit EHF’s Community Engagement page for more information.

EHF offers Community Engagement workshops to equip congregations and their community partners with the skills to develop relationships and collaborate with the individuals and other organizations they serve. The Approaching Community Engagement Workshop will provide a basic introduction to the principles of community engagement and the different levels and activities needed to build strong community relationships.

Please visit EHF’s Community Engagement page for more information.

EHF will host a viewing and discussion series on the film Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North, facilitated by DeWolf descendant Dain Perry and wife Constance Perry. Watch the video here.

When: October 12 – October 24, 2018

Locations: TBD.

Stay tuned to find out locations included on the tour!

External Conferences and Workshops

Did you know, EHF can pay for you to attend conferences and training to help advance your congregation’s work in the community?

EHF offers financial support so Episcopal congregation leaders, members, and in some cases their community partners, can attend these events. Support is designed for those who could not otherwise afford to attend. Financial support will cover registration costs, and may also include travel and lodging, if needed.

In order to request financial support for any of the opportunities below, please complete the EHF Request for Financial Support Form and you will be notified once your request has been reviewed.

Called to Transformation

Called to Transformation, a partnership between The Episcopal Church and Episcopal Relief & Development, invites clergy and lay leaders from across the Episcopal Church to an Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) facilitator formation workshop. Over the course of a 4-day conference, participants will learn about the theory and the practice of ABCD work, and then begin the process of creating a working plan to implement an ABCD project in their own ministry community.

Upcoming training sessions in 2018:

Learn more about the curriculum and upcoming workshops: www.calledtotransformation.org.

The Texas Christian Community Development Network (TxCCDN) hosts its annual No Need Among You Conference to connect churches, nonprofit practitioners, and volunteers from across Texas to learn about community development and empowerment. The conference helps leaders learn skills to support their community efforts.

When: October 3 – 5, 2018

Location: Waco, TX | First Baptist Church of Waco

Cost: $75 – $175

Learn more about the workshops at the No Need Among You Conference.

The Texas Hunger Initiative (THI) will host its 7th Annual Together at the Table Hunger & Poverty Summit. Join THI, community partners, and congregations from across Texas to learn about innovative practices, hear from different perspectives, and connect with others working to find solutions to hunger and poverty.

When: November 7 – 9, 2018

Location: Waco, TX | Baylor University Campus

Cost: $150 – $200 (Early registration ends on August 15^th!)

#poverty #foodsecurity #hunger

projectCURATE is a social impact enterprise, specializing in research on religion and race, and building social/intellectual community toward collaborative responses to community issues concerning justice.

Frequencies: A Paradigm for Social Change

Designed for those who are currently involved in community organizing and racial justice efforts, this cohort will engage deeply with Adrienne Maree Brown’s Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds. 

When: Saturdays beginning September 22, 2018, 9:00 AM – 12:30 PM

Location: Various – will change each month

Cost: $120

Whiteness 101: From Privilege to Solidarity

This curriculum will help white participants in projectCURATE engage dynamics of race, power, and whiteness more deeply and consider how these dynamics may impact building solidarity with communities of color. 

When: Fridays beginning September 21, 2018, 6:30 – 9:00 PM

Location: Various – will change each month

Cost: $100

Learn more about the events and curriculum at ProjectCurate.org

#racialreconciliation #communityengagement #relationshipbuilding

Visit EHF’s Learning Opportunities page for more information on these and other upcoming events.

If you have an upcoming event being held through your congregation or within your community, please email us describing the event (purpose, date, location) and the name of a contact person, so that we may share it with others through our eNews and EHF Churches Facebook Group.