An Invitation to Participate in the Beloved Community Initiative with Sacred Ground

There continue to be sessions of Sacred Ground going on at various locations throughout this year. Please encourage friends, family, fellow parishioners and other congregations or faith based groups to participate. There are some very positive changes to Level 1 based on feedback from the surveys from participants. This gives us time to implement some of the new initiatives with a larger body of people (less readings, more up to date articles, more discussion time, and only 9 sessions). “Sacred Ground” Level 2 is for those who took Sacred Ground Level 1 and want a deeper dive into the content with much more dialogue, more research and a focus on individual or collective action. The level 2 sessions consist of 7 sessions. We ask that every parish make this information about the locations available to all of their parishioners. The first Sacred Ground Level 2 series was a huge success!

If there is an interest in parishes wanting to host a Scared Ground Level 1 or 2 later in the year, please let Shahnaz Alam-Denlinger at s.alamdenlinger@episcopalpgh.org. She needs to train any leaders who want to lead these new sessions on the created content. All of the sessions will be made available via zoom. We will be offering a summer 2024 Sacred ground level 1 and Level 2 for those participants who want to participate via Zoom. The Scared Ground Level 1 at St. Thomas is starting on 08/22/2024.

New and improved Level 1 Session (9 weekly sessions) for Sacred Ground at St. Thomas starting Thursday, August 22, 2024 at 6 PM. Dinner will be provided. Sessions will also be available for Zoom participation.
Address: 378 Delaware Ave, Oakmont, PA 15139
Contact Person: Shahnaz Alam-Denlinger 412-251-7456
Join Zoom Meeting: https://wts.zoom.us/j/89796804584?pwd=3PgH8tCAi4PMqppvWTyRtUzjr2faor.1

New and improved Level 2 Sacred Ground Session (7 weekly sessions) starting Wednesday, August 21, 2024 at St. Thomas. Dinner will be provided and/or full Zoom sessions will occur.
Address: 378 Delaware Ave, Oakmont, PA 15139
Contact Person: Shahnaz Alam-Denlinger 412-251-7456
Join Zoom Meeting: https://wts.zoom.us/j/89796804584?pwd=3PgH8tCAi4PMqppvWTyRtUzjr2faor.1

Sacred Ground Sign Up Link:
Click here to sign up for Scared Ground Level 1 or Level 2: https://forms.gle/49VhbXxsQVuLtKiC8

Please contact Shahnaz Alam-Denlinger at s.alamdenlinger@episcopalpgh.org  with any questions of if there are issues with registering for Sacred Ground.

Another very important initiative is the creation of a “Parish Prayers for Beloved Community” for all congregations in our Diocese to utilize along with their usual content. We invite each parish in the diocese of Pittsburgh to send in prayers they would like included in a book of prayers to be curated by the Beloved Community Initiative. The prayers should be connected to the creation of a beloved community. It is another enrichment tool for reinforcing beloved community. Please email your requests to Canon Eric McIntosh, Canon for the Beloved Community Initiative, at emcintosh@episcopalpgh.org or Shahnaz Alam-Denlinger, BCI Program Coordinator, at s.alamdenlinger@episcopalpgh.org. by September 30th.