May 2025 President’s Report

This past quarter our province has seen new life with the interviewing and subsequent hiring of  our new communications coordinator, Steve Welch province8comms@gmail.com. There were  several qualified candidates and Steve rose to the top. He comes with experience working as  the webmaster and communications coordinator for Province V. Steve is developing our new  website, while redirecting people who end up at the old site. Technology can be a gift as well  as a tangled skein. We continue to navigate through the various challenges, looking forward to  a clean, simple communication system that will serve our ministries well. Welcome aboard  Steve! If your ministry has an interest in serving on our communications team please reach out  as we are here to aid you in sharing your Good News, events and or challenges.

Bishop Fitzpatrick, the Diocese of Hawaii recently announced his planned retirement. His  anticipated retirement is in late 2026. The Diocese of San Joaquin is in the process of  interviewing and vetting applicants for their Bishop’s search, with the final slate of nominees to  be presented in early July, with the election held at a special convention in October.

The Episcopal Church is in the National headlines regarding Episcopal Migration Ministries and  TEC’s decision to withdraw from the refugee resettlement grant agreements with the US federal  government by the end of the fiscal year. If you are interested in this ministry, consider joining  in a one hour zoom call May 20th and May 27th 10:00 Pacific time. These calls will have  panelists sharing their experiences and offer effective interventions. We will send a registration  link or google Episcopal Migration Ministries for more information.

Our 2025 grants committee is in place, chaired by Bishop Phylis Spiegel (UT) and Rev. Tom  Smarek Jr (Western OR), Shelly Carlson (San Diego) watch for updates.

After reading an article about resilience, I am reminded of the importance of ‘slack’. It is  important to allow for an ebb and flow, to enable ourselves and our ministries some space for  the unknown and the growth possibilities. There is much unknown all around us, may we  continue to lift up each other, our neighbors and brothers and sisters, providing slack when  needed with a strong foundation of love and faith.

In God’s Peace and New Life… 

Evita Krislock