2010-2011 Fresh Start meetings are scheduled for:
Nov. 11, 2010
Mar. 10, 2011
May 12, 2011
Nov. 10, 2011

beginning at 10:00am at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church in West Des Moines

Fresh Start Retreat:  
Sept. 16-17, 2011

at Pictured Rocks Retreat Center in Monticello, Iowa

Please RSVP your intentions for attendance below.

About Fresh Start in Iowa:
   We are excited to come together for another season of Fresh Start in Iowa.  We’ll resume this fall with a group of twenty or so, with others joining in as they enter transition in ministry.  St. Timothy’s Church, West Des Moines, has offered a gracious hosting and space for Fresh Start as we’ve come together thus far; and we extend our appreciation to the people of St. Timothy’s. We are also happy to expand our time to include an annual retreat, to be held at Pictured Rocks Camp and Retreat Center in Monticello, Iowa.  
   Participants in Fresh Start are invited by the Bishop and it is the hope and expectation that participants consider their invitation to faithfully attend Fresh Start as important as their other ministry commitments – that they find this a renewing and enriching time as they come together with colleagues also engaged in personal and professional transition in the Church.  Some are newly ordained, some new to Iowa, others first-time rectors and assistants, all finding themselves in a new position or place. Fresh Start has a continuing education component by its design, and we find a certain richness of experience is realized especially as strengths and wisdom are shared by those in the room, in the morning ‘modules’ and in the afternoon small groups.
   We want, with great appreciation, to recognize the significance of participants’ efforts to attend, the commitment involved, and how ideally “time off” would not be used to attend, an expectation that most clearly fits the traditional presbyteral model.  Vestry support of this ideal is heartily encouraged and very much appreciated.  Our models of ministry represented at Fresh Start, as across the diocese, include combinations of secularly employed, bi-vocational, deacons, Ministry Development team members, along with stipended parish priests.  We continue to explore how Fresh Start might be shared with congregational leadership beyond these gatherings, and are excited with the opportunity to bring a rich variety of ministering individuals together, recognizing that the early years of a new relationship are full of formational opportunities.
   Fresh Start is intended to support clergy and congregations in navigating the critical period of transition in clergy leadership. A diocesan-led program for clergy in new positions and the congregations they serve, the national-level Fresh Start program is designed to be adapted to the needs of each diocese.  Program content and the promotion of collegial relationships among clergy, their congregations and diocesan leadership contribute to this goal.  Fresh Start’s content is based on three key principles:  the theory of transition; the importance of relationship-building; and the need for self-care. Modules are clustered around these principles and the general area of leadership. 
   Fresh Start is a collaborative effort of: The Episcopal Church Center, The Episcopal Church Foundation, CREDO Institute, Inc.  We invite you to learn more about Fresh Start at www.episcopalfreshstart.org or by contacting any member of the Iowa Fresh Start team. Iowa Fresh Start facilitators include Richard Graves, Wendy Abrahamson, Lynne Carver and Julianne Allaway, who serves as diocesan coordinator.