The annual meeting of Episcopal Diocesan Ecumenical and Interreligious Officers (EDEIO) was held concurrently with the National Workshop on Christian Unity (NWCU) in early May. The Rev. Lynne Bleich Weber (Newark) was elected president, and the Rev. Valerie Webster (Montana) vice president. The Rev. David Simmons (Wisconsin), immediate past president (also known as “Geek Supreme”) was appointed as secretary, and the Rev. James Biegler was appointed to continue his excellent work as treasurer. In addition, Lynne Weber appointed Melanie Slane (Southern Ohio) to the Executive Committee. A vote of appreciation was passed for the work of Richard Mammana, former EDEIO Secretary and Episcopal Church ecumenical staffer.
The first item on the newly reconfigured committee’s “to-do” list is to provide online opportunities for ecumenical and interfaith training, formation, and networking. This we feel is particularly important as diocesan budgets shrink and it becomes more difficult for DEIOs to attend the EDEIO Annual Meeting and NWCU. The committee will work with the Rev. Salmoon Bashir, curate for ecumenical and interreligious relations at the Cathedral of St. Philip in Atlanta, who works in collaboration with The Episcopal Church’s ecumenical office. At the National Workshop, Episcopal officers met with their Methodist colleagues to learn about different models of discernment, and then to brainstorm best practices for encouraging knowledge and passage of the Methodist-Episcopal full-communion document as it comes up for a vote in the future, and to further those partnerships on the local level. More on that coming up! Any questions, concerns, or ideas are welcome and may be directed to Lynne Weber at rector@atonement-tenafly.org.