Noland Center: Office of the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana

The Addictions Recovery Ministry is a specialized ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana as well as a local affiliate of the Recovery Ministries of the National Episcopal Church. This ministry reaches out on behalf of the Church to welcome recovering people into the Episcopal community and also helps recovering Episcopalians find a home within the organized Church. The Recovery Ministry works within the diocese to provide education, guidance and support for families and parishes struggling with, or wishing to learn more about, addiction. The term “addiction” includes a relationship with any activity or substance which interferes with healthy functioning – alcohol, drugs, relationships, sex, work, gambling or food for example. Our desire is not to be dogmatic or exclude anyone in their spiritual search but to live out the acceptance and love taught by Jesus.

The Addictions Recovery Ministry (ARM) provides an avenue for exploring recovery in a Christian context in addition to other 12 Step and professional recovery programs. The ministry hosts quarterly Celebrations of Life in Recovery, monthly Eucharists incorporating the 12 Steps, and two annual recovery-oriented retreats as well as providing resources to the people and churches of the diocese.

There are three Episcopal campus ministries that provide a place for worship, fellowship, spiritual and pastoral care, and outreach opportunities for students at universities across the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana. 

• Chapel of the Holy Comforter, New Orleans (Serving University of New Orleans and Southern University of New Orleans.
• Chapel of the Holy Spirit, New Orleans (Serving Tulane University, Loyola University, and Xavier University)
• St. Alban's Chapel, Baton Rouge (Serving Louisiana State University)

In the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana we believe that emphasizing and empowering the ministries of all baptized people is essential to the renewal and revitalization of our congregations. As a facilitator of resources and relationships, the diocesan office is committed to working with each of our congregations to build skills that will help them proclaim the Good News in their communities. 

The diocesan office is available to help serve your congregation in variety of ways, including:

• Assistance with parochial reports
• Conflict mediation
• Consultation on best practices
• Facilitating vestry retreats
• Long-range planning
• Preparation of annual budgets and financial statements
• Strategic planning and visioning

Congregational Consultants

Our Congregational Consultant teams are comprised of knowledgeable lay and ordained individuals from throughout the diocese. These teams have experience and training in areas that are critical to congregational vitality and they are available to serve our congregations in a variety of ways.

We currently have three teams, focusing on:

• Stewardship
• Communications & Technology
• Christian Formation

Education Opportunities & Resource Days

The diocese is committed to creating opportunities for learning through diocesan-wide education days. Recently, these days have focused on:

• Vestry training
• Invite-Welcome-Connect newcomer ministry training
• Technology, social media & communications
• Prayer practices
• Stewardship
• Youth ministry
• Practicing forgiveness
• Small church leadership

The Ecumenical Commission serve in various capicities to educate people in the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana about ecumenical and interfaith matters. They accompany and represent the bishop at ecumenical and interfaith gatherings throughout the diocese.

Education for Ministry (EfM) is a four-year distance-learning program in theological education from the School of Theology at The University of the South.

The Program

The seminar group is the nucleus of the Education for Ministry program. A group consists of six to twelve participants and a trained mentor who meet weekly over the course of a nine-month academic year. These meetings are usually from two and a half to three hours in length.

Through study, prayer, and reflection, EfM groups move toward a new understanding of the fullness of God’s kingdom. This process can be illustrated by a two-rail fence. One rail is the Christian tradition. The other is the collective experience of the group’s members. The rails are linked by fence posts which represent the seminar sessions where life and study meet. The fence is grounded in the soil of regular worship which is vital to the life of the group.

Participants are given weekly assignments to study with the help of resource guides. Students are responsible for setting their own learning goals. They spend between two and four hours in study and preparation each week. In the seminars members have an opportunity to share their insights and discoveries as well as to discuss questions which the study materials raise for them.

Through discussion and guided reflection, the seminars furnish an opportunity to deepen understanding of the reading materials.

More important is the development of skills in theological reflection. The goal is to learn to think theologically. By examining their own beliefs and their relationship to our culture and
the tradition of our Christian faith, participants can learn what it means to be effective ministers in the world. In coming to terms with the notion that everything we do has potential for manifesting the love of Christ, we discover that our ministry is at hand wherever we turn.

The seminar is supported by a life of prayer and regular worship. EfM groups are encouraged to develop a pattern of worship appropriate to their situations. Liturgical materials are furnished with the course materials.

The EfM program is a four-year curriculum. Each “year” is a nine-month cycle of study. Learners enroll for one cycle at a time. Most groups begin in September and end in May. Groups range in size from six to twelve participants. Fees for the full year are collected at the time the group begins. In case of a move during the academic cycle, a participant may transfer to another group. Fees pay for the EfM materials (all required books are provided) and the honorarium for the mentor of the group.

The Environmental Commission of the Diocese of Louisiana is a group of lay and clergy leaders of the diocese who focus on environmental issues from the perspective of a people of faith. 

Mission

• To inspire the Diocese of Louisiana to celebrate the beauty, mystery, sacredness, and generosity of God’s creation.
• To raise awareness both within and outside the Church on the urgency and importance of caring for the environment
• To educate the members of the Episcopal Church in Louisiana about current environmental issues, and how those issues affect the continued livability of our region and our world.
• To emphasize models of ministry that incorporate protection, preservation, and sustainable use of God’s creation.

As environmental stewards, we recognize:

• We are disciples of Jesus Christ, and recognize that the earth is the Lord’s (Psalm 24).
• The earth has been made in and through Christ (John 1) and we are placed in it as a garden planet (Genesis 2:7-9, 15).
• Baptized Christians in our tradition vow to respect the dignity of every human being and a key mark of mission in the Episcopal Church is safeguarding the integrity of God’s creation. That means stopping environmental racism and finding new ways to empower people to follow Jesus to participate in the difficult work of environmental justice, including protecting families, water, and air.

The Episcopal Church Women is a venerable organization having served the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana for over 125 years. All Episcopal women are considered “members” and are welcome to participate in the many activities available at the local church level and diocesan level. The ECW sponsors many outreach projects and hosts worship, prayer, fellowship and service activities throughout the year in many different venues.

Who We Are

All Episcopalian women are the ECW. The ECW comprises women of all ages, ethnic origins and socioeconomic backgrounds in the Episcopal Church – working mothers, homemakers, career women, ordained, lay, single, married, widowed, divorced. Episcopal Church Women are active in all nine provinces of the Episcopal Church in North and Central America. All are welcome!

Our Vision

As Episcopal Church Women, we are keepers and proclaimers of the Christian faith, bearing the light and hope of Jesus Christ to all. Witnessing for Christ, worshiping together and celebrating our diversity, we build and strengthen community. We minister to become faithful stewards of God’s creation.

Our Purpose

The purpose of the ECW is to deepen and nurture the spiritual life of church women in the Diocese of Louisiana through worshiping God, glorifying Christ and presenting Him to the world and enlisting active participation in ministering to people inside and outside the church.

Our Goals

• Listen to the concerns of women throughout the church in order to respond creatively to their needs.
• Become leaders in response to our Baptismal Covenant.
• Build an accepting atmosphere where every woman is welcomed and valued for her individual ministry.
• Work toward mutual respect and equity of service throughout the church as we continue to monitor women’s full participation in the church. Develop effective communication linking parish, diocesan, provincial and national Episcopal Church Women and all women of the Anglican Communion.
• Join and support our sisters ecumenically throughout the world.

Why Participate?

• Spiritual growth
• Focus on mission
• Fellowship
• Education
• Leadership training
• Ecumenical environment
• Social Action and advocacy

ECW Projects

• United Thank Offering

United Thank Offering (UTO) is a ministry of The Episcopal Church for the mission of the whole church. Through United Thank Offering, men, women, and children nurture the habit of giving daily thanks to God. These prayers of thanksgiving start when we recognize and name our many daily blessings. Those who participate in UTO discover that thankfulness leads to generosity. United Thank Offering is entrusted to promote thank offerings, to receive the offerings, and to distribute the UTO monies to support mission and ministry throughout The Episcopal Church and in invited Provinces of the Anglican Communion in the developing world.

More information can be found here: www.episcopalchurch.org/united-thank-offering

• Church Periodical Club

The Church Periodical Club is an independent, affiliated organization of the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church, dedicated to the worldwide Ministry of the Printed Word and to the Promotion of Christian Mission. It is the only organization in the Episcopal Church dedicated solely to providing free literature and related materials, both religious and secular, to people all over the world who need and request them and who have no other source for obtaining them. Prayer Books, books for seminarians, educational materials, medical textbooks, agricultural manuals and books for those in local and global mission are some of the publications The Church Periodical Club supplies. The Church Periodical Club operates at all levels of the Church – national, provincial, diocesan and parish. The goal is to make the CPC program a concern of the whole Church. That goal includes having an active and enthusiastic CPC representative in every parish and diocese. The Church Periodical Club is funded by voluntary contributions from all levels of the Church by people in the pews. CPC is supported by the prayerful concern, time, talents, labor and money of those who believe in the Ministry of the Printed Word.

More information can be found here: www.churchperiodical.com/

More information about the ECW in the Diocese of Louisiana

Episcopal Community Services (ECS) is a social service agency of the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana that honors the legacy of Mrs. Frances Joseph Gaudet, a turn-of-the century educator and activist. The agency’s activities are coordinated by a Gaudet committee comprised of the Bishop and nine members elected across the diocese.

Mrs. Frances Gaudet earned a national reputation in her life as a prison reformer and missionary.  She was a driving force behind the establishment of the first juvenile court in New Orleans.  Upon her death left a trust to the Diocese of Louisiana to be used for programs benefiting underserved children and families.  ECSLA, as stewards of this fund, each year award scholarships and grants for the purpose of enhancing the education of African American students.

The Gaudet Legacy

Frances Joseph Gaudet was born in a log cabin in Holmesville, Pike County, Mississippi, in 1861. Her father was a former slave. She was a seamstress by profession yet she became a major philanthropist in New Orleans at the turn of the century.

Mrs. Gaudet earned a national reputation as a prison reformer and missionary. She was a true leader who united forces from diverse segments of society to affect social change. This determined woman was not only a primary force in the establishment of better conditions for the city’s indigent mentally ill, she was also a driving force behind the establishment of the first juvenile court in New Orleans.

She believed that the formation of a school was essential to fulfilling her mission to provide protection and education for the homeless children who were often incarcerated for vagrancy. Somehow against all odds she found the $5,000 necessary to purchase 105 acres of land on Old Gentilly Road. This inspired woman founded the Gaudet Normal and Industrial School of Black Youth in 1902. It was both an orphanage and a school known for its academic excellence.

Mrs. Gaudet had the wisdom to leave her trust to the Episcopal Church in such a way that her mission would continue to find new ways of expression in changing times.

Today, Mrs. Frances Joseph Gaudet’s legacy lives on through that trust to the Episcopal Church. The Board of Directors of Episcopal Community Services, a ministry of the Church, administers funds for the Gaudet Scholarship Program as well as for other programs benefiting underserved children and families in the New Orleans and Baton Rouge areas.

Mrs. Gaudet dedicated her life to building alliances with people of every race and class. The Episcopal Community Services Board of Directors, as stewards of the Gaudet Fund, is committee to keeping her purpose alive.

More information about the Frances Joseph Gaudet Fund.

Inclusive Louisiana is an organization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender [LGBT] Episcopalians and our straight friends. Its mission is to inspire and equip the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana, its congregations and members, to proclaim and embody God’s all-inclusive love for LGBTQ persons and those who love them.

Our mission commits us to……

* a network of Congregations that extend themselves in welcoming LGBT people

* pastorally sensitive care for LGBT people in dealing with spiritual concerns

* the spiritual empowerment of LGBT people

* sharing the Good News of Christ

* witness and education

* advocacy for the full inclusion of LGBT people throughout the Church

We can help you find an Episcopal Church where you will feel at home, meet other LGBT Episcopalians, and help our church minister to LGBT persons.

More information on Inclusive Louisiana

The current Episcopal Prison Ministry program at the Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola) began in the early 90′s. The ministry continues and is sustained by both lay and ordained volunteers, who visit the prison to conduct worship services, teach classes, and most importantly, to make manifest the love of Christ by reaching out to build relationships and show concern for “the least of these” (Matt 25:40). As many will attest, the ministry that occurs is never unidirectional (i.e. from us to them), but rather, both groups find Christ in the other.

In 2002, Episcopal volunteers began leading a Disciples of Christ in Community program (DOCC) at Angola -the first time a DOCC program has been offered to incarcerated persons.

The Retreats

The purpose of the Stepping Stones: Young Adult Retreats is to give young adults some tools and a means of discernment which is not specifically about discerning a call to ordination.

Each day retreat focuses on an aspect of the spiritual life which everyone will struggle with and ultimately discern in his/her life.

We hope to give individuals tools to help them in the process of discernment and invite them to consider how God is active in every aspect of life.

The five retreats will be about Self-Reflection, Prayer, the Spirituality of Relationships, the Spirituality of Work, and Lay Ministries. At each retreat, there will be three talks on topics centered around each of the five aspects of the spiritual life.

• Self Reflection

This retreat is all about how the ways in which we can better our relationship with God and others through self-reflection. Topics covered will be theological reflection, spiritual direction, and therapy.

• Prayer

Prayer is an essential part of the spiritual life. At this retreat, we will talk about prayer in community, personal prayer, and the use of silence or active listening in our prayer.

• Spirituality of Relationships

In our culture, there are many things that distract us and demand our attention. At this retreat, we will talk about the importance of relationships and family dynamics with talks on married life, being single, and on the spirituality of friendship.

• Spirituality of Work

This retreat is all about moving from the idea of having a job to looking at our career as an expression of stewardship. The topics will be ordination, vocation, and recognizing and using our spiritual gifts.

• Lay Ministries

The lay ministries retreat is about discerning how your spirituality is lived out in the church. We will discuss stewardship, different kinds of ministry, and how we can be leaders in the church.

The Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana lives into our Baptismal Covenant by welcoming, inviting, and including children and youth into our church as integral members and leaders within the Body of Christ. We equip and empower our young people to discern and discover the unique spiritual gifts that God has given them and we commit to walk with them as they discover how they can use their gifts to serve their churches, schools, communities, and beyond. We support and nurture their eagerness to hear how God is calling them and we believe we are called to serve as guides as they explore and articulate their faith as Christians and Episcopalians.

Children and youth participate in many events and activities throughout the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana each year. 

More information on Youth Rally.

More information on Happening.