EDSD Revival Date Rescheduled

Good News! New Date set for EDSD Revival: Dec 3-5, 2021

Jesus said, “I have come to bring life and life in abundance” (John 10:10). If this isn’t good news, I don’t know what is. Especially in these times of unrest, angst, pandemic and isolation, the world is yearning for this good news- Jesus’ gift of abundant, new life.

The world is yearning for Revival.

As you may know, Bishop Susan has declared 2021 to be The Year of Evangelism for our diocese.  Although evangelism is a concept that may carry some baggage, it’s actually a very simple and beautiful thing: it is the simple but life-changing act of bringing good news to those who long to hear it!  And it is the grateful, humble and natural response as we experience the good news of Jesus in our own lives.

In order to create an opportunity for us to share the Good News of abundant life in Jesus, EDSD is excited to announce that we will be partnering with Presiding Bishop Michael Curry to host an Episcopal Revival in San Diego on December 3-5, 2021!

What is an Episcopal Revival?  A revival is a dedicated series of gatherings that combine inspiring worship, compelling preaching and teaching, honest faith-sharing, intensified prayer, and some form of engagement with the mission of God – all for the sake of the spiritual renewal and transformation of people and of society.

Episcopal Revivals | Episcopal Church

What does an Episcopal Revival seek to do?

• Revive the hearts of Episcopalians in our Diocese and throughout the wider church, stirring love for Jesus, for each other and for creation
• Proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ in the language of the people
• Equip and send Episcopalians to share and listen for stories of Jesus loving presence in daily life, through exciting evangelism workshops and training that will occur before, during and after the event
• Organize our people for reconciling action and justice that embodies good news in our context
• Gather a diverse body that intentionally crosses lines of age, race, class and/or culture
• Engage in intensified prayer and preparation before, during and after the event
• Call Episcopalians to intentionally, personally invite and welcome people who are not actively following Jesus to attend a revival and to join the Jesus Movement!

The Year of Evangelism 2021 will crescendo on December 3-5, 2021 as we host a weekend of prayer, outreach, service, worship, and of course- evangelism- as we hear and share stories of Good News from across our diocese.  This weekend will not only revive our own hearts as we are reminded once again of the Good News of Jesus, but will set off a chain reaction in our neighborhoods, as those that we invite to this event hear the good news of Jesus, perhaps for the first time, and join us on his Way of Love.

We look forward to having each and every Episcopalian in our diocese involved in this Revival- so please mark your calendars for Dec 3-5, 2021!

E-REVIVALS

2021 is a long way off… Do we have to wait until then to see revival happen in our diocese and neighborhoods?

The answer is an emphatic, “NO!”  We didn’t want to wait to share good news till 2021 either, even in the midst of this crazy global pandemic.  So I wanted to tell you about an exciting project that is in the works here at EDSD that we are calling “Project E-Revival.”

With Project E-Revival, we will be creating a series of short, virtual, video revivals, or e-revivals, that will highlight stories of Good News from within our diocese.  Each video will feature several people sharing stories of how they experienced new life in Jesus, and how the Good News of God in Christ was good news to them!  Their stories will be shared in the form of compelling narrative and produced into an exciting video series that will be broadcast live on multiple virtual/social media platforms.  Each of these virtual events will give us an opportunity to invite our friends, neighbors, and family members to hear from real people what the Good News of Jesus sounds like, and then to connect with a community. And since it is all online, we can invite and share with our neighbors even during stay-at-home orders!

Would you like to help create our E-Revivals?  We are looking for people to assist in this exciting project in several capacities:

• Share your story of Good News! What does abundant life in Jesus look like in your life? We are looking for people willing to share their story with others. If you have a story to share, (and we all do!) please email me at cgillette@edsd.org for more information!
• Be a Watch-party Host! As we get closer to releasing our e-revivals, we will be looking for people in each congregation to be Watch-Party Hosts. These hosts will lead the charge in creating and hosting watch parties- online events to which we can invite others so that they might connect with a community and hear the Good News of Jesus.
• Begin to think and pray about who you can invite to watch! We hope that everyone in our diocese will take advantage of this opportunity to invite their friends to hear the Good News that will be shared in our E-Revivals. Stay tuned as we get closer to the first release date, and be prepared to invite those whom the Holy Spirit brings to mind. Trust me- we ALL know people who long to hear this Good News!

Jesus came to bring Revival to humanity, and to all of creation. And we as the Church, are here not only to experience Revival in our own lives, but to respond as God’s agents of Revival to others.  It’s why we’re here!

As we move toward the Year of Evangelism 2021, I pray that you will join with me in sharing Good News with our world that so desperately longs to hear it, and I look forward to experiencing Revival with all of you!

Blessings,

Canon Christian Gillette

cgillette@edsd.org