2008 Faith Formation Summit

The 2008 Faith Formation Summit, scheduled for May 1 – 3, 2008 in Estes Park, Colorado was designed by the Faith Formation Network of Province VI of the Episcopal Church to support and equip those who minister to children and youth. The Summit was envisioned and developed in response to a hunger we know exists for quality, practical training that affirms our hearts’ desire to share the love of Jesus.

Unfortunately the response to the invitation to Summit has not been what we expected, hoped for, and needed. We are saddened to report that registered attendees at this point are not enough in number to allow us to host the quality event as planned, nor to make it financially viable. Mindful of our call to be good stewards of our resources of time and money with which God has blessed us, we have arrived at the painful and difficult decision to cancel the Faith Formation Summit. For most of you the news of this decision is not new. Our leadership team has attempted to personally contact all those who either registered for the event or were planning to participate as a presenter or member of the support staff.

We extend a hearty thanks to all of you who have given so much of yourselves in preparation for this event, and to those who registered. We regret that we will be unable to express our gratitude for your intent to share your gifts at Summit in person. Please accept our apology and know that we are holding you all in prayer.

For those of you who had registered for the event we want to assure you that we will return your registration fees as soon as possible. We also realize that some of you booked flights to Denver for the event; we are aware of your situation. We want to be able to express the grace and love that Christ has given to us by offering to cover the costs of changing or cancelling your flights. We hope that you will be able to use the flight to attend another conference or event that will encourage you in your ministry and faith journey. Please contact our amazing registrar, Meg Stern, in Colorado to make financial arrangements beginning Monday, April 21, at mstern@coloradodiocese.org or by calling 303-837-1173.

We encourage you to consider any of the following organizations, some of which are holding events as soon as next weekend. Perhaps you could use your flight credit to attend one of their offerings:

Many of you have already offered thanks and prayers and encouragement in our initial contacts. We thank you for your understanding and prayers. Many of you have also expressed concern for our Summit Planning Team. We will be fine and will meet soon to engage in some intentional work; both administrative and pastoral in nature. We offer the following anecdote as a way to join us in our vision of moving forward in hope on this amazing journey in Christ.

A few years ago, most baseball experts thought Rick Ankiel would be the game's next great pitcher. He played for the St. Louis Cardinals, and at 21, was good enough to start the first game of the playoffs in 2000. But, he fell apart, throwing five wild pitches in one inning. He was never the same after that experience, and he eventually quit the game of baseball. Three years later Ankiel came back to the game he loved and started over in the minor leagues as an outfielder. With confidence and determination he had reinvented himself. In 2007 he debuted a second time with the major league Cardinals. In his first at bat, he hit a crowd pleasing homerun for the reigning World Champions.

With the same confidence and determination, we hope to fulfill our vision of a Faith Formation Summit. We may have to reinvent ourselves, but we fully intend to step up to the plate and hit a homerun. We ask that you partner with us in prayer to this end. In faithfulness, let us continue to work TOGETHER to fulfill God's Call to us. God will reward our faithfulness with unimagined blessings and spiritual growth.