[Episcopal Church Office of Public Affairs press release] Congregations, dioceses, groups, and individuals can connect with Evangelism Matters without traveling to Texas for the groundbreaking event.

Evangelism Matters, an Episcopal Church Evangelism Conference on November 18-19 in Dallas, Texas, is designed for anyone who would like to learn more about evangelism and available resources to share our faith. The churchwide event is co-sponsored by Forward Movement  and the Presiding Bishop’s Office, and is hosted by the Diocese of Dallas and Church of the Transfiguration, Dallas where the activities will be held.

“Episcopalians are excited to focus on evangelism, noticing and celebrating how God works in our lives and in the lives of the people around us,” commented the Rev. Canon Stephanie Spellers, the Presiding Bishop’s Canon for Evangelism and Reconciliation. “We’ve made arrangements for those who could not attend to connect through a live webcast and on-demand afterwards, and we hope as many individuals and groups as possible will host viewings and participate in this churchwide movement.”

Evangelism Matters is ideal for congregational discussion, adult forums, youth groups, and other Episcopal gatherings.

Live webcast
Key portions of Evangelism Matters will be live webcast to allow for individual and group viewing during conventions, discussion groups, and local evangelism gatherings.

The live webcast is especially important as the registration for Evangelism Matters is full.

The live, free webcast will be accessible here and it does not require advance registration or password. Those seeking to watch in Spanish may follow the Facebook live feed here.

On demand will be available following the event here and here.

Sessions slated to be live webcast include:

Friday
9 am – 10:30 am Central – Welcome and main panel presentation
10:45 am – Two workshops (selections to be announced)
1:30 pm – Keynote address by Presiding Bishop Michael Curry
2:45 pm – Two workshops (selections to be announced)
7:30 pm – Eucharist: Celebrant is Bishop George Sumner of Diocese of Dallas and preacher is Presiding Bishop Michael Curry

Saturday
9 am – Plenary on “Sharing the hope that is in us” by Canon Spellers
9:45 am – Two workshops (selections to be announced)
11:30 am – Closing plenary

Main panel presentation
In addition to the plenary speakers, the main panel presentation, What Is Evangelism?, will feature a group of Episcopal evangelists, including the Rev. Alberto Cutié, Diocese of Southeast Florida; Carrie Boren Headington, missioner for evangelism in the Diocese of Dallas; the Rev. Marcus Halley, Diocese of West Missouri; and Mary Parmer, creator of the Invite*Welcome*Connect program in the Diocese of Texas. The panel will be moderated by the Rev. Canon Scott Gunn, executive director of Forward Movement.

Workshops
Workshops have been designed for those who are new to sharing their faith as well as for confident evangelists looking to develop their own practice or grow the evangelism capacity in their congregation or diocese. A special track is designed to speak to the evangelism needs of church planters. Check here for the fully updated list.

Contacts
For more information about Evangelism Matters contact Alyssa Finke at 800-543-1813, afinke@forwardmovement.org; or Spellers at sspellers@episcopalchurch.org; or Gunn at sgunn@forwardmovement.org.

For assistance in connecting with the live webcast, contact Neva Rae Fox, Episcopal Church public affairs officer, nrfox@episcopalchurch.org,

Media inquiries should be directed to Fox at nrfox@episcopalchurch.org, or Jason Merritt, Forward Movement marketing director, jmerritt@forwardmovement.org