Learn the history of Red Dress Day where Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island (North America) remember and honor the murdered and missing women and girls of their tribal nations.  The Journey of Discovery with Indigenous Peoples Ministry Network of ECCT will provide liturgical materials and resources for worshiping communities to use in their own gathering places to mark the day.  In pursuance of Resolution 4, adopted by the Episcopal Church in Connecticut at its Annual Convention 2024:

            Resolved, That the 240th Annual Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut recognize May 5th of each calendar year as Red Dress Day: Remembering Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls; and be it further

Resolved, That the 240th Annual Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut encourage its worshiping communities to commemorate missing and murdered Indigenous Women and Girls; and be it further

Resolved, That the 240th Annual Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut invite the Journey of Discovery with Indigenous Peoples Ministry Network to create and provide Red Dress Day liturgical resources, as approved by the Bishops as needed, for worshiping communities to use in their principal service(s) nearest to May 5th.

FACILITATORS: Lori Mattson serves as co-convenor of the Journey of Discovery with Indigenous Peoples Ministry Network for ECCT.  I belong to St George’s Church Middlebury, CT.  I am an Abenaki First Nations and my Reserve is Odanak in Quebec, Canada. I am a lifelong Anglican/Episcopalian.  I am a Housing Advocate Coordinator for Domestic Violence victims in the Greater Waterbury area.  I have particular interest in working with native victims of Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence. 

The Reverend Diana M. Rogers serves as co-convener of the Journey of Discovery with Indigenous Peoples Ministry Network for ECCT, Priest in Charge at Christ Church Middle Haddam, member of Mission Council, member of Province I Finding a Way Ministry Network, member of Province I Indigenous People’s Justice Network, and advocate for justice for all peoples.

Join us for a workshop and panel discussion focused on understanding and engaging with Spanish-speaking ministries in Connecticut. Learn about the history, culture, and diversity of these ministries and participate in a conversation with leaders of the Hispanic Ministry Network to deepen your own ministry context. 

Topics covered include:

• The history and current culture of Spanish-speaking ministries in the Episcopal Church
• Demographic insights into Hispanic communities in Connecticut
• Steps to start a new Spanish-speaking ministry
• Opportunities to get involved with existing Spanish-speaking ministries

This workshop is perfect for anyone looking to support Spanish-speaking ministries in their community. We hope to see you there!

*This workshop will be offered in a bilingual format. 

FACILITATORS: The Reverend José L. Martínez was born and raised in Guatemala City, Guatemala, Central America. He is fully bilingual in the English and Spanish languages. He and his family have been in the Episcopal Church since 1992 and have been on the East Coast since 2001. He has served the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut in various capacities: church planter, priest, supply priest and chaplain. He is currently serving two worshiping communities: St. Luke’s, New Haven, and San Lucas y San Pablo, Bridgeport, CT.

The Reverend Jill Morrison is from both New Orleans, LA, and Katy, TX. Raised in a context of church planting, she first encountered God through both the theater and the Episcopal Church. With a deep passion for expressing God’s movement through storytelling—both on stage and in everyday life—Rev. Jill earned a B.F.A. in Theatre with a Minor in Religion from Texas Christian University. She then pursued an M.A. in Art and Religion at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA. Rev. Jill moved to Connecticut to complete her M.Div. at Yale Divinity School, along with a Diploma in Anglican Theology from Berkeley Divinity School. After graduating in 2020, she joined the faculty at St. Thomas’s Day School as School Chaplain, where she continues to serve the school’s families and staff. In 2024, she was appointed Priest in Charge at St. John’s in Waterbury, she also began cultivating The Episcopal Arts Center. Rev. Jill views her ministry as a call to foster intergenerational and cross-cultural connections, affirming the Belovedness of every individual caught in God’s story.

The Reverend Roxana Videla is originally from Argentina and has lived in this blessed nation of immigrants since 2002. She started in the Episcopal Church the day after she arrived in this country. Her husband had already been at the newly inaugurated Hispanic ministry of All Saints in Meriden, CT, six months ago, so they felt very welcome by this community. She started out as part of the church choir, then volunteered to teach catechism; eventually she became part of the Vestry, where she served as treasurer, clerk, and senior warden. She led Bible studies and was the director of the music group of praises of Hispanic ministry. In 2023, she worked as a Pastoral Assistant at Christ Church Cathedral. In January 2024, she was ordained to the priesthood and worked as Supply Clergy at St. John’s Bridgeport in the Anglo and Spanish speaking congregations, at St. PJs in New Haven, All Saints Wolcott, All Saints Oakville and St. Paul’s Southington. Since February 2025, she has served as an Associate Priest at St. John’s Waterbury.

Join child psychiatrist Dr. Nathalie Szilagyi and Canon for Advocacy, Racial Justice and Reconciliation D Littlepage to learn about the unique challenges facing LGBTQ+ youth and how you can support them. When you leave this workshop, you will be equipped with tools to affirm young LGBTQ+ young people; create safe(r) spaces; and have conversations with those in your congregation that are not affirming of LGBTQ+ people. This will be a space of respectful learning, so questions are welcome.

FACILITATORS: Dr Nathalie Szilagyi is an adult and child and adolescent psychiatrist working in private practice and on faculty at the Yale Child Study Center.  For more than nine years, she has worked extensively with gender diverse youth and their families.  She has published articles on gender identity issues in academic journals and given presentations at national and international conferences, as well as regularly teaching Yale trainees about gender and sexuality.  She participated in the national Episcopal Church’s “Gender Jam” in November 2024 and is an active member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Wallingford, CT.

The Reverend Canon D Littlepage serves on the staff of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut as the Canon for Mission Advocacy, Racial Justice & Reconciliation. Prior to becoming a Canon for ECCT, Reverend D served as Rector of Trinity Church, Hartford. While at Trinity, D was an active member of the Greater Hartford Interfaith Action Alliance (GHIAA) Clergy Caucus, the Asylum Hill Neighborhood Association, and the ECCT Title IV Taskforce, among other endeavors. Before serving at Trinity, they served as the Director of Roxbury-Dorchester Power in Community, a collective founded by four Episcopal parishes and the Diocese of Massachusetts. Throughout their ministry, D has served with a clear sense of God’s call to celebrate the holiness of God in the margins and to equip and support communities in living the Gospel of God’s love in the world around them.

In this workshop, we will: explore the role of advocacy in the Gospel call to be people of justice and reconciliation; reflect on what it means to engage in advocacy from the grounding of our faith; and share practical ways to engage in advocacy in each of our local contexts.

Facilitators: Gail Bindley-Taylor serves as Co-Warden at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Norwalk and is a member of the Racial Justice, Healing, & Reconciliation Ministry Network Core Team. A member of the core team, her area of focus is the on the Network’s work in supporting and encouraging advocacy among parishes of ECCT. At St. Paul’s, Gail has launched the Justice Ministry team, organized the parish’s initial Black History Month and Juneteenth celebrations, and she is the team leader of the parish’s history project team which has recently completed the research first third of the parish’s 287- year history. In the wider community, Gail has previously been active as a sexual assault advocate with the Centre for Sexual Assault Crisis Counseling in Stamford and as a mentor with Family ReEntry in Bridgeport. More recently, she has served as member of the KAIROS Prison Ministry team, and as a part of the school-based Norwalk Mentoring Program. In her professional life, Gail has had a long career in broadcast media and communication including decades of service in the Public Information Offices of the United Nations.

The Reverend Canon D Littlepage serves on the staff of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut as the Canon for Mission Advocacy, Racial Justice & Reconciliation. Prior to becoming a Canon for ECCT, Reverend D served as Rector of Trinity Church, Hartford. While at Trinity, D was an active member of the Greater Hartford Interfaith Action Alliance (GHIAA) Clergy Caucus, the Asylum Hill Neighborhood Association, and the ECCT Title IV Taskforce, among other endeavors. Before serving at Trinity, they served as the Director of Roxbury-Dorchester Power in Community, a collective founded by four Episcopal parishes and the Diocese of Massachusetts. Throughout their ministry, D has served with a clear sense of God’s call to celebrate the holiness of God in the margins and to equip and support communities in living the Gospel of God’s love in the world around them.

A presentation on making worship more accessible to elders, and consequently, to all. We will cover some best practices in bulletin design and creation, room organization, and full liturgical participation. There will be time for questions and creative daydreaming, and we will be handing out tangible resources to take back with you to your own worshiping community.

Facilitators: The Reverend Marta S. Rivera Monclova, PhD is the founder of Haven Religious, an emerging religious community based in Hartford, CT. After finishing a PhD in English Literature in 2010, Marta’s first career was as an English professor, teaching in the U.S. and in Shanghai. She also worked in tech before shifting focus and earning an MDiv at Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, after a yearlong residency at the Monastery of St. John the Evangelist in West Newbury, MA. Marta enjoys cooking, baking, chant, and narrative.

The Reverend Erika Hagan is co-convenor for the Elder Ministry Network for ECCT. She draws from her past work experience in eldercare as a “homemaker” aide assisting in activities of daily living, her current role as Associate for Caring Ministries for St. Stephens Church in Ridgefield funded by the Decker Fund for the church membership over the age of 60, and her responsibility for crafting worship liturgy and bulletins as Priest-in-Charge for St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church in Bethel. In addition, her eldest son has autism and intellectual disability, and issues of accessibility, neurodiversity, and hybrid worship models are a strong focus in her ministry. She graduated from Hartford International University for Religion and Peace in 2022 with a masters in inter-religious studies.

In this workshop, we will explore feminine and non-gendered divine images in scripture and the early church and think about how to use them in worship and formation to support the baptismal call to respect the dignity of every human being.

Facilitator: The Reverend Margie Baker is the Associate Rector at St. John’s West Hartford and a former public high school teacher. She has written articles for Building Faith and is the author of God, Gospel, and Gender: A Queer Bible Study for Teens. When she’s not at church, Margie enjoys reading, running, and spending time with her wife, children, and dog.