What is the EpiscoWisco Love Journey?
EpiscoWisco Love Journey 2025 is a one-of-a-kind opportunity for youth, young adults, and adult leaders from around the newly reunified Episcopal Diocese of Wisconsin (aka DIOWIS) to partner up for a week of worship, fellowship, and service... around the state of Wisconsin!
There will be a caravan/road trip crew, made up of youth, young adults, and adult chaperones from around the diocese, spending a week on the road visiting congregations around DIOWIS to engage in a wide range of service projects such as: serving meals, packing food, helping clean/organize, clothing ministries, assembling tie blankets for no-kill animal shelters and Project Linus, just to name a few.
The trip will also include elements familiar to those who have attended EpiscoWisco Camp, Fall Lock-In, and/or other similar events: living in community, worshiping together (including daily Eucharist), playing together, meeting new people, and making lifelong friends!
There will be a caravan/road trip crew, made up of youth, young adults, and adult chaperones from around the diocese, spending a week on the road visiting congregations around DIOWIS to engage in a wide range of service projects such as: serving meals, packing food, helping clean/organize, clothing ministries, assembling tie blankets for no-kill animal shelters and Project Linus, just to name a few.
The trip will also include elements familiar to those who have attended EpiscoWisco Camp, Fall Lock-In, and/or other similar events: living in community, worshiping together (including daily Eucharist), playing together, meeting new people, and making lifelong friends!
WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO ATTEND?
CARAVAN/ROAD TRIP CREW
Youth currently in grades 6-12 (as of the 2024-2025 school year) Young Adults ages 18-23 (post-high school participants, non-trip leaders) Adult Chaperones ages 24+ (post-high school trip leaders) |
AT A GIVEN SITE
While more details will be announced in the coming months regarding specific service project opportunities, things like DAILY EUCHARIST and shared meals will be open to all ages! If you're old enough to join the caravan/road trip crew, yet can't commit to the full trip, we hope you'll join us somewhere along the way, even if for a day or part of a day! |
NOTICE FOR YOUNG ADULTS & ADULT CHAPERONES
All adults ages 18 and older participating in EpiscoWisco Love Journey 2025, whether as a young adult participant or an adult chaperone/trip leader, will need to submit to a background check through the diocese and complete online Safe Church courses in order to participate.
The online Safe Church courses for the trip will be the same as those required for counselors at EpiscoWisco Camp, and we ask that they be completed by or before Sunday, June 1, 2025. If you will have served on EpiscoWisco Camp 2025 staff, you will not need to complete additional Safe Church courses, as you will be up-to-date.
Failure to submit to a background check and/or failure to complete online Safe Church courses by the given deadline will result in your removal from EpiscoWisco Love Journey 2025.
All adults ages 18 and older participating in EpiscoWisco Love Journey 2025, whether as a young adult participant or an adult chaperone/trip leader, will need to submit to a background check through the diocese and complete online Safe Church courses in order to participate.
The online Safe Church courses for the trip will be the same as those required for counselors at EpiscoWisco Camp, and we ask that they be completed by or before Sunday, June 1, 2025. If you will have served on EpiscoWisco Camp 2025 staff, you will not need to complete additional Safe Church courses, as you will be up-to-date.
Failure to submit to a background check and/or failure to complete online Safe Church courses by the given deadline will result in your removal from EpiscoWisco Love Journey 2025.
Where are we going?
Our finalized itinerary will be shared with participants in the coming months as we confirm host churches/sites, service projects, community partners, and other relevant trip details.
TENTATIVE ROUTE & ITINERARY (subject to change - stay tuned) SATURDAY, JULY 19
-Caravan crew gathering at a congregation in central(ish) WI for team building, dinner, overnight SUNDAY, JULY 20 -EUCHARIST with host, head to the EASTERN RIDGE REGION for service project, fellowship, food, worship, overnight |
MONDAY, JULY 21
-Possible historical site visit, service project, EUCHARIST, fellowship & community building, overnight in NORTHWOODS REGION TUESDAY, JULY 22 -Service project with host, EUCHARIST, more service projects, overnight WEDNESDAY, JULY 23 -EUCHARIST, service project, possible historical site visit, head to DRIFTLESS REGIONS for fellowship, & overnight |
THURSDAY, JULY 24
-Service project, EUCHARIST, State Capital, service project, fellowship, overnight FRIDAY, JULY 25 -Head to KETTLE MORAINE REGION for meal & community building; head to LAKESHORE REGION for EUCHARIST, service projects, overnight SATURDAY, JULY 26 -Head back to KETTLE MORAIE REGION for one final project, meal, CLOSING EUCHARIST EVERYONE HEAD HOME |
While we won't be able to visit each of the nearly 100 congregations across DIOWIS, we highly encourage folks to join us at a site nearest them as they're able, ideally within reasonable driving distance.
Why are we doing this? Why now?
The three historic dioceses in Wisconsin: Eau Claire, Fond du Lac, Milwaukee (respectively) have shared in many joint ministry ventures together through youth, camp, young adult, and campus ministries, to name a few. A sentiment that was often expressed was joy at finding peers that understood not only their shared identity as Episcopalians, but also shared identities with those from the same geographical area and/or state.
As of July 1, 2025, we will officially have been the reunified Diocese of Wisconsin for one year! To celebrate that milestone, we wanted to create an opportunity for youth, young adults, and adult trip leaders to take a different kind of pilgrimage, or "love journey", to grow more fully in our shared identities as Christ-followers within the Episcopal Church in Wisconsin.
We are also choosing to take this "love journey", here and now, to remind ourselves that when God calls us to "GO", God is not only talking about going "out there" to serve our neighbors far from home. God also calls us to love and serve our neighbors here in our local communities, counties, regions, and state.
As of July 1, 2025, we will officially have been the reunified Diocese of Wisconsin for one year! To celebrate that milestone, we wanted to create an opportunity for youth, young adults, and adult trip leaders to take a different kind of pilgrimage, or "love journey", to grow more fully in our shared identities as Christ-followers within the Episcopal Church in Wisconsin.
We are also choosing to take this "love journey", here and now, to remind ourselves that when God calls us to "GO", God is not only talking about going "out there" to serve our neighbors far from home. God also calls us to love and serve our neighbors here in our local communities, counties, regions, and state.
Sign-up? Forms? COSt/Payment? packing list? Questions?
REGISTRATION & FORMS
Scroll back up to the top of the page, and click the button that says "Registration" to fill out a form if you're planning to join the Caravan/Road Trip Crew. If you're under the age of 18, we require your parent and/or legal guardian to give their consent for you to participate.
After you've finished your registration, be sure to click the other link at the top of the page that says "Health History Form". Bring your FILLED AND SIGNED HEALTH HISTORY FORM with you on Saturday, July 19, 2025.
ANY MEDICATIONS OR SUPPLEMENTS ON THE TRIP MUST COME IN THEIR ORIGINAL CONTAINERS WITH CLEAR, LEGIBLE LABELS!
Scroll back up to the top of the page, and click the button that says "Registration" to fill out a form if you're planning to join the Caravan/Road Trip Crew. If you're under the age of 18, we require your parent and/or legal guardian to give their consent for you to participate.
After you've finished your registration, be sure to click the other link at the top of the page that says "Health History Form". Bring your FILLED AND SIGNED HEALTH HISTORY FORM with you on Saturday, July 19, 2025.
ANY MEDICATIONS OR SUPPLEMENTS ON THE TRIP MUST COME IN THEIR ORIGINAL CONTAINERS WITH CLEAR, LEGIBLE LABELS!
COST & PAYMENT
Caravan/Road Trip Crew participants can pay online via Stripe when registering - the cost for the trip is $100, though there are scholarship opportunities available for those who need it.
Registration deadline is Monday, May 5, 2025
While the actual cost of the trip is much more than $100 per person, we have been richly blessed by folks from around the diocese and beyond who have worked with the crew at St. Thomas, Menasha to work the dessert carts for home Packers games and other special events at Lambeau Field to raise money for this trip and other outreach projects. We're also receiving support from DIOWIS congregations around the diocese, and private donors.
THANK YOU to everyone who is supporting EpiscoWisco Love Journey through prayer, financial gifts, supply donations, hosting the crew, feeding the crew, celebrating EUCHARIST with the crew (Eucharist, which literally means "Thanksgiving"), and so much more!
Caravan/Road Trip Crew participants can pay online via Stripe when registering - the cost for the trip is $100, though there are scholarship opportunities available for those who need it.
Registration deadline is Monday, May 5, 2025
While the actual cost of the trip is much more than $100 per person, we have been richly blessed by folks from around the diocese and beyond who have worked with the crew at St. Thomas, Menasha to work the dessert carts for home Packers games and other special events at Lambeau Field to raise money for this trip and other outreach projects. We're also receiving support from DIOWIS congregations around the diocese, and private donors.
THANK YOU to everyone who is supporting EpiscoWisco Love Journey through prayer, financial gifts, supply donations, hosting the crew, feeding the crew, celebrating EUCHARIST with the crew (Eucharist, which literally means "Thanksgiving"), and so much more!
PACKING LIST & TRIP LEADER CONTACT INFO
A packing list and list of trip leaders and their contact information will be sent out later this spring to those signed up for the trip. Until then, questions can be directed to our trip leads:
A packing list and list of trip leaders and their contact information will be sent out later this spring to those signed up for the trip. Until then, questions can be directed to our trip leads:
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