wfn.org | Domestic Missionary Partnership rises from ashes of Coalition 14

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February 27, 1998
Episcopal News Service
James Solheim, Director
(212) 922-5385
jsolheim@dfms.org

98-3001
Domestic Missionary Partnership rises from ashes of Coalition 14

By Jeff Sells
	(ENS) Moving from maintenance to mission, the new Domestic Missionary Partnership (DMP) came together to discern what-if anything-should continue from the organization of domestic missionary dioceses known as Coalition 14.
During the February 5-8 meeting in Burlingame, California, eight dioceses reflected on the future of DMP to talk about mission. Representatives focused on mission in the dioceses, mission as told in the personal experiences of participants, mission as a product of congregational life, mission as influenced by cultural elements, and mission as a call to discipleship.
	"If we continue to have meetings where we can share what we feel passion about, we will be energized," said Suzanne Krull, administrator for the Diocese of Alaska. "Are we building up disciples or are we spoon-feeding religion? This meeting suggested we are building up disciples. That's a move in the right direction."
	Many of the participants at the DMP meeting had been long-time members of Coalition 14, a group of dioceses that formally ended last year. Yet those same individuals were encouraged with what appeared to be a new direction in domestic mission.
	"I was skeptical at first," said Bishop Stewart Zabriskie of Nevada. "But I am reconverted."
	"We have really shifted from Coalition 14 to a completely new identity," said the Rev. Renee Miller, canon to the ordinary and chief executive officer of the Diocese of El Camino Real (California). The old really has passed away. And it's not a duplication of efforts."

DMP and Coalition 14
	Coalition 14 had its roots in the early 1970s when dioceses supported by the Episcopal Church banded together to change the way funds were distributed.
	"What developed as a direction was a change from independence to interdependence in the way church funds were sought and distributed," said Bishop Otis Charles, former bishop of Utah. Coalition 14 came into being to achieve self-determination for the domestic missionary districts.
	Dioceses which formed Coalition 14 were Eau Claire, Montana, Wyoming, Eastern Oregon, South Dakota, North Dakota, Nevada, Idaho, Western Kansas, Hawaii, Arizona, Utah, Nebraska and what was then known as New Mexico and Southwest Texas (now the Diocese of the Rio Grande). Eventually, membership grew to 16, with the inclusion of Navajoland and San Joaquin. Later, even though most coalition members no longer received financial aid, most found the challenge and support of the coalition important in their several areas.
	The coalition operated on a covenant of "common concerns and opportunities and a mutual commitment to the mission and ministry of the whole Church." This included full disclosure of funding sources, concern for ministry of the entire church rather than only ordained ministry, mutual responsibility, trust, and developing new forms of ministry to suit the specific contexts of the several dioceses. Even though originally begun for aided dioceses, membership was open to any diocese that subscribed to the purpose of the coalition and that agreed to disclose fully all information about its finances.

C-14 finishes its course
	In 1990, Coalition 14 delegates voted unanimously to support creation of the Episcopal Committee for Indian Ministries (ECIM). Funding for dioceses with substantial Native American ministry was channeled through ECIM rather than the coalition.
"This was the beginning of the end of Coalition14," said Chris Telfer of Eastern Oregon, comptroller of DMP. Telfer was also the first woman and first lay president of the coalition.
After the split-off of Native American ministry funding, only three coalition members received base budget support from the national budget. Member dioceses either dropped out or stopped attending the meetings. Finally, in 1997, delegates from the remaining eight member dioceses voted to disband Coalition 14.
	
Domestic Missionary Partnership is formed
In fact, the last meeting of Coalition 14 in 1997 became the first meeting of DMP and set the agenda for February's meeting.
	"There was a desire to capture the zeal for mission present in the early days of Coalition 14," said Bishop Rustin Kimsey of Eastern Oregon. Kimsey was one of the participants in Coalition 14 from its earliest days and is currently convenor of DMP.
	"This meeting was different than Coalition14 meetings," commented Archdeacon Anna Frank of Alaska. "Maybe because there wasn't talk of a budget. The discussion was more people oriented."
	"We are moving from maintenance to mission," one participant observed toward the end of the meeting. This sentiment seemed to sum up many of the feelings of the participants who had come to understand Coalition14 as ultimately only existing for the purpose of funneling funds to member dioceses.
	"We can think openly and honestly about mission," Krull said. "Are we being responsible? We can be challenged and we can be supported. We can hold each other accountable."
	"It's the one place where mission is being talked about," said Bishop Richard Shimpfky of El Camino Real. "And not just talked about, but acted on with great passion during this missionary moment for the church."
If an environment of openness and honesty continues to exist, and if mission in the several DMP dioceses is the focus, DMP may continue to meet. Discipleship and cross-cultural ministry will be a major concern of DMP, participants agreed.
	"Coalition 14 met for nearly a quarter of a century with great success," said Kimsey. "If we do our work well, we may have another 25 years of challenging and rewarding interdependence."

-Jeff Sells is editor of Diocesan Dialogue for the Diocese of Utah.