wfn.org | Episcopalians: Mission and Evangelism proposes road map for 21st century church

[dmack@episcopalchurch.org]

June 13, 2003

2003-143

Episcopalians: Mission and Evangelism proposes road map for 21st 
century church

by Sarah T. Moore

(ENS) The largest number of resolutions from a standing 
commission directly related to the theme of the General 
Convention, "Engage God's Mission," come from the work of the 
Standing Commission on Domestic Mission and Evangelism (SCDME). 
Each of those resolutions challenges the church to awake from 
its dormant status quo and move boldly into a swirling world.

"We need to be standing at the intersection of our communities, 
not hiding out in the corner," says Sarah Lawton, vice chair of 
the commission and chair of its 20/20 Strategy Group responsible 
for hammering out the resolutions coming before convention.

"It's an exciting time in the life of the church," echoes the 
Rev. J. Anthony Guillen, rector of All Saints in Oxnard, 
California, also a member of the Strategy Group. "The 20/20 
vision is an exciting vision about proclaiming the gospel and 
bringing the unchurched into this wonderful church we have kept 
a secret so long. And, yes, we've kept it a secret. And that's 
no longer a way to operate."

The commission is proposing new operating instructions by 
placing 26 resolutions before General Convention. They see it as 
a place to start.

Capturing the spirit

"General Convention is not the be-all and end-all," cautions 
Lawton. "I hope the spirit of this will be captured and laid out 
by bishops, and lay leaders will be caught by these."

Guillen adds, "In a very exciting way, I attribute it to a real 
movement of the Holy Spirit. We had to be shaken a little, and 
finally made aware--or allowed ourselves to be aware--of the 
presence of an emerging church that looks and feels and sounds 
very different from the church I came into 25 years ago."

The 26 resolutions summon the church to examine its life, 
ministry, and leadership training, and make dramatic shifts to 
relate to a multicultural, multilingual country, waning church 
membership, lost youth and young adult members, new 
international geographies, new economic realities, swerving 
domestic demographics, and the immediate need for a fresh 
generation of leaders.

"How do you turn a big ship in 20th century waters that's headed 
in new directions in a very new world? "asks Lawton. "How do you 
create a church in the 21st century? How do we raise up leaders 
for that time? Perhaps the greatest gift we can give to the 
church is leaders at the local level."

Lawton said that she is convinced that "leadership is at the 
center of it." A mother of two young children, who works in an 
interdenominational nonprofit agency helping Salvadoran refugees 
in San Francisco, she says that "part of what the commission 
realized in undertaking this task is that it is our job to 
propose legislation on the national level, but the success has 
to catch fire at the local level."

It's local, it's technology, it's culture

As a result, resolutions speak to the local congregation, 
dealing day in and day out with cultural and technological 
explosions in its midst. The commission has put forward 
resolutions which provide practical steps the church must take 
to keep pace with spiraling changes, a younger populace, and at 
the same time speaking with a relevant Christian voice.

"For instance, when we think of multicultural we often think of 
multiethnic," says Guillen, who notes he was appointed on the 
church's Executive Council "as part of the emerging church, the 
new multicultural church we joyously represent. But youth is 
sort of a culture. It's an area we have failed in. We abandoned 
the youth years ago, campus ministries and such went by the 
wayside. In some ways, the way chaplains and youth ministers did 
ministry years ago is not the way we do it today. We have to 
train people, provide funding so we can attract some of these 
youth ministers from this different culture that is out there. 
They speak a different language, have different leadership, 
music, vocational discernment. I find it extremely exciting."

Nine resolution areas

The 26 resolutions fall into nine clearly defined areas, 
sounding a wake-up call to Episcopalians: leadership; 
spirituality, prayer and worship; research; new congregational 
development; vital congregations; the next generation; 
communication; funding; and reporting.

The resolutions call for funding training for a youth minister 
in each congregation and a ministry on college campuses; 
expanding leadership training for those under 35 to include 
internships, mentoring, service projects, multi-cultural 
experiences, and contemporary second language training; moving 
toward debt free education for clergy vocations; moving 
Commissions on Ministry to recruit, not just be gatekeepers; and 
seeking entrepreneurs and risk-takers among the brightest and 
best for ordained ministry. The proposed resolutions challenge 
the church to create contemporary liturgies, music and prayers 
that fit today's culture and push for resources to help dioceses 
plant new churches. 

20/20, a 'clear vision'

These resolutions emerge after five years of work by the 
Standing Commission on Domestic Mission and Evangelism and two 
groups it created: the 20/20 Task Force and a 20/20 Strategy 
Group. The Rev. John A. M. Guernsey of Virginia is commission 
chair.

The creation of the task force followed a mandate by the 73rd 
General Convention in 2000 to address these areas of the 
church's future: to shift from "maintenance" to "mission," from 
status quo to venture. By responding to such changes, the church 
intends to double active participation in the church by 2020, 
not just for numbers sake, but to fulfill the promise each 
Episcopalian agreed upon at baptism--to be disciples who make 
disciples of Jesus Christ.

Bishop Gethin Hughes of San Diego led the task force that, 
within a year, presented its report to the Episcopal Church's 
Executive Council. That report recommended the creation of a 
small working group, the 20/20 Strategy Group, to provide the 
unfolding vision with specific future guidelines.

The Strategy Group was diverse and paired new voices with 
seasoned leaders. They reported they "sought not to offer so 
many right answers but to offer support to mission that is 
defined and generated from the context of local conditions." 

A first step in January 2002, was to follow the lead of the 
Diocese of Texas which has provided  Clear Vision conferences 
for its members and diocesan leaders across the country for the 
past several years as a way of "transforming the church." The 
strategy group, chaired by Lawton with co-chair the Rev. James 
Cooper of Florida, invited a diverse group of 65 mainly young 
leaders to Camp Allen, Texas. These voices became a program team 
to examine the nine areas from which the 26 resolutions emerged.

While refining proposals from that Camp Allen meeting, the 12 
leaders of the Strategy Group hoped to inspire some dioceses to 
address change immediately. Concurrently, they formed 
resolutions that point to institutional paradigm shifts, 
funding, and action.

Nearly a dozen outstanding congregations exhibiting risk-taking, 
growth and leadership will be showcased at General Convention as 
part of "Engage God's Mission" message.

The 26 resolutions

The Standing Commission on Domestic Mission and Evangelism, with 
the support of the 20/20 Strategy Group, proposes 26 resolutions 
to be considered by General Convention in these areas:

Leadership: Nine resolutions are presented, aimed at seminaries 
and diocesan schools for ministry to examine curricula and 
design new resources specifically looking at issues such as 
diversity, conflict, anti-racism, change management, 
intercultural leadership, intercultural field education and 
required competency in a contemporary language other than 
English. One recommends allocating continuing education monies 
to clergy and congregational leaders to study change and 
renewal. A resolution asks that the church seek new ways to 
recruit leaders and help those discern vocational calling; 
another seeks commissions on ministry to intentionally create 
vocational discernment committees to serve ethnic groups present 
in their midst but not represented in leadership. Resolutions 
address paying for seminary education, developing "exciting" 
internships and leadership development for 18-35 year olds, 
allocating monies to fund campus ministries, and partnering with 
the Fund for Theological Education (FTE) leadership search 
project.

Spirituality, Prayer and Worship: Four resolutions address 
concerns for providing worship relevant to the times, languages, 
and cultures. These include a resolution to provide resources on 
websites for seekers outside the Episcopal Church on topics 
related to the faith; development of Spanish music resources, 
creation of fresh liturgies and music reflecting multi-sensory, 
multicultural and multilingual music; and to post on the website 
mission-based prayers and liturgical resources to support the 
20/20 vision.

Research: Current, accurate and thorough research data is needed 
to help congregations, dioceses and church-wide agencies expand 
and diversify their mission. Changes need to be made in 
parochial reporting systems and clear reporting of average 
Sunday attendance statistics. One resolution asks that church 
canon be amended so that both clergy and lay leadership share in 
the compiling the parochial report and require approval by a 
congregation's leadership body before filing. This intends to 
engage more of the congregation's leaders to review membership 
data and address its meaning for mission and membership.

New Congregation Development: The Episcopal Church has not been 
a leader in planting new congregations that, data suggests, 
represents the greatest source of growth for denominations. One 
resolution addresses radical change in the Episcopal Church's 
approach to new church development if the church is serious 
about doubling church attendance by 2020. This includes 
identifying church-builder leaders with appropriate skills and 
personalities, network exchange of success stories, training and 
mentoring for laity and clergy, and establishing a 
project-specific research/resource bank to support new church 
plants on the local level.

Vital Congregations: Three resolutions suggest each congregation 
conduct an annual review of its common life, that each diocese 
takes on a mission perspective, and that the Episcopal Church 
Center staff continue to provide resources to the whole church 
for transformation.

Next Generation: Three resolutions touch on the aging of the 
church and the demographic shift to a younger world. It is one 
area where the commission challenges the church to a large 
financial commitment: $4 million to fund training leadership for 
youth initiatives. Underlying is the concern that the church 
must continue and expand to be a voice for transforming the 
world into a just, peaceful place reflecting God's hope for 
humanity. To do so means leadership, mentoring, and commitment 
to and by younger generations. These resolutions include 
training of leaders for children, youth, young adults, and on 
college campuses, including asking convention to authorize $4 
million over the next three years for such initiatives with 
provincial and diocesan matching funds. A resolution specifies 
the use of technology to reach the younger generations, as an 
essential relational tool for future generations. A third 
recommends that deputies from this age group, particularly 
reflecting multicultural and multilingual cultures in our midst, 
be elected as deputies to the church's decision-making assembly 
of future General Convention. 

Communications: Four resolutions concern church-wide 
communications, including the role of technology to increase 
church membership. The church must continue to develop and 
maintain dynamic, interactive, user-friendly websites. A 
proposed resolution directs development of a national 
advertising campaign, including radio and television, urging 
congregations to train its members in welcoming newcomers and 
incorporating them in their midst. Church-wide publications 
should be multilingual and a strategy to move in that direction 
be undertaken the next triennium; and that, beginning Epiphany 
2004, dioceses should provide opportunities for members in their 
churches and regions to tell stories of faith to inspire others 
and reinforce Christian life.

Funding: The Domestic Mission and Evangelism Commission supports 
two resolutions from the Commission on Stewardship and 
Development recommending the establishment of an Office of 
Mission Funding and Development and urging a fund (such as the 
Alleluia Fund) be put in place in each diocese to be used as a 
source to fund 20/20 initiatives.

Reporting: The commission directs one resolution at itself: that 
it be required to report back to the Executive Council and the 
Episcopal Church at large how the church is faring and living 
into new ventures outlined in the 20/20: A Clear Vision.

------

--Sarah Moore is director of communications in the Diocese of 
Hawaii. She is a member of the ENS news team covering the 74th 
General Convention in Minneapolis.