Where Meaning and Mission Collide. (RISEN article)

“Where Meaning and Mission Collide”

The vitality of any organization depends upon a periodic review of its mission. Last year a small group of RI Episcopalians believed that it was time for such a review. Thus a resolution entitled “Mission Task Force” was presented to and adopted by the clergy and delegates at the Diocesan Convention last October:

RESOLVED, That this 219th Convention of the Diocese of Rhode Island invites a review of our diocesan mission priorities; and be it further RESOLVED, That a Mission Task Force be created to facilitate this process. This Task Force shall be composed of one priest and one lay person elected by the Standing Committee from its membership; one cleric and one layperson elected by Diocesan Council from its membership; and two people appointed by the Bishop. The Bishop’s appointees shall not be employees of the Diocese. This Task Force shall be constituted by November 30, 2009; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the President of the Standing Committee shall set the time and place for the first meeting of the Task Force, to be held before December 31, 2009. At this first meeting, the Task Force shall elect a chairperson from its membership and shall recruit at least six members, one from each deanery of the diocese, in addition to its original membership; and be it further RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall devise a process in which the lay and clerical members of the Diocese may express their hopes and ideas regarding the future mission of the Diocese. The Task Force may request reasonable staff support from diocesan staff (e.g. mailings, electronic communication); and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall report to the 220th Convention of the Diocese of Rhode Island with its findings, including a recommendation for mission priorities to be adopted or reaffirmed by the Diocese. The Task Force is encouraged to be in regular communication with the appropriate people and groups for the budgeting process, in the event that a revised budget is to be presented to the 220th Convention of the Diocese to match modified mission priorities.

A task force was formed. Representing Diocesan Council is Modesta Pellot (Susan Carpenter+ had represented DC until her recent resignation due to her new assignments); Standing Committee representatives are Fran Gammell-Roach and Jennifer Pedrick+ who is also Chairperson. Bishop Wolf appointed Brian Ehlers, our Blog Master, and Scott Nicholson. Pam Mott+, Aquidneck; Jim Segovis, Central; Susan Wright, West Bay, also Secretary; Ricky Brightman, Narragansett; David Isherwood, East Bay; and Buck Close, Blackstone, represent the 6 deaneries. Bill Locke+ is the Mission Task Force Chaplain.

So far, the task force has articulated its goals, developed a timeline in which to accomplish them and designed parts of its listening process. Optimally, we envision that, along with the Mission Task Force (MTF), the Diocesan Council (DC), Program and Budget (PB) Committee, and the Diocesan Staff (DS) will be part of the process.

The listening process is probably the most important part of our work. We hope, dear reader, that you will be looking for opportunities to pray, reflect and share your ideas with us. In the months ahead we will be having regional gatherings to hear your reflections about where you find meaning and mission colliding in your personal experience of being Christian and Church. If you are unable to attend one of these meetings that will be announced shortly, the Task Force has launched a blog at http://mission-task-force.blogspot.com where we invite you to share your reflections and enter into a conversation with others across the diocese. We would love for the conversation to reflect the wide diversity that we find in our churches and communities.

The Mission Task Force has this working timeline. In February, we began our communication launch with our exhibit at Convocation and the launching of our blog. We will be using the months of March, April and May for the listening process. We expect to have opportunities to hear from youth, youth leaders, clergy, Diocesan Council, Diocesan Staff, laity, the leaders responsible for the current mission priorities, and Program and Budget. At this same time, Diocesan Council will convene four groups to review outcomes of the Spanish Ministry, ECC, Congregational Development, and Christian Formation. We intend to use the latter part of May and June for synthesizing, discerning and meeting with Bishop Wolf and Diocesan Staff. We expect to prepare and receive reports and formulate resolutions for Convention during July and August. We’ll submit the resolution(s) by September, which will then be mailed out to clergy and lay delegates for convention in order to be reviewed at the pre-convention meetings.

By October at Diocesan Convention we hope to have accomplished these goals.
1. Designed and implemented a listening process to engage members of the diocese in expressing their hope for future diocesan mission priorities and programs.
2. Linked with other diocesan bodies and leaders throughout the process, e.g., Program and Budget, Diocesan Council and Diocesan Staff/Bishop.
3. Reported to the next convention an articulation of energy and commitment to new and/or renewed mission priorities and suggested next steps.

In order for any of this to have meaning the Church and Diocese needs your reflection on these key questions:
✦ What were you doing when you felt most passionate and alive in the spirit?
✦ What is your congregation doing that you can celebrate and share with other parishes?
✦ What could we do as RI Episcopalians that would bring us together and would make a difference in our community and the world?

We hope you’ll think about this in the days ahead and offer your feedback either on our blog at http://mission-task-force.blogspot.com or at one of the regional meetings that will be announced soon. Feel free to email your thoughts to susandwright@gmail.com or any one of the Task Force members.