ARTICLE FOR RISEN PUBLICATION

Mission Task Force 2010
“Where Meaning and Mission Collide”

The vitality of any organization depends upon a periodic review of its mission. Our mission priorities in the Diocese of Rhode Island have long been the Hispanic Ministry, Episcopal Camp and Conference Center, Congregational Development, and Christian Formation.

Last year a group of RI Episcopalians believed that it was time to look at these again, and so they presented a resolution to our Diocesan Convention in October calling for review. The resolution was adopted by the clergy and delegates of Convention, and the “Mission Task Force” was created.

The Mission task force will spend a year listening to and engaging with the parishioners, committees, and leaders of the diocese as they express their opinions on our current priorities and their hope for future missions and programs. Our goal is to present a report and resolutions to convention next October, which will articulate the energy and commitment of the diocese to new and/or renewed mission priorities.

So far we have been busy at work. In February we began our communication launch with our exhibit at Convocation and our blog at http://mission-task-force.blogspot.com.

The months of March, April, and May will be spent in a listening process. We will seek to hear from the youths and adults in our parishes, the leaders of the current mission priorities, and the diocesan staff and committees. At this same time, Diocesan Council will convene four groups to review the effectivity of our current mission priorities.

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 about where you find meaning and mission colliding in your personal experience of being Christian and Church.

It is important that our conversations in this process reflect the diversity that we find in our churches and communities, so we request your feedback on these key questions:
✦ What are you doing when you feel 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 make a difference in our community and the world?

In the months ahead we will be having regional gatherings to hear your reflections, and we invite you to also share and enter into a conversation with others across the diocese at the Mission Task Force blog http://mission-task-force.blogspot.com.

We intend to use the latter part of May and June to synthesize, discern and meet with Bishop Wolf and Diocesan Staff about our findings. During July and August we will prepare our reports and formulate resolutions for October’s Convention in plenty of time you’re your review.

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 upcoming regional meetings. Feel free to email your thoughts to susandwright@gmail.com and visit www.episcopalri.org to find out more.

Task Force Members: Modesta Pellot, Diocesan Council; Fran Gammell-Roach and The Rev. Jennifer Pedrick, Standing Committee; Brian Ehlers and Scott Nicholson, appointed by Bishop Wolf. Deanery Representatives: The Rev. Pam Mott, Aquidneck; Jim Segovis, Central; Susan Wright, West Bay; The Rev. Dcn. Ricky Brightman, Narragansett; David Isherwood, East Bay; and The Rev. Buck Close, Blackstone. The Rev. Bill Locke is the Mission Task Force Chaplain.