Member Mission Newsletter #3   

How do I start?  An FAQ!
Are you a lay leader in a congregation or diocese?  Are you a clergy person?  Meet with some others to get a "taste" of the vision together.
1.  Ask folks for an hour.  Six people is a good number; twelve or more is better; can be done with many more – can be done with less. 
2.  Assign a specific "mission field" – work, home, local community, wider world, leisure / re-creation, and church – to pairs, trios, etc.  Ask each person to write down – on their own with no sharing at this point – what he / she is doing right now to make life better there.  Explain that "making life better" means making life more loving and  / or more just.  3.  Ask folks to share their responses with the rest. 
4.  Now ask if they believe God has a stake in what they are doing.  God's mission is bringing love and justice.  Can they see what they are doing as part of God's mission? 
5.  These present goals are their present "missions" in each of these mission fields.  And everyone of them has something going on in each of these all the time.  You cannot go "flat out" on all six at once.  One or two will probably get most of your attention -- but you cannot duck doing something in the other four or five.
Next steps: How did this "tasting" go?  Do you want to go further with this vision?  What might be sensible next steps?  Possible applications in congregations: baptism and confirmation / reaffirmation sessions? newcomers sessions? etc.?

Eastertide Book Study
Forty-five members of St. Timothy's Church, Lake Jackson, TX will meet weekly in seven groups to study When the Members Are the Missionaries: An Extraordinary Calling for Ordinary People [WTMATM] until Pentecost.  The Bible study from Chapter 15 formed the first session.  They will read through and discuss the stories of Part One during their next six sessions.  At the last session, they will decide what they want to do next.  Group leaders will stay in touch with their organizer, Leah Seay, by email.  Reach her at LSeay17453@aol.com or 979-849-8705.

Archbishop of York commends WTMATM
The Most Reverend David Hope, has asked his Chaplain preparing candidates for ordination to commend the book to them as "they think about the future pattern of their ministry."

Spontaneous Role Play -- Berkeley Divinity School
The Colloquium for First Year Students ended its year-long sessions on mission with a look at the "Member Mission Vision" for congregations.   A different mission field was assigned to each pair or trio.  As responses were shared, role play began spontaneously on ideas for questions 5, 6, and 7 re the local community.  A student was inviting a friend to go with her to a local supermarket in hopes of bridging the "town and gown" gap by just chatting with the shoppers.  At each step, valuable learnings came out about the need to be specific – what do you actually hope might happen through these informal conversations and what real difference might church participation make in the effectiveness of the chats in the supermarket.  All this the week before Easter!

Revised Questions for Each Mission Field
The questions for discerning your present mission have been made more user friendly.  In particular, the questions on recruiting helpers and how you talk with them – numbers 5, 6, and 7 – have been sharpened.  Go to the website at  membermissionpress.org; click on Making the Vision work; then click on Revisions, Updates etc.; then click on your choice among the six mission fields.

Keep current via the website at www.membermissionpress.org   Send along your ideas, session plans, learnings, questions, etc.

Peace and power,

A. Wayne Schwab