August 2003
Preaching on Member Mission
This Deacon has it right
[The Rev. Michelle Mooney, Deacon at St. Mark's, Milwaukee, WI, wrote in June, "I have been preaching every chance I get on this concept and it is being well received." The following was part of her sermon of 3/30/03 on John 12:20-33, "The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes" as she recalled her work with The Gathering, an interfaith meal ministry.]
"I occasionally would hear from an angry guest who didn't like our rules, a belligerent, ‘You call yourself a Christian?' with the inference that whatever I was doing to him was surely not how a Christian should be acting. It was then that I usually thought back to this miracle story today and wondered if they ever asked Jesus or one of his disciples, ‘Hey, where's the meat? I don't like fish!' Did Jesus ever wish he had just stuck with the spiritual, and had not gotten caught up in that messy and problematic healing and feeding?
But like it or not, I came to the conclusion that as a Christian we are meant to address the whole individual, and sometimes the wider world, if we are to live out the Good News . . .
If calling ourselves Christians means living and talking the good news, what specifically do I mean by this? Simply that each of us is called to love all people, bring justice in the world, and tell other people of what God is doing in Jesus Christ.
We do this in our work, our families, our communities, and in the wider world. The church does not have a mission. It is we who have a mission. The church is here to support us in these ministries. In this sense, our local church exists to help form and support our mission in the everyday world that we live in."
Contact: The Rev. Michelle Mooney, Deacon, (at home) 2633 North Hackett Ave., Milwaukee, WI 5321; p: 414-964-3118; f: 414-964-3583; email: m-mooney@core.com; (at church) 2618 N. Hackett Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53222 with phone 414-962-0500
Reflecting on favorite parts . . . and even taking orders
[The Rev. Irving Gagnon, rector at All Saints, Meriden, CT which is both English and Spanish-speaking, wrote on 7/13/03: "I have been reading [your book] and used it in my preaching. Last Sunday was a perfect context in which to speak of the mission of the members! I displayed the book from the pulpit . . . mind you the English-speaking membership of this congregation is older and diminishing (especially in the summer time!). I invited folks to read it . . . several asked me to order them a copy! I am in the process of doing that by mail since I will not be at General Convention to get it there. It's too bad that it is not available in Spanish also! The mission-field where I live is Spanish-speaking." (Any ideas on how we might begin with translating the working papers in Appendices A, B, C, and D? – AWS) Here is one of "Sherm's" reflections.]
"If we merely speak of mission as something that happens when the church gathers however, we miss the point. The point is this: when we were baptized, we were not simply "done," nor were we called to be "members" of the church; we were called like the disciples to become missionaries. We have been called to live and work in such a way that we are intent on being living reminders of the forgiving love of God shown to us in Jesus Christ. We must live and work and play aware that you and I may be the only Bible some folks will ever read."
Contact: The Rev. Irving Gagnon, All Saints Church, 201 W. Main St., Meriden, CT 06451; 203-235-9695; sherm6501@cox.net
Share the preaching with the members
During my last interim, I invited one of the members into "pre-sermon dialogue" as I prepared for each Sunday. Sending the Gospel with some interpretation of it, I asked the member to comment on how he or she saw it "connect with life in today's world or your own life" or "spirituality and religion today." Guided by the Gospel for the day, responses ranged from how the person came to faith; to coming to value the church; to passing in summer school; to environmental responsibility; to sharing our wealth with other nations; to a retired teacher's decision to return to teach English as a second language; to how a couple helped a friend out of depression. I always included those comments in the sermon and added comments to clarify where needed. Eighth graders to the eldest responded readily. Some wrote their responses while most responded orally. My invitation was turned down only once.
Commenting on Matthew 28:16-20 (Year A, Trinity Sunday), a ninth grader connected her experiences on the soccer team with "Jesus wanting us to pass along his teaching to everyone. It's like our soccer coach. She wants to pass along her knowledge of how to play soccer to everyone. So she teaches us what she knows but she doesn't stop there. She calls on us to teach the others. We pass on this knowledge to younger students when we help the coach at a practice of the younger team. The team is like the disciples, spreading the knowledge. And, like the disciples, some team members find the work too difficult, too strenuous. They quit and do not pass on the word. Jesus' church is like a team open to all who want to play soccer. There are no try outs with some selected and some passed over because they are not good enough. Jesus wants everybody to get a shot at playing. Each person can take the opportunity to play on Jesus' team – or reject it. All of us have the chance to have eternal life just like all the kids have the same right to be on a soccer team."
Contact: The Rev. A. Wayne Schwab, Member Mission Press, POB 308, Essex NY 12936; p/f 518-963-7541; membermission@aol.com
Sermon texts now on the website
Go to http://membermissionpress.org>Making the vision work>Sermons. You will find the full texts of the sermons quoted above posted there under the preacher's name and the date of the sermon.
More ideas and helps:
Maybe LeaderResources can help
LeaderResources offers more than 30 resources in education, leadership, and ministry development. Love One Another caught my eye as, possibly, adaptable to help members in the free exchange of opinions and convictions so essential to our missions in the wider world – in our society, culture, economics, or government in our county, or our state, or our nation, or our world. Authentic Leadership could help in learning about building the team so necessary for each of us to make the changes we believe we are called to make in each of our various mission fields. Access to these resources is $150 / year for congregations averaging 1-25 per week; $175 / year for those averaging 26-75 per week; and on up. The one fee includes 3-5 new resources prepared each year.
Contact: www.LeaderResources.org
Repeating marriage vows
With the accent on God's ongoing help to keep deepening the marriage, the couple's mission at home finds expression in a liturgy. Beginning with the request of a couple married at St. John's, the congregation now invites all couples to share in this repetition and blessing once a year.
Contact: The Rev. Eileen Weglarz, St. John's Episcopal Church, POB 262, Essex, NY 12936; 518-963-7775; eileenweglarz@westelcom.com
Congregational support of missionaries – via William Diehl
Bill Diehl, in his book, Ministry in Daily Life, a Practical Guide for Congregations (The Alban Institute, 1996), outlines ways congregations can support their members in their daily living. Helps for doing them from the member mission perspective follow in brackets. And thanks to Bob Hoffman, city6@teleport.com, who made the basic draft of this list.
• Affirm people in their daily lives by visiting their workplaces and homes; using daily life and work experiences in sermons; providing liturgies of affirmation of occupational and community service groupings; use prayers the members write about both personal and public life; accent the baptismal covenant in a variety of settings; connect national holidays and local events in Sunday worship; use banners, bulletins, bulletin boards, and signs that proclaim the faith-life connection; list occupations in the directory; put the story of a member's daily mission(s) on the front page of the newsletter and, inside, feature items related to mission in daily life; and start a collection of the journeys in faith of the members (see Ch. 3 of Bill's book for more).
• Equip people by providing how-to programs for various ministries or mission fields. [Help members learn to discern their daily missions using Appendix A of WTMATM or the revisions at http://membemissionpress.org>Making the Vision Work>Revisions, Updates, etc.>Appendix A-Revision 1 (a more helpful version than the one in WTMATM) or Appendix A-Revision 2 (which starts with missions already being lived). See also Ch. 11, "Decision Making for Missionaries"; Ch. 12, "‘Missionary Spirituality': The Kind That Supports Missionaries"; Ch 13, "Helping People to Become Missionaries"; and Ch. 14, "Change Agents at Work," of WTMATM. Note that attention to the specifics of each of the six daily mission fields – see pp. 3-4 of WTMATM – will make the deeds and words of the members more effective.]
• Provide support groups focused on real life issues which meet at safe locations; and provide methods of accountability and regular evaluation. [See Ch. 15, "Some Specifics about Small Groups," of WTMATM.]
• Redefine the pastor's role by emphasizing support for ministry in daily living; by helping the pastor to work at not controlling but empowering, at believing the laity are the primary agents of mission in the world, at shaping congregational life around nourishing the members for their daily living. [See Ch. 17, "The Kind of Leaders This Vision Needs," of WTMATM.]
• Provide a Director of Member Ministries to support and equip people in their daily living. [More to the point, redefine the congregation's mission around calling, forming, sending, and supporting the members in their daily living. Appointing a director can suggest that living one's daily missions is for those "interested in that kind of thing" and not for everyone. Se Ch.8, "Getting Your Head and Heart into the Vision," Ch. 9, "We need ‘Hubble-eyes': Preparation and Team Formation," and Ch. 10, "Let's Redesign," of WTMATM.]
The 4th day and Cursillo's Reunion Groups
Cursillistas need help to keep their weekly reunion groups growing. Perhaps WTMATM would set before them sharing around one of their six daily mission fields each week and then repeating the cycle. Further, let what is actually done become and remain the climax each week. Finally, encourage them to add people who cannot get to a Cursillo but who share commitment to living out the mission they took up in their baptism and / or reaffirmation of their baptismal covenant.
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