July 2003
Cokesbury Bookstore to stock WTMATM at the Episcopal General Convention, Minneapolis, July 30 - August 8, 2003
Eliot L. Sorge phoned in early July saying, "Wayne, this is a great book! You are saying something I have not seen said any place else. What can we do to get it before General Convention people?" Eliot, bishop of Easton ‘83 - ‘93, served, at the Episcopal Church Center, as the Executive for Education for Mission and Ministry and my supervisor in Evangelism for a time, and always had a special interest in ministry development. How significant his call was! At his request, Cokesbury will stock WTMATM at their booth in Minneapolis. LeaderResources will also display it along with order blanks. And, blanks will be lying around various places with Ben Helmer's help. If you go to Convention, take along your book and copies of the revised order form below. Tell others about it – and our growing network.
Living into member mission in Scottsdale, AZ
Jon Coffey, rector of St. Anthony on the Desert in Scottsdale, AZ, reports that over two-thirds of their 300-plus households were reached in this year's every member canvass, "Member Mission Mobilization," held in April and May. Members were asked for "concrete ways St. Anthony's might better support and equip them for their work as missionaries in their households, neighborhoods, workplaces, and the wider world." Common themes emerging included Bible study, support groups for parents of infants and for families with members in need; training in being better parents and spouses; listing of needed community services; and the familiar call for increased communication.
The vestry has employed a Lutheran pastor from Kairos, a nationwide strategic planning group, to determine a direction for the next five years. Jon and the vestry will continue to hold up the member mission vision during the planning process. They know that they are in the long-term change of leading the members, who do not now think that way, to look at things in a new way.
Among ways to enable this change are: frequent references to it in the church's newsletter – six in the current issue; response to the spiritual thirst discerned in the canvass with a Faith Alive Weekend in October leading, in turn, to Neighborhood Groups; a church-sponsored center devoted to a healthy mind, body, and spirit; and monthly Rector Hikes led by Jon as he teaches about local flora and fauna to support daily mission in the wider world of the environment.
Contact: The Rev. Jonathan Coffey Jr., Rector, 12990 East Shea Blvd., Scottsdale AZ 85259; p:480-451-0860; f: 480-451-4413; joncoffey@st-anthony.net
Spiritual preparation to grow the mission
St. Martin's, Brown Deer, WI is weighing a prayerful start to growing the mission – and, so, the church. Rediscovering the mission has always brought recovery for the church. The rector, vestry, and key leaders meet and commit themselves to prepare for a congregation-wide Mission Weekend by sharpening their own ability to hear what God wants them to do in their daily lives and to experience God's help to do it. Before they leave, prayer partners are set either by counting off by two's or by pairing up with another of their own choosing. The first week, each prays at the start of the day, "Lord, show me what to do today in my home." At the end of the day or as each begins the next day's prayers, ask "How did God lead and help me today / yesterday?" Offer a short thanksgiving for that leading and help. The following weeks center on daily work, the local community, the wider world, leisure and re-creation, and the church. Then repeat the cycle. Each checks in with their partner to see how the praying is going and what is happening in their lives. They will discover how God finds a different way to talk with and to walk with each of them.
Contact: Ramona Lewis, Lay Ministry Coordinator; 9111 No. Silver Brook Lane, Brown Deer, WI 53223; 414-355-2090; lewisaramona@msn.com
HOME: Guiding children and youth in responsible sexuality
St. John's Church, Essex, NY loans out two recent videotapes with their transcripts and (2-3) books to help parents in this sensitive and crucial mission. While the tapes and transcripts present the hard realities of sexual activity among teens and even preteens, they go on to sound and usable expert advice for parents. The books suggest ways to discuss sexual issues with both children and teens to encourage healthy, responsible sexual attitudes and behaviors. To borrow the materials, parents call the pastor. This method protects hesitant parents who like the relative anonymity. It also works well in small congregations without a lot of teens. The Rev. Eileen Weglarz, pastor, writes: "Remember, our sexuality is a gift from God that is part of us from birth. Don't wait until it's too late to start talking to your children about it."
These resources are:
Dr. Phil, Teens and Sex: The Truth, (10/28/02), www.drphil.com>Tapes and Transcripts
20/20, The Family Fix: Middle School Kids Having Sex, (12/9/02), www.abcnewsstore.com or 800-505-6139 for the tape and www.transcripts.tv for the transcript and for the Q&A follow-up go to http://abcnews.go.com/section/community/DailyNews/chat_roffman021209.html
Deborah M. Roffman, but how'd I get in there in the first place? talking to your young child about sex, Perseus, 2002 and for teens, Sex & Sensibility: The Thinking Parent's Guide to Talking Sense About Sex, Perseus, 2001
There's No Place Like Home ...for Sex Education, Planned Parenthood Health Services of Southwestern Oregon, 220 E. 11th St., Eugene, OR 97401, talk to Mary Gossart at 541-342-6042, ext. 13; single page newsletters of five issues for each age group from 3 years old through Grade 12 with both a general approach and specific ways to talk; judge for yourself how to use what is offered.
Contact: The Rev. Eileen Weglarz, St. John's Episcopal Church, POB 262, Essex, NY 12936; 518-963-7775; eileenweglarz@westelcom.com
WORK: William E. Diehl's five values for mission in the workplace
Bill Diehl, in his book, "The Monday Connection: On Being an authentic Christian in a Monday-Friday World" (Harper, 1993), outlines five values that people can live out their ministries in their work place: competency – just doing my job; presence – being there for somebody; ethics, change – working for peace and justice on the job; and modest life style. More on this next time. [This note about Bill's book was culled by Bob Hoffman of West Linn, OR.]
Order form
When the Members are the Missionaries:
An Extraordinary Calling for Ordinary People
by
A. Wayne Schwab
Is not God most concerned about how we live from Monday to Saturday? Are not Sunday and all of church life intended to provide guidance and power for our Monday to Saturday living?
Baptism is joining the mission of Jesus Christ to make the world a better place with God's help. In today's world, the most effective agents of the mission are each of the baptized as they go about their daily lives at home, at work, in their local communities, in the wider world (everything from popular culture to government), and their leisure / recreation, as well as in their churches. The real delivery point of mission today is these six daily arenas – the daily "mission fields" of the baptized.
It is time for the way Christians live from Monday to Saturday to get the attention it deserves. "Body-mission" – what a committee of a congregation or the congregation as a whole does – still gets all of the attention. A book on "member-mission" – on what each member does in his or her daily life – is long overdue.
This book extends the popular notion of "mission" to the members as they bring love and justice in deed and word to each of their daily arenas – with God's help. Through a glimpse into the everyday lives of fifteen ordinary people, the book tells their stories to show how mission transforms life with the power of God's love and justice working in and through them. How congregations can organize themselves to help their members to live their daily missions this way follows the stories. (232 pp.)
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