Bishop Allin Speaks of Shared Mission
Episcopal News Service. May 5, 1977 [77147]
Louisville, Ky. -- "Our vocation," said the Rt. Rev. John M. Allin, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, "is to aid and affirm one another and all sorts and conditions of others in offering our best."
Addressing the 41-member Executive Council of the Episcopal Church and some 40 Partners in Mission from various provinces of the Anglican Communion and from the ecumenical community, Bishop Allin said, "Our response... is to recognize and realize who we are and what we are meant to be, our heritage, our assets, the potential for good among us."
He spoke of all who "suffer the loss of vital relationships and sense of human dignity," specifically "the outcast and the downcast, the separated and segregated, the oppressed and deprived, the helpless and those without choice. "
"Being faithful to the vocation of Christian mission requires our best and unique offerings as individuals, as national churches, as the Anglican Communion," he continued. "And I believe we need the grace of each other's help to make our best offering. Christian discipline and stewardship must be our common and coordinated commitment, if the uniqueness of each of us is to be recognized, realized and offered."
Bishop Allin also told the Council members and partners about the Episcopal Church's Venture in Mission program, which he described as "the effort to refocus our lives within the perspective of Christian faith. "
The three words, "Venture in Mission," he said "are an invitation, a vocation, the Christian imperative. They are inclusive of the whole Christian endeavor, the marching orders of a pilgrim people. They call us together as a community of unique individuals in venture in faith, the faith in God offered to us in Jesus Christ."
More than can be here expressed is the gratitude of the Episcopal Church, U.S.A., for this consultation with all of you, who are our Partners in Mission. We give thanks for your safety in travel to this place. Our prayers will precede you as you continue your various ways in the mission of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We hope everyone involved is blessed in the efforts to share in this consultation. By being here, each of you add joy to our company, improve our evaluations, increase our understanding, and stimulate our motivation.
Such consultations in mission do offer specific opportunities to test our common understanding of the inclusive purpose of the Mission of Jesus Christ. As a test of consensus among a representative group of Christian partners, allow me to reflect some convictions regarding the mission we are called to share.
The mission is from the one God, the one Creator, who is the source of our being and our hope. The mission is that of the creating, redeeming, sustaining power of infinite Love, being manifest in the infinitely diverse Creation.
The distinguishing characteristic of God's creation is reflected in the uniqueness of each created unit. There are no duplicates, no identical twins in all of creation. God creates nothing but originals. Copies and duplicates are produced or manufactured by mankind. Idols are solely dependent upon a human source and are objects of duplication.
Each of God's creations is different from all the others. The uniqueness of each is the commonality shared by all. The Creation by the One God is the community of diversity, the Universe in motion, the proceedings of Love. The Holy One offers uniqueness to each in order that each may be related by offering uniqueness to the One.
The purpose of the divine mission is to reconcile relations throughout all of the one creation in order that each may share in the offering of holy life.
Expressed in the words of "the Word of God made flesh," the author of the Christian mission, we are called to "be therefore perfect, even as our Father in heaven is perfect." (Mt. 5:48). Does this not mean: Let each of us who is unique and different come to completeness or wholeness of being by relating to the One who is perfect being?
The vocation of our Christian mission, therefore, is to assist the unique offering of each created person or thing through the one acceptable offering of Jesus Christ.
Our purpose (here) as members of the Church, as Partners in Mission, as members of the Anglican Communion, as Christians is to help each other offer our best individually and corporately in order to help all sorts and conditions of other human beings to offer their best, and thus become whole and equal members of the community of diversity. The outcast and the downcast, the separated and segregated, the oppressed and deprived, the helpless and those without choice, all suffer the loss of vital relationships and sense of human dignity. To lack gift or ability or will to offer is to lose the dignity of purpose and the experience of sharing in life as a developing human being. Any so-called "Welfare" program sponsored by Church or State is fraudulant and a travesty which is not designed and dedicated to the development of human potential and the ability of each individual to offer the value of self to life in an acceptable manner. (Our vocation is to share abundant life.)
There can be no renewing experience of fulfillment in an individual human life where there is no capacity resulting from emptying oneself in offering. One is either shut out or withdraws from life who cannot or does not share in the living exercise of offering one's self through service. Our service offered must be to enable others to offer services unique and varied and complimentary to Him whose service is perfect freedom and in whose offering all faithful offerers become united with the Holy Creator.
Our vocation, therefore, as Partners in Mission, as Anglicans, as Christians, as human beings is to aid and affirm one another and all sorts and conditions of others in offering our best. Our response, therefore, is to recognize and realize who we are and what we are meant to be, our heritage, our assets, the potential for good among us. Our diversity must be perceived as the complementary inter-related richly colored mosaic within the perspective of God's purpose, wherein the value and beauty of each of us in enhanced by the reflections and relationships of others. The total glory is not to be revealed until all the reflectors are in proper place. Any one marred, distorted or removed lessens the reflection of the total light of God to a world otherwise in darkness.
If this reflection thus far be true, and to the extent the truth is reflected, does following the truth not require the best and most accurate identity of each of us? Can we offer our best as unique individuals, as members of a world-wide communion, as part of the church catholic, if we are unable to recognize ourselves or be recognized? Can we offer our goods if we deny the Faith offered to us? Can the offering of one of us be validated by denying the validity of the best offering of another? Can we offer to enter into new relations within the community of faith, if we have been unfaithful to those who share a common heritage of faith with us?
Being faithful to the vocation of Christian mission requires our best and unique offerings as individuals, as national churches, as the Anglican Communion. And I believe we need the grace of each others' help to make our best offering. Christian discipline and stewardship must be our common and coordinated commitment, if the uniqueness of each of us is to be recognized, realized and offered. Managing the process of shared decision-making must accompany the process of managing the deployment of personnel and material resources. The bonds and links of our internal relations must be faithful, flexible and durable if our service is to be beneficial and effective to those needing to be raised to life and freedom and the experience of human dignity.
Presently, the effort to refocus our lives within the perspective of Christian faith in the Episcopal Church, U. S. A., is being simply identified as the "Venture in Mission."
Our members are in various degree and various manner exercising their God given right to examine these three words.
The process thus far has produced some interesting evidence and insights regarding this Church's membership that may eventually aid our self-recognition and clarification of purpose.
Obviously, our faith has been affected by the conditioning skepticism of our age. The three words: "Venture in Mission" have been examined as gingerly as one looks for counterfeits among new issues of common currency. Some see the words as the designation of a formula, the sole purpose of which is to produce money. Some declare these to be code-words of a code without a key. Some treat the words as a lost phrase looking for a convention resolution, while others suspect them of being part of a detour sign. They have been read as the title of some new version of an old ecclesiastical game. In a few instances, some church leaders have reported themselves already too busy with Church work to become involved or engaged in what is described as "The National Church's Program."
Like beauty, for some the meaning of words is limited to the eye of the beholder. What do the words: "Venture in Mission" mean to you?
Pray with me that together we can enable these three words to offer to all who behold them the truth of their meaning and the exact meaning of the truth they express. In truth, they are an invitation, a vocation, the Christian imperative. They are inclusive of the whole Christian endeavor, the marching orders of a pilgrim people. They call us together as a community of unique individuals to venture in faith, the faith in God offered to us in Jesus Christ. Christ awaits us in every place to enable each of us to offer the best we have and can be.
Through the needs of humanity, the poor and the proud, the suffering and the insensitive, the lonely and the lost, those with no ability to offer and those with no capacity to receive, Christ will receive and renew the offerings of all who in faith share his Venture-in-Mission.