California Conference Explores New Forms of Collaborative Ministry
Episcopal News Service. April 15, 1999 [99-051]
Dick Snyder
(ENS) Whether it's known as total ministry, mutual ministry or collaborative ministry -- it is associated with excitement and growth within the Anglican Communion.
That was the consensus of individuals who participated in the International Symposium on Local Collaborative Ministry held February 24-March 1 at Burlingame, California.
"This excitement of local ministry development is growing and has spread to so many parts of the Anglican Communion," said the Rev. Jim Kelsey, bishop-elect of Northern Michigan.
Approximately 80 people -- bishops, priests, deacons and lay people from seven nations -- met to plot and plan, worship and dream of a church with collaborative ministry, a church where congregations discover their own strength and identify leadership from within.
Participants "are really dealing with an authentic form of church life," said the Rt. Rev. Roger Herft, bishop of Newcastle, New Zealand. "It enables people to struggle, and brings us back to basics and asks us, 'Is everything being done in each parish to enable people to get a sense of what their baptism means to them, and how that baptism is expressed in worship in their lives.'"
Dioceses in several countries have developed programs to provide for theological education, and for training and ordination of local clergy. There is interest particularly in rural areas which are unable to support seminary-trained clergy. But several bishops noted successful programs in urban churches as well.
It means a collaborative approach for the professional clergy who work in ministry development with these congregations.
"That causes some anxieties," noted the Rt. Rev. Brian Farran, bishop of Perth, Australia.
But it also creates a passion, noted the Rt. Rev. Thomas Brown, bishop of Wellington, New Zealand.
"One can understand their passion, because in many ways the kind of ministry they (symposium participants) practice seems to have an authenticity which can get lost in a traditional type of parish where a vicar is flat out running an organization."
The Rev. Steve Kelsey of Connecticut said that while participants "share common principles, the strategies are different depending on the context" of the congregation and the country.
"It really blows out of the water any idea that you've got one model that everyone else should be doing," he continued. "But it also gives a sense of hope: it's almost like convergent evolution. There is spontaneous activity in all these different places."
Before they left Burlingame, participants agreed to participate in an e-mail network to share information and developments from their countries. Several said they would work toward having regional meetings similar to the symposium.
Participants consisted of representatives from Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand, Scotland, Uganda and the United States.