P.B., Council Launch 'Journey to Mission'
Episcopal News Service. March 19, 1987 [87055]
RALEIGH, N.C. (DPS, March 19) -- Declaring that the "time of transition is over," Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning told the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church that "the journey to mission has begun. It is time to move on to Detroit. "(EDITORS: The full text of Bishop Bramning's address is attached as DPS 87064)
Browning issued his challenge in a four-day meeting on the St. Augustine College campus here as the Council began tackling the programs it wants to offer to the 1988 General Convention in Detroit and the budgets needed to support them. Because the Convention meets in the first two weeks of July instead of the early part of September, all processes which involve notification to deputies and bishops are pushed back and the Council and Church Center staff are forced to begin their preparation earlier.
The work done by the Council and staff will be shared with representatives of all the groups with which Browning has met over the year, with pertinent General Convention bodies, representatives of other Church networks and organizations, the House of Bishops and, finally, with all members of the Church through the report to Convention in the early summer of 1988. A schedule to bring all this about is being refined, but it already includes discussions at the June "Under One Roof" conference of Church networks, a meeting June 10 and 11 in New Jersey with about 150 Church leaders and another in Kanuga Conference Center in July.
For a new Council and new executive team to develop a program to spark to he Church will not be easy, but Browning told the Council that the Church is more than ready for it:
"For over a year I have been listening to various groups throughout the Church and, in so doing, bringing them into dialogue with each other. This past year has brought me more than information gathered in a passive listening process -- it has engaged me in a deep existential spiritual journey.
"One of the most encouraging and frightening awareness that I have had this past year is the high sense of expectation that is evident in the Church. Everywhere I go and everyone with whom I meet shares a sense of anticipation and excitement. I hear this ir the call for the articulation of a 'New Vision' for the Church; I hear this in the form of needs expressed; I hear this in the form of ideas and suggestions shared. And, I must tell you that in each instance the communication is clear and articulate. Our Church is poised for mission. It will not tolerate a posture of 'business as usual.' It will not support a bureaucracy of status quo. The members of this Church look to us to learn from the lessons of the past, to build on these learnings and embrace the future. Here is the challenge to each of us. I hear the clarion call for the discernment of God's will for each of us as we face new times and new mission opportunities. I want to stress with you that I deeply believe that the Church is ready for the setting of priorities and the clear articulation of mission. It is encouraging and frightening!
"We must all take risks to discover cod's call to mission. I cannot state that any clearer. From the House of Bishops, to provincial meetings, to diocesan conventions, to network meetings, to individual conversations and letters -- and, from many of you -- I hear the willingness to risk for the sake of mission. It means responding to God's call and setting out on a journey with complete faith in him. It means venturing forth into unknown territory, dealing with divisive issues; it means leaving behind old structures. It might mean leaving behind old friends. And, need I say that risk-taking may touch the most sensitive part of our life together -- our budgeting. Risk-taking may mean allocating resources based on purposes and priorities rather than on the basis of existing programs and projects. Risk-taking may mean breaking out of the constraints of our programs and projects and encouraging our national staff to use its creativity and God-given talents to serve this Church. I know these are hard questions but let me suggest that the whole Church has taken a risk in our joint leadership -- yours and mine. The Church has been generous, patient and supportive. The Church is also ready to move out. And, I believe that God is setting this Church in motion, transforming it and us with or without our help or leadership."
In February, the Church Center staff went through a preparatory exercise for the Council by trying to cluster some of the nearly 100 separate programs of the national Church under tentative "mission imperatives." These were presented to Council in the afternoon after the members had spent the morning discussing Browning's address. Council members then tried to create their own sets of clusters and imperatives as a first step toward developing a budget proposal and, later, a staffing structure.
Working through much of Wednesday, almost all of Thursday and well into Friday morning, they were able to develop tentative lists with which, it appeared to observers, few Council members were wildly happy. With staff support from senior mission officer George McGonigle, mission operations executive Barry Menuez and the Rev. John Docker as process officer, they tried to refine the lists and set priorities before breaking on Friday. Finally they agreed to finish the process at the June meeting in Cleveland.
Browning praised the effort and the fact that Council expanded its own agenda to try to fit the task. "I'm glad we shared this experience. Now, we all see how difficult a task it is to determine with any clarity our task as a national structure and Council within the priorities that the whole Church holds up. It has been difficult, but it is clear to me that this Council is really willing to work and struggle together, and what emerges will be a vision that we can all take to the Convention."