Mission Strategy

“The cup is overflowing” at St. John in the Wilderness, White Bear Lake! St. John’s is the oldest church in the community of White Bear Lake. Over the past five years it has moved from a pastoral to a program congregation. Its rector, Mark Kelm, speaks of how the work of the BCMS has provided St. John’s with a focus for the growth of its mission and ministry. This story shows some of the ways in which BCMS concepts have been — and continue to be — applied in individual congregations, through the work of the people themselves.

A primary summer project of the Mission Strategy Network (MSN) was to develop a set of four teams to work on each of the four goals of the report by the Bishop’s Commission on Mission Strategy (BCMS) that was approved by Diocesan Convention in 2007. These teams have now been formed, and they held their first joint gathering at St. David’s, Minnetonka, on Saturday, September 13, 2008, to strengthen their own networks and to plan for presentations at September’s Clergy Conference and October’s Diocesan Convention. In addition, every church in the diocese is being contacted personally about mission strategy goals.

Leaders of the Mission Strategy Network (MSN) have recently organized four task teams, one for each of the four goals noted in the October 2007 report of the Bishop’s Commission on Mission Strategy (BCMS). Leaders of these teams, plus other members as identified so far, are listed in this update.

One of the highlights of the 2008 Diocesan Convention was the standing ovation that followed the convention’s affirmation of the final report of the Bishop’s Commission on Mission Strategy (BCMS). But what has happened since, and what steps are being taken to implement the recommendations of that report? This is the first of a series of regular communiqués from the new Mission Strategy Network to keep you informed about our diocese’s next steps in mission.

Several “Stakeholder Leaders” of the Mission Strategy Network have helped facilitate discussions around the BCMS Report with various other networks within the Diocese. The Total Ministry Network, the Deacons Conference, many regional meetings, individual parish meetings, Lay Leader Training sessions, Clergy Conference, Council meetings, the Financial Summit, and Diocesan Staff meetings have all reported back impressions, questions and recommendations. Similar conversations will occur at the upcoming Minnesota Commission on Indian Work convocation. In addition, we’ve begun conversations with some of the clergy serving congregations in some of the smaller cities around the state (specifically Duluth, Rochester, and St. Cloud) to explore collaborative and learning relationships among those congregations. We plan to continue to work with these and other existing and emerging networks as the process unfolds; as we reported in April, we will continue to nurture, cultivate and align the energy that’s stirring.