Where we are now

The four teams tasked with implementing the goals contained in the BCMS report have been working hard to develop recommendations. On May 2 at Breck School in Minneapolis, the Mission Strategy Network is hosting a Convocation to present the recommendations that have been developed so far, and to expand the discussion again to the Diocese as a whole.

The report of the MSN to the upcoming Convocation has been published in advance. Read the full report here..

Video of the presentations at the Convocation will be published on the same day, alongside a feedback form to enable those who can’t attend in person to add their voices. Check back at the home page on this site on May 2.

Where we’ve been

The Bishop’s Commission on Mission Strategy (BCMS) evolved in 2006 from a Metro Mission Strategy group that was formed at the time of the development of the “Gethsemane Project” in 2005, when it became evident that such work affected the entire diocese. The BCMS worked for more than a year, gathering historic and current data and receiving input from congregations and other diocesan entities. The BCMS report, “Rethinking, Reframing and Reclaiming Our Identity, Purpose and Mission,” was presented to representatives of the diocese as a whole on October 27, 2007, where it was overwhelmingly affirmed.

As reported by Leonard and Lindsay Freeman, the BCMS report “built upon key statements about Identity and Purpose which emerged out of the diocesan-wide conversations, and articulated four overarching Goal Recommendations, with twelve supporting initiatives.”

Goal 1: Spiritual Transformation and Fuller Participation in God’s Mission
Goal 2: Renew Congregations in Context
Goal 3: Recreate the Diocese as a Network
Goal 4: Develop Effective Stewardship of Financial Resources

(Read the entire BCMS report here.)

The report’s approval at the 2007 Convention led to the creation of the Mission Strategy Network (MSN), tasked with working throughout the Diocese to implement the recommendations of the report. The MSN is working under the oversight of Bishop Jelinek and Diocesan Council and in partnership with them in their work; MSN representatives provide regular updates to the Council.

During the summer of 2008, the coordinators of the Mission Strategy Network (MSN) identified four task teams, one team for each of the four goals noted in the October 2007 report of the Bishop’s Commission on Mission Strategy (BCMS). The leaders and Diocesan staff liaisons of these teams are listed in the July 31, 2008 Update. These teams have been working diligently over the past months to prepare a series of recommendations for each goal. Their work has been published in the report of the MSN to the upcoming Convocation.

Where we’re heading

The transformations that are in progress will certainly affect the future “look” and structure of the diocese, and MSN members are working with the Bishop Search Committee as it progresses in its process. As a participant at a Region 9 meeting put it, “We’re eager to have things in place so the new bishop can get off to a new start.”