The Episcopal Diocese of San Diego 38 th Diocesan Convention February 10-11, 2012

1. Mission through the ages 2. Baptismal Call to Mission 3. Life in God’s Mission

Mission through The Ages

19 th and early 20 th Centuries Mission in the wake of the Enlightenment made sense. Western churches had their missions – overseas, on the frontier, in the city >The “Churches’ missions”

Middle of the 20 th Century Emerging global Christianity shifts the terrain. Mission as the central calling of the Church > The “mission of the Church”

Emil Brunner: "The Church exists by mission as fire exists by burning.” Stephen Neil: "The age of missions is at an end; the age of mission has begun.”

Johannes Hoekendijk “is often little else than a call to restore ‘Christendom,’ as a solid, well-integrated cultural complex, directed and dominated by the Church. And the sense of urgency is often nothing but a nervous feeling of insecurity, with the established Church endangered; a flurried activity to save the remnants of a time now irrevocably past.”

Johannes Hoekendijk “Evangelization and churchification are not identical, and very often they are each other's bitterest enemies.” God's mission in the world is to bring about God's shalom, God's Kingdom, God's Reign

S. J. Samartha “Mission is God's continuing activity through the Sprit to mend the brokenness of creation, to overcome the fragmentation of humanity, and to heal the rift between humanity, nature and God.” >The “Mission of God” or “God’s Mission”

Review From: The churches’ missions to: The mission of the Church to: God mission.

The Book of Common Prayer (page 855) The mission of God in which the Church is privileged to participate is... “to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ.”

Our Baptismal Call to God’s Mission

General Convention of 1835 All Episcopalians, by virtue of baptism and not voluntary association, are members of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society. Baptism is our “co-mission,” commission in God’s mission.

The Baptismal Covenant... Orients us as to the nature of God and God’s mission. Shows us how we, the baptized, are called to participate in the mission of God in the world.

The Baptismal Covenant... First three questions affirm the reality of a triune God who is creator, redeemer, and sanctifier. The Trinitarian God is the start of our life in God’s mission.

The Baptismal Covenant... Next five questions speak to the fullness of life in Christ, and show us how to participate with God in God’s mission. Five questions and affirmations as five different “ministries” that we all promise to pursue, equally and together, as the Body of Christ.

Worship “Will you continue in the apostles teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers?... I will with God’s help.” Gathering around the common table, we are united with God and each other in Christ

Forgiveness “Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?... I will with God’s help.” The assurance of forgiveness by God for the sins of the whole world holds out the promise of new life in a restored, reconciled creation.

Proclamation “Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ?.. I will with God’s help.” Naming Jesus Christ as the source of restoration and reconciliation for the world and sharing this truth with others is at the heart of mission.

Service “Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?... I will with God’s help.” Seeking and serving Christ, with neighbors near and far, helps to make real a restored and reconciled human community.

Justice Making “Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?... I will with God’s help.” God’s mission of restoration and reconciliation stands in opposition to the structures of oppression that enslave and marginalize the poor and the weak.

Worship Forgiveness Proclamation Service Justice Making Every follower of Christ, through baptism and in the power of the Holy Spirit, is called, individually and corporately to pursue these ministries equally.

Our Life in God’s Mission

Together in God’s Mission We find our life in God’s mission by virtue of our baptism in the name of the Trinitarian God. The work of mission belongs to the laos, as the people of God. It is not the exclusive domain of one group of people or the other.

A Final Note Stephen Neill: “once everything is mission, nothing is mission.” The essence of mission is the crossing of frontiers from the known to the unknown, from the safe to the dangerous, from the comfortable to the uncomfortable.

A Final Note The spirit of mission thus involves risk. Risking ourselves as agents of the Trinitarian God’s desire and reality of restoration and reconciliation for all people and the whole world.

1. In pairs, share a story of when you felt/knew “the spirit of God’s mission” was at work in your life. (3 minutes each) 2. Four people share your story of God’s mission with the table. (3 minutes each) 1

What do these stories of God’s mission say about your common life as The Episcopal Diocese of San Diego? What will you risk in service to God’s mission, individually and together? Be specific!