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| Icon - The Transfiguration of Jesus - ca. 1200 |
I know there were plenty of folks around me wanting to get up and be on their way, but I was mesmerized. I wanted to stay and discuss, explore, go deeper, drink more coffee and go on and on into the evening. It was selfish, I know, but Bishop Greg had that effect on me -- even, as he was, jet-lagged from a late flight in from Toronto in the wee hours of this morning.
The location: the parish hall of St. Luke's, Red Deer.
The event: a "Town Hall" meeting with the Bishop, the Executive Archdeacon, Wardens, Treasurers and some clergy of the north end of the Diocese of Calgary.
The topic for the afternoon: the mission of the Diocese.
To summarize what Bishop Greg said:
- "Mission" is God's breaking into the world.
- Jesus was God's first 'mission';
- The Holy Spirit was God's second 'mission';
- WE are God's third 'mission', charged with drawing people to God.
- We aren't called to be "successful"; we are called to be faithful.
- Always guided by the Great Commandments;
- Always under the Great Commission;
- With minds transformed and renewed to enable us to be a living sacrifice (Romans 12).
- There are five touchstones that define and inform who we are as Christians:
- Worship - who we are before God, totally dependent on God for everything;
- Koinonia - part of a communion that transcends simple human fellowship, which we enter and in which we participate intentionally;
- Didache - the teaching of the apostles, discipleship in and through the Word, which also must be carried out intentionally;
- Diakonia - servant ministry. Ministry is not about what we need; it's about what others need, about a life of sacrifice; and
- Kerygma - proclamation (the "E" word) -- as in "Preach the gospel at all times; if necessary, use words." -- so that others will be drawn to Christ in and through us.
It was good for us to be there -- and each of us was being called to go out into the world, back to our parishes, as servants in the power of the Holy Spirit. Thanks be to God!
