The following paper was accepted by Synod

MISSION AND MINISTRY IN THE DIOCESE OF EDINBURGH

A paper for discussion at the Diocesan Synod, October 2003

1. The immediate context of our debate.

This is a crucial moment in the life of our diocese when we have the opportunity to debate some important issues around our Mission and Ministry strategies. The following are some of the factors in the debate:

a. The General Synod is bringing together the present Board for Mission and the Board for Ministry into a single Board and we in this diocese have also created a new “Mission and Ministry Committee” with a wide brief. The present debate will help to highlight key issues for our own diocesan committee.

b. The General Synod commended two substantial reports at its recent meeting. One was “The Journey of the Baptised”, which developed the work of Mission 21 in the Province, and looked at the future of our work particularly in the area of collaborative ministry and congregational development. The other entitled “New Century New Directions” considered the training provision in the province hitherto provided by TISEC, and recommended a devolution to dioceses, following provincial guidelines. Such diocesan based training would open up new opportunities not only for those training for ordained ministry, but also for a variety of lay ministries. Consultation is taking place between province and dioceses during 2003-4 concerning the implementation of this second report. This debate will assist us in our response to these important reports.

c. In two dioceses in the province, experiments in Local Collaborative Ministry have been taking place and within them there is the possibility of people being ordained to a local ministry. We as a synod have not fully debated how far the ideas embodied in these experiments should have application within a ministry strategy for the diocese of Edinburgh, and this debate will allow us to raise aspects of this.

d. Increasing financial pressures upon congregations mean that not all congregations can afford a full-time incumbent. Over the years some congregations have become linked charges, and share an incumbent. Some operate with a part-time priest-in-charge or a non-stipendiary priest-in-charge. The question arises for us as to how the gifts of our stipendiary ministers should best be deployed, and how ministry and ministry teams should be supported.

e. We are a diocese within an episcopal church, and accordingly congregations support each other in their life. How is that best arranged, in terms of a sharing of financial and other resources? How can the (for the time being) stronger help the (for the time being) weaker?

It is hoped that matters concerning these (and other) issues will be raised and considered in debate.

2. The method for our debate.

Our debate shall use as background material the two reports from the June General Synod. “The Journey of the Baptised”, is reprinted as APPENDIX A. A brief summary, with the recommendations of “New Century New Directions” is reprinted as APPENDIX B.

Each report is multifaceted, and their concerns intertwine and overlap, but these notes offer a framework for holding them together. They suggest that a principal focus in the former is that of enabling there to be healthy congregations in our diocese that are capable of discerning their corporate vocation, whereas a principal focus in the latter is the way in which we encourage and support those who have discerned their individual vocations within these congregations.

These reports are about the development of Mission and Ministry in the Diocese, and any debate concerning them must recognise that there is a wider context beyond our diocese concerning faith and life and the mission of God, remembering that “The church of God does not have a mission, but the God of mission has a church”

3. Christian Faith and Life

"This is our faith, we believe in one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit."

The heart of our Christian faith is a belief in

a God who made the world,
a God who allows himself to be known to us, and
a God who calls us to live and serve as part of a community of faith.

Therefore, for the Christian, living has two fundamental components.

We live life as a baptised individual on a pilgrimage of faith.
We live in a fellowship that allows our proper flourishing.

The individual and the corporate dimensions both are important in the Christian life.

But the Christian life is not lived as an end in itself. It is a life that is at its heart directed towards God and towards others. We thus approach the idea that a Christian life is a missionary life, and the body of Christians gains its shape because it is caught up in that mission of God to the world. In this way we become what the Lambeth Conference called "the missionary congregation".

The missionary congregation

The Lambeth Conference in 1998 said that the gospel is set forth both by communities of faith and by individuals:

in the witness of their lives;
in the proclaiming and preaching of the word;
in acts of loving service and mercy. 

An essential part of finding new life in Christ is –

becoming part of a community of faith
receiving nurture and teaching
learning to pray and worship
becoming involved in service and witness

Thus, the Church needs to commit itself to –

a renewal of worship to be lively and accessible
a renewal of regular personal prayer
the building of confidence and sharing of responsibility among laity, clergy and bishops
the developing of vocations for all forms of ministry

This means there must be ministry to the flock of Christ –

pastoring, nurturing, praying and praising
teaching, training and equipping
administering gifts and resources
organising, presiding and leading

But Mission is to go out, and five marks of mission have been identified in the Anglican Communion:

to proclaim the good news of the kingdom
to teach, baptise and nurture new believers
to respond to human need by loving service
to seek to transform the unjust structures of society
to strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth

That is a clear vision of our calling in mission as part of the Anglican Communion, and as a diocese we need to ask how should we work towards incarnating this vision in the coming years? And how do we best use the resources available to us? We look at part of this question today.

4. FOCUSSING ON THE DIOCESE.

Our Corporate Life

Within the Diocese and within the Province we have a number of excellent resources for developing our corporate life. The Mission 21 programme, its MYCMI component, and its Continuing Congregational Development encourage a continual discernment of the corporate vocation of the congregation, strengthen the relationships within the congregation, and give shape to its life. Local Collaborative Ministry encourages reflection on the working of a congregation in a given area, and the development within it of collaborative and shared patterns of responsibility. 

It is good to develop congregational life and to use these Provincial and Diocesan resources in the task of “growing healthy congregations”.
We believe that each congregation should aim to:

a) Reflect through the Mission 21 process on its life and vocation, on how it relates to its locality, to the diocese, and to the world-wide Christian communion.

b) Reflect on the pattern of ministry and leadership that operates within its life, and develop patterns of collaboration that encourage vocations and use the gifts of all members

c) Look to the future and assess how it is moving—facing the question of how it should be planning for life and ministry in 10-15 years time.

d) Reflect on ways its resources may give support to other congregations in the diocese.

e) Reflect on ways in which the tasks it is called to fulfil may be done in partnership with others in different churches, in other faith-groups, and in secular organisations.

The bishop would hope to share in such conversations that take place within vestries as congregations look to their future growth and development, and he will continue with his programme of extended visits to congregations as they develop their life.

 Our Individual Vocation 

Congregations are not just communities, but are made up of individuals, and each person, although walking a path with others, is also on his or her own pilgrimage of faith. As a diocese we need to make available resources for education, training and vocational development that allow help to be given here as widely as possible.

We shall do this following the Provincial Guidelines outlined in the report New Century New Directions, using these appropriately for this diocese. These guidelines will take more precise shape during the consultations in the coming year.

As a result of these consultations it is our hope that:

a) Those in ordained or licensed lay ministries, and those training for these ministries, will work with appropriate individual learning programmes, along the proposed Provincial Guidelines.

b) Those in ordained or licensed lay ministries (both stipendiary and non-stipendiary) will meet regularly with the bishop (or another appropriate person) to review their ministry.

c) Specific interest or sector groups, such as the Faith and Work group, will continue to meet for mutual support and enrichment.

d) Retreats, conferences, study courses and programmes will be arranged to meet a variety of needs and interests and all will be encouraged to attend.

e) Individual congregations who have the resources to do so will be requested to offer some of their particular educational or training programmes for wider participation.

f) Individuals with appropriate knowledge or skills will be encouraged to offer educational or training units on themes relevant to Christian faith and life. These together with other material arranged by the diocese will contribute to a “menu” of resources in which many may participate. 
 

f) In time, as the devolution of training under the “New Century New Directions” proposals takes shape, a possible framework for training following the provincial “Bishops’ Certificate” framework will be established.

The needs of individuals and the needs of congregations cannot be kept apart. Within this diocese, the Mission 21, MYCMI and CCD programmes are “up and running” and many congregations are feeling the benefit. We need now to begin to develop our training programmes and resources in the light of the newly devolved responsibilities. This will take time, and contributions and suggestions as to how this may best be done will always be welcome.

The goal of all these developments must be that of an integrated programme where congregational and individual needs are met within a single overall strategy for education, training and vocational development. It is our hope that those in ordained and lay ministry will see it as part of their on-going vocation to share in such a programme, and offer into it what they can, for our mutual enrichment. It is our hope that congregations will also be able to offer resources into such a programme, and to benefit from the resources of others.

Within such an integrated programme the question may arise, in the context of a local collaborative strategy, as to whether resources could be directed to providing local training towards an ordained local ministry. If this question does arise, and resources are unproblematic we must be open to addressing it. We shall seek to follow the provincial guidelines concerning selection, and provincial standards concerning training. However, given the context of the diocese of Edinburgh, while further training might be expected for someone ordained within an OLM context, who may wish to move permanently to another (appropriately welcoming) congregation, there would not normally be expected to be a restriction on that person ministering elsewhere on occasion by invitation.

5. Our Outward-Facing Life

Focussing on congregational discernment and continual exploration of a corporate vocation, and our own individual vocation, is important. It can, however, create a danger that our attention is given too much to looking inwards into the life of the church, rather than looking outward into the life of the world. Not everyone’s energy and vocation will find its focus within the institutional life of the church.

Churches have often conceived of their involvement in the issues of society in territorial categories. Congregations are spread throughout the land, and there is an "incarnation" in the different communities that make up our society. Territorial involvement of a congregation in the issues in the midst of which it is physically set is a very important witness and an important service to our community.

Increasingly, however, the Church is seen to be witnessing not just by such “local” involvement, but what for want of a better word we can call "topical" involvement. Some of our congregations are involved in a remarkable way with refugees, with HIV/AIDS issues, with the homeless, or with young people. Members of the Episcopal Church are noted for their strong involvement in such community organisations. Indeed, the recent survey by Peter Brierley highlights this as a significant feature of our communion. Also clergy and laity share in the work of chaplaincies to sectors of our society – hospitals, schools, hospices, prisons, universities, industry etc. This work demands support, and must be integrated with the rest of our diocesan life.

A virtue that arises within this is partnership.  Our calling as congregations and as individuals is often to work as partners with others in the issues that are arising in our society. By that we serve the needs of our society, and also can witness to the truths in which we believe.

Three Planks in any Strategy

Following these reflections, the suggestion is that there must be three fundamental planks in our strategy of mission and ministry in the diocese. 

The first is that of developing a healthy congregational life. This involves seeing congregations not as isolated communities. They are communities with a healthy welcoming dynamic in their own internal life, who relate appropriately to other communities in the locality in which they are set, and who see themselves as part of a diocese and a world-wide communion. In this way we build on the work of the Mission 21, MYCMI, LCM, and CCD programmes. 

Secondly we need training and educational programmes and resources for individuals walking their pilgrimage of faith and vocation, and who seek to deepen that faith or develop that vocation in the service of the gospel. We shall be developing this in the year ahead as we also shape our response to the devolved responsibilities following the change in TISEC.

Thirdly, we need a means of developing and encouraging partnership with others in facing the issues of justice and integrity in our society. We will seek to learn from places where this activity goes well, and spread it elsewhere in our diocese. 

If our church is to be a Missionary Church facing the demands of our Mission 21 ethos of being inviting, it must be a place where we can be relaxed with the diversity of interest within our life as such a strategy will generate.

We can fall into the danger that any diverse body faces – impatience and a lack of charity. If we are called to be a missionary and inviting church, fired by the power of the Holy Spirit, we are called first and foremost to be a loving church, where trust and friendship can grow between congregations and individuals. We are called to be a window into God’s love. Unless we are that, nothing else, however grandly conceived, will ever flourish.