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| Domestic Missionary Partnership Stresses Collaboration at Nevada Meeting | |||
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New ways of engaging the mission of the church – ways emphasizing the "partnership" dimension – were explored during the annual meeting of Domestic Missionary Partnership, held Jan. 27-30 in Boulder City, Nevada. "We are all small dioceses committed to mission," said Bishop Keith Whitmore of Eau Claire. "We are proposing a new, broader way of partnership for the whole church." That means moving away from being strictly a grant-making organization to being a "partnering organization," he added. DMP took steps to make that transition happen by developing new guidelines for the organization that stress its collaborative and mission-based nature. Bishop Bill Gregg of Eastern Oregon said that the group is moving away from a mindset of having dioceses "on the dole" for national church funding, to looking at the funding as providing "investment, opportunities for mission." Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori of Nevada noted there are many new possibilities for the dioceses to be in mission partnership with the national church. "Why not look at creative ways to invest in our own dioceses?" she asked. She added that might take the form of national church assistance with the Diocese of Nevada to purchase land for new churches in the fast-growing and expensively priced Las Vegas real estate market. DMP also will be more pro-active in telling its story and stating the need for increased mission activity, particularly in the small and rural dioceses that comprise its membership. Whitmore said that will mean DMP is more aggressive in seeking national church funding for mission, and raising awareness of the issues facing small and rural dioceses. A member of Executive Council, Terry Roberts of Minnesota, attended the meeting as did the Rev. Kristi Philip, a member of the Standing Commission for Small Congregations. Roberts said that she was impressed by the "excitement and vitality of this group. "They have a single-mindedness about being the church," she said. The meeting included discussion of mission projects within each of the member dioceses. Rosella Jim of Navajoland noted that a DMP grant provided funding for development of indigenous training and leadership development within Navajoland. The Rev. Ben Helmer, national church missioner for small and rural communities, noted that DMP "is the one place in the church where Native and non-native people can talk about mission." The Rev. Marianne Ell of North Dakota said she appreciated hearing what was happening in the dioceses. "The power is in story telling," she said. Bishop Michael Smith of North Dakota, attending his first DMP meeting, agreed. "I am proud to be identified as a missionary bishop," he said. Whitmore noted that the organization's understanding of mission is rooted in the Episcopal Church's Catechism. "Mission involves all the members of the church" in praying and worship, proclaiming the Gospel, and promoting justice, peace and love, he said. In other business, the DMP delegates approved grants for "mission opportunity funding," formerly known as base budget support. Eau Claire received $35,000; Eastern Oregon received $91,011; and Western Kansas received $55,000. Additional grants were awarded to North Dakota, in the amount of $10,000 for ministry to the Sudanese within the diocese; and to Western Kansas, in the amount of $6,835 so that the bishop's secretary could be paid for full time work. Next year's meeting will be Sept. 14-17 in Boulder City, at the Life Giving Spring Retreat Center operated by the Orthodox Church in America. Domestic Missionary Partnership was formed in 1997 by several of the member dioceses of the former Coalition 14. Its members are the Dioceses of Alaska, Eastern Oregon, Eau Claire, North Dakota, Idaho, Western Kansas, Utah, Nevada and Navajoland. Two dioceses, El Camino Real and Spokane, ended their DMP membership in the past year. |
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