ND Episcopal Diocese

June 7, 2010

Dear Friends:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Evangelism is one of the most important tasks of the Church given to us by Jesus himself when he said, "Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:18-20). In the Baptismal Covenant we promise to "proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ" (BCP 305). The Episcopal Church, according to its General Convention, understands evangelism to be "the presentation of Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit, in such ways that people may be led to believe in him as Savior and follow him as Lord within the fellowship of the church" (GC 1973). Therefore, evangelism is the personal privilege and responsibility of every Episcopalian.

Evangelism & Church Planting Grants

In March of 2010, the Diocesan Council approved the use of certain funds for the purpose of encouraging Evangelism and Church Planting. While we do not have the resources needed to plant churches in the traditional sense of constructing buildings or hiring staff, alternative models of church planting are possible for every congregation.

In England, for example, where the institutional church is even further down the road of decline than in the U.S., a "Fresh Expressions of Church" movement has begun to spring forth. Of this movement Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori writes:

Fresh Expressions originated in the Church of England as a term for new and creative forms of Christian community. The term more often heard in North America is emergent or emerging church. %u2026Fresh Expressions and emergent church are the latest iteration in an ancient and essential tradition, ways of telling the old, old story for the people of today. %u2026The generations born since the Second World War have increasingly been reared without any real knowledge of the great figures and foundational narratives of the Bible. Communicators of the faith today can no longer rely on general cultural knowledge of Christianity, and must instead introduce the faith in ways that do not expect any familiarity (from the Foreword of "Ancient Faith, Future Mission," 2010).

The following are some examples of possible "Fresh Expressions" of church:

· A congregation starts an alternative worship experience to reach a group of people not currently being reached. The classic example of this model is the congregation that starts a contemporary worship service to reach younger families.

· A congregation or group of congregations selects a small rural town that currently has no church or no mainline denomination church, and a new fresh expression of church is planted. For example, this group might meet in the local café on a weeknight once a month versus Sunday mornings.

· A congregation or group of congregations could invite a diocesan team to conduct a mission in their city or town. This would involve special events, activities for the community, and of course a special service where individuals would be invited to hear an evangelistic message.

· A congregation could start an Alpha, Christianity Explored, or other Introduction to Christianity courses for individuals in their community.

· A congregation could undertake a door to door visitation program and receive a grant to cover expenses for tracts, literature, and other materials to be handed out.

· A congregation might begin a new program or activity out in the community that connects dechurched and unchurched persons with their congregation. This could be a program for children (after school program) or for adults (open mic night).

· A congregation could host an agnostic anonymous course and use funds from a grant to send a mass mailing invitation to their community.

· A congregation could begin a new social ministry to a segment of their local community with the intention of developing a fresh expression of church. Examples, would be starting a soup kitchen and developing a new form of church out of that or starting a music time at a nursing home or prison and then developing a new form of church out of that.

· A congregation could begin a servant evangelism ministry (which involves doing intentional acts of kindness out in your local community in the name of Christ) and the grant funds could be used to purchase the materials necessary for this ministry. One example of a servant evangelism outreach is going around and giving free pop or cold water away with invitation cards to church on each can.

There are just some examples. Use your imagination, be creative, and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in thinking about potential evangelistic or church planting projects.

The "Evangelism and Church Planting Grant Application" is available online at www.episcopal-nd.org under "documents." July 1 is the deadline for this year's grant applications.

In an article entitled "Rowan Williams and Katharine Jefferts Schori: Anglican Smack-Down," Diana Butler Bass, church historian and popular author, writes on her blog: "The argument isn't really about gay and lesbian people nor is it about, as some people claim, the Bible or orthodoxy. Rather, the argument reprises the oldest conflict within Anglicanism--What kind of Anglicans are we to be?"

In other words, is the Episcopal Church an independent national/regional church or is it part of an interdependent communion of churches? Do we discern the mind of Christ on controversial matters alone or as part of a global fellowship? Do we listen for God's truth in the Scriptures in isolation from others or as part of the world's third largest body of Christians? The answer to these questions by the Episcopal Church will be provided in the adoption or rejection of the Anglican Communion Covenant by the General Convention.The text of the proposed Anglican Communion Covenant can be found at http://www.anglicancommunion.org/commission/covenant/docs/The_Anglican_Covenant.pdf.

Our own Diocesan Convention will be asked to "affirm the principles" of the Anglican Communion Covenant this October. My own position on this matter is well known. In this issue of The Sheaf are included two other opinions, one pro and one con, about the proposed resolution.