Every three years the Episcopal Church meets in General Convention. It's a time of dreaming about what this denomination stands for, what we hope for, and where we want to see the Episcopal Church join in God's great plan for the world. And those hopes and dreams and discernment happen through legislation. If you're not conversant in that legal language, description of the ministry discerned feels distant. So, how do we begin to understand this convention's 500+ resolutions and how they affect our worship and ministry here in the Diocese of Missouri?
sentation with time for Q&A. They'll be recorded and archived online. And we'll start building lists of associated resources on the diocesan wiki bulletin board as the conversations develop. You'll be able to find links to all of this at: www.diocesemo.org/thelargerconversation.
Beginning in January, members of the Missouri Deputation to General Convention will collaborate with diocesan communications to offer a monthly webchat for diocesan folk. We're envisioning this in the form of a call and response. The first month's call will be a conversation with some members of the deputation. They'll share some of the legislation that touched their ministry heart and that they believe is of special interest for this diocese. Some of these resolutions will make their way to Diocesan Convention. Some are more aspirational or inspirational. At General Convention, personal stories and experiences at hearings and on the convention floor illustrate and inform the legislation. It can be with the volume of work accomplished, much of what we see is the compact wording of the accepted resolution. This webchat offers our deputies a platform to bring forward some of that narrative. The following month, we'll have a response to the issue/s raised. Our guests will be Missouri Episcopalians working in these ministries or fields in the diocese, or those who are interested in learning more. Think of this as an online ABCD*, bridging the direction of the Episcopal Church as charted by General Convention with the mission and ministries of the Diocese of Missouri. The webchats will take place on Zoom and will be 45 minutes; pre-
*ABCD, or Asset-Based Community Development. ABCD engages communities at a grassroots level to recognize local assets and creatively envision how to use that abundance to achieve goals and imagine new forms of ministry. Read more about this at: www.episcopalchurch.org/library/topics/ asset-based-community-development
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Making Disciples
Building Congregations
Intrigued? Help us find the best time for the live webchat at this online 2 question survey: tiny.cc/thelargerconversation
The Episcopal Church also offers several "Called to Transformation" workshops on ABCD each year. The workshops and a free online toolkit were developed to train facilitators in leading a faith community in understanding the ABCD process, explained the Rev. Melanie Mullen, Episcopal Church Director of Reconciliation, Justice, and Creation Care. Sean McConnell, Episcopal Relief & Development's Senior Director of Engagement said, "ABCD focuses on the gifts and strengths of individuals, congregations and organizations, and helps community members dream new possibilities leveraging the gifts they have. By recognizing their own gifts, people are empowered to more deeply invest in achieving the shared goals of the community."
For the Life of the World
