Letter on the Future of the Church The Day of Pentecost June 8, 2014 Beloved in Christ, We often hear that our diocese and its churches are limited by a lack of resources. However we are actually rich in ways that we do not often recognize. In particular, we have two sources of wealth: a wealth of talent in our incredibly gifted people, and financial wealth in the form of our facilities and the land they occupy. I believe that the task for the church today is to use the abundant resources entrusted to us as fully and as efficiently as possible to accomplish Gods mission. Now more than ever, we need to ask and answer to the best of our abilities this question: How can we best be the church of Jesus here and now? The twentieth-century model of a pastoral parish centered around a sacred building and a priest served us well in the past. My observation of new and exciting forms of worship and ways to do church, combined with falling attendance at traditional worship and our aging parishioners, tells me that there is an urgent need to use our resources to pivot and become the church for this time and place.I am convinced that our future as the Episcopal Church can be vital and life-giving, but only if we fearlessly change who we are. Doggedly adhering to the existing model is a prescription for continuing decline. The contours of the future church are beginning to emerge. It will likely have fewer traditional parishes and more non-traditional ministries. Churches and ministries will cluster and network. They will be adaptive and outward in their focus. As the Holy Spirit filled the apostles in Jerusalem long ago, may that same Spirit empower us now to reach out and communicate the truth and love of the gospel in all the ways necessary to be effective among the people, languages, and cultures of today and tomorrow.I believe the time for decisive discernment and action is upon us. However, while we must move quickly, we must also act collaboratively and collectively. Our future must be centered on mission and guided by the spirit. As your bishop, my role is to call together the people of God for action, to facilitate discernment, and lead as God directs us. To begin this process, I have commissioned the Future Church Task Force to analyze our parishes and missions, identify options for change, and coordinate the discernment process for making decisions. I expect their work to be accomplished over the next twenty-four months. They will begin by focusing on churches facing major financial and facility issues.You will find the roster of this task force here: edsd.org/futurechurch. I pray that all of our congregations will be engaged in carrying out this process of listening, praying, discerning and acting for a vibrant future church. I invite your openness to the Spirit, your prayers and your participation in this movement. You will hear from the task force, from those with whom they will work, and from me as we inaugurate and carry out the work we have been given to do for the sake of Christ and his church in the days and decades ahead. Faithfully, best jim The Rt. Rev. James R. Mathes Bishop
Posted on: Tue, 10 Jun 2014 18:02:17 +0000
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