Evangelism News from the 203rd Diocesan Convention
November 11-12, 2005
Approximately 90 people from across the Diocese were commissioned as Evangelists at Saturday’s Evangelism breakout session. With the assistance of the Rev. Susan Buchanan (Christ Church, North Conway), the Rev. Sarah Rockwell (St. Peter’s, Londonderry), and the Rev. Ellie McLaughlin, St. Barnabas, Berlin), the Rev. Susan Garrity (St. John’s, Portsmouth) led the large group on a “Walk Down the Road to Emmaus.”
By telling each other our stories of faith from some of the darker periods of our lives, we compiled a list of character traits of those willing to reach out to us and lead us back into the light of God. These mentors, saints, and companions along the way were: forgiving, loving, empathetic, trusting, non-judgmental, creative, consistent, good listeners, supportive, willing to take risks and be vulnerable, joyful, patient, inviting, calm, enthusiastic, genuine and open, and willing to ‘abide with you’.
We learned about the Via Media Program where telling our stories of faith in small groups helps to welcome newcomers to the faith and take us all deeper into our life together as Christians and Episcopalians. Each parish in the Diocese has been provided with the tools for the Via Media Program. On January 14th (at a site to be determined) parishes will be encouraged to send a small team of clergy and lay leaders to be trained on the finer points of offering this truly effective 8-week program to their parishes during Lent and Easter.
In addition to Via Media, each parish will receive in the next few weeks the book, Fireweed Evangelism: Christian Hospitality in a Multi-Faith World by Elizabeth Geitz and an accompanying Adult Forum curriculum. Parish clergy may use this package as a way to assist parishioners in broadening their understanding of evangelism and to discern how God is calling each parish “to proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ” (BCP, p.305). It is the goal of the Commission on Evangelism to assist parishes in connecting with other parishes in their region to work together to share our contagious witness to the love and hope Christ brings to our lives (see further recommendations for 2006 below).
To complete our time together we wrote prayers for our Evangelism Mission and shared them as we broke bread together (see bread recipe below for those who requested it!) and committed ourselves to be Evangelist and Contagious Witnesses using the Commissioning Service from the Episcopal Book of Occasional Service (BOS, p.186).
Help us, Lord, to abide with and in one another; share and honor each others uniqueness and shortcomings.
With forgiveness and enthusiasm, help us seek and serve Christ in others. Help us to act as a priesthood of believers. Help every person know that they are a child of God. Help us share how we have been helped to experience the love of God.
Dear Lord: How thankful we are for your love. We live in your reflection and the way you showed and asked us to live. With that love we have provided the path to your Word, love, and forgiveness to all. How thankful we are!
Thanks for stories and the grace and courage to tell them! Thanks for the discernment to be honest and authentic with our stories! Listen to our stories so that they might become one story!
Help us to increase the size of our congregations by loving and respecting every person!
Lord, empower us to be contagious witnesses of the Risen Christ so that we may become a people who make real God’s many wondrous gifts of love, joy, acceptance and forgiveness!
Help! Help me! I’ll help you and you help me! We’ll help each other! Then we’ll help other people one day; we will all heal and be healed!
Dear Lord, help us to have patience, to listen and to hear the needs of those we meet so that by our actions our lives may bring forth your light to others who are in darkness.
In the fullness of your Holy Spirit may each of us have a fullness of relevant connections, listening and compassion for all.
Amen.
I want to thank all who participated in this workshop at Convention and especially to those who traveled to Lancaster and Londonderry earlier in the fall. It is in these meetings where we inspire each other to move forward creatively with grateful and generous hearts to do the work God has given us to do!
Parishes who did not have a participant at the Convention Evangelism breakout session and would like a copy of the booklet, “Cultivating Contagious Witness – Walking the Road to Emmaus” may email the Rev. Susan Garrity
