We are here, as I never tire of saying, because we have been called to share in God’s mission. Our purpose as a church is to join with Jesus in doing the work God sent Jesus to do, and which we are now sent in Jesus’ name to continue. In principle, every single thing we do as a church — every worship service, every music event, every fellowship meal, every Sunday school class, every committee meeting, every stewardship drive, every bit of programming, every bit of maintenance, every single thing — is meant in one way or another to further the mission of God in our world.
How can we tell whether the many different things we do as a church truly fit in the framework of mission? A congregation like ours that is involved in so many activities and engages its people and community in so many ways is hard to sum up in just one or two representative goals or objectives. How can we take stock of the many things we do and connect them with the central purpose of God’s mission?
One way of characterizing God’s mission that has been gaining attention in the last few years is a short list called the “Five Marks of Mission.” The Five Marks have been coming into increasing use throughout the Anglican Communion, and are often seen as a way of recognizing mutual value in provinces that differ sharply on matters of theology and discipline — the focus on mission can be a way of uniting people in good work even when they disagree on ideas or interpretations. The Five Marks have a lot in common with the Baptismal Covenant in our American Prayer Book, though they have been embraced by Anglicans far beyond our borders, whose Prayer Books do not include the Covenant in Baptism as we have it. This past summer, our General Convention passed a budget that was explicitly designed around the Five Marks, showing that they can provide a framework for us to “put our money where our mouth is” in the practical matters of doing God’s work. Bishop Powell has recommended the Five Marks to our diocese as a way of framing our ministries and activities. I think the Five Marks can be instructive for our reflecting on our mission at Trinity.
The Five Marks of Mission are these:
- To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom
- To teach, baptize and nurture new believers
- To respond to human need by loving service
- To seek to transform unjust structures of society
- To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth
Where these things are happening, the mission of God is being done.
In principle, every single thing we do at Trinity should reflect, to some degree, one or more of these marks of mission. Our Sunday morning services, for instance, proclaim Good News — not only in the reading of the Gospel and the preaching of the Word, but in the sacramental acting-out of Jesus’ death and resurrection in communion. Our Noon Lunch program responds to human need by loving service by providing food to hungry people; at the same time, it makes an effort to safeguard the integrity of creation by recycling. Those are some of the obvious ones. Perhaps more challenging, but no less important, is asking how, let us say, a Finance Committee meeting reflects the Five Marks, or filling a staff position, or cleaning the Parish House carpet, or providing space at the church for AA meetings, or developing a long-range property plan. All these things are part of the life of the church; and all these things can and do contribute to the mission of the church, characterized by these Five Marks.
What do you think? Where do you see the Five Marks of Mission reflected in what Trinity does and says? Let’s make a conversation out of this. At the bottom of the blog page there is a space for comments. I invite you — in fact, I urge you — to go to the comments and join the conversation. Where do you see the Five Marks embodied at Trinity? Is there some activity or ministry that you are involved in, where you think one or more of the Five Marks shine through very brightly? Do you think there is something we could do to make the Five Marks better reflected in our church life? Do you feel called in person to work for one or more of the Five Marks at Trinity or beyond? How would you characterize the mission of God at Trinity?
God is always and everywhere at work among us, furthering God’s mission of creating communion toward the New Creation. It is up to us to discern what God is doing among us, and then to join God in doing it. Conversation together, even conversation through the internet, is an important tool of discernment. Won’t you join me in discerning the marks of God’s mission at Trinity?
Peace,
Paul+
