Creating a parish mission action plan is about intentional listening for the Spirit, prayer, engagement with parishioners, and a willingness to risk a bit. The plan, which is completed in four one-hour gatherings, is comprised of two to three initiatives in three areas: Adult Faith Formation, Changing Parish Culture, and Community Engagement. Leaders for each initiative arise from those passionate about the ideas. And once you’ve done the process once, you can easily repeat it when you’ve completed the initial projects.

We do not have to look far to find churches that are no longer the thriving congregations they once were. This can cause us great heartache. We can feel discouraged by the declining church engagement we see around us, and many of us long to find those ways to “fix” what seems to be an inevitable decline. Perhaps, as we seek these “fixes,” we find ourselves reading about “missional” churches or expressions. We may be inspired by creative initiatives and church plants. We see the possibilities of these new missional opportunities.

New Monasticism might sound strange to those of us within the church because it conjures up images of people being overly pious and wearing medieval clothing. It does, however, very accurately describe when a community comes together intentionally to commit to a rhythm of daily life, to pray and meditate contemplatively, to be radically shaped by Christ, and to serve the surrounding neighbourhood.

How do we connect God’s mission, and therefore the mission of the church, with the culture in which we live and speak in ways that help people make sense of their lives and their purpose through the lens of the Gospel? How can our words as preachers help others follow Jesus’ Way of Love more closely? How can we equip people to share their transformed lives in a way that opens a generous door into faith and Christian community?

Stewardship is our faithful response to the mission of God. We can join in God’s mission with confidence and hope as stewards of God’s abundant gifts and invite others into that stewardship. What is God calling us to as individuals, as a parish, and as a diocese? We know there is a culture shift happening in the church, and the pandemic seems to have expedited this shift. Stewardship practices have also been shifting during this culture change. What does remain the same is that stewardship is discipleship: it calls us to live all aspects of our life in the light of faith in Jesus.

In these unprecedented times, God continues to lead us in new challenges where the precedented ways of leadership are not always helpful. Yet, this changed and ever-changing world remains the object of God’s missional intentions. God’s Spirit continues to give us gifts for these ventures of faith. We can join in God’s mission with confidence and hope. The Evangelical Lutheran Book of Worship offers this prayer for evening: “O God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us.”

Through prayer, creativity, and reflection participants will be encouraged to be innovative partners on the creative edge of where the Spirit of God is recreating the church and what it means to be a “Missional Church” while keeping the history of Indigenous Peoples in mind. The history of Indigenous Peoples is one important element of the work we do going forward.

People are also often confused about just what the actual foundations of our faith are. What does God want to show us and how do we conform to his “plan”? If we are to share in God’s mission for the world, then we need to have a firm idea of “the-story-so-far” and do our best to write ourselves into it—and help others to do the same!