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World Mission Sunday arrives on March 2 this year, the Last Sunday in Epiphanytide.

But how to celebrate it?  An online opportunity to learn possibilities and share experiences is the Feb. 20 Mission Thursday sponsored by GEMN at 7 p.m. Eastern.

Register for this free webinar here.

The Episcopal Church’s World Mission Sunday, an annual observance designated by the 1997 General Convention, occurs on the Last Sunday in Epiphanytide – this year on March 2. But it can also be celebrated on any other Sunday of your choosing!

Epiphany celebrates the showing forth of the light of Christ in all the world – over all the diversity of nationalities, cultures, races, languages and ethnicities. This is symbolized in the journey of the Magi to Bethlehem: they were non-Jewish foreigners, possibly from Persia, the present-day Iran.

The theme of Christ’s glory being shown forth in the world culminates every year in the Transfiguration of Jesus on the last Sunday of the season. Jesus was transfigured by the glory of God in order that he might be strengthened to undertake the last and most challenging stage of his missional work, which took him to the cross.

In the collect of the day, we pray that we may be changed into Christ’s likeness, “from glory to glory,” an echo of 2 Corinthians 3:18.  God likewise invites us into God’s mission of transforming the world.

Please join in this conversation!

Meanwhile, here are some avenues to explore:

  • Explore blogs from current Episcopal missionaries.
  • Highlight your congregations’s existing global engagement by inviting parishioners to talk about the initiatives they’re involved in – in a forum, during the announcements or during coffee hour.
  • Invite parishioners from other countries to talk about the life of the church in their homeland – how people worship, how they express community, how they participate in God’s mission.
  • View and discuss any of the short My Mission Story videos, in which individual Episcopalians talk about how God drew them into world mission.
  • Consider using missional prayers and other liturgical resources for World Mission Sunday. During the Prayers of the People, pray for missionaries, specific mission initiatives, and guidance in becoming more globally engaged.
  • Show one of the many short videos about mission work from Missio, the Global Mission Conferences sponsored by GEMN.  The 2022 conference on Women in Mission, featured work in Iraq, Haiti, Guatemala, India, Madagascar, Pakistan, Cuba and Costa Rica. Explore video resources from the 2023 Missio on ‘Mission: Journey into Healing.’  Missio 2024 on ‘Mission in Tension Times,’ included presentations from Haiti, Pakistan, Mozambique, Sudan and Israel/Palestine.
  • View and discuss Going Global with God, four 5-minute videos from ChurchNext that feature Titus Presler talking about four missional topics: Mission as Ministry in the Dimension of Difference; the Poverty Captivity of Mission; the Healing of Companionship and Accompaniment in Mission; and the Journey’s End is Reconciliation
  • Explore the resources of the Global Mission Digital Toolkit, developed by the Office of Global Partnerships, the Standing Commission on World Mission and GEMN.
  • View and discuss any of the mission stories on the Blog at the webpage of the Episcopal Church’s Office of Global Partnerships.

Upcoming Opportunities:

  • Participate in the 2025 Missio conference on ‘Mission with Jesus’ that will focus on Evangelism, Empowerment, and Climate Action. Sponsored by GEMN, it will be held April 29-May 2 in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, in partnership with the Diocese of Honduras. More information here.  Register now here.
  • Enroll in the Mission Formation Program, which this year will be held in tandem with Missio 2025 in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, on Tuesday, April 29.  Learn about biblical foundations, mission history and theology, mission companionship, cultural dynamics, leadership dynamics and team logistics.  Register here.  Arrive in Honduras by Monday evening for the Tuesday formation program, with Missio following.
Posted in Missio, Mission Practice, Mission Stories, Mission Theology, Mission Thursday, World Mission Sunday.