In an environment of violence and persecution for Christian mission, 130 people attended the 2024 Missio on the theme, “Joining God’s Mission in Tension Times.” Held online March 20-22, the annual global mission conference for the Episcopal Church was organized by the Global Episcopal Mission Network (GEMN).
Missio highlighted ways Episcopalians can be in missional solidarity with Christians around the world who are pressured by civil unrest, gang violence, war and religious persecution. International church leaders were featured in conversation with their US-based Episcopal companions about how constraints imposed by turmoil can be overcome as Christians form relationships of missional support and solidarity.
The Rt. Rev. Samuel Peni, bishop of
Yambio and archbishop of the internal province of Western Equatoria in the Episcopal Church of South Sudan, reviewed the history of conflict in South Sudan, cited the divisive threats of tribalism, regionalism and denominationalism, and highlighted the power of prayer amid danger. He was in conversation with mission activists in the Diocese of Iowa – retired Bishop Alan Scarfe and Canon Kathleen Milligan – who reflected on their Sudanese experiences when Abp. Peni was bishop of Nzara, Iowa’s continuing diocesan companion. Milligan noted how Sudanese Christians inspired her to continue in parish ministry at a time when she was considering leaving.
The Rev. Dr. Helen Van Koevering,
rector of St. Raphael’s Church in Lexington, Kentucky, spoke of her 26-year missionary service in Mozambique during that country’s civil war, during which she and her husband Mark, now bishop of Lexington, raised their three children. Mission companion the Rt. Rev. Manuel Ernesto, bishop of Nampula, spoke of Mozambicans’ sufferings and how the Van Koeverings’ solidarity in a dangerous time strengthened his people’s vision and resolve. Both speakers highlighted the importance of indigenous resources an
d initiative, often termed asset-based community development.
On mission companionship amid gang violence in Haiti, the Rev. Jean Berthol Phanord of Bon Samaritan Episcopal Church in Bondeau, highlighted the constraints the current situation imposes on travel, ministry and community development. He and Beth Shires of the South Florida Haiti Project at St. Gregory’s Church in Boca Raton outlined what they called the
Power of Partnership, constituted by five marks: genuine relationship with core values of love, truth, grace and trust; effective and consistent communication with respect and intentional listening; mutual covenant in journeying together in celebration and thanksgiving; praying together and for each other in dependence on the Holy Spirit; and vulnerable honesty.
Many stateside Episcopal dioceses and congregations have mission relationships with congregations, schools and medical facilities in Haiti. The danger of in-person engagement today was recently dramatized when two missionaries of a freestanding Oklahoma-based group, Missions in Haiti, and a local pastor were killed by a gang in Port au Prince on May 23. At Missio, Phanord and Shires noted how email, WhatsApp and video conferencing have been helpful in sustaining relationships amid the current constraints on travel to Haiti.
Bishop Humphrey Sarfaraz Peters of the Diocese of Peshawar, reviewed the increasing Islamization of political and civic life in Pakistan, cited violent persecution of Christians and other religious minorities, and said the church continues to advocate for true implementation of the Pakistan constitutional guarantees of religious liberty. He expressed gratitude for the US-based Bridges to Pakistan, whose chair the Rev. Reagan Cooke noted that the organization has raised major funds for the Diocese of Peshawar over the years. Bridges member the Rev. Robin Reeves-Kautz spoke of how she was inspired by the faith of Pakistani Christians. GEMN executive director Titus Presler recounted how he was beaten up and threatened with death by military intelligence agents in Pakistan as he defended the rights of the church when he was principal of Edwardes College in Peshawar.
“You never really love someone until you get to know them, then you can’t resist loving them,” said
mission activist Buck Blanchard as he reflected on the theme of Risk and Solidarity in mission. “If we feel we’re in danger, imagine how the people who live there feel!” From experience in such places as Sudan, Congo, Zimbabwe, Pakistan and Iraq, Blanchard made ten suggestions for mission initiative, stressing the importance of prayer, affinity groups, young people and lay leadership.
Responding to Blanchard, Stand with Iraqi Christians co-chair the Rev. Chris Bishop recounted how the plight of Iraqi Christians, especially during the ISIS period, prompted him to found that mission of solidarity with the persecuted. From his 13 years of work in Guatemala, Greg Louden, executive director of the Guatemala Youth Initiative, highlighted the importance of mission among impoverished children and youth who are threatened by gang violence and sexual exploitation.
“Where is God amid all the chaos that we are facing here?” asked the Rev. Jameel Maher Khader,
rector of St. Philip’s and Good Shepherd’s Churches in Nablus/Rafidia in Palestine, as he reflected on mission companionship amid conflict in the Holy Lands. Recalling an Israeli-Palestinian clash outside the church gates that kept him and his wife cowering for four hours, he said, “Amid the hard moments we can hear the voice of God.” Travel restrictions, electricity outages and food and water insecurity take their toll, he said, “but as we zoom out to the mosaic, war is not at the center, but Jesus is at the center.” The Rev. Max Sklar, a Young Adult Service Corps missionary whose ministry in Ramallah was cut short by the current conflict, stressed that solidarity was at the heart of his ministry among Palestinians and his continuing advocacy in the USA.
Videos of Missio presentations are being edited and formatted and will be publicized when posted.
For Missio after 2024, the GEMN Board plans for the gatherings to be in person and has designated Wednesday-Friday in the second week of Easter as the gathering time. Thus in 2025 Missio will be held April 30-May 2. In 2026 the dates are April 16-18; in 2027, April 6-8.