Mission Thursdays this fall will provide forums for discussing mission
This fall GEMN is restarting the Mission Thursdays discussion series. The one-hour sessions in webinar format will provide opportunities for mission activists in congregations, dioceses, agencies, seminaries and religious orders to hear about and discuss developments in the church’s global outreach. Presentations by guest speakers will be followed by open Q&A with participants.
The webinars will be held on Zoom monthly on selected Thursdays from 1 to 2 p.m. Eastern (10 a.m. Pacific, 11 a.m. Mountain, Noon Central). Free registration is through Eventbrite. Mission Thursdays are a channel through which GEMN fulfills its purpose “to gather, inspire and equip people to participate in God’s mission.” Here are the details for October and November:
Mission Thursday, Oct. 13:
How will General Convention’s actions affect global mission?
How will the global mission of the Episcopal Church be affected by actions of the 2022 General Convention held this past July? Find out at the this fall’s first Mission Thursday sponsored by GEMN: Thursday, Oct. 13, 1-2 p.m. Eastern, on Zoom. Register for free here. The Zoom link will be sent to registrants.
Discussing how convention responded to the numerous resolutions
submitted by the Standing Commission on World Mission will be Ms. Martha Gardner, chair of the commission. Currently missioner for networking and formation in the Diocese of Massachusetts, Gardner’s extensive background includes work with the Church Pension Group, the Episcopal Network for Social Justice, the Episcopal Church Foundation, and the office of the Anglican Observer at the United Nations. Gardner holds a B.A. from Georgetown and an M.A from the University of Chicago.
Discussing how convention’s actions will affect the work of the Office of
Global Partnerships will be the Rev. David Copley, director of that office, which oversees the church’s relationships with Anglican provinces around the world and sends Episcopal Volunteers in Mission and Young Adult Service Corps missioners. A graduate of Virginia Theological Seminary, Copley has mission background in Liberia and Bolivia. In addition to participating in numerous international consultations, Copley helped represent the Episcopal Church at this past summer’s Lambeth Conference.
Mission Thursday, Nov. 17:
How will the Lambeth Conference’s discussions affect global mission?
How will the discussions at the once-a-decade Lambeth Conference of bishops from around the world this past summer affect the global mission of the Episcopal Church? How will it affect the church’s collaborations with Anglican dioceses, bishops and provinces around the world? Find out at the Mission Thursday discussion sponsored by GEMN in November: Thursday, Nov. 17, 1-2 p.m. Eastern, on Zoom. Register for free here. The Zoom link will be sent to registrants.
The presenter will the Rt. Rev. Ian Douglas, bishop of Connecticut and a well-known missiologist. Before being elected bishop, Douglas taught mission and world Christianity at the Episcopal Divinity School, having earlier had mission experience in Haiti. He chaired the Standing Commission on World Mission, was a member of Executive Council, and represented the Episcopal Church on the Anglican Consultative Council. In addition to numerous articles, he is the author of Fling Out the Banner: The National Church Ideal and the Foreign Mission of the Episcopal Church, and co-editor of Beyond Colonial Anglicanism: The Anglican Communion in the 21st Century. Douglas attended this year’s Lambeth Conference and was a member of the planning group for the 2008 Lambeth Conference. Douglas holds a B.A. from Middlebury, M.Div. from Harvard Divinity School, and Ph.D. from Boston University.
Mission Thursdays will continue through the end of 2022 and into 2023 – so stay tuned!