The Journey to Our Mission Priorities
On this page and the others in the sidebar, you will find the history and documents of our Mission Priorities discernment process, including the earlier, draft version of our Mission Priorities. To view the Mission Priorities adopted by our diocese at the 139th Diocesan Convention, click here.
Draft of the Mission Priorities for the Discernment Process (2021)
We are children of God, called to follow Jesus
and to continue in the ways of The Episcopal Church.
God blesses us in the beauty and bounty of the land where we live
and through the diversity of the people with whom we share life.
As Church, we are called to be good stewards of all of God’s gifts,
and to use them to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ.
Mission Priorities
In this time, we have discerned that God’s Holy Spirit is leading us to:
- Support each of our worshiping communities to identify and equip lay and clergy leadership who will engage them in more fully living into the promises of our Baptismal Covenant
- Develop and host collaborative opportunities for life-long formation for faith and ministry for all the baptized, to be offered in-person and online across the diocese
- Encourage every congregation to strengthen or build local networks with ecumenical, interfaith, and other community partners for the purpose of serving the needs of the most vulnerable in their midst
- Advocate for justice and peace for all of God’s children, working together to remove obstacles that prevent some from accessing resources available to others while building bridges and working for reconciliation and healing between those who have for too long been separated from one another
The Process with our Individuals & Worshipping Communities
The Mission Priorities were shared with you – the whole of the Diocese – for additional reflection and feedback. The hope fulfilled was the development of a final draft of proposed Diocesan Mission Priorities that were presented to Executive Council and adopted at Diocesan Convention in June 2022.
You were invited to pray about and reflect on the statement of who we are, why we are called and to what we are called, and the four proposed Mission Priorities listed above. All were invited to watch and share the presentation videos and to use them to spur conversation, while also prayerfully considering the ways the mission priorities captured your imagination or stimulated questions.
Background and Process: Discerning Mission Priorities
How we got here and what we have done so far: Some time ago, the Executive Council and Finance Committees of the Diocese expressed shaping our decision making regarding the …
Intro Session: Discerning Mission Priorities
Over the last year we have worked together to determine where God is next calling us. To that end, let us look at the proposed Mission Priorities. In this time, …
First Mission Priority Session
In this time, we have discerned that God’s Holy Spirit is leading us to: Support each of our worshiping communities to identify and equip lay and clergy leadership who will …
Second Mission Priority Session
In this time, we have discerned that God’s Holy Spirit is leading us to: Develop and host collaborative opportunities for life-long formation for faith and ministry for all the baptized, …
Third Mission Priority Session
In this time, we have discerned that God’s Holy Spirit is leading us to: Encourage every congregation to strengthen or build local networks with ecumenical, interfaith, and other community partners …
Fourth Mission Priority Session
In this time, we have discerned that God’s Holy Spirit is leading us to: Advocate for justice and peace for all of God’s children, working together to remove obstacles that …