Mission

A clear vision of God’s mission is the heartbeat of a congregation’s movement as a community.
I want to talk about what an art installation reveals about listening.
Three months into St. Mary’s commitment to the Safe Parking project, I have a few observations.
When we look at our neighbors, our neighborhoods, and the situations around us, do we see the gifts they offer and the strengths they have? And when we look at ourselves and our parishes, do we see our full complement of gift…
Our small offering has born surprisingly big fruit in a short time. We have been given a chance to bear witness, to speak publicly of God’s love and the wideness of God’s mercy. Pretty good for a little church and ten parking…
How can we balance the beauty of our traditions, without becoming traditionalists. And how can we embrace innovation without throwing away our heritage?
The heads and heartstrings of many Episcopalians are being tugged toward action for racial reconciliation, social justice, addressing poverty, or determining how our congregations can be more obvious participants in the Jesus…
St. Mary’s Church in Los Angeles’ Koreatown recently became a site for “safe parking”.
In my conversations with folks around the Church, I’m often asked what sorts of programming local churches could institute to become more missional. And my answer often catches people by surprise. Being missional is not a pro…
The church is not a business, it is a ministry, so while some business practices are portable, the process and outcome should be different.
Sure, Jesus fed people who were hungry and healed people that were sick, but in these chapters of Luke we get the sense that Jesus just wanted to sit down for a meal and get to know people.
The church today is not so unlike Luke’s audience. As we invite new neighbors and speak to new people, we are less and less able to presume a common vocabulary of faith or a common set of agreed-upon hopes.
But at the core, the early Church was in the business (I know, it’s not actually a business, but work with me here...) of introducing people to the love of God in Christ Jesus, and building community flowing out from that lov…
What if we expanded our view of “Christian education” away from merely learning facts and figures about our faith, and instead started to think more holistically about a theology of education?
And so our job as Christians, as those made in the image of a creating and redeeming God, is to take what is and help make it into what it can be.
I’ve begun to wonder if we, as a churchwide system, will be able to adapt well to new and emerging social media, largely because I’m not certain that we have within our present capacity that kind of expansive, inside-out imag…
A dear friend recently celebrated 10 years of ordained ministry. As part of his reflection on the role of the priest today, he asked me what qualities I thought priests needed to have today.
I don’t like ‘stewardship season’ because it feels like a missed opportunity to have a big, amazing conversation about what we do have, and how we could re-organize and renew as church.
As a leader in the church, I must be ready to help empower those around me to pursue God’s mission as they see it. Folks don’t need to wait for an “official” ministry or some special request. If you see a way to help someone,…
In 2015, Vital Posts recorded the planting of a new Episcopal congregation in Brownsburg, Indiana, just outside Indianapolis. The small seed of a congregation that Fr. Gray planted has grown to nearly 130 people of Good Samar…