Mission and Ministry
While judging the many excellent entries in our “Best Bulletin Contest,” one of the criteria we discovered to be very important to us was having the congregation’s mission or purpose statement prominently displayed. It helped if that statement bore some resemblance to the personality of the congregation. In far too many cases, the statements could have been attached to any church, anywhere, and some were too long for a bulletin cover (or for anyone to remember and make use of, for that matter).
It isn’t easy to come up with a mission or purpose statement that is distinctive and memorable, while also short and specific. Often, people seem to feel the need to load them up with religious-sounding phrases that wind up saying nothing. Yet these statements are crucial. They express the congregation’s understanding of its identity and special vocation, and they can make all the difference in helping a newcomer discover a sense of belonging there (if the statement is authentic, that is.) For me, it is not necessary to conform to a business style of statement. But note that the congregation’s vocation needs to be special, even unique. The main purpose is to limit the range of possible ministries for that group, in that setting, at that time. Otherwise, there is no focus for their ministry.
They don’t have to be stuffy statements. I’ve heard of a congregation in Austin, Texas that has “Doing Our Part to Keep Austin Weird” on its publications and T-shirts. (It must be true—who would make that up?) I love it. I would go to church there. If anyone should propose a particular ministry or activity for that group, they only have to ask, “Now, is this weird enough for us? Because if it is bland or ordinary, the Methodists will do it.” They have a good litmus for narrowing and focusing their many possibilities.
In Huntington, the Palatine Sisters of St. Mary’s Hospital simply say, “The love of Christ impels us.” That strong, wonderful verb com-pels the reader to imagine those sisters magnetically drawn to works of love by the power of Christ’s love. When faced with a set of alternatives, they can ask themselves: “Are we impelled to this? And is Christ’s love our motivation?”
Many people consider writing mission statements a waste of time that fails to yield any productive result. I say that is because we so often quit before we are finished, satisfied with the first plain statement we can all sign onto, though not remember, instead of slogging on until we get something with zing that can excite and inspire us.
We have to find something that impels us. Something that can keep us weird. And something that truly describes OUR God-given vocation.
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2 comments:
From the Rt. Rev. Martin Townsend
Hello Donald,
Once again I find your latest volley compelling, impelling me to respond. Over the years I have been a part of writing many mission statements. Some have been very good. All have had their primary value in the process of actually writing them. They have been good reflective exercises for the Vestry or leadership retreat that created them. Once written, however, I have found that they usually gather dust, even if they are printed in bulletins and newsletters. Your critique of pious phrases was on target.
The Canon in my former diocese, Doug Girardeau, taught me a different way: write as parish collect instead. Finding the areas of ministry concern that need to be included in the prayer requires the same reflective conversation as a mission statement, but you end up with a product that can be used regularly. Rather than identifying our noble intentions for ministry, we place them before God as hopes for which we ask God's help and blessing. And the collect structure forces an economy and clarity of language. Below is the collect recently developed at the leadership retreat of Emmanuel Church, Keyser. It is a fraction longer than would be ideal, but it accurately reflects the concerns and hopes of the congregation. Everyone at the retreat felt that they had contributed to its final form. We use it following the Collect of the Day at all our services.
A Prayer for Emmanuel Church
Holy and loving God, you have called us together at Emmanuel Church as a family of faith; we give you thanks for guiding us through the trials of our lives: Fill us with your life-giving Spirit that we may be the image and hands of Christ in the world, serving those who are ignored, vulnerable and grieving; give us the courage, we pray, to be united in our diversity so that we do these things to your greater glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN.
from the Rev. Russ Lockett
29 Oct 08
Dear Donald+
Ive been meaning to drop this word to you.
Some of the evangelism we do needs to meld the Word into peoples' lives, besides the evangelism which challenges them--like we do as pastors. There is a season to challenge and there is a season to meld.
I bet you do alot more newspaper reading than I do. (Getting a newspaper is a luxury for me.) There are two sections of the paper you never see the Church nor the Faith reported on--the Style section and the Business section.
And these two sections are there, as circumstance has it, for alot of the people to whom the Episcopal Church ministers.
For the Style section, a story would show the fine home, garden, kitchen, vacation cabin, trout stream, charity work, etc, etc of Mr and Mrs Youknowthem.
Now, its the backstory that makes style style.
So, as part of the backstory, note that Mr and Mrs Youknowthem are Christians who attend St John's Under the Hill Episcopal Church and a one paragraph example of their faith which integrates into the fineness of their home, garden, kitchen, vacation cabin, trout stream, charity work, etc, etc.
Their faith is definitely in their lives. And the part of the style section story which tells this is understated.
For the Business section, a story would say look at this business, this company, this service, etc. Its run by Joe Doesit. Its bottom line is okay and its got a good portion of its niche. Not only does Joe do it, Joe enjoys it.
Again, its the backstory, the part of the story which shows Joe doing it and Joe enjoying it. In Joe's fundamentals, he is a Christian who attends St Crispus’ Episcopal Church over in Smokey Hollow--Joe is curly headed too
--and a one paragraph example of his faith being a business fundamental putting the emphasis more on his business than on his faith.
To help the reader remember these witnesses of the faith, have the writer immediately change the focus of the story off the faith. The change helps reader remember more easily.
If there is a reprise at the end of the story, be sure that the faith is mentioned but understate it.
The idea is to get it working in the reader so that the reader himself or herself wants to look at St John's or St Crispus' out of their own wish rather than slamming them with a challenge
(or some other Episcopal Church more their sort--we want them to bite on Christianity and our Episcopal brand in particular==let them get the size which fits their footremember, first we re doing this for them).
[Take a timeout with me, please.
[If we challenge them with Jesus out of the blue, so what? People who do not have Christ, or faith, or the Church, hows Jesus relevant? Bridge to them with something thats relevant to them.
[We know that Christ is relevant to everything, they don’t. Go to where theyre at with whats to do with them, letting them see youre trustworthy.
[Both youre with Jesus and Jesus is with everything. So making a segue with them to Christ wont be such a big deal, (unless maybe youve never done it before, or just the once).]
Time back in. So you say what about getting it done already? how would you plant these paragraphs into a feature article?
Actually, I wasnt envisioning "planting" paragraphs.
I was envisioning doing the entire piece as a feature.
Since their faith is integral to Mr and Mrs Youknowthem's style and is integral to Joe Doesit's business shrewdness, integrity, and making it work and pay, the paragraph on their faith will find its place. Atleast thats the way it happened when I wrote features.
With Mr and Mrs Youknowthem the story is their style. Whatever you write about their faith, the subtext is that their style wouldnt be their style without their faith.
With Joe Doesit the story is his business, company, service, whatever it is hes scoring with or whatever is scoring for him. His faith is one of the fundamentals that makes his business, etc payoff. The subtext is that his fundamentals wont stand without his faith.
Be cool about the subtext, let the reader read the subtext into it.
Thisll help the reader make his/her own wish to get to know St John's Under the Hill Episcopal Church or St Crispus' Episcopal Church over in Smokey Hollow or some other Episcopal Church more their sort. The better the reader reads the subtext into it, the more the reader is likely to invest into the subtext.
(Write it hot and whats the reader going to invest into it? This is not the ballplayer after the game saying 'Jesus won this for me' or 'I won this one for Jesus'.)
The paragraph on their faith is not the lead paragraph. It probably isnt the second nor the third. It isnt the penultimate nor the ultimate either. (If the reprise is penultimate or ultimate, the mention of their faith there will do best the more understated its mention is.)
The paragraph on their faith maybe comes where everything comes together.
If this paragraph is done well, the reader says 'Ahh ha, thats how it works'--the light has come on for the reader. You dont shine the light in the reader's eyes, you let the reader turn on the light himself/herself.
The reader says Ive got as fine a kitchen/whatever as the Youknowthems, so Ive got style, but I ll have real style if I have a faith like the Youknowthems.
The reader says Ive got as good a business/whatever as Joe Doesit, and mines paying and Im enjoying it, but I ll really get it working, I ll really enjoy it when I make a faith like Joe Doesit has one of my key fundamentals.
[Another timeout--about hot and cool.
[Remember the TV ads during the presidential campaign? Dont remind you. Well, if I could come up with a better example this moment, I would. Okay, thisll work with the TV newscasts too.
[Usually, they give us spoken words and these spoken words are words we get without having to figure out what they mean. This is hot.
[Along with these spoken words, they show pictures. We usually have to figure out the connection between the pictures and the words. This is cool. In fact, often we have to figure out the meaning and/or the feeling of this combination of pictures and words. This is more cool.
[Alright, you didnt do presidential campaign stuff. How about trying this one for faith geeks like me.
[Lets go to the Shema a moment. Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God is One. Right away I see two cool things and two hot things. I see the LORD our God and One as hot--with these I dont have to go figure. The two things I see as cool are first Hear and second both that the LORD our God includes One and that One includes the LORD our God.
[The cool stuff Ive got to figure, Ive got investment.]
And when you run these sorts of stories, dont run them regularly--run them at random intervals.
Okay, theres a different take on "how you would plant this stuff.
To plant a feature article, Id go to the editor of the paper and pitch the whole story--not just the paragraph.
Id alreadyve figured who Mr and Mrs Youknowthem are or who Joe Doesit is.
Be transparent about your own motives and purposes. Thisll likely get you what you want.
Id have the story outlined. (Up to a point, the more of the work which has already been done, the more the papers going to go for it.)
(Itll help to qualify the editor. Then youll be ready to comfort him where hes uneasy, and youll be able to throw him pitches he can hit out of the park.)
If the editor likes it, he ll give it to a feature writer. The feature writer may or may not work with you. Youll need to keep in touch enough to make sure that what you want gets into whats printed--even if this feature writer happens to be a third generation member of you congregation..
If youre going to pitch "Outlook" or some other television or radio magazine, Id go to the producer, with the story outline, your motives, and purposes, with Mr and Mrs Youknowthem and with Joe Doesit already committed to having the story done. Producers can like stories they dont have to figure out, stories they dont have to search out the actors in the story, stories like news stories that they only have to tape.
Did you hear “Marketplace“ the other night? It was since we d started conversing on this. Someone did plant a blurb to the effect that “Tomorrows the second anniversary of the Church of England’s decision to priest women.”
Thats all there was to it. That was a cool way to get the Episcopal brand out. You shape the approach according to your outlet and the medium.
LORD's Peace
RUSS+ LOCKETT
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