Saturday, June 4, 2011 | Last Updated Saturday, June 11, 2011 11:59 Pacific/Honolulu
A Message from the Bishop and his Summer Reading List
As more congregations have been discussing shared ministry, regional ministry and ministry teams, and as we explore alternative ways for formation leading to ordination and empowering lay leadership, I have been asked to share how this ministry might look and some theoretical basis for it here in Hawai'i. I think it imperative that we develop forms and language (terms) for mission and ministry in our unique context.
I hope every leader in our Diocese will ruminate and pray about the future of mission and ministry in our Diocese. I am convinced that there will be fewer congregations at individual sites served by single fully stipended priests. We will return - for us as a Diocese - to shared ordained leadership with both seminary trained clergy and locally trained bivocational clergy. There will be fully compensated clergy with broad oversight and non-stipendiary clergy serving God's people to support and encourage all the Baptized in the mission and ministry of Christ's Church. All of the Baptized will be called upon to take up ministry. Congregations will need to adapt to and be engaged with the cultural, ethnic, linguistic and generational realities of local communities. I hope we can look to Aotearoa, the Pacific, Asia and other parts of the world for inspiration and suggestions -- as well as North America and Europe -- and, most importantly, learn from one another locally as we develop models of ministry and engage in mission in our island setting.
I hope you have time for some Summer reading and I want to encourage you to consider the following:
1. Born of Water, Born of Spirit: Supporting the Ministry of the Baptized in Small Congregations by Sheryl A Kujawa-Holbrook and Fredrica Harris Thompsett; Alban Institute, 2010
2. Beyond the Baptismal Covenant: Transformational Lay Leadership for the Episcopal Church in the 21st Century by Donald V. Romanik; Episcopal Church Foundation, 2010
3. The Celtic Way of Evangelism: How Christianity Can Reach the West...Again (10th Anniversary Edition, Revised and Update) by George G. Hunter III; Abingdon Press, 2010
4. Missionary Methods: St. Paul's or Ours by Roland Allen; Martino Publishing, 2011
5. The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church by Roland Allen; Wipf and Stock
6. The Waves of God's Embrace: Sacred Perspectives from the Ocean by Winston Halapua, Canterbury Press, 2008
7. Ubuntu: I in You and You in Me by Michael Battle; Seabury Books, 2009
I have tried to share #1 and #2 as broadly as possible. I think #3 can offer helpful insights. I particularly call your attention to #4 and #5. These are reprints of Roland Allen's key works. The language is dated and clearly speaks in example to another time (Missionary Methods was first published in 1912, but the vision and theory are, I think, applicable here in Hawai'i today). Books #6 and #7 begin to offer theological perspectives that might enliven our work together in these islands and at this time, point a way toward a truly "local" theology for our life together. I have shared much of this before. If you haven't read these before now, please join me this summer.
I wish we had the funds to buy these books for everyone in the Diocese, but that is just not the case. Perhaps congregations could purchase the books and share them among vestry/bishop committee members. I hope Diocesan Council and Standing Committee members will read them. They will be particularly important for the Commission on Ministry members as we further explore alternative formation programs for ordained leaders. I hope our clergy will take the time to struggle with the ideas and vision for mission.
Mahalo,
Bob
The Right Reverend Robert L. Fitzpatrick, Bishop