Sawdust Trail

Midwest Conservative Journal ^ | 8/08/2005 | Christopher Johnson

[sionnsar]

ECUSA sends out its missionaries:

At its 10th annual Mission Institute, held at Christ Church Cathedral in Indianapolis on June 23-24, the Global Episcopal Mission Network (GEM Network) awarded certificates to the first graduates of a new program that prepares Episcopalians to be Global Mission Agents in their home dioceses. A Global Mission Agent, as defined by GEM Network, is someone who works to equip and organize individuals, parishes and diocesan organizations for effective global mission engagement. The agent’s job is not to direct or control global mission within a diocese, but to encourage and support everyone involved in it and get them talking to one another.

I stand corrected.  ECUSA sends out its people who bring donuts to the meetings of the mission committee.

The Rev. Mark Harris, former director of the GEM Network, is responsible for developing the 3-year certificate program. To be certified, a person must attend the GEM Mission Institute for three years, and complete field work and written work in the intervals between Institutes.

Takes three years to learn how to do that, does it?  These folks got the Young People^TM involved and came up with some of the most unintentionally hilarious paragraphs ENS has ever published.

A brand new project of GEM Network was also launched at this year’s Mission Institute: the Young Adult Mission Educational Institute (YMEI – pronounced “why me”). This program brought together young adults, ages 18 – 24, who have already had a significant mission experience. For two days, participants celebrated their experiences, reflected on them both theologically and logistically, and planned for the next step in their own mission involvement – both as missionaries and as global mission agents in their dioceses.

Backed by a generous grant from UTO, YMEI was developed and staffed by three members of the GEM Network Board: Marcus Cunningham (seminarian at Sewanee from the Diocese of Northern Indiana); Ben Calder (Central Pennsylvania); and the Rev. Kate Day (Central New York). The participants included: Rachel Colson, Young Adult Service Corps alumna and current law student at Syracuse University (Central New York); Joe MacKenzie (Southern Ohio); Brittany King, student at Valparaiso University (Southern Ohio); and Kaitlin Youck (Indianapolis). Each participant has already shown significant leadership in their churches and dioceses, and all expressed an eagerness to work to expand the YMEI program for next year.

Don't know about you but if I were an ECUSA missionary, I'd be using those two words a whole bunch.