At our October 29, 2020 board meeting, the Connectional Table (CT) revisited its 2018 statement entitled, “This Mission is Yet Alive.” In that statement, the CT asserted that despite the disruptions we face, we are still invited into the mission of God. God is still calling us to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. No matter the upheaval in the church and in our world, we still must take faithful steps to live as a worldwide church in mission to the world.
We wrote that statement before the devastating events of the 2019 Special Session of the General Conference--before an airborne virus would overtake the world in 2020, infecting tens of millions and killing well over 1 million worldwide—and before a police officer would put his knee on the neck of George Floyd and for an excruciating 8 minutes and 46 seconds squeeze the life out of him. We wrote that statement before a U.S. election that would take place in the midst of a pandemic and in the face of threats to democracy and the rule of law. Despite all of this, we still affirmed that the church’s mission is yet alive.
In honor of that affirmation, we invited CT members and staff to write 6-word memoirs for our church and its mission. This was based on a recent New York Times feature called “The Pandemic in Six-Word Memoirs.” It was a project that asked people to describe their lives during the pandemic in just six words. This is the prompt we used for our 6-word memoirs about the mission of the church:
“In six words, how have you seen the church’s mission alive in the world during this time of pandemic and uncertainty?”
Here are some examples from the CT staff:
“Persistent creativity, willingness to serve neighbors.”(Rev. Adrienne Striker, Associate Administrative Specialist)
“Living room worship equals pajama evangelism.” (Rev. Rachel Birkhahn-Rommelfanger, Assistant Connectional Ministries Officer)
“Singing, And Are We Yet Alive?” (Grace Killian, Ordination Candidate and CT intern)
Please join us in this effort and summit your 6-word memoir for the church and its mission. You may submit these in any language you choose by clicking on this link. We will print these memoirs in future newsletters.
Prayer: God who has called us to make disciples of all nations and transform the world, equip and inspire us for the mission of the church. Help us remember that no matter what happens around us, our mission is yet alive!
Rev. Kennetha J. Bigham-Tsai
Chief Connectional Ministries Officer