I take this experience as a lesson and a metaphor for mutual ministry. My husband Kevin and I are Co-Missioners for three congregations in Central Oregon: St. Andrew’s, Prineville; St. Alban’s, Redmond; and St. Mark’s, Madras. Our role is, at least in part, to be the midwife; when the people around us say (or act as if) "We can't/don't want to do this kind of ministry," it is our part to say, "Yes, you can. You are strong. You can do this."

    St. Andrew’s, St. Alban’s, and St. Mark’s are very different congregations in very different towns, and all three are journeying in mutual ministry in their own unique way.

    Roughly three years ago, St. Mark’s in Madras (pop. about 4000) identified a team of people with the gifts to help them live into the ministry to which God was calling them. Just this past month, they commissioned people in various ministries, including preachers, teachers, and a deacon. In the years between, they lived through the divorce of two of their primary leaders, and a change in Missioner. Currently on Sundays, they have a retired priest preside at Eucharist one Sunday, Kevin and I preside another week, and Morning Prayer is offered on other weeks. It has been a difficult time for St. Mark’s, as they struggled with simple survival. They have been unsure of this different way of being church that they have entered into, and unsure whether they could do it. But they are doing it. St. Mark’s is a growing congregation, having added two young families with children, and two other families in the past year (huge growth for a church that had attendance in the teens!). They have recently rearranged their worship space to provide an area for young children to sit on the floor up front near the altar, so they can see and hear what is happening. They are also exploring how they can have a broader role in the community. They have a close relationship with the local Lutheran church, and often share services.

    St. Alban’s in Redmond (pop. about 12000) has a ministry team that includes two deacons, a priest, parish coordinator, teacher, and preachers, among others. They are also coming through a difficult journey in mutual ministry. They have struggled in their ministry team to develop their roles within the worship service, sometimes becoming anxious about their own capabilities and wishing for more money, so they could hire a rector. Yet they are becoming more comfortable with the notion that God has given them the gifts they need for ministry, and they are moving further in their own development of life in community. St. Alban’s has moved to celebrating Eucharist three out of four Sundays in a month. Their vestry is remaking itself, from a group that micro-managed every decision, to a group of leaders who develop the vision and goals to help the rest of the community develop ministries. They have also begun exploring healing ministry, and cell groups, among other things.

    St. Andrew’s in Prineville (pop. about 9000) was one of the first congregations in the Diocese of Eastern Oregon to enter into mutual ministry, and helped to develop its shape in this diocese. St. Andrew’s has a ministry team that includes two priests, a deacon candidate (who will presumably be ordained next spring), a catechist, preachers, teachers, and a Parish Commission on Ministry (PCOM) which coordinates ministries. The PCOM recently developed a year-long celebration of saints which links an ancient saint and modern saint who have specific gifts, then identifies people in the congregation who have similar gifts and who live them out in their daily lives. Thanksgiving prayers are offered for these people on the fourth Sunday of each month. St. Andrew’s is reaching out to include their children in worship, having a young person read one of the scriptures each Sunday, and they are exploring adding a second service designed to serve young families in the area. Yet as they enter a third round of mutual ministry listening and gifts discernment, there are still challenges to see themselves as gifted; still a longing among some for an easier way.

    Each of the three congregations takes part in regional training workshops for preachers, priests, deacons, and pastoral caregivers (which we call Christian Care). And all are preparing to join the rest of the diocese this Advent in beginning another cycle of listening, discernment, and education

    God calls life forth; it is exciting and frightening and hard work. We don’t often know just where we are going, but we are on the journey. We are choosing life in a new way.

© 2001, Diocese of Oregon
updated 05/03/2003 16:27
contact: kylew@diocese-oregon.org