Anglican Diocese of Calgary

Seven years ago this month, I became involved with a group of people from our diocese who were interested in nurturing different methods of doing and presenting church. We were schooled by Judy Paulson from Wycliff College and others in the Toronto area on becoming more Missional in the church and to coach Churches to become more Missional. I initially thought this would be easy, start with a group of about 30 people and send them out to about thirty to fifty churches in the Diocese and present to them on how to be missional. Within a few months of training, we were then faced with a few obstacles. The obstacles included Covid, which stopped everything. We had a program but couldn’t present it. We tried Zoom with some success but in-house learning worked best. Our program was a work-in-progress; some parts were ready and others not. Our thirty initial presenters dwindled to about 12 but those stayed firmly committed to the program. One other obstacle was that not every parish wanted the program. Some passed, while others tried and fully embraced it. Others wanted to do it on their own, others just were not ready. Nevertheless, the Mission Coaches persevered and rewrote, and edited the program and continued albeit on a pace that allowed for a gradual work schedule. We had about eight 3–4-hour modules which could be presented by each coach. It appeared to be working.

I was happy with the progress we made and doing God’s work. However I wanted some additional background and more examples. I prayed for more opportunities and soon God answered my prayers. About two months ago, a teacher from Wycliff College, Dr. John Bowen teamed up with Rev. Dr. Pilar Gateman and presented a course called Reimagining Church, a six-week program on what a Church could be. This happened on Tuesday evenings for a two-hour lecture, chats and videos. We were told of a church in Africa which late in the day celebrated with a meal and praise to God in communion, dancing, music songs and prayer. Another example was Bread Church, where everyone received a loaf of bread. There were examples of a bridge built to ford a river, only to find out that during construction the river relocated to make the bridge useless. Examples were taken from England Canada, US, Africa, in fact worldwide. There is a church in Hamilton Ontario where you can buy a meal (large sandwich) for $4.00 and tip with buttons. The buttons are put in a jar to help the next person with payment for their meal, $1.00 per button. This is called the Button Church. Many examples of mission were presented and all noted. I asked a young girl from Hamilton about the Button Church a few weeks ago. She responded that it was the best church she ever attended for the three years while a student at McMaster. The highlight for me was the week we spent on God Speed. The homework exercise was to watch a video called God Speed and prepare to discuss the content during the next session. My initial thoughts were that God moved with light speed with the millions praying and the needs to address, but when you analyze His work, God Speed can be slow and very prolonged. We were told that in actual fact, God Speed was the speed that Jesus walked on their journeys. Perhaps a pace of about three miles per hour. We must travel to the Reimaged Missional Church at God’s Speed to ensure His work is fully done.

I relish the time spent on the program and learning about Missional Churches and moments. Learning never ends as we proceed in its pursuit.

This month's Missional Minute contribution comes from Michael Larsen, St. Augustine, Lethbridge.