the diocese of san diego mission plan

THE DIOCESE OF SAN DIEGOMISSION PLANImplementation of our Baptismal Covenant.

SESSION 1:WORSHIP AND FORMATIONImplementation of our Baptismal Covenant.

Diocesan Plan: Mission and VisionOur Mission: The Episcopal Diocese of San Diego is a

missionary community that dares to follow Jesus Christ in his life of fearless love for the world.

Our Vision: Undeterred by borders or barriers, we are pilgrims with Jesus in relentlessly searching for others to befriend, know and invite to Christ’s Eucharistic table of reconciliation and sacrificial love.

• Our Mission Plan is grounded in the tenets of baptismal and Biblical values.

Our Baptismal Covenant• We begin by grounding ourselves in the Apostles’ Creed

Do you believe in God the Father? I believe in God, the Father almighty,creator of heaven and earth.

Do you believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God? I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit

and born of the Virgin Mary.He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again.He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

Do you believe in God the Holy Spirit? I believe in the Holy Spirit,the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.

Baptismal and Biblical Values• Our creedal statement is followed by five promises to which we

add the biblical value of stewardship.1. To continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of

bread, and in the prayers2. To persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever we fall into sin, repent

and return to the Lord3. To proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ4. To seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as yourself5. To strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the

dignity of every human being6. To be a faithful steward of all that God has entrusted to you, living a life

of gratitude and generosity• We agree to these promises knowing we can’t do it aloe but

that, “we will with God’s help.”

Promise # 1: Worship and Formation

Will you continue in the Apostles’ teaching and fellowship, the breaking of the bread, and in the prayers? I will, with God’s help.

• What does this promise call us to do?• How do we do it?• How is our response to this based on context?

Worship and Formation

The Apostles’ Teaching

What is it or what

are they?

Where do find them?

How are they taught

to us?

How do we teach them to others? Fellowship

What does this mean to me?... To us?... To our parish?… to the

Diocese?

How does it impact our interaction with each other and with

the community?

Breaking Bread

What does it meant to

“break bread”?

Is it only relevant in the context of

worship?

The Prayers

What prayers?

How often?

What do scripture and tradition

teach us to pray for?

Why does the BCP have forms for the

Prayers of the People?

Suggested Questions for Table Discussions

Worship and FormationWill you continue in the Apostles’ teaching and fellowship, the breaking of the bread, and in the prayers? I will, with God’s help.

• From the Mission Plan of the Diocese of San Diego• Tenet: We are daring and fearless followers of Jesus, empowered

by dynamic and transformative worship and spiritual formation practices and programs.

• Our Goal: Using our God-given reason, every member of the Church in our diocese will have an opportunity to obtain age-appropriate knowledge of Holy Scripture and the traditions of the Church.

Worship and Formation:Diocesan Objectives

Our Goal: Using our God-given reason, every member of the Church in our diocese will have an opportunity to obtain age-appropriate knowledge of Holy Scripture and the traditions of the Church.

• Objective 1:• Launch a school for Ministry

• Objective 2:• Develop menu of opportunities for every member of the diocese to

participate in meaningful and transformative worship.

Knowledge of the Holy Scripture

Worship and FormationOur Goal: Using our God-given reason, every member of the Church in our diocese will have an opportunity to obtain age-appropriate knowledge of Holy Scripture and the traditions of the Church.

How do we ensure that members the

Church have access to this knowledge?

How do we gain knowledge in order

to make it available?

What resources are available in church?

at home? locally? ecumenically?

Knowledge of the Traditions of the Church

What are the traditions of the

Church?How do we learn them?

Are they reflected in our

worship?

How can our parish participate in the

diocesan objectives?

Objective 1:Launch a school for Ministry

Objective 2:Develop menu of opportunities for every member of the diocese to participate in meaningful and transformative worship.

Wrap Up• A brief time for sharing

• Insights• Comments• Questions• Follow-up

SESSION 2:REPENTANCE AND RECONCILIATION

Implementation of our Baptismal Covenant.

Our Mission: The Episcopal Diocese of San Diego is a missionary community that dares to follow Jesus Christ in his life of fearless love for the world.


• Our Mission Plan is grounded in the tenets of baptismal and biblical values.

Diocesan Plan: Mission and Vision




and return to the Lord3. To proclaim by word and example the good news of God in Christ4. To seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as yourself5. To strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the


of gratitude and generosity• We agree to these promises knowing we can’t do it alone but


Promise # 2: Repentance and Reconciliation

Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?

I will, with God’s help.

• How do we resist evil?• What does it mean to repent and return to the Lord?• What is our understanding of sin on our lives?

Resources• A couple of scriptural references for Repentance (Note: there are many

others)• The Prodigal Son, Luke 15:11-32

• Then the son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But the father said to his slaves, “Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!”

• Luke 24: 45-47 • Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, "This is

what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

• What our tradition identifies as our shortcomings• Litany of Penitence, BCP p267ff (from Ash Wednesday Service)• The Great Litany, BCP p148ff• Reconciliation of the Penitent, BCP p447ff

• A few prayers that can be helpful• Prayers for guidance, confidence, protection, and self-dedication• Prayers 57-62, BCP p832ff

Repentance & Reconciliation

• I ask, in our table discussions, to consider how our response to this promise…“I will, with God’s help”… takes on different meaning and shape depending upon context

• What contexts:• Within our families• Within our Church families• Within the local church (diocese, ecumenical, interfaith)• With friends… enemies… strangers• With the world

Repentance & Reconciliation

Persevere in Resisting Evil

What is evil?

How do we resist evil?

Can you think of examples?

How is evil different in different contexts (e.g., at home, at

church, in your city, in the world?

Fall Into Sin

Can we help

falling into sin?

What is sin?

Repent and Return to the Lord

What does repentance look like?

Is repentance available to all?

How does confession work?

Do we need to confess to a priest?


Do we have examples from

scripture?

Do we have examples fro our

tradition (both BCP and church history)?

Repentance and ReconciliationWill you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?


• From the mission plan of the Diocese of San Diego• Tenet: With God’s help we value repentance and reconciliation,

acknowledging when we have turned away from God and from one another, seeking wholeness and healing by turning back to God and one another. In this we seek to be a welcome and open community for all. If you have turned away from God; if you have tried to follow Jesus and have failed, or are trying for the first time; you are welcome here.

• Our Goal: Repenting of our separation from God and our neighbor, we will be a community of welcome and renewal.

Repentance and Reconciliation:Diocesan Objectives

Our Goal: Repenting of our separation from God and our neighbor, we will be a community of welcome and renewal.

• Objective 1:• Train at least two members of each congregation to become

conflict resolution resources for their congregation and wider community.

• Objective 2:• Encourage all congregations to annually evaluate their

congregational life, measuring their receptivity to the stranger and first-time worshiper.

Repentance and ReconciliationOur Goal: Repenting of our separation from God and our neighbor, we will be a community of welcome and renewal.

Objective 1:Train at least two members of each congregation to become conflict resolution resources for their congregation and wider community.

Objective 2:Encourage all congregations to annually evaluate their congregational life, measuring their receptivity to the stranger and first-time worshiper.

Repenting our separation

How/When have you been separated from your neighbor?

Who is our neighbor?What does it

mean to repent?

Where are we in need of reconciliation? (families, church, diocese, friends, enemies, strangers)



How/When have you been

separated from God?

Welcome and RenewalHow are we

receptive to Strangers?

Where do we need renewal?

How can trained conflict resolution resources help?

SESSION 3: EVANGELISMImplementation of our Baptismal Covenant.



• Our Mission Plan is grounded in the Tenets of “Baptismal and Biblical Values”


Promise # 3: EvangelismWill you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ?


• How do we proclaim the Good News by word and Example? Is there a right/wrong way?

• Do we know what the Good News is?• Can you tell/show your neighbor the Good News?

Evangelism


• What contexts:• Within our families• Within our church families• Within the local church (diocese, ecumenical, interfaith)• With friends… enemies… strangers• With the world

Evangelism

Proclaim by Word and Example

What does it mean to proclaim?

Can you give examples of proclaiming by word?

How do we proclaim by example?

The Good News

What is the Good

News?

How did you learn

it?

Jesus Christ

“Who do you say that I am?”

What does it mean to believe the Good

News of Jesus Christ?


How do we tell others about

Jesus?

What does it mean to

you?

As we proclaim Christ, how we do

we change the world?

EvangelismWill you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ?


• From the mission plan of the Diocese of San Diego• Tenet: With God’s help, we are agents of the Kingdom of God who

instinctively live and share the Good News of Jesus Christ within our communities and without, feeding those who are hungry to hear and receive the transforming Good News.

• Our Goal: We will be a people who tell the good news of Jesus Christ.

Evangelism: Diocesan ObjectivesOur Goal: We will be a people who tell the good news of Jesus Christ.

• Objective 1:• Develop and implement a congregational-based evangelism

program to increase Average Sunday Attendance (ASA) by ten percent.

• Objective 2:• Develop and implement a Personal Evangelism Program Plan to

help people develop and be comfortable with sharing their personal faith stories.

Evangelism Plans

EvangelismOur Goal: We will be a people who tell the good news of Jesus Christ.

Tell the Good News

How? When? Where?Who?

To Whom?

What is the importance of our personal faith story?

How do we encourage

conversations of faith?

Objective 1:Develop and implement a congregational-based evangelism program to increase Average Sunday Attendance (ASA) by ten percent.

Objective 2:Develop and implement a Personal Evangelism Program Plan to help people develop and be comfortable with sharing their personal faith stories.

What might an evangelism

program look like for our

congregation?

What is a personal

evangelism plan?

MetricsWhy is the

metric of ASA important? Is

it?

What is the role of the leadership

and the parishioner?

What are our barriers?

SESSION 4: OUTREACHImplementation of our Baptismal Covenant.


Our Vision: Undeterred by borders or barriers, we are pilgrims with Jesus in relentlessly searching for others befriend, know and invite to Christ’s Eucharistic table of reconciliation and sacrificial love.



Baptismal and Biblical Values• Our creedal statement is followed by 5 promises to which we

add the biblical value of stewardship1. To continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of






Outreach and AdvocacyThe and fourth and fifth promises we make in our baptismal covenant are clearly related… but how…

Promise #4:Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, lovingyour neighbor as yourself? I will, with God’s help.

Promise #5:Will you strive for justice and peace among all

people, and respect the dignity of every human being?


Outreach and Advocacy?• What’s the Difference between these two Promises?

• Seeking and Serving… OutreachIf we participate in Wounded Warriors, a ministry providing programs and services to severely injured service members during the time between active duty and transition to civilian life, that’s Outreach…

• Striving for Justice and Peace…respecting the dignity of every human being…Advocacy

If we write letters to Congress asking them to ensure that those who spill their blood on our behalf will be cared for when they return home from battle, that’s Advocacy…

Outreach



Outreach

Seeking Christ in all people

How do we seek Christ?

What does “Christ in all

people” mean?

Why do we seek Christ?

Loving my neighbor as myself

Who is my neighbor?

What if I don’t love myself very much?

Serving Christ in all

People


What does serving Christ in others look like?

How do we serve Christ?

OutreachWill you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?


• From the mission plan of the Diocese of San Diego• Tenet: With God’s help, we bridge the several borders God calls us

to transcend by offering our time, talent and treasure for the transformative in-breaking of God’s kingdom, and so meet Christ face to face in the hearts and lives of our neighbors near and far.

• Our Goal: As people who seek to meet Christ in others, every congregation will create a specific cores service ministry to the community beyond the church.

Outreach: Diocesan ObjectivesOur Goal: As people who seek to meet Christ in others, every congregation will create a specific core service ministry to the community beyond the church.

• Objective 1:• Identify current servant ministry activities in every congregation and

publish results.• Objective 2:

• Create outreach teams that will conduct two inter-congregational, servant ministry events, in the community beyond the church.

OutreachOur Goal: As people who seek to meet Christ in others, every congregation will create a specific core service ministry to the community beyond the church.

Objective 1:Identify current servant ministry activities in every congregation and publish results.

Objective 2:Create outreach teams that will conduct two inter-congregational, servant ministry events, in the community beyond the church.

Community beyond the

Church

Who are they?

What do they

need?

Local? Global?

How do we serve

them?

Service Opportunities

What services are we currently

involved in?

What opportunities

are we overlooking?

What are our resources?

What gets in the way?

To Support these diocesan objectives, we must first discover:S – Our StrengthsW – Our WeaknessesO – The OpportunitiesT – The Threats

SESSION 5: ADVOCACYImplementation of our Baptismal Covenant.


Our Vision: Undeterred by borders or barriers, we are pilgrims with Jesus in relentlessly searching for others befriend, know, and invite to Christ’s Eucharistic table of reconciliation and sacrificial love.









that “we will with God’s help.”

Promise # 5: AdvocacyWill you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?


• Last time we noticed how Promise #4 (Seek and Serve Christ) and Promise #5 are related.

• Outreach and advocacy are two ways to engage the world in accordance with our baptismal covenant.

• Advocacy strives to address systematic issues as we promote peace and justice.

Advocacy



Respect the Dignity of

Every Human Being

Advocacy


Justice and Peace among

all People

How do I strive for justice? How do I strive

for peace?

Respect and dignity… discuss…

How do I respect someone whose

ideas are diametrically

opposed to mine?

What does peace look like

in our time?

What do Peace and Justice look

like to God?

What are the implications of

“every human”?

AdvocacyWill you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?


• From the mission plan of the Diocese of San Diego• Tenet: With God’s help, we offer our voices and presence to

confront the brokenness in our lives and the systems of which we are a part with the healing and transforming power of the love of Jesus Christ.

• Our Goal: We will be a community that promotes a just society and promotes peace.

Advocacy: Diocesan ObjectivesOur Goal: We will be a community that promotes a just society and promotes peace.

• Objective 1:• Establish an Advocacy Leadership Team, with the bishop as the

principal religious spokesperson in the region, to address the important issues that have been identified by our diocese: poverty, international borders, and the military.

• Objective 2:• Track and convey the policies endorsed by our Church and equip

clergy and laity to advocate those policies.

AdvocacyOur Goal: We will be a community that promotes a just society and promotes peace.

Objective 1:Establish an Advocacy Leadership Team, with the bishop as the principal religious spokesperson in the region, to address the important issues that have been identified by our diocese: poverty, international borders, and the military.

Objective 2:Track and convey the policies endorsed by our Church and equip clergy and laity to advocate those policies.

Peace and Justice

What do our scriptures tell

us?

How do we promote it?

What is your vision of

Peace and Justice?

Are we partners with the Church?

What Issues to Advocate for

Do we know what issues to advocate for?

How do these issues effect our

community?

Are we aware of our

Diocesan efforts?

How do these issues effect our families?

Our diocese has identified advocacy issues: poverty, international borders, and the militaryHow do we participate in the advocacy of these issues?

Resources• Visit the Episcopal Public Policy Network (EPPN) and join

committed Episcopalians working for a better world• http://episcopalchurch.org/page/public-policy• http://www.facebook.com/TheEPPN

• Visit the Diocesan website• http://www.edsd.org/advocacy/• Discover the work on-going to address poverty, border issues, and

the military

• Check out and subscribe to the Episcopal News Service• http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/

http://episcopalchurch.org/page/public-policy

http://episcopalchurch.org/page/public-policy

http://www.facebook.com/TheEPPN

http://www.facebook.com/TheEPPN

http://www.edsd.org/advocacy/

http://www.edsd.org/advocacy/

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/

SESSION 6: STEWARDSHIPImplementation of our Baptismal Covenant.


Our Vision: Undeterred by borders or barriers, we are pilgrims with Jesus in relentlessly searching for others befriend, know and invite to Christ’s Eucharistic table of reconciliation and sacrificial love.








of gratitude and generosity• We agree to these promises knowing we can’t do it alone, but

that “we will with God’s help.”

Promise #6: Stewardship

Will you be a faithful steward of all that God has entrusted to you, living a life of gratitude and generosity? I will, with God’s help.

• While stewardship is not explicitly addressed in our baptismal covenant, it is a biblical imperative which must not be overlooked

• It includes the Proper identification and use of our God-Given talents• Stewardship of creation• Stewardship of resources

• How do we do it?• How is our response to this based on context?

Stewardship

A Faithful Steward

What does it mean to be a

steward?What do we

mean by faithful?

How does faith play into

this?Of all that God has entrusted

to us

How do you define the “all” in this statement?

What has God entrusted to me? To us?

Gratitude and

GenerosityWhat does it mean to be generous?

How are gratitude and

generosity connected?

What am I / are we grateful for?


What does it mean to be entrusted?

StewardshipWill you be a faithful steward of all that God has entrusted to you, living a life of gratitude and generosity? I will, with God’s help

• From the Mission Plan of the Diocese of San Diego• Tenet: We are faithful and courageous stewards of all that God has

entrusted to us, willing to make hard choices when necessary to ensure that these gifts and resources are effectively and powerfully engaged in God's mission.

• Our Goal: Grounded in a spirit of gratitude to God, we will instill in each member of the church in this diocese principles of faithful stewardship of health, wealth, environment, and community.

Stewardship: Diocesan ObjectivesOur Goal: Grounded in a spirit of gratitude to God, we will instill in each member of the church in this diocese principles of faithful stewardship of health, wealth, environment, and community

• Objective 1:• Twenty percent of all parishes will have year-round stewardship

program• Objective 2:

• Implement a plan to demonstrate faithful diocesan stewardship by reducing debt, increasing revenue, paying our full mission share pledge, and more.

StewardshipOur Goal: Grounded in a spirit of gratitude to God, we will instill in each member of the church in this diocese principles of faithful stewardship of health, wealth, environment, and community.

Objective 1:Twenty percent of all parishes will have year-round stewardship program

Objective 2:Implement a plan to demonstrate faithful diocesan stewardship by reducing debt, increasing revenue, paying our full mission share pledge, and more.

Stewardship

What is year-round

stewardship?

How can we implement year

round stewardship?

Why is it important?

Stewardship Opportunities

What does it mean to be stewards of health,

wealth, environment, and community?

How do these impact our family? Church?

Community?

What can we do? What are

our resources?



the diocese of san diego mission plan

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