The CMS Praxis team members, with Ugandan friends, at the Equator (Photo: © David Bailey/CMS) A dozen members of Beverley Minster went travelling in 2007 – in more senses than one. We were part of a CMS Mission Accompaniment Group, a journey of exploration into the mission of the Church.
To quote former CMS staffer Tim Morgan, "The term ‘world mission’ seems to suggest that it happens ‘somewhere else’, but of course all mission happens ‘somewhere’ — all mission is local. Moreover, all mission is part of God’s global activity, so, equally, all mission is global. Global and local mission are one."
Our aim was to look afresh at God’s mission in our parish and throughout the world as part of our and CMS’ shared programme involvement in ‘Global/Local Mission’, to recognise the relationship between these two dimensions, and to see how we can co-operate with God more effectively in them.
The journey spanned the period when four members of the group physically travelled on a CMS Praxis visit to Kabale, in south-west Uganda, where our parish is linked to St Peter’s Cathedral. Two other members of the group went to a children’s home in Brazil.
On our CMS 'Mission Accompaniment' journey, we also included leaders and members of Minster Way Network (a ‘fresh expression’ of church in our parish), and Emmaus, our youth group — two very significant facets of our local mission.
Our facilitator and guide was former CMS Mission Adviser James Price.
The Five Marks of Mission We used the ‘Five Marks of Mission’ as a benchmark to look at our own practice of mission. In shorthand form, they are:
• proclaiming the Gospel;
• making disciples;
• serving the poor;
• tackling injustice;
• safeguarding the planet.
We soon recognised that we give more attention to the first two than the last! We compared our own strengths and weaknesses with those of our mission partners elsewhere in the world.
David Bailey, a member of the CMS Praxis group, giving mattresses, blankets and school uniforms to orphans at Rwere Primary School in St Peter's Cathedral parish(Photo: © David Bailey/CMS)An important piece of learning for all of us was to understand more clearly how global and local mission are related to each other through
sending and
receiving.
Boosted by the inspiration and example of mission across the world that we have witnessed or about which we have learnt, we are sent out into our own local communities.
We have had opportunities too for church members to be sent out, at the invitation of mission partners in other places, to share in mission with them.
We have also had two young people take part in mission activities abroad during 2008.
Moreover, we benefit from receiving members of the Christian family from all over the world.
In front of the Minster, the team, with leader Carol Smith, that went to Kabale(Photo: © David Bailey/CMS)We have regularly received mission-partner representatives of ours to Beverley and, because we worship in a prominent and famous building, almost every week we receive visitors, from many different countries and cultures, who have much to share with us if we listen.
And we receive through our own experiences of travel among Christians in different cultures and contexts — whether it be a special CMS short-term mission trip to Kabale, a day spent with a church community in nearby Hull, or simply attending church when we are on holiday in Britain or overseas.
Even in the New Testament, as we read the story of the first Christians sent out into the world, we can see that their mission flourished through networking – linking different parts of the Church through mutual support, building relationships and travelling to meet one another face to face and sharing one another’s experiences.
It is exciting to be part of a local church committed to the same aim.
One of the results of the Mission Accompaniment journey was a recent Parish Church Council decision for its Mission Committee to be superseded by a Mission Action Group, which will take responsibility for developing all our mission links and outreach in our own parish.
It is now carrying out an audit of all our mission links, near and far, to assess how we can participate in them and learn through them even more effectively, and will be planning local activities under the banner of HOPE '08.
Over the next year, we are going to work with CMS to arrange for a team from Kabale in Uganda, where we visited last year, to visit us, so that we can continue to share and learn through an ongoing cross-cultural encounter.
If your church would like to go on a Global/Local journey with CMS, contact Matt Freer, CMS’ very newly appointed Global/Local Developer, for more information at matt.freer@cms-uk.org or on 01865 787487.
If you'd like to go on a short-term mission trip and connect with Christians who are seeking to make a difference in often challenging situations around the world, why not see about taking a CMS ENCOUNTER visit --- click here.
For other background to the Mission Accompaniment programme, see this and this.