Bishop Wendell Gibbs traveled to Conway, Mich., in May to participate in the annual AMEN conference of Episcopal bishops. Gibbs met with Bishop Robert Gepert of the Diocese of Western Michigan and Bishop Todd Ousley of the Diocese of Eastern Michigan. The bishop from the Diocese of Northern Michigan, Jim Kelsey, died one week after the annual meeting last year.

With the bishops, each of the four Episcopal dioceses were also represented by lay and ordained church leaders. Representing the Diocese of Michigan were: Helen Brewster, deacon and the coordinator of Hurricane Katrina relief and recovery; Peter Swarr, associate rector at St. John’s, Plymouth, which has an ongoing relationship in the Dominican Republic; Jean Redfield, parishioner at Christ Church, Grosse Pointe, who returned in April from a multi-congregation mission trip to New Orleans; and Herb Gunn, editor of The Record, who also traveled to New Orleans last September.

The theme for the spring AMEN conference was mission work—both domestic and international—and how the four Episcopal dioceses in Michigan can work together to deepen the involvement of their dioceses and congregations in hands-on and companion mission work.

The AMEN conference participants concluded that mission trips and companion relationships are distinct areas of outreach and cooperative ministry. Capturing the sentiment of the AMEN group, Anne Reed, who serves on the staff of the Diocese of Western Michigan, explained that there are five marks of mission, some of which focus more on direct assistance and others on strenghtening companionship.

The mission guidelines Reed listed also reflect the Baptismal Covenant, she said, and can be used as benchmarks of effective outreach mission.

Developed by the Anglican Consultative Council in 1984 and affirmed by archbishops of the Anglican Communion at the Lambeth Conferences in 1988 and 1998, the Five Marks of Mission are: to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom; to teach, baptize and nurture new believers; to respond to human need by loving service; to seek to transform unjust structures of society; and to strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth.

“We decided that there were two entry points into this conversation [about mission development],” said Reed. “One is that we might start with mission and move into relationship. The other is start with companionship and move into mission.”

To assist the dioceses, congregations and individuals in grounding future mission initiatives in the five marks of mission, the AMEN group proposed to design a template for mission initiatives that could ensure the work has a solid theological and practical foundation. A template for guiding mission work could also be used as a self-assessment and for any funding considerations.

While stating that he did not recommend creating a diocesan superstructure or requirements through which groups would have to navigate, Bishop Ousley did suggest that groups would be challenged to go deeper in their planning if asked to apply the five marks of mission.

“Are there ways that the initiative can move beyond serving human need and move into transforming unjust structure of society? How can you build in sustainability of creation?” he asked.

“The idea is to be intentional,” emphasized Jean Redfield. “The design template is not so much an evaluation tool as it is an attempt to collect best practices as a resource for groups that are considering a mission trip.”

Bishop Gibbs added that articulating guidelines in advance would better prepare people before they jump into a mission trip.

The four Michigan dioceses decided on two areas of collaboration and commitment to mission.

In March 2009, the three bishops (and perhaps the bishop-elect in Northern Michigan) will travel to the Dominican Republic on an exploratory trip to assess deepening some relationships there.

The four dioceses will also launch a reconstruction trip to the Gulf Coast in 2010. Gibbs explained that the new mission guidelines will help prepare the four dioceses for a joint mission trip and that the AMEN planning team will even use a survey to help assess which location—New Orleans or Mississippi—would be the target for such a trip.

Gibbs also explained that the four dioceses will be studying how to prepare a local response to any future Michigan disasters.