Vision, Mission for the Department of Missions

In 2003, Bishop Richard Shimpfky asked me to become the Convener for the
Department of Intercultural Evangelism and Ministry
(DIEM)
of the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real (ECR). Since then, in addition to its day-to-day work, DIEM has been discussing its vision and mission, plus how to improve the structure, policies and procedures, financial and administrative oversight, and support for our diocesan
missions. At ECR’s convention in October 2006, a new diocesan structure was
approved, including a change in DIEM. After the October 2007 convention, DIEM will
be renamed the Department of Missions (DOM) with a new charter. We have been
discussing and composing our charter documents since October 2006.

At DIEM’s meeting last Saturday, we approved the following Vision and Mission
statements along with our proposed new structure for DOM. We are looking forward
to making this vision real with the help of our new Bishop-elect
Mary Gray-Reeves.

Department of Missions: Vision

• That a rich variety of congregations be developed to include diversity in language and culture.
• That congregations will intentionally worship and work across cultural lines, listening to and learning from each other, collaborating and working to fulfill the
  Great Commission.
• That the diocese will encourage and support the spiritual and organizational growth of its new and existing mission congregations while respecting the need for good stewardship of both mission and diocesan resources.
• That mission congregations will be encouraged and supported to grow toward parish status to the greatest extent possible.

Department of Missions: Mission

We seek to serve and equip the people of the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real for ministry in our multi-ethnic society, by providing:

• Oversight of missions, including financial and organizational management
• Resources and financial accountability for missions (including distribution of
  budgeted diocesan funding for operations)
• Practical ideas and information for missions, especially for those sharing a campus with another congregation
• Help to plant new congregations and develop existing missions
• Assistance in developing partnerships between congregations of different ethnicities and among individuals and churches ministering to specific groups
• Awareness and proposals for response to demographic patterns and shifts within our diocese (racial, ethnic, language, and other patterns)
• Visibility for missions and promotion of their wider participation in diocesan convention and operations
• Support for verbal and written translation services to communicate with diocesan congregations in their primary language (as needed) and avoid barriers to participation. This is of particular importance for diocesan press releases, Bishop’s monthly messages, pastoral letters, convention summaries, major policy documents, diocesan surveys, and similar official communications.

We wrote the first versions of these vision and mission statements in 2004.
I am delighted to have them done, approved, and published at last on the
DIEM web page. On this day before the

American Independence holiday celebrating the

Declaration of Independence, I feel a small shadow of the satisfaction
Thomas Jefferson
must have felt when everyone signed, 231 years ago tomorrow.