From the Bishop

Dear Partners in Ministry,

I am pleased to announce the formation of the next Partnership for Missional Church (PMC) cluster in our synod. The first cluster meeting is scheduled for May 4-5, so responses to this invitation are needed immediately and will be limited. Pastor Len Dale and others are ready to answer questions, and meet with congregational leaders as needed.

Our experience over the past six years with 26 congregations in two PMC Clusters has proved invaluable. PMC is not simply another program or strategic mission planning event. Pastors and lay leaders soon realize the three-year PMC process is complicated and challenging work that guides congregations with the help of various spiritual disciplines to make adaptive missional changes in their ever changing context.

PMC cluster events are structured to provide time for pastors on Friday, congregational sharing on Friday evening, teaching on Saturday morning and planning on Saturday after lunch.

Year One is about learning to listen—to God, to one another, to the people in the community around the congregation. Year Two is about inventing and taking risks through missional experiments. It is about experimenting with new approaches to reach others with the Good News of Jesus. Year Three is about focusing and organizing around what has been learned. It is about putting into the congregational system the things that have been learned through the PMC process.

The outcomes are exciting, unpredictable, rewarding, frustrating, and discouraging all at the same time. As congregations take risks, learn from others, dwell in the Word, and process what is happening, the Spirit of God does wonderful things. Congregations that stick to the disciplines of the process soon find themselves energized spiritually and thinking more deeply about God’s call to us through the Good News of Jesus Christ.

The cost of PMC is $3,000 per year per congregation, plus the cost of attending three cluster events a year. With the help of the fund appeal, and other partners, we will work to keep the costs to a minimum.

This PMC Cluster is also open to congregations from other church bodies. If there is a neigh-boring congregation, possibly from a Full Communion partner, that might entertain the possibility of participation in PMC, we encourage you to explore those possibilities. Please let me or Len Dale know of such congregations that we might have conversations with their respective bishop, conference minister or executive presbyter.

Congregations in a parish setting are encouraged to speak with Len Dale so that costs might be agreed upon that would be manageable to all the congregations in the parish.

The first Cluster event will be May 4 and 5, and the location is tentatively set for Kansas City. The place,

however, could change depending on the congregational make up of the PMC Cluster.

We will also schedule a half day pre-cluster event for pastors and council members who can attend in order help clarify what will be happening in the PMC process. We have learned that the congregations who did not benefit from the process did not have clarity about their involvement.

If you are interested in more information, contact Len Dale by calling the synod office or by email, ldale@css-elca.org. He will be happy to come for a visit or answer your questions. You may also go to our synod website for video and more information from those who have been in the process (http://css-elca.org). And for additional information about Partnership for Missional Church on the Church Innovations website, visit www.churchinnovations.org/01_services/pmc.html.
In order to get our pre-cluster meeting scheduled we will need to close registration at the end of February.

Finally, it is good to know what others have said about the PMC process. The following is a partial list of some of the learning identified by leaders of congregations in the last cluster at St. Louis:

“Pass On-Able” Habits
St. Louis PMC Cluster
Phase 1 - Discovering
Dwelling in the word
Importance of listening, planning for listening and slowing down to do it
Embedding dwelling in the word in the life of the congregation
Respecting, and reflecting on where we’ve been, where we are and where we are going
Having congregational conversations intentionally
Accepting hospitality from those other than ourselves
Learning to move from a “fix it” mentality to a discovering mentality

Phase 2 – Experimenting
Keeping on reflecting on what it means to learn from experiments
Learning to develop discernible habits that engage hospitality
Using the talents of the congregation in more experiments and being more open to shaping and using the gifts in the congregation
Doing effective plunging into our community
More intentional listening
Keeping in front of the congregation opportunities that come from experiments
Increasing our communication
Developing new relationships in the community
Having excellent failures

Phase 3 – Focusing
Focusing on missional patterns
Being accountable to keep coming back to mission
Keep opening opportunities
Developing stronger ties to the community through connections made

At a Conference of Bishops Meeting with the eight seminary presidents last October, one of the speakers quoted Tom Gillespy, State Demographer of Minnesota: The people who put their energy into getting back to how things were are lost. The people who look to the future to see what might be possible are the people to whom the future belongs.

PMC is about the future. It is about helping congregations find their way forward into God’s preferred (law) and promised (Gospel) future. I hope you will give thoughtful and prayerful consideration to being part of this cluster of congregations in Partnership for Missional Church.

Gerald L. Mansholt
Bishop

PRIVILEGES FOR FEBRUARY

Greeters

2/5      Gale Hankins & Valerie Trigger
2/12    Bill Darr & Ernie Franke
2/19    John & Carol Watson
2/22    TBA
2/26    Alice Lindahl & Linda Darr

Ushers

2/5      David & Yvonne Salmon
2/12    Valeria Trigger & Valeeta Lucas
2/19    Tom & June Eagan
2/22    TBA
2/26    Dennis Schnell & Joye Conklin

Lectors

2/5      Joye Conklin
2/12    Donna Garcia
2/19    Gabe Newman
2/22    TBA
2/26    Carol Petznick

Cantors

2/5      Alice Lindahl
2/12    Merl Teigen
2/19    Alice Lindahl
2/22    TBA
2/26    Merl Teigen

Acolytes

2/5      Houston Orr
2/12    Jacob Black
2/19    Doug Adolphson
2/22    TBA
2/26    Sammy Brauer

Altar Guild

            Connie Teigen

Offering Counters

Military Personnel:  Gabe Alvord, Michael Best, Bryan Collver, Geoffry Collver, Melvin Leonard, Shane Martin, Derek McDonald, Will Oliva, Nick Poe, Nick Sanford, Rod Severence

If you have been omitted from the birthday list, please contact the Church office at 331-5465 so we can correct our records. JCR