Bishop Announces New Diocesan Missioners
The Rt. Rev. Deon Johnson is creating several new missional positions throughout The Diocese of Missouri to help bring our new Strategic Vision to life. He made the following announcements during our annual convention on November 20, 2021:
We are a diocese on the move, ain’t no stopping us now! As we move and grove with God into the future, there are several areas of ministry that our Strategic Visioning has invited us to live more intentionally into a collaborative model of ministry. To better build networks and bridges across the Diocese, I am appointing new missioners to enable us to better connect and collaborate.
Missioners
Missioner for Jubilee Ministries: The Rev. Dn. Barbi Click - St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Carondelet
The Missioner for Jubilee Ministry seeks to be a convener of our mission to stand with those who life at the margins. This is a social justice ministry of advocacy and service for the poor, oppressed, and marginalized within the Diocese of Missouri. This is a ministry to encourage and empower communities of faith within the diocese to advocate and act towards meeting the basic human needs of those on the margins. The Missioner will serve along side the Hunger Task Force of the Diocese.
Missioner for Racial Reconciliation and Justice: The Rev. Shug Goodlow - St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, Ellisville
Racial Reconciliation and Justice is a social justice and equity ministry of advocacy and service toward reconciling all people to God and one another. This is a ministry to promote and publicize the work of racial reconciliation and to offer opportunities for individuals and communities of faith to engage in the necessary work of acknowledging, naming, engaging, and dismantling systems of oppression born of chattel slavery within the Diocese of Missouri. The Missioner will serve as a part of the newly constituted Leadership Team of the Dismantling Racism Commission.
Missioner for Indigenous Ministry Engagement: The Rev. Leslie Scoopmire - St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, Ellisville
The Episcopal Diocese of Missouri, like much of the Episcopal Church, was built on the ancestral lands of Indigenous/First Nations people. As a step towards seeking acknowledgement and repentance, the Missioner for Indigenous Ministry Engagement is to assist the Diocese as we seek to intentionally remember, recognize and reconcile the harmful past while forging new relationships in connection with our Indigenous siblings.
Missioner for Hispanic/Latino Ministry Engagement: The Rev. Dr. Valori Mulvey Sherer - Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Webster Groves
The Missioner for Hispanic/Latino ministry is responsible for advocacy and for oversight of Hispanic/Latino ministry in the Diocese. The primary role of the Missioner shall be to work with the Diocese to promote, encourage, create, enhance, and develop opportunities for ministry among people of Hispanic and Latino cultural backgrounds.
Missioner for Creation Care and Stewardship: Parker Williams - Holy Cross Episcopal Church, Poplar Bluff
The Missioner for Creation Care & Stewardship is tasked with mobilizing a wave of religious activism within and beyond the diocese to protect and heal God’s Creation. The Missioner is to invite us as a Diocesan household to recapture our original mandate as stewards of creation.
Missioner for LGBTQIA Ministry Engagement: Bren O'Connor - Christ Church Cathedral, St. Louis
While The Episcopal Church has long embraced the gifts of the LGBTQIA+ community, Christianity as a whole has caused hurt and harm. The Missioner for LGBTQIA+ Engagement is tasked with reaching out beyond the Diocese to represent the Bishop and Diocese of Missouri at gatherings to promote the full inclusion of LGBTQIA+ person while being an advocate within the Diocese to further dismantle barriers to the full expression of the ministry of the church.
Missioner for Rural Communities: The Rev. Annette Joseph - Christ Episcopal Church, Cape Girardeau and St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Sikeston
The Diocese of Missouri has many congregations in rural communities who have a history of feeling left out or less important than our urban parishes. The Missioner for Rural Communities will help create connections for those congregations and lift up their ministries. She will also help introduce new opportunities for our rural communities to grow in faith, regardless of the size of the congregation.
I look forward to officially commissioning these new missioners in early 2022 and I am tremendously grateful for their willingness to serve.
Tags: 2021 Convention