Patrick Comerford
The USPG conference in High Leigh this week came to an end after our ‘Sending Eucharist’ today. Many theologians speak of mission as sending. The South African theologian David Bosch says the ‘classical doctrine on the missio Dei’ is rooted in ‘God the Father sending the Son, and God the Father and the Son sending the Spirit’ and ‘the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit sending the church into the world.’
He writes in Transforming Mission: ‘Our mission has not life of its own: only in the hands of the sending God can it truly be called mission. Not least since the missionary initiative comes from God alone … Mission is thereby seen as a movement from God to the world; the church is viewed as an instrument for that mission. There is church because there is mission, not vice versa.’
He says: ‘To participate in mission is to participate in the movement of God's love toward people, since God is a fountain of sending love.’
So, ‘Sending Eucharist’ was an appropriate description of our closing worship today at the High Leigh Conference Centre in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire. As the ‘Sending Eucharist’ came to a conclusion, we were sent out with a ‘Sending Out’ prayer from Common Worship Times and Seasons:
Empowered by the Holy Spirit, will you dare to walk into God’s future, trusting him to be your guide?
By the Spirit’s power, we will.
Will you dare to embrace each other and grow together in love?
We will.
Will you dare to share your riches in common and minister to each other in need?
We will.
Will you dare to pray for each other until your hearts beat with the longings of God?
We will.
Will you dare to carry the light of Christ into the world’s dark places?
We will.
Bishop Dalcy Badeli Dlamini of Eswatini, who presided at the Eucharist, has been leading the Bible studies throughout the week. The new chair of USPG, Bishop David Walker of Manchester, was the preacher. I was invited to lead the intercessions alongside Carol Miller, the USPG Church Engagement Manager.
In our Bible study earlier this morning, Bishop Dalcy led our discussions with the passage: ‘He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing’ (Deuteronomy 10: 18).
She challenged us with five questions:
1, What is your understanding of the phrase defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing’?
2, How does this understanding shape your ministry approach to the vulnerable and marginalised in your context?
3,What practical ways can the church apply to minister to the vulnerable and marginalised in today’s context?
4, How can you implement the principles of justice, love and compassion found in Deuteronomy 10: 18 to create a community without borders?
5, What challenges or hindrances might you face in living out the call to embrace justice love and compassion as you minister to the vulnerable and strangers in your context, and how can you overcome them?
Her closing comment this morning was a quotation from Nelson Mandela: ‘I am because you are.’
Bishop David Walker of Manchester took office as chair of USPG later this morning when he chaired a panel discussion at which we asked ‘What’s Next?’ and ‘Can we unite beyond borders?’ The panellists included many of this week’s speakers.
We began this morning with Morning Worship led by George Hesketh from Liverpool, a member of the Tsedaqah Community (Triangle of Hope), a missional community based at Liverpool Cathedral and made up of young people living together in community for a year.
I am now on my back to Stony Stratford. I took a train from Broxbourne to Cambridge, and now there are bus journeys to Bedford and to Milton Keynes before I get home.
