At its June meeting on Zoom, GEMN’s Board of Directors began focusing on seven priorities on which to make substantial progress before its October retreat at the Community of St. John the Baptist in Mendham, New Jersey:
• Planning Missio 2027, the annual mission conference to be held online, April 6-8, with locally organized in-person gatherings of attendees.
• Helping previously uninvolved dioceses and seminaries to explore engaging in global mission.
• Collaborating effectively with the Public Policy, Partnerships and Witness Office, the Standing Commission on World Mission, the Global Mission Advocates Network, and mission networks in other Anglican provinces.
• Planning the next iterations of the Mission Formation Program, both online and in person.
• Collaborating with seminaries, agencies and dioceses to make GEMN’s resources in mission theology and practice available to them.
• Defining clearly the role and benefits of GEMN membership.
• Making the Board of Directors more effective.
These seven priorities were selected from the Board’s 2029 Desired Future State, the strategic plan the Board developed at its October 2025 retreat at the Church of St. Gregory of Nyssa in San Francisco. At the July, August and September Board meetings, work on the seven priorities was carried out by Board members working in pairs, which then reported their deliberations in plenary.
“What excites you about being involved in God’s global mission?” was a discussion question introduced by President Nancy Searby at the July meeting. Participants shared their experiences and perspectives, highlighting the joy of encountering cultural and linguistic differences, learning about God through diverse experiences, and witnessing spiritual transformation in both themselves and the communities they serve. The discussion emphasized the value of cross-cultural relationships in deepening understanding of God and connecting with people both locally and globally.
Challenges of colonialism and imperialism in mission was the subject executive director Titus Presler’s opening devotion in July, which contrasted those modes with Jesus’ Beatitudes – “Blessed are the meek” and “Blessed are the peacemakers.” Existing legacies for mission are further complicated today by imperial actions of the USAmerican government. He noted that all colonialism is imperial, but not all imperialism is colonial, imperialism being a broader pattern of political, economic, military and cultural domination.
The GEMN Board meets via Zoom for two hours on the first Tuesday of each month.
The fall retreat in Mendham will be held Oct. 6-9. The Community of St. John the Baptist, an Episcopal women’s monastic order has a mission relationship with an orphanage in Cameroon, which was featured at GEMN’s Mission Thursday in February 2024. In addition to the priorities noted above, the Board will plan its presence at next year’s General Convention in Phoenix.
