“Joining God’s Mission in Tension Times” will be the theme of next year’s Missio, the 2024 Global Mission Conference for the Episcopal Church to be convened online by the Global Episcopal Mission Network (GEMN), March 20-22. The Wednesday-Friday gathering will be held from noon to 3pm Eastern on each of the three days.
The tension, danger and violence that are facts of life in many parts of the world call for missional engagement but also raise important questions: How much missional risk should individuals, congregations, organizations and dioceses undertake? Are there creative ways to engage in mission in danger zones? The 2024 online conference will hear from mission companions in threatened parts of the world and from Episcopal missioners who have devised ways to respond and engage.
The theme, dates and format were among the decisions made by the GEMN Board at its October and November meetings. Acting on the recommendation of the network’s conference planning team, the Board renamed the annual conference Missio, the Latin word for mission. The 2024 dates occur in the week before Palm Sunday.
In deciding that next year’s Missio will be online, the Board recognized the importance of in-person gatherings, especially with the experience of the post-pandemic Missio that was held this year at St. Mark’s Church in Tampa, Florida (see photo above). Meeting in person encourages friendship and promotes collaboration. The online format for 2024 was made in light of other events in the spring and General Convention in the summer.
For Missio after 2024, the Board designated Wednesday-Friday in the second week of Easter as the gathering time. Thus in 2025 Missio will be held April 30-May 2; in 2026, April 16-18; in 2027, April 6-8; and so on.
Locations will be determined soon for 2025 and 2026. GEMN has sought to hold Missio outside the continental United States once every three years: Colombia in 2013, Puerto Rico in 2016, and the Dominican Republic in 2019, after which the coronavirus pandemic intervened. An international location is being explored for 2025, followed by a domestic U.S. diocese in 2026.
Registration for the 2024 Missio will open in December or in early January.
The purpose of GEMN is to gather, inspire and equip people to participate in God’s global mission. Its core values are humility, inclusion and companionship. The network includes dioceses, mission organizations, congregations, seminaries, religious orders and individuals.