Registration is now open for the 2021 Global Mission Conference sponsored by GEMN online via Zoom, Thursday-Saturday, April 22-24, on the theme, “Earthkeeping: Creation Care in Global Mission.” Register here.
Climate change and ecological degradation constitute the major planetary crisis of our time. How can Christians in global mission engage with the crisis through the Creator God, the Redeeming Christ and the Empowering Spirit? What can our mission companions around the world teach us about climate justice, and how can we collaborate with them?
As the Global Mission Conference addresses these urgent questions, mission activists from around the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion are encouraged to attend.
The conference is organized on a 3-3-3 pattern: 3 3-hour sessions over the course of 3 days: Earth Day, which is April 22, followed by the 23rd and 24th. The times are the same each day: 10am-1pm Pacific, 1-4pm Eastern, 6-9pm GMT, 8-11pm South Africa.
Attendance at the conference is by donation. There is no fee, yet attendees are encouraged to make a donation as they are able, especially to become a GEMN member. There will also be opportunity to contribute to ecological justice projects in various parts of the world.
Plenary speakers include:
- Canon Dr. Rachel Mash of Green Anglicans in South Africa and the Anglican Communion Environmental Network will speak on forming mission companionship for climate justice.
- The Rev. Leon Sampson of Navajoland will share how Native American spirituality can inform missional creation care.
- The Rev. Dr. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas of Western Massachusetts will explore a theology and spirituality of creation care.
- Bishop Orlando Gomez of Costa Rica will share from the experience of his diocese in caring for the creation and promoting climate justice in Latin America.
- The Rev. Melanie Mullen, director of reconciliation, justice and creation care for the Episcopal Church, will relate creation care to racial justice and global mission.
Workshops in breakout rooms include:
- “Repairing the Earth through a Carbon-Offset Partnership,” led by the Rev. Jeff Gill of Olympia, who will present how Olympia and Southern Philippines are collaborating in the Carbon Offset Cooperative Mission.
- “Creation Care in Haiti: What Does That Mean?” led by Janet and the Rev. Donnel O’Flynn, who will discuss opportunities and obstacles from their work as Episcopal Volunteers in Mission in Haiti.
- “Call Waiting? Discerning a Missionary Vocation,” led by Elizabeth Boe, mission personnel officer in the Office of Global Partnerships of the Episcopal Church.
- “Best Practices for Mission Teams,” led by Bill Kunkle, an experienced mission team leader who has led over 500 short-term mission trips during his experience with the Diocese of the Dominican Republic.
This year’s conference picks up GEMN’s initiative from last year’s Global Mission Conference, which was canceled in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. The experience of successful GEMN online offerings, such as the Mission Formation Program and Mission Thursdays, as well as many online conferences around the church, makes GEMN confident that this conference will ignite and inspire the joy of God’s mission amid the planetary crisis.