Thoughts on Mission, from the Rev. Marlene Jacobs

[Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota]

When I lived in Peru for a year and traveled to some out of the way places in that country as well as Ecuador and Columbia, I noticed that, almost without exception, every town, village, and city, had what was called a Plaza de Armas (plaza of arms) The Plaza de Armas is a common feature throughout Latin America. It could best be described as the central square. The Plaza de Armas featured a large open area and park in the middle, about the size of a city block. Located on one side was the “place of arms” or the military headquarters. (In Peru the local police and the military were one and the same. ) The only building rivaling the size of the military headquarters was the Catholic Church; always located directly across the square, and if possible on a little higher ground. Around the square were various other government buildings, such as a library, courthouse, post office, newspaper or radio station. Many Plaza de Armas had diagonal sidewalks running through the center of the park taking you to the opposite corner. Clearly the Plaza de Armas was the center of all civic and religious activity, and the center of power – both kinds.

I have seen towns here in Minnesota with a similar layout as the Plaza de Armas of Latin America. One such town is Lake City, built around West side of Lake Pepin. Up on a hill, overlooking the lakeshore and the rest of the town is a square; with a courthouse on one side, a church on the other side, post office, and library to make up the rest of the square. In the case of Lake City, the Episcopal Church and the Lutheran Church are up on the town square. The Catholic Church is down by the mill part of town. Without knowing all of the history of this town I might make some guesses looking on this scene. It looks as though the churches on the town square were built in the same period as the other buildings. Such a church, regardless of the denomination, has a central place in the life of the town; is part of the very establishment of the town. Here in the Midwest, these churches were often built before the courthouse or school. What order the buildings went up also tells us something about the identity of the town.

As these towns and cities were popping up all over the Midwest, the building of churches was a sign of the founders’ devotion and priorities. As the culture and priorities shift, such a church is sometimes seen as a given or a permanent fixture by the larger community. Of course it will always be there. It always has been. It is there when you need it; like the courthouse or the post office. Oddly, in just this way, a church in such a prominent position can struggle with its sense of purpose and mission because it is seen as a part of the established order of things; a longstanding fixture in the community. Such a church can sometimes be forgotten in our daily lives because it si so much a part of the familiar landscape, yet it would be sorely missed if it were to disappear. In contrast, a church built for example, to serve the Polish speaking steel workers in Chicago, will have a very different kind of identity, from its inception and throughout its history.
Likewise, in Peru, the little evangelical or Mormon churches that popped up all over the countryside had a very different feel and identity than the enormous Catholic Church on the Plaza de Armas. Whenever there was a crisis, military coup, or natural disaster, the people flocked en masse to the Plaza de Armas and into Catholic Church, sometimes quite literally for sanctuary, much to the chagrin of the evangelical churches. People flocked to the evangelical churches when they needed instruction for their children, and simple worship every Sunday morning, much to the dismay of the Catholic Church. Bible study attracted people to the evangelical church. On Patron feast days and grand festivals , to the Catholic Church they would go.
Location, history, and even architecture often prescribe the mission of each of these churches whether in far away Peru, or here, in Minnesota.

I have often raised the question at St Paul’s Church, “What is our mission here on the corner of Logan and Franklin Avenues in Minneapolis, Minnesota?” To some it may seem odd that I ask the question in this way. I suspect that in our own times and culture, churches which are seen as a given will struggle, not with identity, but with a sense of purpose and mission. Are they more than a part of a familiar landscape?
Churches that come with a strong sense of mission or cultural-ethnic identity, may in contrast suffer identity crisis when populations change, and for example, the neighborhood is no longer Polish, or Irish, but instead has become primarily Hmong or Somali. Sometimes these churches will recognize the common needs of all new immigrants, and adjust to the change in appearance. They will see themselves in the commandment to “love the stranger and alien for you yourselves were once strangers in the land”. Other times they will cling to their former identity and pick up and move, or eventually blend into the landscape.

So for St Paul’s this questions of mission and purpose seem both timely and critical. When I speak of mission, for some what is brought to mind is “mission status”. I don’t know when it was exactly that both the Roman Catholic and Episcopal churches began using the term mission to describe a church that is unable to financially support itself; but I cannot think of a more unfortunate use of the word “mission”! In the truest sense we are all missions. The first churches in Minnesota were missionary outposts in the wilderness. How might that original identity inform our church today?

In a broad sense the catechism found in our Book of Common Prayer defines the mission of the church in this way: (page 855)
Q. What is the mission of the Church?
A. The mission of the Church is to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ.
Q. How does the Church pursue its mission?
A. The Church pursues its mission as it prays and worships, proclaims the Gospel, and promotes justice, peace, and love.
Q. Through whom does the Church carry out its mission?
A. The Church carries out its mission through the ministry of all its members.