What is partnership in mission?
It is walking together - companions on the journey...
The Anglican Consultative Council, at its second meeting held in Dublin in 1973 adopted the principles of Partners in Mission so that Anglican churches could consult and share in God's mission within the larger communion. The following statement was adopted and Partnership in Mission was established:
The missionary task of the Church continues to be that of reconciling people to God, to each other and to the environment.
The oneness of the missionary task throughout the world has been emphasized in recent years in all parts of the Church.
The emergence everywhere of autonomous churches in independent nations has challenged our inherited ideas of mission as a movement from "Christendom" in the West to the "non-Christian" world. In its place has come the conviction that there is but one mission in all the world, and that this one mission is shared by the world-wide Christian community.
The responsibility for mission in any place belongs primarily in that place. However, the universality of the gospel and the oneness of God's mission mean also that this mission must be shared in each and every place with fellow Christians from each and every part of the world with their distinctive insights and contributions.
If we once acted as though there were only givers who had nothing to receive and receivers who had nothing to give, the oneness of the missionary task must now make us all both givers and receivers.
Personalization of mission
In 1986 the World Mission Sub-Committee of the Anglican Church of Canada, recognizing the need to make a mission vital for Canadian Anglicans, adopted the following statement:
We affirm the concept and practice of the personalization of mission. The mission of the church is God's mission. Our call to participate in that mission strengthens our faith, leads to changes in self-understanding, and builds deeper relationships with our partners.
Our response is personal and corporate, near and global. Experiences of international Christian community are essential to growth, hope, and the unity of the Church. Therefore we:
believe that all people are called to be in mission, to reach out and continue to grow, and that the church is called to be the remnant in the society in which it lives.
respect the principles of Partnerships in Mission, and the autonomy and dignity of our partner churches and Canadian dioceses.
support the development or strengthening of the following programs:
- people exchange, and long term exchange of Christian leadership;
- Companion Diocese relationships;
- Volunteers in Mission;
- support for diocesan mission education committees;
- exposure experiences, and support for diocesan exposure experiences;
- diocesan recruitment for overseas service;
- use of public media.
The Ten Principles of Partnership - from the Anglican Consultative Council, February 1993