The Canon's Blog: Out of the Ordinary

I am excited by the future community of the faithful that the Holy Spirit is creating in our very midst. My passion and my calling is to journey with clergy, lay leaders, and congregations who seek to reimagine, revitalize, and continually recreate our churches in their unique communities in response to the abundance that God has given us.

Hurricane Sandy: What We Can Do

Posted by Greg Jacobs on November 6, 2012

Episcopal, Methodist and Presbyterian joint service in Maplewood, Nov. 4, 2012.

Dear Sisters and Brothers:

It’s been almost a week since Hurricane Sandy slammed into the New Jersey/New York coastline wreaking havoc and leaving devastation in her wake. Clean up efforts and power restoration are well underway in many areas, but many of our brothers and sisters both within our congregations and in our communities are nonetheless experiencing frustration, anger, and grief as continued outages, gasoline and food shortages, and delays and difficulties in reaching workplaces and essential destinations become harder to deal with.

Characteristics of a Missional Congregation

Posted by Greg Jacobs on October 2, 2012

Joy! God’s presence is celebrated and embraced by the congregation.

Theology is Indigenous. Congregation knows the God-given mission to which it is called. Practices the Archeology of Hope (God is at work and has planted seeds of hope in the community).

Adaptive and responsive. The congregation’s mission and ministry are always being discerned and are open to change and transformation that is occurring both inside and outside in the community.

What I've Been Reading on the Missional Church

Posted by Greg Jacobs on August 11, 2012

At our Special Convention in June, Bishop Mark and the Mission Strategy Committee distributed copies of Introducing the Missional Church by Alan Roxburgh and M. Scott Boren. Several clergy and vestries are reading it and are planning deep listening conversations (outlined on pages 147 - 155) with their congregations on what God might be up to in their churches and surrounding neighborhoods. Look for a summary outline of the book on our Mission Strategy Committee page. Our congregtional consultants can assist any congregation interested in holding such conversations.

Louie Crew -- Sowing the Seeds of the Good News

Posted by Greg Jacobs on July 10, 2012

Dr. Louie Crew honored at Integrity Eucharist at General Convention 2012

I attended a celebration on Monday night hosted by Integrity, the leading public voice in the Episcopal Church for the full inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons. The celebration was a profound "thank you" to Louie Crew who in 1974 founded the organization based on the simple premise that the Church must be true to God's desire that all God's children are safe, welcomed, and affirmed regardless of sexual orientation. Louie accepted the accolades with the same humility that has marked his ministry from the very beginning.

Structures, Anyone?

Posted by Greg Jacobs on July 7, 2012

The Episcopal Church Center at 815 Second Avenue, New York

The final count was 85. That's how many resolutions the Committee on Structures has been sifting through since the beginning of General Convention. No matter who you talk to -- young, old, white, person of color, well-to-do, not-so-well-off, gay, straight, "conservative," "liberal," lay, clergy, old-timer, or newcomer -- nearly everyone agrees that the present system, whether you call it the National Church, "815," or the Episcopal Church Center, is broken. From the very first day, General Convention has been hit with an avalanche of structure reform resolutions demanding everything from drastically reducing staff, to radically changing the size and scope of General Convention itself, to the Presiding Bishop's alternative budget based on the Five Marks of Mission. And yesterday, the House of Deputies passed a no-nonsense resolution calling for the sale of the Episcopal Church Center building. Restructure. Restructure. Restructure. But is it enough?

General Convention - Day 1

Posted by Greg Jacobs on July 5, 2012

I arrived this afternoon in downtown Indianapolis, site of our 77th General Convention with things well underway. Some legislative committees have already met and concluded their business, having only a few resolutions to consider before handing them off to the houses for their deliberations.

Initial Entry

Posted by Greg Jacobs on June 26, 2012

Dear Friends: