Gathering at God's Table: The Meaning of Mission in the Feast of Faith

do more than sit around and pray. Throughout the

Gospel and throughout history people of faith

have been quite literally booted out into the world

to bring God's love to everybody, not just a selected

few. That's the meaning of mission from the Latin

missio, it means simply to send out. Understood in

this sense, mission is at the heart of a faithful life.

Katharine Jefferts Schori's new book explores

the meaning of mission in the context of contemporary

life. It is organized around the Anglican

Communion's Five Marks of Mission: proclaim the

good news of the kingdom of God; teach, baptize,

and nurture new believers; respond to human need

with loving service; transform unjust structures of

society; and care for the earth.

Jefferts Schori emphasizes the ecumenical

networks that work to send God's love out into

the world. As she insists, mission is not inwardly

focused, but reaches out to the whole of creation.