You are here

Joining with God during the season of Advent

Bishop Beckwith's Online Book Discussion during Advent

Today is the first Sunday of Advent, the beginning of a new church year. To mark this liturgical season, I am re-reading Missional: Joining God in the Neighborhood by Alan Roxburgh. I invite you to read it with me. I will be blogging my reflections about it regularly during these next four weeks.

Alan is an Anglican priest who lives in Vancouver, Canada. He is one of the key leaders and thinkers in the missional movement. Our diocese has contracted with his organization, The Missional Network, to work with various teams of clergy, lay people and congregations across the diocese. Al will be our featured speaker at our Diocesan Convention in late January.

"Engaging the World: What is God up to?" is the theme of our Diocesan Convention. It turns out to be a parallel theme of Al's book. So often our focus is on what the church is up to – which is indeed important and valuable.

Discerning what God is up to is a bit different. It takes us out of the familiar confines of the church to see what God is up to in our neighborhoods – and then bring those insights and reflections back into the community of church for the sake of transformation.

"Missional: Joining God in the Neighborhood" by Alan Roxburgh is available through online book sellers.

Add new comment

Our comment policy requires that you use your real first and last names and provide an email address (your email will not be published). The Communications Office of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark reserves the right not to publish comments that are posted anonymously or that we deem do not foster respectful dialogue.