Invited to Abundant Life

An Invitation from Bishop Cathleen Bascom

“I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

John 10:10b

Dear Beloved Members of the Diocese of Kansas,

Our complex experiences in the first decades of the 21^st century make clear the need of all people and the creation itself to realize the abundant life God desires for us. Jesus, our Good Shepherd, invites us into this abundant life; commands us to bear the invitation to others; and sends us into the places we live and work to transform them into places of abundant life.

We invite parishes, minsters, and new expression communities in our diocese to engage in reflection about your identity and your unique calling. We are blessed in Kansas with vital communities of all sizes and shapes. Parish worshipping communities are primary in our call to experience and share abundant life. We pray this study may help parishes discern their unique identity and empower their gifts to share abundant life in their context. In this century, some local parishes may find that they are called to collaborate more fully with the nearby parishes of their minster to bear abundant life more fruitfully in their part of Kansas. Bands of faithful followers – whether they have been a parish or are a new community – may discern God calling them to become a New Expression Community, living their life in Christ not centered in a church building but in homes, outdoors, or in other settings.

The study that follows borrows heavily from a resource created by the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont (which also owes material to the Episcopal Diocese of Spokane), but it is adapted to fit the history and ministry realities of the Diocese of Kansas.

This guide offers a process of discernment for you to ask timely and critical questions about the vocation and future of your parish, minster, or new expression community. We believe this resource can help us discover a vibrant future of ministry together as the Body of Christ in the Diocese of Kansas.

Peace and blessings,
Bishop Cathleen