Members of the Mission Support Group (MSG) are called to individual mission, or are in the process of discerning mission. The group provides a place of support and accountability for these individual calls. The calls of MSG members have included: concrete work for peacemaking and justice; mediation; psychotherapy; photography; pastoring; and engagement with issues of poverty and equity.
While MSG does not have a corporate mission, it looks for ways to increase awareness among all Seekers both of the calls of members of the church and of the central place that call has for Seekers. For example, the group invites individuals to share during Circle Time about their sense of call in their lives, and MSG has served as a “clearness committee” for individuals who want assistance in discerning next steps in their lives.
MSG is also a place for people who know they want the support and accountability of a mission group but have either not yet clearly identified their call or do not see in existing mission groups one that matches their sense of call. MSG can be a place to nurture the formation of new mission groups.
MSG meets every week to support each member in his or her call. The group is flexible and willing to accommodate the needs and concerns of its members. Meetings begin with a period of prayer and worship and include sharing by all members about their call and other issues affecting the members’ spiritual lives. The group generally devotes a block of time to other activities in each meeting, such as focusing in depth on the particular call of one member and ways to deepen that call, or analyzing issues of particular concern to Seekers or the larger church. MSG encourages members to engage in disciplines and prepare spiritual reports that are given to the spiritual director.