New appointments announced to Mission Strategy Implementation Organizing Team

Three new appointments have been made to the phase four membership of the Mission Strategy Implementation Organizing Team as it continues its work since last year's Diocesan Convention. 

On June 28 Bishop Alan M. Gates appointed the Rev. Joe Robinson of Christ Church in Cambridge to serve as co-chair with the Rev. Nancy Gossling of the Cathedral Church of St. Paul.  Robinson succeeds Win Treese of St. Elizabeth's Church in Sudbury, who stepped down as co-chair in late May. 

Two current members of Diocesan Council, the Rev. David Fredrickson of Christ Church in Plymouth and Gail Campbell of St. John's Church in Beverly Farms, were also appointed, in July, to serve as Diocesan Council's representatives on the team.  All members of the phase four team will complete their service at Diocesan Convention in November.

The appointments were announced in a July 26 letter from the co-chairs, sent by e-mail to diocesan and parish leaders.  The full text of the letter follows.  Find additional information at www.diomass.org/new-mission-strategy.

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July 26, 2017

Dear People of Our Diocese,

The Phase IV members of the Mission Strategy Implementation Organizing Team continue their work together since our last Diocesan Convention. We are organizing many of the ideas, hopes and passions we learned during Phase II, when we listened to the various voices throughout our diocese. These hopes were then recorded in Phase III and accepted by Convention last November. Currently, we are learning what it means to embrace brave change while we prepare the way for the years ahead of us, and make recommendations to Diocesan Council. Some of you have already begun to implement our mission strategies. Change and transition bring with them feelings of anxiety as well as hope, and so we believe that building relationships of trust through transparency, telling our stories and getting to know each other more fully will make our work together possible.

One of our co-chairs, Win Treese, stepped down from his responsibilities in mission strategy in late May of this year. In order to continue the Phase IV leadership, Bishop Gates appointed the Rev. Joe Robinson, of Christ Church Cambridge, on June 28th to fulfill Win’s term as co-leader with the Rev. Nancy E. Gossling, of our Cathedral Church of St. Paul. All members of the Phase IV team will complete their service at Convention.

In July, Bishop Gates also appointed two current members of Diocesan Council, the Rev. Dave Fredrickson of Christ Church, Plymouth, and  a lay member of Council, Ms. Gail Campbell of St. John’s Church, Beverly Farms to serve as Diocesan Council’s representatives on the Phase IV team.  We look forward to incorporating the gifts that Dave and Gail will bring to our common work.

In November, we will provide Convention with a report that reflects the loving commitment that people across our diocese have poured into this process over these last two years. We expect our work together to continue for many years to come. Whether you gave testimony at a listening session, filled out a survey form, attended an evening meeting for discussion, helped tabulate that data, began to form it into a vision for our future or are part of putting our passions into practice–this is a process of hopes and dreams and brave new change that belongs to all of us. We look forward to communicating our discoveries and new directions, along with the decisions of Diocesan Council, during our annual Convention on November 4. In the meantime, please feel free to contact either one of us.

The Rev. Joe Robinson
The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling