The Biblical Association for the Church of Ireland has launched its Bible studies for Lent 2018. As the Father sent me, so I send you is designed to foster a biblical approach to the Anglican Communion’s Five Marks of Mission. It consists of Bible studies by five writers.
The writers are Canon Paul Houston, the Rev. Jack Kinkead, Philip McKinley, David Ritchie, and the Rev. Lesley Robinson.
The Five Marks of Mission were formulated in the Anglican Communion in 1984 and have been emphasized in the Church of Ireland in recent years. The five studies focus in turn on the Tell, Teach, Tend, Transform, and Treasure aspects of mission, moving from the teaching and pastoral care required after initial conversion to the wider social and environmental challenges of the gospel.
Archbishop Michael Jackson said that the invitation to make disciples involves more than recruiting members: “It is about affirming people who are already doing good and interesting and godly things.”
“Each of these studies draws in reflection, Scripture, commentary, and prayer so as to comprehensively engage with the Five Marks of Mission,” the archbishop said. “The Marks of Mission are not exclusive of each other. In doing one you might be doing two or three. Mission is exciting. It is also an intrinsic part of our relationship with our neighbor.”
Copies of the studies are available at £2.25 or €2.50 each. They are available from larger cathedral bookshops or by post from the Book Well in Belfast or via email from Barbara Bergin, treasurer of the Biblical Association for the Church of Ireland.
Adapted from the Biblical Association for the Church of Ireland
Matthew Townsend is a Halifax-based freelance journalist and volunteer advocate for survivors of sexual misconduct in Anglican settings. He served as editor of the Anglican Journal from 2019 to 2021 and communications missioner for the Anglican Diocese of Quebec from 2019 to 2022. He and his wife recently entered catechism class in the Orthodox Church in America.
