New field assignments: Excited for the future

By Shannon McAdam, Canada West Mission Centre Co-President

On Monday, new field assignments were announced that will come into effect if all anticipated calls are accepted at our upcoming Community of Christ World Conference. You can read the announcement here.

There are a lot of things that excite me about this new configuration, so I wanted to share that with you!

Exciting Thing #1: Shared Leadership!
​As part of a three-person Mission Centre President team, I have learned to deeply appreciate the shared leadership model. It makes the work feel less lonely and provides people to bounce ideas off of and share burdens with.

I’m really excited to be working with Lachlan MacKay. Lach has dual USA and Australian citizenship, so is a fellow member of the Commonwealth! We are both eager to explore how we can best support our new, diverse mission field.

Additionally, we will collaborate with the USA Apostle team to support mission in the USA. I think it will be great to have a Canadian voice in that mix to broaden horizons and forge cross-cultural connections.

Exciting Thing #2: A Diverse Mission Field
I’m excited that Lach and I will get to serve a diverse yet unified group of church members around the world. The mission centres in our field have many things in common, and we are already looking for ways to make connections between them.
​
Especially in our current global political climate, transcending borders to build relationships is incredibly important.

Exciting Thing #3: Solid Foundations
The Apostles who have previously been assigned to the various mission centres in our new field have done a wonderful job in providing ministry and building solid foundations for the future.

Each area has been working on how to re-imagine church as we move forward in an ever-changing world, and I’m excited to build on what Art, Mareva, and Richard have all worked so hard at.

Exciting Thing #4: New Opportunities for Mission
With all these solid foundations, it is even more exciting to look at where the new opportunities lie. It is also exciting to have Karin Peter and Joelle Wight, presidents of 70, as our partners in mission. Their wisdom and enthusiasm will be a gift to this field.

Things like refugee ministry and creative new expressions of the church are emerging in many places. I cannot wait to see what new things will continue to grow as we foster a focus on mission across the church through these new field assignments.

I hope you, too, are excited for what is to come!