Insights from Scott Elmer to Inspire Our Mission

This weekend’s first reading from the Book of Wisdom concludes with these words:

“[O Lord,] who ever knew your counsel, except you had given wisdom and sent your Holy Spirit from on high? And thus were the paths of those on earth made straight” (Wisdom 9: 18).

Do you know someone who has known the counsel of the Lord and has been given wisdom from the Holy Spirit? I think Scott Elmer, the Chief Mission Officer for the Archdiocese of Denver, is one of those gifted people. And he’s coming to IHM to share his wisdom with us on the evening of September 15th. Scott is leading the archdiocese on a bold new path of evangelization to meet the challenges posed by our secular culture. 

Are you concerned about someone who has drifted away from the Church, or who has never been a member? Do you wonder what our parish can do to help accompany them to Jesus who wants to give them life more abundantly now and forever (cf. John 10:10)? Scott has received some insights about how we can more effectively lead them on this path of life. So I am inviting all our parishioners to come and experience his presentation. 

Apostolic Witness in an Apostolic Age

Monday, September 15, 6:30 pm

IHM Church

What can you expect to learn about? Scott will expound on two different modes of operation for a parish: a maintenance mode and a mission mode. In terms of advancing the kingdom of God, a maintenance mode focusses our efforts on the territory we already occupy as we try to keep it safe and secure. A mission mode focuses our efforts on territory we are trying to gain. 

He will explain the difference between the Era of Christendom and the Post-Christian Era which has things in common with the time of the first Christian apostles; thus, we are calling it an Apostolic Era. He will describe how the Church typically engages with the society around it, either in a Christendom mode or in an Apostolic mode. A Christendom mode of engagement assumes that the imaginative vision of society is similar to or the same as that of the Church. An Apostolic mode of engagement assumes that the imaginative vision of society is different and possibly hostile to the Church. 

Based on these distinctions, Scott will elaborate upon four different ways in which the Church can approach her ministry. The first two may sound familiar to you. The last two will present some novel and exciting possibilities which only the Holy Spirit could have enlightened Scott to discern. 

God has placed us in the Church during this Apostolic time, and He’s empowering us to minister in an Apostolic mode. Which means we need to move from maintenance to mission. This is how we will reach those who have drifted away from the Church and those who were never members. So come and hear the insights of Scott Elmer which are setting a new path of evangelization for the Archdiocese of Denver. May his presentation inspire each of us to make our own the words of St. Joan of Arc: “I am not afraid. God is with me. I was born for this.”