ECMN gathers every September for our yearly Convention. This serves as the official beginning of our program year. We will hold our first Meeting of Elected Bodies (MEB) in October, after delegates to ECMN Convention have elected Trustees, Standing Committee members, and Commission on Ministry members, and after Mission Areas have elected their representatives to Council. This is followed by three other meetings in January, March, and at the end of the program year in June.
The elected bodies are: Council, which is made up of two lay and two clergy from each Mission Area and has the responsibility of resourcing mission, ministry, and management in ECMN; the Commission on Ministry, which is made up of elected and appointed members and has the responsibility of resourcing discernment, formation, and sending of all the baptized; the Standing Committee, which is made up of elected individuals and has the responsibility of resourcing our Canons; and the Trustees, which is made up of elected individuals and has the responsibility of resourcing our properties and Pooled Investment Fund.
MEB begins with time together in mixed table groups for prayer and Gospel Based Discipleship. This time is followed by presentations and discussions on present missional focus such as ending hunger in Minnesota. After a shared lunch, the elected bodies meet in their individual groups for their specific work. Each elected body also has subcommittees that often meet in between the MEBs. The Meetings of Elected Bodies take place at our ECMN Retreat Center on the campus of Shattuck-St. Mary’s.
Each one of our elected bodies is charged with doing critical work with the primary focus of assisting our faith communities in getting the resources they need to engage God’s mission in their context and their culture. ECMN is significantly blessed to have a strong cadre of individuals serving on our elected bodies. Soon, information will be available inviting nominations for Council, Standing Committee, and Trustees. Council members are elected at the individual Mission Area Gatherings. Please consider your gifts and passions and the possibility of serving on one of our elected bodies.