Missionary
Our Covenant Relationship
Welcome To Our “Affiliated Missionary” At Memorial Presbyterian Church
Ch-Ch Change in Chicago: New Name, Location and Model
Our mission partner Wicker Park Grace and affiliated missionary Reverend Nanette Sawyer have experienced many changes in the recent past. They moved to a new location called the Rumble arts Center in Humboldt Park. Their new names is Grace Commons. Grace Commons will continue its commitment to being a welcoming community "centered in a generous and dynamick Christianity" while also exploring ways to partner with/in the larger Rumble Arts and Humboldt Park communities. In addition, the Presbytery of Chicago reviewed its New Church development policy manuals and endorsed Grace Commons as its first missional faith community. Using a similar framework from Broad Street Ministries in the Presbytery of Philadelphia, here's a working definition of faith community: it exists to love, serve, challenge, pray and struggle alongside the surrounding community where it finds itself called into being by God; engages a theology that is compatible with the Reformed tradition; gathers regularly wor ship, for opportunities to explore Christian discipleship and spiritual formation and to follow Jesus Christ has a plan for spiritual and worship leadership that is appropriately equipped for leadership and faithfully compensated; has an identifiable and recognized lay leadership and a faithful and accountable governance structure; has an outgoing commitment to mission planning and to communicating a vision for ministry that may include leadership training, growth, evangelism and a commitment to engagement with he community in which it serves; has a realistic financial plan for sustaining its ministry.
As our Affiliated Missionary, Nanette Sawyer will receive our financial assistance to help support her salary in this unique and critically important outreach. As is our custom at Memorial
Presbyterian, we will continue to receive an offering for “our” missionary on each communion Sunday. We will be hearing much more from Nanette in the future as we anticipate a growing relationship between our congregation and the “mission field” of Grace Commons. Thanks be to God!