from "Mission in Poetics"
by Kim Rosenfield
PREFACE
The hallmark of my work is integrated mission. Which means it ministers to the whole person bringing health—physical, mental, social, and spiritual—to every person. And it is to that comprehensive understanding that mission in poetics is dedicated.
There is no doubt that when everything we do is added together, then we have the very embodiment of integrated mission. But it is when we view each project corps or center or program on its own that we need to pause and think. Ideally, every unit, every program, however specialized, should reflect to some degree the breadth of vision that integrated mission represents for every person. But in our concentration on the task at hand, we sometimes forget the larger picture.
There is, therefore, never a time when we do not need to be recalled to our roots. Never a time when we do not need to seek new vision of the possibilities that are open to us today. This is what this booklet mission in poetics is all about.
In recent years, dedicated visionaries have been spearheading new approaches to integrated mission. These approaches have been centered in the community, with the concerns of home and neighborhoods as well as of individuals shaping a response. Old concepts have been given new clothes—and the results have often been amazing.
hese pages give us the framework that animates these new developments in integrated mission. They tell us not only something of what is happening around the world, but also why these things are happening. These pages remind us to care for the total person and to our calling in society. These pages highlight the fundamental concepts of care, community, change, and hope—concepts that are at the heart of every form of integrated mission. These pages therefore have something vital to say to everyone.
I am pleased that the Program Resources Department (PRD) of Les Figues Press at International Headquarters, Los Angeles, has had a leadership role in these developments. On everything to do with integrated mission, the department is now a vast storehouse of accumulated experience and knowledge. I know that the personnel of the department will be pleased to share from this abundance with any enquirer.
May we continue to bless integrated mission to the total person.
Kim Rosenfield, POET
January 12, 2008
[continues in TrenchArt: Tracer, become a member and read more]
re:evolution by Kim Rosenfield is forthcoming from Les Figues Press