Most People

At a recent meeting, it was noted that, according to research conducted by the Rev. Dr. Samuel Torvend at Pacific Lutheran University, 70% of the population of the Pacific Northwest is second-generation unchurched. I suggested that we keep that fact in mind whenever we hold our community conversations during Epiphany; that each of us have an elevator speech about what the Episcopal Church is that we can deliver during these conversation. After all, there is a 70% chance that our conversation partners will be unchurced.

Someone objected to the use of that term as being negative. Others agreed. The other term often bandied about is “nones”, i.e. those who would write “none” when asked their religious affiliation. We all agreed that those two terms were negative, even if not intentionally so, and that they tended to reinforce the us-them divide.

After some back and forth about those terms and how we might better describe those who have no faith background, it occurred to me that there is a very accurate, value-neutral term that describes them perfectly: “most people.” We laughed at the time, but I think using that term can help us find the layout of church walls in our own lives.

Although we can't assume that most people have an accurate knowledge of the Episcopal church in Western Washington, most people I know have a high regard for it. Most people I know, while perhaps they can't name specifics, have told me to the effect that the Episcopal Church has an excellent reputation.

Most people I know aren't religious. Or perhaps more accurately, most people I know aren't aware that they are. Religious impulses are human impulses, and if most people don't find an existing structure or mechanism for realizing those impulses, I assure you they will make something up. I've seen that happen at every so-called “civil” wedding ceremony I've attended.

While no one is suggesting tearing down actual church walls (that would be structural, and here at OCW we don't do structure!), I think it is vital that we communicate everything we do to most people. If we don't do that, we are expecting most people to read our minds. That's not only unrealistic, its passive.

This communication can be individual, as we interact with most people we know in our own lives. It can also be corporate, as we embark on community conversations throughout the diocese in our community conversations. It can also be by example, as most people we know will be evaluating the Episcopal Church based on how they see us living our lives within the larger community of this region and the world.

Merry Christmas!
Brad

This Christmas Season

A short blog with a long linked article! OCW recently shared surveys that indicate the number of people in the United States who believe in God and who are connected to a specific religion and attend/belong to a specific church has been dropping steadily since the 1960s. A new poll from Pew Research now shows similar trends with those who celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday vs. a cultural one—also dropping over the years! This is not surprising, but in this season of Christmas it again reminds us that we who want to connect with those in our own communities of the challenge we face.

It is one thing to desire to connect with those around us; it is another thing to believe this will be an easy task with others who have the same religious Christian perspective as we do—because many do not!

Let’s all enjoy our Christmas season, remembering those we know and do not know, who struggle with daily living, and resolve to think as openly as we can in our ministry to connect with others going forward.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/18/christmas-non-religious_n_4453828.html?utm_hp_ref=christianity

Jim

Form Will Follow Function

The Episcopal Church has a problem, and so we have a taskforce. The problem is declining relevance and impact for God, and the proposed path to a solution is the Taskforce for Reimagining the Episcopal Church. You can find a recent letter from them here. The taskforce is focused on the structure of the church.

In the Diocese of Olympia we share this broader problem. Many people are searching for God-inspired solutions in Western Washington – individuals, congregations, governing bodies and commissions, diocesan leaders and staff. Outside Church Walls exists within this continuum to consider how the church can intersect with the culture and share the Good News in fresh and effective ways.

Unlike the larger church taskforce, we’re not focused on structure. Sure, we’ve talked about it at times, but it’s not really in our purview. We’re really approaching this issue from a different direction. Our questions are more about 1) how we understand our place in the world, and 2) what we should be doing, rather than about how we should be organizing ourselves. Form will follow function. Things may well need to be different at some point, but we ought to know to what end.

Within Outside Church Walls we’re clear that the only power we have is to change hearts and minds. We are not decision makers; we’re dreamers, thinkers, and models. We’re sharing with people across our church what we’re saying and seeing. We believe there is a vital future for the Episcopal Church in Western Washington, and we’re excited to be a part of listening for the Holy Spirit’s call to us.

Leaning Into The Discomfort

I was thoroughly buoyed by my first couple of conversations outside church walls. I had had a great conversation with a sheriff, a county commissioner and a parishioner of mine had started a new ministry as a result of her conversations outside church walls. No doubt about it—I was on a roll. And then it happened. I knew it would eventually.

A neighbor of mine was brutally honest with me about his experience with church.

The church had hurt him deeply. He could barely speak of it. As a man who is queer, he had been hurt. When he was younger, he had come out to a friend. The friend had told someone else and soon, this young person found himself surrounded by Christians who wanted to exorcise the demon out of him. Wanted to pray the gay away.

Just talking about this awful experience brought tears to both of our eyes.

I wanted so badly to say, “My church wouldn’t do that! We have glbt members and clergy.” My intuition however told me to just shut up and listen.

So I did. I listened. I cried. I looked him in the eye. I let silence come and sit with us in the discomfort.

May I ask for your forgiveness? I said after a little bit.

You didn’t do it. He told me. A person that belonged to the same group that I did had hurt him I told him. The least I could do is say, “I’m sorry.” I asked him if I could shake his hand. We did.

I’d like to say that it was a Kodak moment; that everything was tied together perfectly by the end of our conversation, that all was neat and tidy. However the truth is I parted from him with deep sadness and I could tell as he walked away that the conversation was far from resolved. He was still hurting and so was I.

Fear in the church for all too long has trumped grace and love.

Fear that love couldn’t possibly be present in queer people so we better change ‘em to be like us. That’s what one part of the church says. That’s fear trumping love.

And before any of us lgbt inclusive church folk get too smug, fear plays in our circles too.

While anti-gay Christians are out there doing their thing, we sit back complacent and say well, Christians have a bad reputation in our world. I better not let anyone know that I’m one of them too. I might offend someone. So we say nothing. That’s fear trumping love too.

There’s no doubt about it—having these conversations is a risk. That’s probably why must of us don’t want to do it. We’re afraid of what people might tell us or what we might hear or feel.

But here’s the thing: I think we are called to have the hard conversations, to let love trump our own fear and yes, lean into the discomfort that others have caused in OUR name.

And here’s the REAL hard part. If we are courageous to show up and have conversations with people, even uncomfortable painful ones, the real work is to just shut up and listen. Not offer platitudes, or quick fix answers. I can’t tell you how much I wanted to tell my neighbor, but my church would NEVER do that. However, that didn’t matter too much. I would have been saying that for me, not for him.

I don’t know if my neighbor will ever heal from his experience. I don’t know if my apology mattered. What I do know is that I listened. I cried with him. I don’t know what the conversation meant to my neighbor but I will say this: I am changed because of I stood with him in his pain.

Beloved, I hope that as we venture outside church walls and have conversations, we are whole hearted enough, to witness to the painful conversations, compassionate enough to lean into the discomfort and live with it. I hope we can stand in loving solidarity with our neighbors listen, weep and say, I’m sorry.

That’s how love might just win out over fear.

George

The Servant Church in New and Mutual Ministry

Last evening in our small Victorian church of St. Paul’s, Port Townsend, we happily gathered for the Celebration of New and Mutual Ministry. The occasion was to publicly proclaim the mutually discerned call and acceptance of Dianne Andrews to be our Rector and for us to continue in ministry together, with Dianne as priest among us. This Liturgy of binding offers, by turns, heart-expanding joy and deep soul searching seriousness. It packs a whallop of affirmation, confirmation and commitment pledges at us and requires from us, publicly, individual and community response.

As always, we have choices we can make. We can choose to be silent. We can choose to say “No”. We can choose to say “Yes” with our lips only. We can choose to say “Yes” with our lips, our hearts and with God’s help. Yes. . .with God’s help.

This is the Way and importance of the “church gathered”; to affirm and remember who we are and whose we are. It was a time we remember and pledge ourselves to follow in the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth, our Christ. If the “Yes” we pledge to our Baptismal vows is the kind of “yes” that shakes our soul, we know that we have committed ourselves to be Christ’s disciples in action Outside Church Walls in all sorts of weather and circumstances.

I invite you, at this mid-point in our walk through the Season of Advent, to read and ponder the words of Hymn #779, “The Church of Christ in Every Age”. It was the processional hymn, gathering us into community last night. In what ways does this powerful hymn speak to you and move you to a new birth of ministry and mission in this 21st Century?

The church of Christ in every age, beset by change but spirit led, must claim and test its heritage, and keep on rising from the dead.

Across the world, across the street, the victims of injustice cry for shelter and for bread to eat and never live until they die 

Then let the servant church arise. A caring church that longs to be a partner in Christ’s sacrifice and clothed in Christ’s humanity. 

For Christ alone, whose blood was shed, can cure the fever in our blood. And teach us how to share our bread and feed the starving multitude.

We have no mission but to serve I full obedience to our God: to care for all without reserve. And spread Christ’s liberating word.

MaryAnn

Mandela

Nelson Mandela is no longer, physically, in this world. He leaves a tremendous legacy, and a huge challenge still present for the human community. There has been lots of speculation about his religious beliefs. It is known that he was once a member of a Methodist church and attended church schools, but his beliefs were never explicitly stated. Still, when you read much of his writing you cannot help but see the biblical narrative very much in the background.

In his autobiography, "Long Walk to Freedom" Nelson Mandela talked of his experience of Christianity. He wrote: "The Church was as concerned with this world as with the next; I saw that virtually all of the achievements of Africans seemed to have come from the missionary work of the Church."

This Second Sunday of Advent, the four Sundays before Christmas in the Christian tradition, we had for our Gospel reading, Matthew 3: 1-12. Here we see John the Baptist, a voice crying in the wilderness, wearing camel's hair and eating locusts and wild honey. It is not exactly a Christmas message, it doesn't match what is going on in our Western indulgence leading up to Christmas. One of the very non "I'll be Home for Christmas" lines in this Gospel is this one.

"Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." It is interesting that Mandela once wrote,

"No axe is sharp enough to cut the soul of a sinner who keeps on trying, one armed with the hope that he will rise even in the end.

He knew that the Gospel is not about always being right, or always getting it right, but is instead about always trying to get it right. His greatest gift and legacy is just this, that after all he endured, after all this world could dish out to try to silence him, to change his heart, he kept leaning toward the good. And when he was finally free, he leaned even farther, showing us what forgiveness and repentance look like, proving that the "good" had to be for all, even those who had worked so tirelessly to take it away from him.

When asked once by a reporter, after all had happened to him, what had he learned, he said, "Good and evil are always present....good people must choose. He will be missed, but not soon forgotten.

Bishop Greg

The Church and the World

I'd like to address two questions that were left on the comment sheets at convention. The first one was, “What about reaching out to people who have recently been released from prison?” The second was, “How can the Church reach out to other ethnic groups- Russians, Ukrainians, Koreans and other Asians, Africans?”

The first question had contact information, so I was able to follow up. I scheduled a meeting with the person who wrote it. It was a very interesting discussion, on several levels. Obviously, such a ministry is likely to face severe prejudice from law-abiding citizens, people who have been victimized by crime, concerned parents, etc. Despite that, or perhaps because of that, Christians are explicitly challenged to minister to prisoners (cf, Matthew 25:31-46); it is simply not an option. As I thought about the tension between those two realities, I asked the person about how she had dealt with them in conversations with others. She clearly had lots of experience in that ministry, and knew far more about what the challenges and opportunities were than I did. Then it occurred to me that the more I asked, the more I realized that she was the expert in this area. I left her with the question: “What are you (the Church) going to do reach out to people who have recently been released from prison, and what can the rest of us (the Church) do to help you?” She said she would give that some thought. We've followed up and stayed in touch, and she is still mulling over the idea.

As to the second question-- about people of different ethnic and national groups-- there was no contact information, but I would answer that question in much the same way. It seems to me that someone who asks about a particular ministry tends to have a keen interest, perhaps even a calling, in that area. The questioner probably has a much richer insight into the needs of that ministry than the rest of us. How can the Church reach out to other ethnic and national groups? I am fascinated by the question, and would welcome the questioner's insights into the issue. I'll bet he or she has plenty of ideas.

As we move away from the notion of “the Church” and “the World” as being separate realms, I suggest we also try to move away from the notion that the Church hierarchy is somehow an expert on all things. It's not, and it can't be. Rather than asking the bureaucracy for guidance in areas in which it may have little knowledge or practical experience, perhaps individuals should take ownership of their ministries. Pray, think, plan, lead, and ask for help. How can the OCW team help you develop your ministry?


Happy Advent!
Brad

SUNDAY ASSEMBLY: It’s “CHURCH” for nonbelievers!

This article was from the Sunday Oregonian on Sunday, November 17, 2013 by Gillian Flaccus, AP, Los Angeles.

“It looked like a typical Sunday morning at any mega church. Hundreds packed in for more than an hour of rousing music, an inspirational sermon, a reading and some quiet reflection – the only thing missing was GOD!”

Dozens of gatherings dubbed, “atheist mega-churches” by supporters and detractors around the U.S. and the world are finding success. In Britain, fueled by social media and spear-headed by two prominent British comedians who are sponsoring a tongue-in-cheek, “40 Dates, 40 Nights” tour in the U.S. and Australia are hoping to drum up donations of more than $800,000 to launch their pop-up congregations around the world.

They don’t bash believers, but want to find a new way to meet like minded people engaged in community and make their presence more visible in a landscape that has been dominated by faith and institutional churches over the years. It dovetails with new studies that show an increasing number of Americans drifting from any religious affiliation.

The “Pew Forum” on Religion and Public Life released a study last year that found 20% of Americans say they have no religious affiliation. That is an increase from 15% in the past five years. This included people who said they believed in God but had no ties with organized religion and people who consider themselves “spiritual”, but not “religious”.

Sunday Assembly (whose motto is “Live Better, Help Others, Wonder More”) taps into that Universe of people who left their Faith, but missed the community that Church provided, according to Phil Zuckerman, a professor of Secular Studies at Pitzer College in Claremont, California.

Please go back to Wed. Oct. 23, 2013 blog posted by OCW Steering Committee titled “Insiders and Outsiders” by Bishop Mike Rinehart! That’s all I’ve got to say—AMEN.


Chuck

Sunday Church

Since the recent Diocesan convention, OCW’s has received wonderful, thought provoking feedback from the community. One response took issue with the idea that we must shed the centrality of Sunday morning in favor of a new approach to inclusion and incorporation. The point the writer made was that St. Paul’s, Queen Anne, the Cathedral, and maybe even my own parish, Epiphany of Seattle, are growing rapidly precisely because of their focus on Sunday morning. My response was thus:

I suspect your comments were based on the OCW's statement:

"We must shed our Sunday morning, location-centered notion of encountering God, worshipping God, and serving God." 

To my way of thinking, the point OCW's was trying to make in no way diminishes Sunday morning and its efficacy in bringing people to Jesus; rather, the hope is to challenge us to broaden our thinking around where we encounter, worship and serve God.

And while I believe in my answer (of course), I also wonder, are we coming to a point in time where what the urban/ suburban churches do to grow may no longer work for rural churches or churches in communities on the decline? Might it be enough for big city churches to focus on worship infused with decent preaching and traditional music, as a means of drawing people to Jesus? The Episcopal worship service, in my opinion, scales beautifully. The music at Epiphany sounds significantly better with a twenty-five person choir than it did with the eight person choir that was in the stalls when I arrived five years ago. At Epiphany we have around fifty people who participate in the mechanics of a Sunday morning service each week, and for each of those participants there is an average of two in the pew who come with them.

The demographic possibility that presents itself to churches in Seattle helps tremendously for growing churches. Once the growth starts for urban/suburban churches it is sustained through good adult formation and relevant, engaging youth formation. But in my experience, formation follows careful (though not idiosyncratic), joyful worship. As a church begins to scale, more employees are hired and more programming and projects are started, then sustained by the additional people who are now involved at the church. Parishioners inspired by their church take that inspiration out into the world, beyond their Sunday morning, and invite friends back to witness what they are experiencing. You see the ascending cycle. And here is the paradox: the bigger the church, the less likely the clergy will suffer burnout.

Now having said all of that, I am not sure how this works for rural churches and churches in declining communities. Is Sunday morning there the same portal that it is for urban/suburban churches? What are scalable models? What counts as success for a church? How is success measured? Can and should it be measured, and who does the measuring? Could it be that over time the Episcopal Church becomes only an urban/suburban church?

I believe, as does the entire team at OCW, that God is the point and the purpose. Encountering God, worshipping God, and serving God happen everywhere. This must be true and because this is true, we also know that God is more than just an Episcopalian. God’s joy, known through the person of Jesus, is not the exclusive purview of the Episcopal Church. God’s presence and relevance does not hinge on our existence anywhere, let alone in every community in America. So talk to me. What is working for you? How is Jesus being known and shared and loved in your church? Do you need a church to do this? What does it look like? Your voice and wisdom around success for the Episcopal Church in all communities of this Diocese matters. Lend your voice to the conversation.


Doyt+

What About Gender Sexual & Romantic Minorities

In the weeks following Diocesan Convention, we have been thinking about and responding to comments and questions we received there. One that I have been thinking about is this: “Please consider LGBTQ+ (or GSRM) issues in what is proposed. (GSRM stands for Gender Sexual & Romantic Minorities – it’s a new term that shortens LGBTQ+)”

My first response was “Of course, we are considering everyone, including our LGBTQ/GRSM brothers and sisters as we do our work.” But as a straight woman, I realized that my understanding and perspective is limited. I need to know more. Because our group’s focus is studying, learning, and discerning, I want to hear more. What should we know? How can we work towards being fully and truly welcoming and inclusive?


Kelly

Waiting for our children to return

Thanks to everyone who was so supportive of our group at Diocesan Convention! It was marvelous to see so many of you engaged with these questions we've been asking for the last year, and I for one am eagerly looking forward to the results of our Community Conversations in the coming months.

A number of the participants at Diocesan Convention asked questions of our team through our question forms, and we'll be responding to those for the next few weeks. One of the comments we received noted the fact that we (the whole church, not just our diocese) keep waiting for our children to come back to church, hoping that once they have children of their own, they'll come back to church to give their children the grounding they themselves got. This has been part of what we've observed for decades in the church, that people come back when they have families.

This worked for a long time for us, and for all of the mainline churches. We find ourselves today, however, in a world where increasingly second and third generations are being raised outside the church; and folks who weren't in the church to begin can't come back to a place they never were to begin with. We've known as a denomination that we were not going to be able to grow as a church without reaching beyond our historic constituency for almost a decade (a study report from the Episcopal Church Center in 2004 confirmed as much), so we need to start looking beyond the usual suspects if we're going to turn our decline around. 

None of this is to say that we were doing it wrong before; in fact, what we were doing before was the exact right thing, and it worked brilliantly. The tricky thing is seeing when the circumstances change, and both realizing and acknowledging when the thing we've been doing no longer works. We seem to have come to that point now, or at least it looks like it to me. 

What do you think? 

-R.C.

A Sabbatical Outside Church Walls

As Greg Rhodes, our last blogger discussed, we just finished a definite “inside church walls” event in the annual diocesan convention. I agree completely with his assessment of the good of it, of what one sees in it. I chair said convention which is always a daunting task, but one supported by many good people in organizing and in participating. It is an example of discourse that can be wrapped in prayer, and a focus on something other than the strident poles we seem to find in much public discourse today. I came back to the “chair” from four months on sabbatical, truly “Outside Church Walls”, attending Spanish Language School, surfing, traveling to Canterbury, the true heart of Anglicanism of which we are part, but viewing all of this from outside the church. Another activity I had not planned on while on sabbatical was moving, literally, my household from a house, to a condo, downsizing in the process tremendously, and having such a liberating experience for my family and me in the process. One of the interesting things about this however, was the lead up to moving in. For the month or so while we waited for closing and all of that, we found out later that many of the other residents of our new building got wind that “the Bishop” was moving in. There seemed to be a lot of concern, “what would these “religious” people be like?” “Will I have to change my behavior somehow?” “Will they expect us to change.”

What seemed to put all of that to rest was a planned party by the building shortly after we moved in, which I insisted our entire family had to attend. It was two hours of light banter, good food and drink, and most of all, for all of us, the eradication of the abstract, replaced by the real. If the “walls” part of our title divides anything, or represents a divide in anything I am coming to this as the main divide, the difference between the abstract and the real. Way too often, our conversations across the walls are done in the abstract, with lots of assumptions, and far less experience. We need diplomacy both ways, we need to work to have no walls. We are real people, living real lives, placing our hope and future in all kinds of things. We should share those things, face to face. Let’s be real. Lets do what we can to eradicate the abstract, and replace it with the real.

One very “real” thing that binds us today is the crisis and need in the Philippines, a place I have been most blessed to visit and where we have friends. I offer this video as we all search for ways to respond.

Bishop Greg

Our Annual Family Reunion

I’ve been musing about our diocesan convention that occurred this past weekend. I have many thoughts about our annual family reunion, but I’ll keep it to one for now: The power of being centered first on what we hold in common is a gift we can take to our broader culture.

Convention was structured around worship and prayer, reminding us regularly that we were there because of our common faith, and our desire to express that through the Episcopal Church. In our fractured and continually fracturing society, we are segmenting ourselves into ever-smaller groups who agree precisely with our positions. We’re organizing around the least common denominators. In the church at its most faithful, however, we organize around the greatest common denominator, God.

In our civic life we can model affirming what we have in common before wresting with our disagreements. We can intentionally find common ground with our adversaries. We can seek Christ in each person, loving our neighbors as ourselves.

Greg

Community Conversations

We are introducing a new project called Community Conversations.

In this project we are simply trying to reach out and engage with the neighborhoods around our churches. We invite church members to talk with people in their communities about critical challenges and needs. What you hear may help your church join hands with neighbors and respond in tangible ways. What you learn will also help the diocese discern a vital mission for the future.

You can find more information on the page to left titled Community Conversations. To help, we have sent a packet of information and tools to all churches, which you may also find here.

While at the surface, this may sound a little scary, not to fear! Start with low-hanging fruit in your own parish. Ask people in your church or good friends who see the community outside church walls. This could be your mayor, a firefighter, a law enforcement officer, a public servant, a principal of a school, social worker, etc. 

Ask them:

What is the biggest problem in our community, and what can the church do to help?

Also be sure to ask for the names of others who they know that might be able to help answer this question. (As if you were selling Mary Kay). When you get an answer, send it to us here on the blog, by email, or by mail. 

Let's go out, and meet our neighbors where they are, and find the work that God has already started Outside Church Walls.

Decline The Dance of Darkness

The collect for All Saint’s Sunday reads:

Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you…

On All Saint’s Sunday the hope for worship is to honor our unity with one another, with those who have gone before us and those who will come after us, with those who come to church and those who don’t, all through the presence of God in Jesus Christ. God is the glue, the beginning, the end, the point, and the purpose.

And so with this belief as our backdrop, I wonder why there is so much fighting and tumult and discord in the world?

John Peterson dropped by Epiphany Parish for a visit the other day. John was the Dean of St. George’s College in Jerusalem for twelve years, and then served as the Secretary General of the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) for ten years. John knows the worldwide Anglican Church as well as anyone.

What John has noticed over the years is that the worldwide Anglican Church and the broader Christian church, as well as Muslims and Jews and even secular governments and political parties are becoming more and more fundamentalist. As I sit here and wonder why, I am reminded of the second question the priest asks people who are being baptized: “Do you renounce the evil powers of this world which corrupt and destroy the creatures of God?”

Could it be that the world, through the wonderful power and imagination of God, is being knit together in a new way? Might the mystical body of Christ be finding a revolutionary form of expression that has hitherto never breached the minds of humanity? Maybe there is new access to the saints… and if so, maybe it is causing the evil powers of this world to thrash about and seek to consolidate power and to fight back like their very lives depended upon it.

Am I hinting at the idea that in the corners of fundamentalism lives the spark of evil? I suppose I am. But let me be clear, this evil spark of fundamentalism has equal access to all walks of life, all forms of religion, all political parties, and all tribal persuasions. There are two characteristics of fundamentalism that strike at the heart of the mystical union. The first is dogma and the second is broken relationship, and when they dance together they call forth the power of darkness.

Here is the dance of darkness: Dogma says that what I believe is more important than my relationship with you. Dogma has fixed boundaries and those mired in dogma are uninterested in exploring how what you believe and what I believe might have points of intersection. If you want to know where evil breeds, look to a place where people are willing to break relationship over a particular “belief” or a “right way” of doing things.

Our churches sag and thrash about when we forsake one another. Honor unity with one another. Resist dancing in the darkness.


Doyt+

Excellence

Seth Godin is an author, entrepreneur, marketer and public speaker. He’s a student of our shifting culture, and he’s an astute observer of organizations. In his book Linchpin he asks a question that I summarize this way: “Who are we organizing ourselves around – the average or the excellent?”

Just a couple weeks ago on this blog we reposted an article by Bishop Mike Rinehart of the ELCA. He directly addressed the question of who churches are organizing themselves around – the insiders or the outsiders. It’s a great question, and critical to our vitality. I encourage you to read the article if you haven’t already.

I think the second half of Godin’s question deserves a look, too. Are we organizing ourselves around the average or the excellent? This is tricky for the church. Our measuring rods aren’t the same ones used by secular culture, or by business. It’s not all numbers and profit. Unlike in business, church is not about competition, or outdoing someone else for our advantage.

But excellence honors God, honors the gifts God has placed within us, individually and in community. We are called to offer the best of what we have, to serve with our own excellence, because we are grateful to God for it. We’re not competing with each other; my excellence can compliment yours.

Excellence does not equal perfection or grandeur. Excellence can be humble. But it is always care-filled and intentional. We often know it when we see it. We can feel it. We know when people are “phoning it in,” and we know when they’re bringing their best.

Too often in the church we settle for average, for getting by, for good enough, when instead we could care enough to provide excellence – or we could stop doing that thing and doing something different with excellence instead. We ought to call forth excellence from our people, because there is great joy in offering God the best we have, and in seeing how that matters to people who encounter it.

Greg

Halloween Outside Church Walls

In thinking about what to discuss on this Halloween Day, and connecting it with our consistent message of being church outside our walls, it was easy to decide what to present. Our own church, St. Mark’s in Montesano, Washington has for the past 8 years or so opened its doors to all of the trick-or-treaters in our neighborhoods. Our church sits within a long established neighborhood (close to three other churches) and also is near the local high school (which has its own fun house). The area is loaded with hundreds of kids and their parents walking around to get treats this day each year, and a while back we decided to join in the fun. For a couple of weeks before Halloween we ask everyone to bring in treats to give out, and we end up with several large bags to serve the large crowd. At this very moment as I write this, the walkway and the entrance to the church parish hall has been decorated with several large blowup items (a large pumpkin, a scary black cat, a large ghost), and the doors opened to to greet everyone to get their treats, to sit for a short rest in the warm hall with coffee or tea, and even to use the restrooms as needed. Even the dogs and cats which come by get a treat. The parents enjoy the short rest (if the weather is poor), and many take pictures of their kids with the decorations. And, many years this evening falls on a night when our local AA or Gamblers Anonymous group meets at our church hall, and they continue on with handing out treats and coffee for a short while as we finish at 7pm or so, so it is a shared time of giving for us all.

It’s just one way to meet your church neighbors—I highly recommend it! Some pictures from a recent Halloween event are at:http://www.stmarksmonte.com/article/285/about-us/upcoming-events-recent-news/2011-events/halloween-for-kids-2011

Jim

Say Yes

Last night we closed our Eucharistic service at Church of the Apostles with a long term friend of the the community sharing a poem by Andrea Gibson. I am sharing this video of the poet (Gibson), as a gift of hope. That's right, a gift a hope, because that is what the poem was for me. The poem was shared right after the Eucharist event- that in which we receive and become.

I hope you too can say yes.





Eliacín

Insiders and Outsiders

By Bishop Mike Rinehart

Reprinted from “Connections” with permission of the Synod of Texas Louisiana Gulf Coast.

Here’s my hunch. Everything for me rises or falls on this bet. I’m putting all my eggs in this basket:

The turnaround of the mainline churches will happen when we in those churches care as much about those outside the church, as we do those inside. To embrace relevance, we will have to let go of survival.

That’s it. That’s all I’ve got. If I’m wrong, fire me now. I’ll die on this hill.

What does this mean?

My theory is that the mainline churches have ceased to be relevant to the culture, because insiders trump outsiders every time.

Decisions are made for the benefit of those inside rather than those outside the church. In every single decision, even the little ones, insiders trump outsiders. Take hymns, for example. Musical decisions are not made considering what will attract spiritually hungry outsiders, but what will please the card-carrying, bill-paying membership. Most church outsiders don’t care if you ever sing “How Great Thou Art.” They won’t be slightly offended by a guitar in church. Time and time again church leaders receive heat from church insiders upset about this or that, because the insiders are trying to recreate their childhood church experience or simply have a rigid idea of what church is supposed to be. Church leaders cave in to these insiders because try control the purse strings.

More facts on the ground: insiders are inherently change-averse. People don’t like change, especially those who have status in the church. Pete Steinke taught us that every church is an emotional system. Some people are benefitting from the system as it currently is. Some benefit emotionally. They are revered as church saints. Or they are validators to whom everyone turns for approval of decisions. They are having an emotional need met by receiving recognition. Or perhaps they are simply tirelessly defending The Tradition, regardless of how new or unhelpful that tradition may be. People in power, who have privileges in the current system, will resist change and make life really hard for any leader who seeks to be a change agent. Pastors are paid from members’ giving, so there is a potential conflict of interest. If they do the right thing, some leaders will end up losing their job (or up on a cross, to reference an often-told story).

Why is this happening?

Church structures were set up to preserve what exists, not change it. These stable structures work well when society is changing slowly, imperceptibly. If something is working, protect it at all costs. But what if it is not working? What if the rate of societal change skyrockets, and old patterns and structures no longer work? Peter Drucker once said, “When the rate of change outside the organization exceeds the rate of change inside the organization, the organization is doomed.”

What do we do about it?

Change. Adapt. The church has adapted, survived and even thrived in times of tectonic change in the past. It can again.

Stable structures are a high value in a stable culture, but when in a climate of rapid change, adaptability is the higher value. In a time of stability, experience is crucial. In times of change, experience can be a liability, especially if the experienced make the fatal mistake of assuming what garnered success in the past, will guarantee success in the future. What got you where you are now will not get your where you need to go in the future. Sorry. Leaders who don’t get this are in for some rough sledding.

Let’s face it, change is hard. Change, however is non-negotiable. The only constant in life is change. There is no growth without change. As someone once said, “The only one who likes change is a wet baby.” Any kind of change creates conflict. Leaders can only tolerate so much discontent. And even a little discontent sounds LOUD when you’re in the hot seat. So when things heat up, leaders circle the wagons, which is precisely the wrong thing to do. Instead, leaders need to sin boldly. Lead boldly. Look at any successful enterprise and you can be certain that someone, at some point, took a huge risk along the way. Nothing great is accomplished without risk.

“The trouble with Steve Jobs: Likes to make his own rules, whether the topic is computers, stock options, or even pancreatic cancer. The same traits that make him a great CEO drive him to put his company, and his investors, at risk.”

—Fortune Magazine

But risk is risky, and change is simply too difficult and painful. Most organizations won’t change until they’re desperate, like the alcoholic that won’t go to rehab until s/he hits rock bottom.

So what will give us the courage to take those risks?

This takes us back to the beginning. Churches will not adapt to the new realities until they care as much about reaching those outside, as appeasing those inside.

The world is hell-bent on destruction in countless ways. It is desperately in need of a church that offers a Way of peace, truth, compassion and hope, as opposed to the world’s way of power, materialism, exploitation and violence. It needs leaders willing to risk comfort, status and economic security for the life of the world and the outreach potential of the church. It needs a church that looks less like the Pharisees’ religion and more like Jesus’ ministry. It needs a church that is willing to sacrifice everything for those outside: buildings, budgets, sacred cows, traditions, structures. It needs a church that so loves the world, that she’d be willing to die for it.

So here’s the plan. New policy. Every decision, every single decision made by staff, council and every committee is made on behalf of those not yet here. Every sermon choice, every hymn, song and musical choice, every building and grounds choice, every spending choice is made with outsiders in mind.


When we become a church for the world, the outsider, when the pain of staying the same (and dying of irrelevance) for those already here exceeds the pain of changing (and sacrificing old ways) for those not yet here, we will be the church for which God incarnate came to this earth and gave his life.

Similarity

For the past year and a half, I have been involved in ministry in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea). In a very real sense, North Korea is as far outside church walls as it is possible to be. The following thought occurred to me when I was there a few weeks ago:

Something we do well as a church, both nationally and in the greater Anglican Communion, is to emphasize similarities rather than differences. I think that looking for and emphasizing similarities is something we ought to do in the Outside Church Walls process; similarities between different traditions, between nations, between people of faith and the unchurched, etc. It seems to me that putting labels on others (“Christian”, “believer”, “atheist', whatever) often leads to making hasty moral judgements which tend to impede accurate data perception; and accurate data perception is of course necessary for making sound moral judgements.

In the DPRK, I sense many similarities with our own values: an abiding spirituality in the face of great difficulties, a feeling of community, a message of caring for the poor and disadvantaged, and-- despite what we are told in our media-- a sincere desire for Peace. I realize these are complex issues of missiology that have to do with the core values of a people or religion, but isn't that what we Episcopalians should be thinking about as we examine ourselves in the 21st Century? Who cares about the labels (which are really just differences of form) if the similarities (substance) are solid?


I think we should guard against feeling or thinking that others should necessarily look or act like us or do things our way in order to be acknowledged for sharing similarities.

Peace,
Brad

The Snowball Effect and the Best Coin Ever Spent

This is the meditation from today's meeting. I suppose there is quite a snowball effect going on here, with something so simple as a child's gesture setting off this magnificent symphony.

I hope that as the church moves into the new generation, such a simple act may also spark such a resounding chorus in your heart.

Robert

An Exciting Time to be a Mainline Christian?

This week's message from Tom Ehrich is challenging and its something that I wish for my own church that I serve as well as so many that I know-- I wish them to be not afraid of challenging themselves to do something beyond just muddling along content to decline and grow steadily more steadily older and older.

The time to act is now.
The thing to do is be bold and courageous.

That's my best shot. Tom's words are fair more articulate. Take a look:

+George

October 12, 2013

Boom, bust, boom

By Tom Ehrich

ORANGE, TX -- I had the Hampton Inn's breakfast room to myself on Saturday morning. Where is everybody? I wondered. How can they maintain such a nice hotel without any customers?

Try again Monday, a local businessman told me. Every room will be taken by weekday workers at area chemical plants. In the boom-bust cycle of Texas oil and chemicals, not everyone relocates when a job materializes.

Orange has been up, and Orange has been down. During World War Two, this port city on the Louisiana border exploded from 7,000 to 25,000 as a shipbuilder for the US Navy.

Then came peace, as well as contraction in the oilfields, and Orange shrank to 18,000. Even though chemical plants are booming, they are increasingly mechanized and need fewer workers.

First Presbyterian Church has ebbed and flowed, too. It grew from 200 members to 850 during the war years and then settled back down to 200. Sunday worship feels empty to those who remember the boom.

With a fresh determination that I am seeing in many mainline churches across the country, First Presbyterian leaders are saying No to further decline and Yes to changing whatever needs to be changed to get growing.

They have added a contemporary service on Sunday to connect with young families. It meets in a gym and draws twice as many as the traditional service held later in the church's historic sanctuary.

Now they are ready to look beyond Sunday worship for the "more" a changing city requires. They are looking outward at a needy world and imagining how they can serve. They are learning from success stories in other faith communities.

In perhaps the liveliest discussion I've experienced in many months, they questioned, savored, and reacted eagerly to every turnaround strategy I presented. They won't adopt them all, of course, but I heard a refreshing willingness to engage new ideas.

No more fear, they said in bold declarations. They have too much to offer, the Orange community has too many needs, and God is determined to transform lives.

This wasn't the macho swagger that characterizes Texas politics. This wasn't smug suburban bullies wearing boots and channeling Davy Crockett. It was the calm assurance of people who have dealt with hurricanes on the Gulf of Mexico, floods along the Sabine River, booms and busts, who don't flinch when told the future will be different from what they know.

My sampling of the Christian enterprise is narrow, of course. But what I am seeing now gives me great hope. After fifty years of relentless decline, marked by bitter blaming, doctrinal posturing and refusal to engage a changing world, more and more congregations are charting fresh courses.

First, they are standing up to the negative and self-serving voices in their midst.

Second, they are looking outward at a world in disarray and asking how they can help -- not how they can survive intact, but how they can adapt and serve.

Third, they are opening everything to scrutiny, from polities that discourage boldness to worship that no longer engages to facilities that are unsustainable as once-a-week havens.

Fourth, they are driving their demographic younger: bringing young adults into leadership, embracing new technology, adapting to young families whose lives aren't a repeat of the 1950s.

I began to sense these shifts a few years ago. Now I see them blooming. It's an exciting time in mainline Christianity.

Hope Spotting in a Climate of Fear

I don’t know about the health of your soul today, but mine is deeply troubled. As is routine, my radio set on NPR, awakened me at 6:00 AM; and, for what seems like days on end, I was again greeted with this morning’s iteration about the status of the government shut down, debt ceiling stand-off and their impact on services and peoples’ lives.

I got up and Turned. . .It. . .Off. Wearily I went back to bed. As I lay there, words from Leonard Bernstein’s 1971 “MASS: the Musical” came bursting uninvited into my mind. They are words I had memorized and sung in an earlier lifetime. Now they had come ‘round to visit me again. Now? Why? Well, you read these words and then tell me what you think.

All you big men of merit,
all you big men of merit
who ferret out flaws,
you rely on our compliance
with your science and your laws.

Find a freedom to demolish
while you polish some award,
but you cannot abolish the Word of the Lord. No, you cannot abolish
the Word of the Lord.


For the Word,
for the Word created mud and got it going.
It filled our empty brains with blood and set it flowing. 
And for thousands of regimes it's endured all our follies and fancy schemes.
It's been tough,
It's been tough, and yet it seems to be growing!

O you people of power,
O you people of power, your hour is now.
You may plan to rule forever, but you never do somehow.

So we wait in silent treason until reason is restored
and we wait for the season of the Word of the Lord.
We await the season of the Word of the Lord.
We wait…we wait for the Word of the Lord. 



What, I wondered, does it mean now for me to wait for the season of the Word of the Lord? How does it mean for me to await? Why await? Surely, it cannot mean I am to lie abed passively woolgather. Not for long. Only long enough, perhaps, to have the following words also come marching into my mind to join the Bernstein chorus. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly.” Those words are extrapolated from the parable of the Good Shepherd, John 10:10. “Enough already”, I said to self and got up to go about my day.

My day, 99% of the time, includes a walk. This morning I yearned for Hope. Viewing life through the lens of Hope is typical of me, and Hopeful signs are what I wanted/needed this morning. I want to live in Hope, not in Fear.



So, for this day, I decided to add a new dimension to my walking. I decided to make a prayer walk, being attentive to Hope Spottings along my way. Hope did not disappoint. I found ample evidence of Hope for life and having life abundantly, all within about two miles of my home. Come walk with me, and I’ll share my gospel for today; my Hope Spottings.

+ Two blocks into my walk I was greeted by clusters of folks chatting together while gathered on the Food Bank lawn; some were packaging up food to give and others were there to receive. The people were engaged in friendly conversation, laughter, adoring babies, chasing children and general busyness. Hope Spotting at The Food Bank and praying that all who participate there may have life and have it more abundantly, was easy business for me this morning. I wonder, will it be so next week or the next, if the people of power will not soften their hearts?

“Give them this Day their daily bread. . .and tomorrow and tomorrow. . .

? I say this is church outside church walls. What do you say? 

+ I dropped in at one of my favorite coffee shops. Near the back I noticed a circle of nine people speaking animatedly with one another using mostly sign language. They were sharing the gospel of their current lives. Observing their comfortable and seemingly intimate conversation, I celebrated Hope Spotting their experience of life more abundantly.

“O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be understood as to understand.”

! I say this is church outside church walls. What do you say?

+ My walk continued through Kai Tai Lagoon where I was treated to the varied songs of birds gutsy enough to stick around these parts through Autumn and to the water rituals of Mallard families as they paddled about their marshy neighborhood. Chalk up another Hope Spotting! The Lagoon and its inhabitants have their gospel story to tell, too. Will we care enough about their lives and ours to assure sanctuaries where the birds and water fowl are protected to have life and have it more abundantly?

All things bright and beautiful; all creatures great and small. 

 All things wise and wonderful; the Lord God made them all. 

May we care enough about your world 

to advocate for a sustainable environment 

and peaceable kingdom.

! I say this is church outside church walls. What do you say? 

+ For good aerobic exercise I walked up the hill and past DOVE House. It is Hope Spotting just to know it is here! It’s the only safe haven, a sanctuary, in Jefferson County for women and children to heal and shape violence-free lives after experiencing the traumas of criminal and sexual violence.

Merciful and loving God, hold closely all your people who are treated as “things”

by others and who suffer from abuse and violence. Help us to respect the dignity

of all people and work to break the cycle of violence. 

! I say this is church outside church walls. What do you say?

+ Moving along into the next block, I’m Hope Spotting the WIC (Women, Infants and Children) Center as I watch women with their wee ones walk into this modest place. Here, they receive milk, health checks and other life-giving necessities for their little ones. The mothers are offered caring support, mentoring, classes and skills so they can parent their children in loving and health-giving ways. They also learn how to better love and care for themselves. And the world will be a better place for it. How’s that for a testimony?

Let us truly mean it when we say let the children come unto us. Make us ready to love them, embrace them, nurture them and encourage them to become the amazing human beings who can make our world a better place. 

! I say this is church outside church walls? What do you say? 

+ I turned north and head toward home. On the way I Hope Spotted a children’s therapy center, a safe and nurturing place for vulnerable children to heal. It is a place that will live in my heart forever. Through play and art, children can express their gospel stories in a trusting relationship with able therapists and grow into the full beauty and strength that is their birthright. They and their families are offered the gift of Hope that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Guide us to be servants of love and compassion, joy and wonder, laughter and creativity with all children. Help us to be vessels of healing and wholeness for the children who, in their young and vulnerable lives, have experienced terror, pain and unconscionable abuse. 

! I say this is church outside church walls. What do you say? 

+ My final bit of Hope Spotting on today’s walk was an assisted living center just a long block from my home. I know this place well, because it was “home” for my mother-in- law for a couple of years, until her dementia required a different living arrangement during the final year of her life. . . I spent a few minutes talking with a small group of residents happily engaged in conversation in the living room as they waited for a movie to begin. This homey place with its caring staff of saints, gifted with an abundance of patience and sense of humor, offers the hope of friendship, comfort and care as these elders walk toward and through the “valley of the shadow of death”, knowing they are not alone.

Help us to open our hearts to truly honor and respect the elders among us, remembering that we, too, will one day be old. Give us the backbone to advocate for them, assuring they will have the “daily bread” they need. Nudge us to invite them into our homes and families to bring life more abundantly to us all. 

! I say this is church outside church walls. What do you say? 

+ My Hope Spotting walk is over for today. I’ve sat by the fire with tea and toast. I’ve reflected on the messages that jumped into my mind after I turned off the radio this early morning and initiated my Hope Spotting and Prayer Walking adventure. My need for Hopeful signs has been met for now through spottings outside church walls. The lingering, huge and haunting question that continues to roll over in my mind is this: What is happening/ has been happening inside church walls that is contributing to and informing this climate of fear that is doing great harm to all of us in every aspect of our lives? Fear, it seems to me, is the thief that comes only to steal and kill and destroy the abundant life that Jesus tells us He came to offer us. + John 10:10

Is the God who beckons you to gather in worship inside church walls a God of Hope or a God of Fear? Jesus of Nazareth, in a clear and declarative sentence commanded us to love God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind and with all our strength; And to love our neighbors as ourself. I take that to mean to love ALL people, every single one, as ourself . The Jesus I know walked his talk with every step, with every encounter of His ministry. All of us without exception are God’s precious people. What unfathomable love that is!

So, why this climate of fear? It is deeply troubling my soul. Is it troubling yours?


MaryAnn

“Why Are You Afraid, You of Little Faith?”

This past Saturday, October 5, 2013 we gathered together in Regional Pre-Convention meetings. We listened to Bishop Greg Rickel via video as he asked us to consider the place and power of scripture in our worship, in our lives and in the world.

We then had a Bible study, Luke 4:14-30, when Jesus filled with the power of the spirit, returned to Galilee and began to teach in the Synagogues. Read this passage of His when He came to Nazareth His home town and the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah. The crowds were amazed and thrilled as He started, but as He lectured to them and told them that no prophet is accepted in His hometown they became enraged, drove Him out of town to hurl Him off a cliff, but He passed through the midst of them and on His way.

We were asked two questions:

1. How did Jesus use scripture to stir up the people?
2. How can scripture move, inspire, and even offend us today? 

A lively discussion and period of reflection followed which was positive and good. I had read Forward Day by Day for Saturday, October 5, 2013 prior to our meeting and it struck me as being more than coincidental! Matthew 8:18-27 “Why are you afraid, you of little faith” speaks to us today as Jesus and His disciples did then. It spoke of a prominent pastor giving a conference to a group of colleagues on strategy he employed to get people in the door. When they expressed FEAR TO USE HIS IDEAS he said, “how do you expect anyone to know Jesus if you are too afraid to tell them”?


Faith requires that we take risks. Fear is not a Christian virtue and we cannot allow it to dominate us. Amen.


Chuck

Lacey Washington - A Sandwiched Place

One aspect of being middle-aged is being part of a sandwich generation—caught between care of our children and care of our aging parents. It is never easy to live in that sandwich; people who live with that reality can feel squeezed and sometimes isolated as their role in the family changes on both sides of their life. Maybe this idea of sandwiched people can also describe communities—Lacey certainly feels like a sandwiched place to me—squeezed between different places and definitely without a communal center but plenty of big name stores.

Lacey is sandwiched between the Joint Base Lewis McCord (JBLM) and Olympia, our city capital and home to the illustrious Evergreen State College. Lacey is a suburb that grew quite fast—for most of the early 2000’s, Thurston was the fastest growing county in the western part of our state. Lacey is sandwiched between Suburban growth and Rural areas.

Lacey is diverse in its population; hosting people of all ethnicities and color. As for the spread of ages, Lacey boasts several retirement communities—including Panorama, which is the largest retirement community on the west coast. On the other end of the spectrum, Lacey also boasts a big population of younger generations—given our close proximity to the military base as well as a large university in our town (Saint Martin University). Strangely enough, there are less people that are middle-aged in Lacey. The majority are senior citizens and younger generations.

If you were to draw a five mile radius from the city hall and library, you would find a good 7-10 trailer park neighborhoods. Most of these complexes cater to people that are living on the edge financially. Meth use as well as crime within that radius is higher than in other parts of the county. Or at least that was the opinion of a law enforcement officer that I have spoken with.

One thing I can say with certainty is that there is a higher rate of poverty in our part of the county. The satellite food banks in our part of the county are more populous than in other parts of the county. The need for programs that help with school supplies and winter coats is generally greater in North Thurston County where Lacey is located. We know from a recent count in Thurston that over 700 adults are homeless in our county and over 1100 children.

Social services for homeless or at risk families is hidden if at all accessible in Lacey. Olympia is considered the place to be if you are homeless and/or in need of services. Many of the poor in Lacey live either in trailer parks, doubled up in apartments, moving from motel to motel or in their car. They are invisible in this sandwich town or more often, squeezed out entirely—not part of the community.

There are some big political fights going on concerning water in our city and land use in our county. There are concerns about the ways we are using our water and with first nations groups that have much invested in the Salmon and the water, there are different opinions about water conservation as an issue.

There is also a big concern in our county about land use and a concern for over development on flood plains or other ecologically sensitive areas. However, others say that such concerns are secondary to creating revenue streams and allowing people the freedom to build and develop the land as they wish.

I want to go back for a moment and mention the First Nations that are our neighbors. The Nisqually Tribe live minutes down the road. The level of poverty on the reservation is apparent as you drive into the community. There is a jail in Nisqually, a medical clinic and a big casino.

There are options in towns like Lacey—even with the squeeze between different opposing ideas that is present, there are options and economic opportunities. There is a thriving middle class as the median incomes tend to be slightly higher than the national average and of course, significantly lower than other more affluent parts of our state. Once again, another piece of our reality: middle class to poor make up the majority of working people in Lacey.

This is the weather in Lacey; a community that grew faster than it could plan for, a city that is sandwiched between many different opposing ideas and views, a town that has incredible poverty if you scratch the surface and look a bit more carefully. There are diverse populations from Military to immigrants, government workers, and retirees.

The challenge in a place like Lacey is to find a center, a community that can hold those tensions with ease, maybe even delight in them. Speaking the Good News in Lacey and being church means a creation of community that can speak a word to both the middle class and the invisible but present ones that are living on the margins economically, it means creating community that can live with great diversity in ideas, ethnicity and background, and age. 

+George

What is the ‘weather’ like in Aberdeen?

In Doyt’s last post, he invited us to think about the “weather patterns” of our local churches; that is, to evaluate the needs and gifts and realities of our local communities. In this stage of my diaconate, I am working as a street minister in Aberdeen.

In Aberdeen, our first answer to a question like the one posed in the title is “rainy” (and boy hasn’t it been this week!). As one of the rainiest climates in the continental U.S., we are used to fog and clouds and a lot of rain.

However, the fog and clouds are becoming a sad metaphor for the general sense of disintegration and despair we experience as a town with no real economic base. The fall of the timber industry looms large in our collective memory and the fallout looks like growing numbers of people camping out along the Chehalis River or raising kids in falling down apartments. The industrial and extractive economy of big timber was never replaced by a local or sustainable economy. So we live with a great deal of uncertainty. Many people are working in the North Dakota oilfields for a season or two and others find work fishing in Alaska in order the feed their families, but jobs seem to be scarce for the people of the harbor. Others end up camping along the river under tarps.

Aberdeen has always had the reputation of being a rough town. It sits at the mouth of a good harbor, facing the sea that brings in fewer ships by the year, its back to the giant forests and a few stretches of fertile agricultural land. With a population of only around 17,000, it boasts one of the highest unemployment rates in the state and a poverty rate that has reached a whopping 25 percent. It seems to be easier and easier to find drugs and angry teens with little hope for the future form small gangs.

People say that Aberdeen, like so many other rural towns all over the U.S., has seen its day. Our bad news seems written all over our shuttered shops and closed farms and often empty harbor. But I also have grown up in this area of rural Washington. I know something of the people here and my ministry here only confirms what I knew. This is also a community of people deeply committed to this place. People have a fierce love and pride in their town and a commitment to care for their neighbors. I meet people with talent and dreams everywhere I go—from the church I serve to the camps along the river or the clothing bank I visit. Times may be hard and may try our souls, but we somehow cling to a thread of hope.

Mary Ann Hinsdale writes that communities, especially those that are economically struggling, often experience a collective dark night of the soul. And she reminds us that the dark night is where we most often find God, find each other, and find hope. I find the shadows of this hope as I pray with men and women on the street and hear their stories of faith and survival. I cling to the hope of resurrection life as we walk together in the shadows of death. In the shadows of broken down shops and under the overpass, we share prayer and hope. I watch people in the community come together in love—I see people give of themselves and I find hope.

It may be rainy in Aberdeen these days in more ways than one. But it is also the home to strong and brave people, who have kept faith in even the darkest night. Our gospel call, our gospel mandate is to hold to hope and to claim our dignity as beloved children of God. The church’s mandate is to hear our voices, from such a place as this, to hear the wisdom of our poor and to recognize the gifts of our people.

Sarah

Tunnel Vision

Somewhere underneath the slopes of Snoqualmie pass, carved out of the mountain, is an old train tunnel. The Snoqualmie Tunnel is a bit longer than two miles long and is part of an old rail line, turned hiking/biking corridor. It has no lights and is, to be totally honest, a little scary. The long tunnel echos the pings of water drops hitting the ground from the drips in the ceiling. The cool tunnel walls chill the wind coming from one side of the Cascades, blowing through to the other.

The picture on the left is the tunnel opening from the West. As you may be able to see, the first few 50 yards aren't that bad. But once inside, the light starts to dim and you start to understand the phrase 'the light at the end of the tunnel'. For the next two miles, there is only darkness surrounding you with a beacon of hope that always seems just within reach. It's hard to gauge how much longer there is to go in the dark. On a weekend, you can meet lots of other adventurers finding their own way through the darkness. Now if you've already read the wiki article linked above, you know that once on the other side the journey is only half way done.

The next trailhead is 8 miles down the trail, so to get back home, it requires a return trip through the darkness.

When I took my last trip through the tunnel, my friend and I had our flashlights through much of the tunnel. But on the way back home, feeling a little more confident, we walked the last half of the tunnel in total darkness. Gotta say, it was a lot of fun.

I think in many ways the journey we have embarked on as a church is a lot like walking through a tunnel. The church is poised for transformation, but to get to that light at the end of the tunnel requires a, perhaps, scary journey. The first few steps look super, bright, and even inviting. Once inside, the initial light quickly dims.

We're not sure what the other side looks like, only that it is full of light and hope. We have enough light to see what lies a step behind and a step ahead, but not much else. The finish line seems ever right at hand, the perceived distance to the end ever deceiving. All that is required is to follow the light and faithfully believe that we will reach it and be better for it.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

~John 1:5

Robert

Weather Reports

My day always starts in the dark. I wake early and from my study window I watch the day decide what it will be. Weather is wonderful in every form. Wind and fog and cirrus clouds seem whimsical. Thunder and pounding rain feel certain. Low clouds hug like a blanket, and the clear, crisp, stark, star-filled nights seem to reveal the soul.

I consider weather because of the words shared with Outside the Church Walls and a number of friends last Saturday by Diana Butler Bass. She drew a distinction between the weather and climate. Her reflection is that weather is what we see when we look out the window. Climate is a broader reality of the accumulation of all weather patterns, worldwide, wrapped up into one and looked at over time. Churches have unique weather patterns, and the Church is subject to a broader climate shift. To know where we are going as a church requires opening the shades of our churches and looking outside to see the weather. It also means having a general understanding of the climate changes of which we are a part.

When I arrived at Epiphany Parish as Rector five years ago, I took the advice of Reggie McNeal and stood on the front step of the church and asked, “Who are my neighbors and how can I assist them in knowing the love of God?” That is a weather question, and it looks different from every front door.

Diana Butler Bass told the story of being on the Metro in DC and, in passing, said to a fellow passenger, “Boy, it’s been a cool summer in DC.” To which the passenger responded, “So I guess global warming is a myth.” There was a day when the weather was a safe topic. Those days are gone. In truth, it is easy to confuse climate change and weather change. An anemic church doesn’t mean Christianity is dying. A thriving church doesn’t mean that all is well. In every case I believe that churches will thrive if they know the weather pattern of their neighborhoods. That said, it is also true that the climate in the church is changing, as indicated in the graph below.

click for full size image

And so, where does that leave the Episcopal Church? To that I would suggest understanding two things: First, if your church isn’t thriving, you probably have leadership that hasn’t opened the shades of your church or doesn’t know how to read the weather outside your church walls. Second, if you can’t discern the weather outside your church, don’t expect the Diocese to be able to do it for you. There are many weather patterns in the Diocese, and there is no “One response fits all”. The Diocese is there to help the church understand climate change and to prepare for the eventual realities it provokes. So where does that leave us, as unique churches subject to unique weather patterns? I guess it means getting out in the weather in an effort to invite people in out of the weather. That is the inspiration for Outside Church Walls.


Doyt+

Finding the Lost

I was taken with the message from Luke’s Gospel in Chapter 15 this past Sunday. This is the twin parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin, told by Jesus to those grumbling Pharisees and scribes who were all over Jesus for being among the outcast, and especially on the Sabbath. Both the Rev. Bonnie Campbell at our church, St. Mark’s in Montesano and the Rev. Sarah Monroe at nearby St. Andrew’s in Aberdeen preached on this passage, and used similar themes in focusing on those “sinners”, the “others” in our society who are less fortunate and looked beyond by many people in the mainstream as worthless. I heard or read both sermons and realized that what they pointed out is at the heart of what we as the “Church” struggle the most—relating with those who Jesus most wanted us to connect with. Its fine to want to find people “just like us” to come into our churches and make lasting connections, to belong and be active members and continue the traditions and practices of our churches. But what did Jesus really ask of us—to go out into the world and make disciples, and especially to minister to those who have little, those who are tormented, those who mourn, those who are in dire need of support. That will not happen if all we do is sit in our homes and in our pews on Sunday and ask only for help and think of ourselves.

One of our OCW group, and who I referred to earlier, Sarah, is starting a new street ministry in Aberdeen along with one of our members at St. Mark’s, Kevin. They are getting right there with those who need our help to survive, with donated clothing, with meals, and maybe some counsel and direction for how they can get more help. At our announcement time on Sunday, one of our people asked after hearing about this new ministry if those of us who do not have “the guts” to get right on the front lines could help by making sandwiches and bringing food to Sarah and Kevin where they do their work. It kind of points out how many of us really feel, but maybe it also provides a reality check and also challenges us to get involved somehow. At least it’s a start!

http://www.stmarksmonte.com/article/405/worship/recent-sermons/2013-sermons/pentecost-17-2013-sermon

http://awanderingminister.blogspot.com/2013/09/a-sheep-y-sermon.html

Jim

A Place Apart for All God’s Children

Ascension School Camp and Conference Center, located in Cove, Oregon, has provided hospitality for all of God’s children since 1924 in the Grande Ronde Valley of Northeastern Oregon. Over the Labor Day weekend this year they sponsored a Reunion Family Camp to all who could come and participate in a discussion, “What is God calling Ascension Camp and Conference Center to do?”

Like many parts of our Church this vibrant ministry of the Diocese of Eastern Oregon and beyond, realizes its ministry is changing as well as its needs. This Reunion Family Camp program was a time of discernment to help answer that question.

Led by Bishop Nedi Rivera and Camp Director Patty Olson Lindsey in three jam packed sessions from noon on Saturday through Sunday evening, we discussed, learning from our best experiences, “where are we now and our dreams for the future”. We prayed for God’s guidance in our historic chapel in the Evening Prayer, Morning Prayer and Holy Eucharist services. We had intergenerational softball, swimming, free time, social hour on the deck, great food, sung grace before meals, love (that is Cove spelled with a C) and renewing of friendships

Our thanks to retired Bishop Rustin Kimsey and his wife Gretchen for keeping the spirit of Ascension School alive. This time of faithful discernment results in “a place apart for reflection and resolution” for many campers and conference attendees in the years to come.

Chuck

Church on the Move

A recent poll concluded that up to 80% of Americans experience significant economic insecurity sometime in their lives (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57595861/80-percent-of-u.s-adults-face-near-poverty-unemployment-survey-finds/ ). One of the effects of economic insecurity and trends toward globalization is that many people are unlikely to stay in the same place for long periods of time. People I talk to on the street move often in a desperate search for resources, for housing, and for medical care. More and more college graduates are drifting from city to city (at least among my friends), rural kids move the cities to try and find work, and urban kids and families move to the suburbs as cities gentrify and they cannot afford rent. Economic refugees from the global south migrate north into our towns and cities, filling low wage labor gaps. We live in a culture that is increasingly unstable and constantly on the move. A culture of homelessness.

Our churches, however, are designed around the needs of people who live stable, middle class lives in one place. David Barnhart blogs (http://davebarnhart.wordpress.com/2013/08/04/why-are-fewer-people-in-church-its-the-economy-stupid/ ); “We designed churches to be anchors in the community and shaped them around heterosexual couples who were married, had children, a stable income, and predictable life patterns.” We assume a stable family structure that is less and less a reality for people on the move. We invest a good portion of our income in building maintenance, even as the neighborhoods we live in are in constant flux and our membership moves away.

People on the move, particularly those in poverty, deal with a keen sense of shame over the effects of their unstable lives and they fear that the church will judge them for their children born outside of marriage or their inability to obtain work or their inability to keep up middle class appearances. And, because our churches often do not have much understanding of the economic realities of more and more people, these fears are often realized if people do wander into church. The church rarely has much to say about the growing gap between rich and poor or the systems that have created it.

Even though we follow a wandering rabbi who said he had no place to lay his head. Even though the prophets and the gospels have much to say about a gospel preached to the poor and the struggling.

However, I have been privileged to meet with churches all around the country who have indeed found ways to be a church among those on the move. A church that meets on the streets of the Boston Commons with whoever shows up for a meal and worship. A church that consciously decided to open its doors to economic refugees and recent immigrants and became a center, not only for worship, but for building community and small scale economic enterprise. Churches who, in the midst of instability and loss, seek to find home and belonging alongside people whose lives are in flux.

It is not enough to say all are welcome. To welcome people on the move, we must be willing to change our attitudes and our middle class expectations and our insistence on how things ought to be done (perhaps Pope Francis offers us an example in this http://davidgibson.religionnews.com/2013/09/06/pope-calls-despairing-single-pregnant-mom-offers-to-baptize-her-child/ ). We must confront growing inequality in our society with a prophetic voice, confront systems that make more and more people homeless, both literally and figuratively. We are called to follow the wandering rabbi from Nazareth into places of pain and brokenness and instability. And to enter into the struggle of people who long for belonging in a world of flux, who long for home.

+Sarah

Back to School

My 3 girls went back to school this week. All are happy with their classes and teachers. We are fortunate to have excellent public schools in our town. As they talked about their new classes, I noticed that many of the things that made their schools welcoming would be equally applicable in church. They have teachers who provide challenge along with support and guidance. Their schools are safe, bright, and in good repair. They are with friends who also value learning. Teachers work to engage kids in learning, using methods that have certainly evolved since I was in school.

In the church context, I have valued priests who challenge my beliefs and mindset, while serving as a support and guide. I appreciate church buildings that are cared for and designed to be inviting. Joining a community of brothers and sisters who also are striving to follow Christ is important. And churches that try new ways to reach out, connect, inspire, and teach excite me.

What parallels do you see between churches and schools? What lessons do our schools offer us as we look to the future of the Church?

Kelly

Come Hear Dr. Diana Butler Bass!

Dr. Diana Butler Bass will be giving an open talk at St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle on September 13 at 7:00pm.

Dr. Bass is an author, teacher and speaker who explores the dimensions of religion and spirituality in today’s world, and works to educate both people of faith and the general public about the importance, the depth, and the complexity of religion and spirituality in history, culture, and political life.

Dr. Bass is the author of 8 books, including her most recent, Christianity after Religion: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening.

This talk is sponsored by the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia and Outside Church Walls.

Labor Day Is A Holy Day

Today is the 119th Labor Day, a Holy Day “dedicated to the works and economic achievements of American workers”, according to the U. S. Department of Labor. It’s the only Holy Day, a day defined as “a day of recreation when no work is done”, created by and for the working people of our USA.

Over the many years I’ve “spent” rather than honored Labor Day in a wide variety of ways; some of those ways are likely to be similar to those in your memory bank. Yet, as I sit here this Holy Day, I’m realizing that I have given very little time and thought to actually honoring and celebrating Labor – my own and that of others. There is much to write and to do about honoring and celebrating labor and laborers in today’s environment, but I don’t intend to go there.

Instead, as a believer that small changes can make a positive difference, I intend to start a new “work practice”. I plan to begin today. I think it’s really quite an easy practice, now that I’ve paused long enough to think about it. I invite you to join me. It’s do-able 24/7 and can be done entirely outside church walls. So, here goes.

I’ll start by saying to you. . .Thank You, Every Reader, for the work you do. Your work is making (our neighborhoods, our communities, our world) a better place for all of us. On this day I honor you and wish you a holy day of recreation.

Next, I want to think about each of my own neighbors and pledge to make a special effort to thank them for the work they do to make my neighborhood and my community a better place to live. I want to let them know that I honor and value their work and its contribution to our community’s well-being.

There. That’s it for this small start.

In this time of individualistic thinking, I’m wondering if, through this simple practice of sincerely thanking one another for our work, we might begin to re-new our understanding of belonging in community. Could we come to really experience ourselves as linked together, contributors and beneficiaries, working along side each other, with and for each other for our common good? Even when “along side” can be half way around the world? Even when “along side” can be your neighbors who are yearning to a find way and place for their skills to be of use.

There is valuable work for us to be doing on behalf of work and workers through-out the world.

We can honor Labor Day and its purpose by making a start with our neighbors. “Thank you for the work you do. Your work is important to me, and you are making the world a better place for all of us.”

MaryAnn

God Outside Church Walls

Imagine the absurd notion that the Divine could be experience outside the church walls (Wink!). If you think that is possible, then follow through this activity. If you think that the Divine have made it dwelling solely between the brick and mortar walls of the religious sanctuary, well… why not try this activity, just for curiosity.

Equipment needed:

A map of your neighborhood, town or city (I’ll refer to Google Maps as an easy way online to acquire such map)
Something to write with (color pencils, crayons, pens or markers)
Items for a simple contemplative/meditative space (candles, instrumental music, a comfortable chair, Book of Common Prayer, Bible, etc...)

Activity:

• On the internet browser of your preference search for Google Maps (https://maps.google.com/) or Mapquest (http://www.mapquest.com) or any other online map service.
• Enter your zipcode or the name of your city/town. In my case, I entered Shoreline, WA and then zoomed until I could see the blocks that constitute my neighborhood. 
• Print a copy the map. Here is a link with simple instructions of how to print a Google map - https://support.google.com/maps/answer/144343?hl=en
• Set up a simple contemplation/meditation station. 
• In a meditative attitude, look at the map of your neighborhood/town/city. Imagine yourself walking around, looking at the people, contemplating whatever of nature is present in the area, examining the building.
• Mark in your map your favorite places. Write down a word of phrase that describe what makes it your favorite. If you are interested in doing this in your computer, follow this link with instructions on how to customize a Google map and add drop pin to it. http://www.ehow.com/how_6521984_drop-pin-google-maps.html
• Think of your neighbors. Who are they? Make a mark on those neighbors you know. Write a note about them. Say a prayer for them.
• Keep looking at the map, bring to your memory those areas where brokenness and pain are present in your neighborhood/town/city. Mark them in your map. Say a prayer for those places. Still looking at your map, bring to memory those place where joy, goodness, healing, justice are present. Mark them in your map as well. Say a prayer of gratitude for those places.
• Continue your meditation. Look around the map for those areas that you do not know much about. Why the unknown? Too far from you? a dangerous place? not your scene? Mark or make a note of why you do not know much about it. 
• We are coming to the end of the activity. 
• Take a few minutes to ponder over the whole map. Is it possible to experience the Divine outside the church walls? Where is God present in neighborhood/town/city? 
• Make a mark in your map of a place you want to visit with the intention of being sensitive to God’s present in that place.
• Close in prayer for your neighborhood/town/city. You can use the following Prayer for Cities found in page 825 in the Book of Common Prayer-

Heavenly Father, in your Word you have given us a vision of that holy City to which the nations of the world bring their glory: Behold and visit, we pray, the cities of the earth. Renew the ties of mutual regard which form our civic life. Send us honest and able leaders. Enable us to eliminate poverty, prejudice, and oppression, that peace may prevail with righteousness, and justice with order, and that men and women from different cultures and with differing talents may find with one another the fulfillment of their humanity; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

• If you are doing this in a group, take some time for mutual sharing.
• Keep this map in a place where you can see it often as a way of a reminder of the Divine in your neighborhood/town/city.