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.


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