Missed our Convention address? You can watch part of here where we each answer the question, why am I a Christian?
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Monday, November 10, 2014
Jesus and the Modern Man (NY Times)
Our Diocesan Convention this past week-end was focused on the theme "That ALL May See Jesus". This article, "Jesus and the Modern Man"
spoke to me in every way, but particularly through this paragraph below. It often seems that we who call ourselves Christians want to deny the full and permanent Jewishness of Jesus, who we have named Christ, the anointed one.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/09/opinion/sunday/can-i-stay-with-the-church.html?emc=eta1&_r=0
MaryAnn
spoke to me in every way, but particularly through this paragraph below. It often seems that we who call ourselves Christians want to deny the full and permanent Jewishness of Jesus, who we have named Christ, the anointed one.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/09/opinion/sunday/can-i-stay-with-the-church.html?emc=eta1&_r=0
"Chief among these is the way in which the full and permanent Jewishness of Jesus was forgotten, so much so that his story is told in the Gospels themselves as a story of Jesus against the Jews, as if he were not one of them. Against the way Christians often remember it, Jesus did not proclaim a New Testament God of love against an Old Testament God of judgment (which girds the anti-Jewish bipolarity of grace versus law; generosity versus greed; mercy versus revenge). Rather, as a Shema-reciting son of Israel, he proclaimed the one God, whose judgment comes as love."
MaryAnn
Saturday, November 8, 2014
Our 2014 Convention Address
The text of our 2014 Convention Address has been posted here: http://outsidechurchwalls.blogspot.com/p/2014-convention-address.html
With this report, our work for the Diocese of Olympia has come to a close.
Thank you to those who have supported our work and have followed this blog as we have poured out our hearts to pave the path we were called to walk.
With this report, our work for the Diocese of Olympia has come to a close.
Thank you to those who have supported our work and have followed this blog as we have poured out our hearts to pave the path we were called to walk.
"Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ"
2 Thessalonians 1:2
Thursday, November 6, 2014
My Why
When I was 16, I fell head over heels in love. I walked into All Saints Episcopal Church and fell in love. I loved the people that embraced me there. I loved to sing and immediately, the director of the choir was not only asking me to sing but also working with me privately after church on Sundays. I loved the fact that our church’s building was older than the American Revolution. I loved the beautiful stained glass windows and the colors of the vestments and the silver vessels.
Most of all, I loved the smell of the church. It was a combination of beeswax candles, incense and cherry wood; to me that smell still fills my mind and whenever I come across a church that smells similar, I find myself moved to tears.
Church was a safe place for me. I was accepted and loved. It was a nice place to go that made my week complete. I left each Sunday and watched as my parents talked excitedly about the different people they saw at church that day. Did you see Rosemary today? She is going to have that baby any day now. And what about Auntie Em? Didn’t she look well this week—I was worried about her last week.
For many of us, the story ends here. The Episcopal Church fills our senses and our hearts. And that is nice. We are glad to have that weekly sensate experience among old friends.
But pardon me for saying this, but this is a puny why. It was and is a starting place but it is just the beginning. If we are to be church, to be relevant, our why has got to be fulsome; risky, about the ways we have encountered Jesus.
It was in college that I began to understand something more, it was in college that I encountered Jesus,
I was a part of the Campus Ministry at my Catholic College. The Sisters of Charity are well known for advocating for those Jesus would have us advocate with. Our campus minister was a nun who had worked in Bolivia with farmers. Her community had been gunned down in Latin America for because of their ministry. She told us about Oscar Romero and Jesus Christ who set the people free.
One Lent, our entire campus ministry team made a promise with one another; our Lenten spiritual discipline would be to collectively write daily letters to President Botha of South Africa explaining that we were praying for all the people of South Africa and that one day Aparteid would end. Each of us committed to praying daily for the liberation from Aparteid while we took turns writing letters so that Botha would receive one letter a day through out Lent.
We talked about things that mattered deeply to us from the Bible to Faith to feminism to economic policy to the death penalty. And we argued. The way that college students do.
It was later that spring that our campus ministry held a conference Social Justice. We invited a variety of speakers and it was there, in the midst of this conference that stepped beyond church, and beyond religion that I met Jesus. I looked at Jesus square in the face.
We had just finished celebrating the Triduum on campus. I had sung for Easter Mass on campus and had gone to Maundy Thursday and Good Friday at an Episcopal Church. The story of Jesus was still in my mind as I met him.
He was an African American man who was poor and lived in North Carolina. He had been in the wrong place at the wrong time and was arrested for the murder of a white college student in the early 70’s. He had sat on death row for 13 years innocent. He was down to his last appeal when Project Innocence met him and took on his case. His eyes were haunted, and he was angry. He was using his anger to find his voice now and to talk about the ways our justice system is stacked against the poor and people of color.
And there he was—Jesus. Before my very eyes. The story of the crucifixion and the resurrection was made REAL for me. The crucifixion happens every day in our world—do we see it? The resurrection takes places at the blink of an eye—do we gaze into empty caves in our world to notice it?
Church wasn’t just some nice place to go on Sunday morning; faith was more real than that.
My parents would later tell me that I had succumbed to liberal hogwash. In turn I told them that it wasn’t about being liberal or conservative—it was about being a Christian and seeing Jesus in the world right now. It’s about advocating for those that Jesus would have advocated with.
My adventures as a Christian have been immense; from meeting that former death row prisoner to working with homeless, to developing friendships with other children from the family of Abraham (Muslims and Jews) to being inspired by 80 years and taught by 6 year olds. To year after year of being transformed by prayer, Eucharist and living out my baptismal covenant in the world, to celebrating and praying just as my ancestors have for generations.
I am Christian and I love Science. I love Jesus, the Bible and Darwin.
I am a Christian because love is more powerful than any empire, violence or even death. My life given over to Christ is beyond any wealth or happiness that the world could provide.
I share with you my why because I want to invite you to think about your own why. Beyond how lovely Sunday morning is or how much you love St Cyril’s by Sea, I invite you to ask WHY.
Why am I a Christian?
Pray about it. Write it down. Share it.
Most of all, I loved the smell of the church. It was a combination of beeswax candles, incense and cherry wood; to me that smell still fills my mind and whenever I come across a church that smells similar, I find myself moved to tears.
Church was a safe place for me. I was accepted and loved. It was a nice place to go that made my week complete. I left each Sunday and watched as my parents talked excitedly about the different people they saw at church that day. Did you see Rosemary today? She is going to have that baby any day now. And what about Auntie Em? Didn’t she look well this week—I was worried about her last week.
For many of us, the story ends here. The Episcopal Church fills our senses and our hearts. And that is nice. We are glad to have that weekly sensate experience among old friends.
But pardon me for saying this, but this is a puny why. It was and is a starting place but it is just the beginning. If we are to be church, to be relevant, our why has got to be fulsome; risky, about the ways we have encountered Jesus.
It was in college that I began to understand something more, it was in college that I encountered Jesus,
I was a part of the Campus Ministry at my Catholic College. The Sisters of Charity are well known for advocating for those Jesus would have us advocate with. Our campus minister was a nun who had worked in Bolivia with farmers. Her community had been gunned down in Latin America for because of their ministry. She told us about Oscar Romero and Jesus Christ who set the people free.
One Lent, our entire campus ministry team made a promise with one another; our Lenten spiritual discipline would be to collectively write daily letters to President Botha of South Africa explaining that we were praying for all the people of South Africa and that one day Aparteid would end. Each of us committed to praying daily for the liberation from Aparteid while we took turns writing letters so that Botha would receive one letter a day through out Lent.
We talked about things that mattered deeply to us from the Bible to Faith to feminism to economic policy to the death penalty. And we argued. The way that college students do.
It was later that spring that our campus ministry held a conference Social Justice. We invited a variety of speakers and it was there, in the midst of this conference that stepped beyond church, and beyond religion that I met Jesus. I looked at Jesus square in the face.
We had just finished celebrating the Triduum on campus. I had sung for Easter Mass on campus and had gone to Maundy Thursday and Good Friday at an Episcopal Church. The story of Jesus was still in my mind as I met him.
He was an African American man who was poor and lived in North Carolina. He had been in the wrong place at the wrong time and was arrested for the murder of a white college student in the early 70’s. He had sat on death row for 13 years innocent. He was down to his last appeal when Project Innocence met him and took on his case. His eyes were haunted, and he was angry. He was using his anger to find his voice now and to talk about the ways our justice system is stacked against the poor and people of color.
And there he was—Jesus. Before my very eyes. The story of the crucifixion and the resurrection was made REAL for me. The crucifixion happens every day in our world—do we see it? The resurrection takes places at the blink of an eye—do we gaze into empty caves in our world to notice it?
Church wasn’t just some nice place to go on Sunday morning; faith was more real than that.
My parents would later tell me that I had succumbed to liberal hogwash. In turn I told them that it wasn’t about being liberal or conservative—it was about being a Christian and seeing Jesus in the world right now. It’s about advocating for those that Jesus would have advocated with.
My adventures as a Christian have been immense; from meeting that former death row prisoner to working with homeless, to developing friendships with other children from the family of Abraham (Muslims and Jews) to being inspired by 80 years and taught by 6 year olds. To year after year of being transformed by prayer, Eucharist and living out my baptismal covenant in the world, to celebrating and praying just as my ancestors have for generations.
I am Christian and I love Science. I love Jesus, the Bible and Darwin.
I am a Christian because love is more powerful than any empire, violence or even death. My life given over to Christ is beyond any wealth or happiness that the world could provide.
I share with you my why because I want to invite you to think about your own why. Beyond how lovely Sunday morning is or how much you love St Cyril’s by Sea, I invite you to ask WHY.
Why am I a Christian?
Pray about it. Write it down. Share it.
George
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Passion and Growth
This has been a great quarter for me at the UW thus far. I have finally made it to the point where there are no more literature or geography-crap classes I have to take (sorry to you who like that stuff). From here on out, there is only glorious programming and lots of it (and plenty of math). My grades are up; I’m content and joyful day in and day out. I have a passion for the work that I am doing, and it permeates every moment.
It took me a while to get here. Turning back the pages to my freshman year of college, I had two men I looked up to: Jim and Jerry. Jerry was a psychology professor and Jim is a self-made businessman who sells model trains. Jerry was a wise and experienced 63 year-old man, and Jim middle-aged. To each, at some point during my time with them, I asked the same question: Should I make a career of a beloved hobby?
At the time I was seriously considering pursuing a degree in Early Childhood Education, whittling away at perfecting my skills working with children. It was a good enough field, and I chose it only because I didn't have a good reason not to. But by night I would waste hours making electrical components into flashing lights and other fun little circuits just for fun, or play around with various Linux distros on my laptop.
Jerry, the professor, had the college for 8 years, 15 years in clinical psychology, and 20 years as a scuba instructor and small business owner. He swore up and down that pursuing his hobby of diving as a career was a mistake that cost him decades.
Jim on the other hand, had worked quite happily for 30 years in his hobby of model trains. He worked in a retail shop during the day and went home to play for many hours more each day.
I held both men to be wise and experienced, but I was always perplexed how they could have such different views on a pivotal question. Looking back now, I can see that Jim must have been far more satisfied on his straight forward path in life, while Jerry veered dramatically every decade or two. Jim’s satisfaction stemmed from an underlying passion that showed whenever you mentioned trains to him.
In my mind, passion is the sum of two personal truths. Your why, and your energy.
Why: This is the reason for getting out of the bed in the morning. What makes you tick. For me, I love programming and being a student at UW because it gives me an intellectual challenge of abstract problem solving, and that I get to make things in the virtual world. It is my ultimate display of creativity to know that I have solved a problem and in doing so, I have built an invisible world that slaves away to complete the task I named for it.
Energy: This is simply choosing to do something with your why. Choosing to get out of bed, choosing to tick, and having the time and ability to do so.
When I think of passion in the church, the first people that come to mind are the little old ladies who have served on the altar guild or prayer ministry since before I was a thought. They know what they love to do, they do it well, and I know they will never do anything else.
Thinking about these old ladies, I can plainly see that they love what they do because they have a reason for doing it, and are not stretched beyond their means to do so.
Not every person in ministry in the church has this same passion though. There are several people I can think of who have energy, but no reason for doing what they do. This leads mostly to doing more things, which in turn means burning out that energy. Not knowing why you do something gives no barrier to saying yes to the next need that arises within the church walls, because you can’t say no.
After the same fashion, knowing your reason for doing something, but not having the energy or time to act on it leads to some amount of resentment and possibly getting confused about why you love what you do.
The matter of passion must be solved long before we, as a church, can hope to grow. Growing is no easy task and it will not happen overnight. But when it does, it will happen because people know who they are, and who we are as a Body of Christ. That we know exactly why we exist as an Episcopalian and Christian church, and we readily have the energy (which is not measured in money or membership) to live out our calling.
Robert
It took me a while to get here. Turning back the pages to my freshman year of college, I had two men I looked up to: Jim and Jerry. Jerry was a psychology professor and Jim is a self-made businessman who sells model trains. Jerry was a wise and experienced 63 year-old man, and Jim middle-aged. To each, at some point during my time with them, I asked the same question: Should I make a career of a beloved hobby?
At the time I was seriously considering pursuing a degree in Early Childhood Education, whittling away at perfecting my skills working with children. It was a good enough field, and I chose it only because I didn't have a good reason not to. But by night I would waste hours making electrical components into flashing lights and other fun little circuits just for fun, or play around with various Linux distros on my laptop.
Jerry, the professor, had the college for 8 years, 15 years in clinical psychology, and 20 years as a scuba instructor and small business owner. He swore up and down that pursuing his hobby of diving as a career was a mistake that cost him decades.
Jim on the other hand, had worked quite happily for 30 years in his hobby of model trains. He worked in a retail shop during the day and went home to play for many hours more each day.
I held both men to be wise and experienced, but I was always perplexed how they could have such different views on a pivotal question. Looking back now, I can see that Jim must have been far more satisfied on his straight forward path in life, while Jerry veered dramatically every decade or two. Jim’s satisfaction stemmed from an underlying passion that showed whenever you mentioned trains to him.
In my mind, passion is the sum of two personal truths. Your why, and your energy.
Why: This is the reason for getting out of the bed in the morning. What makes you tick. For me, I love programming and being a student at UW because it gives me an intellectual challenge of abstract problem solving, and that I get to make things in the virtual world. It is my ultimate display of creativity to know that I have solved a problem and in doing so, I have built an invisible world that slaves away to complete the task I named for it.
Energy: This is simply choosing to do something with your why. Choosing to get out of bed, choosing to tick, and having the time and ability to do so.
When I think of passion in the church, the first people that come to mind are the little old ladies who have served on the altar guild or prayer ministry since before I was a thought. They know what they love to do, they do it well, and I know they will never do anything else.
Thinking about these old ladies, I can plainly see that they love what they do because they have a reason for doing it, and are not stretched beyond their means to do so.
Not every person in ministry in the church has this same passion though. There are several people I can think of who have energy, but no reason for doing what they do. This leads mostly to doing more things, which in turn means burning out that energy. Not knowing why you do something gives no barrier to saying yes to the next need that arises within the church walls, because you can’t say no.
After the same fashion, knowing your reason for doing something, but not having the energy or time to act on it leads to some amount of resentment and possibly getting confused about why you love what you do.
The matter of passion must be solved long before we, as a church, can hope to grow. Growing is no easy task and it will not happen overnight. But when it does, it will happen because people know who they are, and who we are as a Body of Christ. That we know exactly why we exist as an Episcopalian and Christian church, and we readily have the energy (which is not measured in money or membership) to live out our calling.
Robert
Monday, October 27, 2014
So That All Must See Jesus
That is the theme for our upcoming Diocesan Convention, November 8 & 9, 2014. OCW is a group that has been meeting over the past two years. One of our charges from Bishop Greg has been to find a way for more people to see Jesus. We must, as individuals and congregations, express our belief as practicing Christians to carry out our God given mission of our Lord and Savior to our communities and the world.
One of the most powerful reoccurring themes was a passionate personal faith and a compelling purpose ... a clear WHY? ... personal and corporate growing out of that faith. We each answered our clear personal why be defining “why I am a Christian”.
For me it was joining a youth group at St. Marks Episcopal Church in Hood River, Oregon, and at the age of 11/12 attending Ascension Summer Camp at Cove, Oregon in the Missionary District of Eastern Oregon in 1946/1947. I attended camp at Cove all the way through until high school graduation in 1953. It was Bishop Lane Barton, ministers, and staff who helped me to see Jesus. It was also fellow campers (still friends for life), including my wife of 55+ years, and the ministers who nurtured me as a Christian these many years. The congregations of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Vancouver, WA and now the congregation of St. Peter’s in Seaview, WA. 1968-2014. It has been the love and grace given to me by my wife Doreen and family, including son Al, daughters Pam and Deb, grandchildren and great-grandchildren that have kept me in Jesus’ care and a Christian.
Chuck
One of the most powerful reoccurring themes was a passionate personal faith and a compelling purpose ... a clear WHY? ... personal and corporate growing out of that faith. We each answered our clear personal why be defining “why I am a Christian”.
For me it was joining a youth group at St. Marks Episcopal Church in Hood River, Oregon, and at the age of 11/12 attending Ascension Summer Camp at Cove, Oregon in the Missionary District of Eastern Oregon in 1946/1947. I attended camp at Cove all the way through until high school graduation in 1953. It was Bishop Lane Barton, ministers, and staff who helped me to see Jesus. It was also fellow campers (still friends for life), including my wife of 55+ years, and the ministers who nurtured me as a Christian these many years. The congregations of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Vancouver, WA and now the congregation of St. Peter’s in Seaview, WA. 1968-2014. It has been the love and grace given to me by my wife Doreen and family, including son Al, daughters Pam and Deb, grandchildren and great-grandchildren that have kept me in Jesus’ care and a Christian.
Chuck
Friday, October 24, 2014
Coming To An End
As the Outside Church Walls group comes to an end, I am experiencing more than a bit of sadness. I've enjoyed getting to know people I would otherwise never have had the chance to meet, much less work with. My thinking has been informed and sharpened by perspectives I would never have though of myself.
My pet angle has, and remains, communication. As an institution, we need to communicate everything we do to the general public. If we don't get our message out, we are complicit in public misunderstandings of Christianity in general, and the Episcopal Church specifically. Having said that, we should be ever vigilant to resist being influenced, both personally and institutionally, by media. Discernment is listening for the Word of God, not reacting emotionally to the latest "if it bleeds, it leads" news story. Media is a tool of public relations that we can put to work for us. However, it can also be a very dangerous weapon when used maliciously or if consumed uncritically. An example of the former is a press release that leads to an article about something positive the church is doing to help address a problem. An example of the latter is the church leaders making public statements about issues they have simply read about without considering the source. It costs thousands of dollars to produce a very simple 30 second local TV commercial; how many millions must it cost to produce a 30 minute international news broadcast... every half hour? It's worth pondering that you aren't charged a dime for it. But it isn't just TV, now of course it's the Interwebz. How much does it cost to host, say, Wikipedia in 99 different languages on who knows how many servers in various countries around the world. And yet, have you ever seen an ad anywhere on Wikipedia? Who's paying for all this? I don't know the answer, but I suspect that the advertising is in the content. Be skeptical.
We know who we are. Many parishes participated in the Church Assessment Tool survey last year. I urge the powers that be to aggregate these so we as a diocese will have a clearer picture of who we are and what our priorities ought to be. This will inform us about how best to communicate who we are. At lunch this summer, two college students who attend St. Paul's Bellingham, Elysia Gemora and Jon Fedele, urged us not to try to change who we are in order to appeal to others, but to state clearly who we are. "We're here because of who you are," they said.
In other words, don't try to put theory into practice, derive theory from practice.
That reminded me of something Eliacin said at one of our meetings: too often we flip a switch when we enter and leave church. We're slightly different people inside church walls and outside them. Our goal should be to eliminate that internal wall within us so we can best engage with others wherever we may find ourselves.
In closing, I'd like to recommend a little book that Doyt recommended to me. It's called "Hour by Hour," available at the Episcopal Bookstore https://www.episcopalbookstore.com/product.aspx?productid=1485 . It's a book of daily prayer four times a day (morning, noon, evening, and compline), for each day of the week. If I had to pick one personal change I'm taking away from the Outside Church Walls experience, it's that developing a sense of spiritual discipline is vital to discerning God's will. That is the only way we can engage successfully with the culture in which we find ourselves.
Peace,
Brad
My pet angle has, and remains, communication. As an institution, we need to communicate everything we do to the general public. If we don't get our message out, we are complicit in public misunderstandings of Christianity in general, and the Episcopal Church specifically. Having said that, we should be ever vigilant to resist being influenced, both personally and institutionally, by media. Discernment is listening for the Word of God, not reacting emotionally to the latest "if it bleeds, it leads" news story. Media is a tool of public relations that we can put to work for us. However, it can also be a very dangerous weapon when used maliciously or if consumed uncritically. An example of the former is a press release that leads to an article about something positive the church is doing to help address a problem. An example of the latter is the church leaders making public statements about issues they have simply read about without considering the source. It costs thousands of dollars to produce a very simple 30 second local TV commercial; how many millions must it cost to produce a 30 minute international news broadcast... every half hour? It's worth pondering that you aren't charged a dime for it. But it isn't just TV, now of course it's the Interwebz. How much does it cost to host, say, Wikipedia in 99 different languages on who knows how many servers in various countries around the world. And yet, have you ever seen an ad anywhere on Wikipedia? Who's paying for all this? I don't know the answer, but I suspect that the advertising is in the content. Be skeptical.
We know who we are. Many parishes participated in the Church Assessment Tool survey last year. I urge the powers that be to aggregate these so we as a diocese will have a clearer picture of who we are and what our priorities ought to be. This will inform us about how best to communicate who we are. At lunch this summer, two college students who attend St. Paul's Bellingham, Elysia Gemora and Jon Fedele, urged us not to try to change who we are in order to appeal to others, but to state clearly who we are. "We're here because of who you are," they said.
In other words, don't try to put theory into practice, derive theory from practice.
That reminded me of something Eliacin said at one of our meetings: too often we flip a switch when we enter and leave church. We're slightly different people inside church walls and outside them. Our goal should be to eliminate that internal wall within us so we can best engage with others wherever we may find ourselves.
In closing, I'd like to recommend a little book that Doyt recommended to me. It's called "Hour by Hour," available at the Episcopal Bookstore https://www.episcopalbookstore.com/product.aspx?productid=1485 . It's a book of daily prayer four times a day (morning, noon, evening, and compline), for each day of the week. If I had to pick one personal change I'm taking away from the Outside Church Walls experience, it's that developing a sense of spiritual discipline is vital to discerning God's will. That is the only way we can engage successfully with the culture in which we find ourselves.
Peace,
Brad
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Reach Out and Learn
My church, like many, has experienced a decline in membership and attendance over the past five years. Due to competing demands on our time and the activities of our three kids, my own family is among those whose presence at Sunday worship has become hit-or-miss. These declines have had real impacts on our church community - fewer folks to carry out the church’s work in the neighborhood, fewer resources to support ministries, fewer brothers and sisters to learn from and share the Christian walk through life with.
Those who have left church communities have something important to teach us. Are they seeking to live a Christian life outside an organized church? Do they feel church has become irrelevant to their lives? Can they share insights about how the church can support those seeking to live as disciples of Christ in an ever-more complicated world? The answers to these questions would offer important teachings for all of us. How can we reach out and learn?
Kelly
Those who have left church communities have something important to teach us. Are they seeking to live a Christian life outside an organized church? Do they feel church has become irrelevant to their lives? Can they share insights about how the church can support those seeking to live as disciples of Christ in an ever-more complicated world? The answers to these questions would offer important teachings for all of us. How can we reach out and learn?
Kelly
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Passionate Christianity – Awe-Filled Journey. Come On Along!
As I quickly stride toward the 75 year marker of my life (I can’t get my mind wrapped around knowing that I have experienced three-quarters of a century!), I want to briefly tell my simple story about God, Jesus of Nazareth, and us – the centuries God has called us beloved sons and daughters. It’s only my story. Personal, as is, really each of our stories -- a human story, a simple story, a mystery story and a holy story that began long before our ancient people were wandering story-telling Arameans. The Story likely will continue for centuries beyond the lives of any of us now living on this planet. We will have gone from life to life. Yet, we have a major opportunity right now to shape how this Holy Story moves forward.
About God, I believe God is the mystery of more than we can ever know. I find that re-assuring and comforting. Back at the beginning of the Exodus when Israel was enslaved in Egypt, Moses asked God,
I wonder why it is that we seem unsatisfied with God’s simple and clear response?
About Jesus of Nazareth, a knowledgeable and devout Jew and a beloved son of I AM. He believed it. He knew it. He had the courage and the knowledge of the Story to own it and act on it in his own life. Just imagine what our world could be like if we all believed we are beloved sons and daughters of I AM, said it and had the courage to act on it. Jesus of Nazareth radicalized The Story in three sentences. Three sentences! Matthew tells us in 22:36-40 that when Jesus was asked
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Just imagine how those words, those three sentences hit the ears of the Pharisees. And we know how Jesus’ words and walking his talk riled the Establishment and the tragic end result of their fears. Crucifixion on a rugged, wooden cross.
Personally I’m not keen on calling either God or Jesus my Lord or my King. I Know the rationale; and yet I have no Lords or Kings in my life to whom I pay homage. God is the mystery of more than we can ever know, and Jesus, is our Christ, the Anointed One and our salvation, our healer. He is also our very much older brother who has taught us much.
About the Holy Spirit who lives and move through and among us today. It is the Holy Spirit that lives in community and guides us toward the future which God, the I will be what I will be, is calling us. Just imagine, if we created sacred time and space to just listen beneath the noise of the world, and encouraged each other to work with God to create God’s “community come on earth, what a powerful difference it could make it our common life together
What I’ve written, in brief, is at the deep root of my Christian faith and my passion as a Christian.
About the Episcopal Church. It is the gathering of imperfect people seeking to be together in community, to remember the Story told for centuries by our ancient people around campfires and that much later was written down (for better and for worse). We can weave our own weekly scraps of life (for better and for worse) into it. It is a Story alive, continuing to be told and written in the here and now. We are reminded who we are and whose we are; and, just as we are, that we’re beloved and forgiven sons and daughters of God. It is a high bar for us to stretch to reach; to love our God, the I AM who I am; to love ourselves and our neighbors as ourselves, not only with our lips but with our lives. We remember, gathered in community, the deepest heart of our Story offered to us by Jesus, our Christ and Savior.
We gather around the Holy Table, an Altar, to share blessed bread and wine together, as the broken body of Christ and the cup of Salvation, on behalf of a huge international banquet table with room and welcome for all the people of the world. It is a power-filled and awe-some act. The priest, as presider, at public worship re-presents Christ to us all, showing us how to go and do likewise. Strengthened by community who has offered one another Christ’s forgiveness, peace and love, and been fed a common meal of good bread and wine, we celebrate again that we are one Body, nourished to go forth into the world to love and serve our neighbors, all around the world, as Jesus who we anointed our Christ showed us how to do – perhaps risking our lives to do so. Just imagine along with me, that with God’s help and the support of one other, how we are empowered to go out and change the world, to risk transforming life on this land, our fragile island home.
Love God, love yourself and love your neighbors – especially the cranky ones and the ones who are weary and in need wherever they are in our world. Get to know them and their stories. Call them by name. Love and welcome them to Christ’s Table. They are members of the Body of Christ, too. All of us are one body.
May the Peace of Jesus, our Christ and Savior, be always with you.
MaryAnn
About God, I believe God is the mystery of more than we can ever know. I find that re-assuring and comforting. Back at the beginning of the Exodus when Israel was enslaved in Egypt, Moses asked God,
“If I go to the Israelites and tell them the God of their forefathers has sent me to them, and they ask me his name, what shall I say? God answered, “I AM, that is who I am; or I will be what I will be.”
I wonder why it is that we seem unsatisfied with God’s simple and clear response?
About Jesus of Nazareth, a knowledgeable and devout Jew and a beloved son of I AM. He believed it. He knew it. He had the courage and the knowledge of the Story to own it and act on it in his own life. Just imagine what our world could be like if we all believed we are beloved sons and daughters of I AM, said it and had the courage to act on it. Jesus of Nazareth radicalized The Story in three sentences. Three sentences! Matthew tells us in 22:36-40 that when Jesus was asked
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Just imagine how those words, those three sentences hit the ears of the Pharisees. And we know how Jesus’ words and walking his talk riled the Establishment and the tragic end result of their fears. Crucifixion on a rugged, wooden cross.
Personally I’m not keen on calling either God or Jesus my Lord or my King. I Know the rationale; and yet I have no Lords or Kings in my life to whom I pay homage. God is the mystery of more than we can ever know, and Jesus, is our Christ, the Anointed One and our salvation, our healer. He is also our very much older brother who has taught us much.
About the Holy Spirit who lives and move through and among us today. It is the Holy Spirit that lives in community and guides us toward the future which God, the I will be what I will be, is calling us. Just imagine, if we created sacred time and space to just listen beneath the noise of the world, and encouraged each other to work with God to create God’s “community come on earth, what a powerful difference it could make it our common life together
What I’ve written, in brief, is at the deep root of my Christian faith and my passion as a Christian.
About the Episcopal Church. It is the gathering of imperfect people seeking to be together in community, to remember the Story told for centuries by our ancient people around campfires and that much later was written down (for better and for worse). We can weave our own weekly scraps of life (for better and for worse) into it. It is a Story alive, continuing to be told and written in the here and now. We are reminded who we are and whose we are; and, just as we are, that we’re beloved and forgiven sons and daughters of God. It is a high bar for us to stretch to reach; to love our God, the I AM who I am; to love ourselves and our neighbors as ourselves, not only with our lips but with our lives. We remember, gathered in community, the deepest heart of our Story offered to us by Jesus, our Christ and Savior.
We gather around the Holy Table, an Altar, to share blessed bread and wine together, as the broken body of Christ and the cup of Salvation, on behalf of a huge international banquet table with room and welcome for all the people of the world. It is a power-filled and awe-some act. The priest, as presider, at public worship re-presents Christ to us all, showing us how to go and do likewise. Strengthened by community who has offered one another Christ’s forgiveness, peace and love, and been fed a common meal of good bread and wine, we celebrate again that we are one Body, nourished to go forth into the world to love and serve our neighbors, all around the world, as Jesus who we anointed our Christ showed us how to do – perhaps risking our lives to do so. Just imagine along with me, that with God’s help and the support of one other, how we are empowered to go out and change the world, to risk transforming life on this land, our fragile island home.
Love God, love yourself and love your neighbors – especially the cranky ones and the ones who are weary and in need wherever they are in our world. Get to know them and their stories. Call them by name. Love and welcome them to Christ’s Table. They are members of the Body of Christ, too. All of us are one body.
May the Peace of Jesus, our Christ and Savior, be always with you.
MaryAnn
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Know Your Constituency
One of the things we in the OCW group have read a lot about as far as working on connecting with those not attending church is to “know your constituency”—know about those in your community. I just recently read a couple of articles that gave me pause about understanding others and their views about their faith and giving.
The first one provides the results of a couple of surveys about what people pray about and for. I found it interesting what people pray about—the top four choices all being about themselves or their families and friends. Only one item on the list involved other people in trouble—people who have been in natural disasters. The list did not even have anything about praying for people who are poor or have no voice (maybe not even offered by the survey). What does that say about our communities in general, if anything? It seems to imply that our society has a major focus on ourselves, the so-called “Me First” mindset. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/05/american-prayer-survey_n_5920536.html?utm_hp_ref=religion (surveys by Life Way Research)
The second article talks about giving over the past few years by people at various levels of income in the United States. It is troubling to see that giving has decreased among those of higher levels of income, while heartening that those of lesser means are giving more to help others. What does this say about those in our communities? Maybe that those who are more likely to be experiencing challenges in their daily lives around basic needs are those more understanding about helping others in similar difficulties.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/06/wealthy-charity-giving-greedy_n_5937100.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000013&ir=Politics (data provided by Chronicles of Philanthropy report)
For most of us in our churches we believe that Jesus implores us to pray for and help others, and to especially do so for those who have little or nothing and no voice in our society. (Matthew 25:40--‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’) I believe it is important for us to discuss these kinds of surveys and other information as part of our working on how to be faithful in our ministry through Christ to help the poor, and being able to identify what ways will connect with everyone in our communities—both the wealthy and those with not so much.
Jim
The first one provides the results of a couple of surveys about what people pray about and for. I found it interesting what people pray about—the top four choices all being about themselves or their families and friends. Only one item on the list involved other people in trouble—people who have been in natural disasters. The list did not even have anything about praying for people who are poor or have no voice (maybe not even offered by the survey). What does that say about our communities in general, if anything? It seems to imply that our society has a major focus on ourselves, the so-called “Me First” mindset. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/05/american-prayer-survey_n_5920536.html?utm_hp_ref=religion (surveys by Life Way Research)
The second article talks about giving over the past few years by people at various levels of income in the United States. It is troubling to see that giving has decreased among those of higher levels of income, while heartening that those of lesser means are giving more to help others. What does this say about those in our communities? Maybe that those who are more likely to be experiencing challenges in their daily lives around basic needs are those more understanding about helping others in similar difficulties.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/06/wealthy-charity-giving-greedy_n_5937100.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000013&ir=Politics (data provided by Chronicles of Philanthropy report)
For most of us in our churches we believe that Jesus implores us to pray for and help others, and to especially do so for those who have little or nothing and no voice in our society. (Matthew 25:40--‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’) I believe it is important for us to discuss these kinds of surveys and other information as part of our working on how to be faithful in our ministry through Christ to help the poor, and being able to identify what ways will connect with everyone in our communities—both the wealthy and those with not so much.
Jim
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
The Church is like Downton Abbey…
Beloved readers, you are my confessor today as I admit to you my weakness for English Drama Period Pieces. Yes, I am smitten with Downton Abbey. I know the dialog is not true to the time period and yes, I know it is terribly classist and maybe the plot lines are starting to run a wee bit thin. I know all that and yet, the story intrigues me.
In case you don’t know the show, let me tell you a little bit. It is the early days of the 20th Century in England. World War I has split the world in two and life at this English estate is different.
As one character states, “I feel a shaking of the ground I stand on. The nature of life is not permanence but flux. Things are changing.”
Things are indeed changing. Poor Lord Grantham. He wants to run the estate as he always has without having to worry or ever talk about money ( talking about money is so middle class) but when the money runs out and he is bailed out by his middle class cousin who is heir to the estate and also husband to the Lord’s daughter, values begin to change how the estate is run.
This is not easy. There is great conflict in the family as the world is changing and estate after estate all around Downton is closing down. Lord Grantham of course wants things to remain exactly the same, but Matthew the once reticent heir to the estate has his own ideas and the two are clashing with one another over the best future for the estate. Lord Grantham can’t see his place in the world and the changes are more than he can bear. His very personhood feels threatened.
With more than a little bit of irony, Lord Grantham finds reconciliation to these new ideas through conversation with his son in law the radical socialist Irish man who reminds him that, “Every man or woman who marries into this house, every child born into it, has to put their gifts at the family's disposal.”
The young Irish man then goes on to remind Lord Grantham of his value to the estate, his role and the importance of what he holds.
This story is not just a good piece of narrative drama. It is the story that is being told to us in Exodus these last several weeks as seismic shifts have taken place in the tribe of Israelites that have set themselves off on a journey of freedom and many are beginning to regret and blame the change and journey that God has invited them to embark on.
It is the same story, you see. Moses is the reticent heir, the elders that complain remind me of Lord Grantham, no longer certain of their place in this new world. And what of that radical Irish man—where is he in the Exodus story? Well of course that’s God.
I’ll take this a step further. This story of change is not just confined to Downton Abbey or the Bible. This story is OUR story of life right now. The church itself is the grand estate in a world where grand estates are dying. Like Downton Abbey, we are seeing vast changes in our world.
And the question is how to best be the vital thriving estate shifting practices that need to be changed while holding onto the very best of the tradition?
Like the loss of land, estate taxes and the disappearance of domestic servants in the great estates, churches themselves are changing. As church choirs disappear across the country and the average size of a mainline protestant church is around 45-50 on a Sunday, there is no doubt: if we are to thrive, then we need to manage our affairs a bit differently while staying true to our identity.
I wonder if we are listening to our reticent heirs at all; those that might have once been here, those that are here now with their children or coming to church from time to time—Easter, Christmas etc. It is easy for us to scoff at our heirs, as they are not the same kind of people we are, after all they are ONLY here a little bit, why aren’t they more invested?
What do the reticent heirs have to say to us? What might they want to do to see our estate thrive?
Admittedly, every good simile or metaphor has a breaking point, a place of not like this. Of course, the danger of seeing the church as Downton is that it keeps us locked in a mindset of church as building or estate rather than church as people everywhere working to transform the world. That’s the breaking point and the danger of this comparison.
However, what is true is that churches are no longer the dominant source of community that they once were in our culture and much needs to be thought about and considered for our future thriving in the Episcopal Church, if there is to be a future. To go on as if nothing was different nothing has changed will surely see us ending up like so many of the estates of Great Britain, emptied and bulldozed or now museums for tourists to peruse.
Is this to be our future?
I suppose, like Downton, we’ll have to wait a season or two to know the answer to these questions.
In case you don’t know the show, let me tell you a little bit. It is the early days of the 20th Century in England. World War I has split the world in two and life at this English estate is different.
As one character states, “I feel a shaking of the ground I stand on. The nature of life is not permanence but flux. Things are changing.”
Things are indeed changing. Poor Lord Grantham. He wants to run the estate as he always has without having to worry or ever talk about money ( talking about money is so middle class) but when the money runs out and he is bailed out by his middle class cousin who is heir to the estate and also husband to the Lord’s daughter, values begin to change how the estate is run.
This is not easy. There is great conflict in the family as the world is changing and estate after estate all around Downton is closing down. Lord Grantham of course wants things to remain exactly the same, but Matthew the once reticent heir to the estate has his own ideas and the two are clashing with one another over the best future for the estate. Lord Grantham can’t see his place in the world and the changes are more than he can bear. His very personhood feels threatened.
With more than a little bit of irony, Lord Grantham finds reconciliation to these new ideas through conversation with his son in law the radical socialist Irish man who reminds him that, “Every man or woman who marries into this house, every child born into it, has to put their gifts at the family's disposal.”
The young Irish man then goes on to remind Lord Grantham of his value to the estate, his role and the importance of what he holds.
This story is not just a good piece of narrative drama. It is the story that is being told to us in Exodus these last several weeks as seismic shifts have taken place in the tribe of Israelites that have set themselves off on a journey of freedom and many are beginning to regret and blame the change and journey that God has invited them to embark on.
It is the same story, you see. Moses is the reticent heir, the elders that complain remind me of Lord Grantham, no longer certain of their place in this new world. And what of that radical Irish man—where is he in the Exodus story? Well of course that’s God.
I’ll take this a step further. This story of change is not just confined to Downton Abbey or the Bible. This story is OUR story of life right now. The church itself is the grand estate in a world where grand estates are dying. Like Downton Abbey, we are seeing vast changes in our world.
And the question is how to best be the vital thriving estate shifting practices that need to be changed while holding onto the very best of the tradition?
Like the loss of land, estate taxes and the disappearance of domestic servants in the great estates, churches themselves are changing. As church choirs disappear across the country and the average size of a mainline protestant church is around 45-50 on a Sunday, there is no doubt: if we are to thrive, then we need to manage our affairs a bit differently while staying true to our identity.
I wonder if we are listening to our reticent heirs at all; those that might have once been here, those that are here now with their children or coming to church from time to time—Easter, Christmas etc. It is easy for us to scoff at our heirs, as they are not the same kind of people we are, after all they are ONLY here a little bit, why aren’t they more invested?
What do the reticent heirs have to say to us? What might they want to do to see our estate thrive?
Admittedly, every good simile or metaphor has a breaking point, a place of not like this. Of course, the danger of seeing the church as Downton is that it keeps us locked in a mindset of church as building or estate rather than church as people everywhere working to transform the world. That’s the breaking point and the danger of this comparison.
However, what is true is that churches are no longer the dominant source of community that they once were in our culture and much needs to be thought about and considered for our future thriving in the Episcopal Church, if there is to be a future. To go on as if nothing was different nothing has changed will surely see us ending up like so many of the estates of Great Britain, emptied and bulldozed or now museums for tourists to peruse.
Is this to be our future?
I suppose, like Downton, we’ll have to wait a season or two to know the answer to these questions.
George
Friday, October 3, 2014
Too Poor to go to Church?
Recently, a good friend of mine and a lifetime churchgoer, remarked to me; “I’m just too poor to go to church. I’m tired of having to pretend.” For her, she was tired of keeping up appearances, tired of the policing of her tithe, tired of having to look good enough to fit in with the standards of the church she was attending.
Not too long ago Jesse Zink asked this question in his blog: Can a Starbucks barista find a place in the Episcopal Church? (http://jessezink.com/2014/08/20/can-a-starbucks-barista-find-a-place-in-the-episcopal-church). Would this mythical Starbucks barista, working multiple jobs and caring for kids, be comfortable in our churches? Zink concludes that she just may not be, and blames our vague focus on mission and “do goodism.” It is hard, he observes, to live a “life in constant chaos” and do all the volunteer work expected in some of our churches.
This article got me thinking. First, I do know plenty of working class people making low wages who go to our churches (I’ve been one of them). Second, I wonder about how we assume that "working for change" "social justice" and all these other words we use in progressive churches means soup kitchens and charity work or other volunteer work. I am not opposed to this work. But it in itself is the problem, in many cases. Zink’s Starbucks barista may not be Episcopal because she doesn't have time to volunteer; but just as likely she is not coming to volunteer at your soup kitchen or food bank because she's probably going to one. And she’s embarrassed. She’s embarrassed, not because she should be, but because so often our churches adopt our culture’s attitude toward success.
Most people I work alongside wouldn't walk into a church, not because the service is strange or they are asked to do something, but because they are either treated as charity cases or intruders. It is all about how well you can pass--as middle class, put together, and stable. And that is exhausting.
This, I think, is what my friend was getting at. Our churches are way too often places to pass, places where a certain amount of respectability is required. Places to pretend that being Christian means dressing up on Sunday and volunteering in the community and tithing a respectable amount of money. A place we never talk about poverty and are embarrassed to admit we are experiencing it.
It gets to the question of why we are Christians. The question of what Jesus was all about. If church is about philanthropy and charity, about volunteering and a vague "making the world a better place," about social cliques and passing as middle class, then maybe there is no place for people struggling to survive, except as the recipient of our paternalistic care.
Now, if the church is about a Jesus who preaches "good news to the poor and setting the oppressed free," about "finding rest" in a world of chaos and struggle, about having "life and having it more abundantly," about organizing a movement of people who resisted imperial culture by loving each other, supporting each others' need to survive, and struggling for liberation-- well, then, the church might just be centered around the needs of the many who are struggling to survive after all.
Not too long ago Jesse Zink asked this question in his blog: Can a Starbucks barista find a place in the Episcopal Church? (http://jessezink.com/2014/08/20/can-a-starbucks-barista-find-a-place-in-the-episcopal-church). Would this mythical Starbucks barista, working multiple jobs and caring for kids, be comfortable in our churches? Zink concludes that she just may not be, and blames our vague focus on mission and “do goodism.” It is hard, he observes, to live a “life in constant chaos” and do all the volunteer work expected in some of our churches.
This article got me thinking. First, I do know plenty of working class people making low wages who go to our churches (I’ve been one of them). Second, I wonder about how we assume that "working for change" "social justice" and all these other words we use in progressive churches means soup kitchens and charity work or other volunteer work. I am not opposed to this work. But it in itself is the problem, in many cases. Zink’s Starbucks barista may not be Episcopal because she doesn't have time to volunteer; but just as likely she is not coming to volunteer at your soup kitchen or food bank because she's probably going to one. And she’s embarrassed. She’s embarrassed, not because she should be, but because so often our churches adopt our culture’s attitude toward success.
Most people I work alongside wouldn't walk into a church, not because the service is strange or they are asked to do something, but because they are either treated as charity cases or intruders. It is all about how well you can pass--as middle class, put together, and stable. And that is exhausting.
This, I think, is what my friend was getting at. Our churches are way too often places to pass, places where a certain amount of respectability is required. Places to pretend that being Christian means dressing up on Sunday and volunteering in the community and tithing a respectable amount of money. A place we never talk about poverty and are embarrassed to admit we are experiencing it.
It gets to the question of why we are Christians. The question of what Jesus was all about. If church is about philanthropy and charity, about volunteering and a vague "making the world a better place," about social cliques and passing as middle class, then maybe there is no place for people struggling to survive, except as the recipient of our paternalistic care.
Now, if the church is about a Jesus who preaches "good news to the poor and setting the oppressed free," about "finding rest" in a world of chaos and struggle, about having "life and having it more abundantly," about organizing a movement of people who resisted imperial culture by loving each other, supporting each others' need to survive, and struggling for liberation-- well, then, the church might just be centered around the needs of the many who are struggling to survive after all.
Sarah
Monday, September 29, 2014
Almost 2 Years As A Nomad
After our 2012 Diocesan Convention, “Living Our Baptism”, I accepted a call to join a group seeking God’s mission-oriented future for the Diocese of Olympia. It was called “Outside Church Walls.” It has been meeting once a month since December 2012 in the Seattle area that is not within our church walls.
In my professional life I worked several years as a marine industry consultant working in the Middle East and Korea, so I did have some idea of working outside of normal U.S. working atmosphere and conditions, absorbing a little bit of nomadic life.
Our task has been to work with Bishop Greg trying to come up with ideas that would make our Diocese of Olympia and the 100 Episcopal Churches within, more involved to carry out our God given charge, as individuals and congregations into our communities, the Mission of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
To say the least, it has been an interesting adventure that has allowed me to visit many locations in the Puget Sound area that I never would have been to other- wise. I have met some wonderful people and organizations that are, in different ways, carrying out God’s Mission on a regular basis. I’ve gotten to work with and know 13 members of our Diocese, both Lay and Priests, that I can say have worked hard, prayed hard, anguished about how to live into our Baptismal Vows, and carry out the Lord’s will in the Diocese of Olympia.
I felt good about the surveys we did in our congregations, communities, and the interviews with community leaders that led to our forum and program at the 2013 Diocesan Convention. Our forum with the Community Interview Packet was filled to overflowing on Saturday morning, but the follow-ups with individual congregations after Convention did not create the enthusiasm we had hoped with the exceptions of a few congregations.
Yes, we were disappointed, but felt we should carry on with sharing information from many other Dioceses’ and congregations across the Episcopal and Anglican Churches across, not just the U.S., but around the World.
“Outside Church Walls” will be bringing the ideas and concerns of the past two years to the 104th Convention of the Diocese of Olympia in November 2014.
Our August meeting was held at “Seattle Tilth”, Rainier Valley site, in a garden setting. We were served a fantastic meal by Elders from East African immigrant communities who work the gardens with the Lord’s help...very powerful.
It was at this meeting that we tried to summarize the defining themes over our time together.
I was reminded of our “Deacon’s Poverty Resolution” passed at the 2012 Convention. Not to eliminate it, but to make sure that any programs in our churches would consider poverty in our communities and actions...What Would Jesus Do? That was on every agenda of our meetings and might be one of the vehicals between congregations and communities that will make a difference in carrying out our Lord’s work, both inside and outside our Church walls. Amen
Chuck
In my professional life I worked several years as a marine industry consultant working in the Middle East and Korea, so I did have some idea of working outside of normal U.S. working atmosphere and conditions, absorbing a little bit of nomadic life.
Our task has been to work with Bishop Greg trying to come up with ideas that would make our Diocese of Olympia and the 100 Episcopal Churches within, more involved to carry out our God given charge, as individuals and congregations into our communities, the Mission of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
To say the least, it has been an interesting adventure that has allowed me to visit many locations in the Puget Sound area that I never would have been to other- wise. I have met some wonderful people and organizations that are, in different ways, carrying out God’s Mission on a regular basis. I’ve gotten to work with and know 13 members of our Diocese, both Lay and Priests, that I can say have worked hard, prayed hard, anguished about how to live into our Baptismal Vows, and carry out the Lord’s will in the Diocese of Olympia.
I felt good about the surveys we did in our congregations, communities, and the interviews with community leaders that led to our forum and program at the 2013 Diocesan Convention. Our forum with the Community Interview Packet was filled to overflowing on Saturday morning, but the follow-ups with individual congregations after Convention did not create the enthusiasm we had hoped with the exceptions of a few congregations.
Yes, we were disappointed, but felt we should carry on with sharing information from many other Dioceses’ and congregations across the Episcopal and Anglican Churches across, not just the U.S., but around the World.
“Outside Church Walls” will be bringing the ideas and concerns of the past two years to the 104th Convention of the Diocese of Olympia in November 2014.
Our August meeting was held at “Seattle Tilth”, Rainier Valley site, in a garden setting. We were served a fantastic meal by Elders from East African immigrant communities who work the gardens with the Lord’s help...very powerful.
It was at this meeting that we tried to summarize the defining themes over our time together.
- A powerful personal faith that drove our presence in our world and church.
- A compelling purpose (a clear why?) growing out of that faith.
- A meaningful action that comes from 1 & 2.
- Leadership and accountability from Lay, Clergy and Congregations that will provide the dynamic for 1,2,& 3.
I was reminded of our “Deacon’s Poverty Resolution” passed at the 2012 Convention. Not to eliminate it, but to make sure that any programs in our churches would consider poverty in our communities and actions...What Would Jesus Do? That was on every agenda of our meetings and might be one of the vehicals between congregations and communities that will make a difference in carrying out our Lord’s work, both inside and outside our Church walls. Amen
Chuck
Monday, September 22, 2014
Managing Decline and a New Opportunity for Growth
"This Episcopal Church is in the throes of creative ferment, yearning to find a new congruence that will discover emerging life in new soil, and refreshed growth in the plantings of former years."
Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts-Schori
- I've been thinking about two facts:The Episcopal Church in Western Washington is in numerical decline; and,
- There is a demographic tidal wave headed our way.
With respect to the decline, this means that there are fewer Episcopalians with each passing year even though the general population is increasing faster than ever. But our land and buildings aren't shrinking. So, if we're smart about this, we can put our land and buildings to the best productive economic use to maximize income. That will enable us to have a disproportionate influence on society notwithstanding our small size. Note, maximize income. That does not mean selling out. I think selling property is not only unwise, short-sighted, and poor stewardship, but it may even be a breach of fiduciary duty. Buildings and land are assets, cash is not
But how can we determine what that best productive use is? Ask the market.
Here's an example. The Diocese owns several acres of land just north of Bellingham. Currently, there are several discussions I'm aware of about how to use it. A farm to grow food for the hungry? Apartments for the homeless? Assisted living for the aged? What has so far been missing from these conversations is the fact that the property is located in one of the fastest growing areas of Whatcom County. While I am merely using this piece of property as an example because I'm familiar with it, the best use may be a long-term sophisticated commercial real estate lease. That would generate the most revenue, which could then be used to buy more food than we could grow ourselves, to rent more apartments for the homeless, or to build a bigger assisted living facility. Or maybe we should just use the proceeds to provide grants to organizations or people who do those things best while the church focuses on proclaiming the Kingdom of God, which is what we do best. I'm not saying that's necessarily the answer, but I do believe stewardship requires is to be economically efficient with our property. At the very least, a church building sitting empty and unused 6 days a week is a stewardship "fail."
As for the wave of the future, it's what marketers call Generation Z, people born since 1995. People under 19 years old are the single largest demographic group in the US, over quarter of the population. This group has some identifiable characteristics and attitudes that ought to be of interest to the church:
- They may in some ways be more receptive to tradition than Millenials, Generation X, and the Baby Boom. My instincts tell me that Generation Z wants nothing to do with how the Baby Boom expresses itself; Boomers have been "in power" for way too long. For example, Generation Z doesn't relate to any comparison-- even by way of contrast-- to "the 1960's" or the "19 anythings", for that matter.
- 26% of them are volunteering.
- 25% of them live in poverty.
- 30% of them are putting off graduating from High School. Why?
- They worry about the economy and the environment, blaming previous generations [that's us, folks] for trashing both. Sam Torvend has been saying this for years.
- 26% of them would need to fly to visit most of their social network "friends." I infer that this means a lack of authentic physical community locally.
- 25% of them have left Facebook so far in 2014.
And guess what the Episcopal Church does extraordinarily well? Tradition.
If we keep our heads economically and play to (and communicate) our strengths, I see a tremendous opportunity for growth.
Here's a fascinating marketing presentation on the characteristics of Generation Z: http://www.slideshare.net/sparksandhoney/generation-z-final-june-17
Brad
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Out of Fuel
Back in June, I posted about the I-SEE3 Spacecraft which had recently drawn quite close to Earth. I felt somehow that this 1970's era spacecraft symbolized the church. The spacecraft had been sent a signal to shutdown, but never did. Like the church, it remained irrelevant for many years but still fully functioning.
I thought I would post an update on the I-SEE 3 Mission as it certainly didn't turn out as I expected. Shortly after my post, the team in control of the spacecraft attempted a series of 11 maneuvers to put it into a new orbit between the Earth and the Sun.Only a couple of maneuvers were successful before the thrusters started to sputter.
For a week I sat on the edge of the seat, hoping for some good news, checking their blog several times a day. There could have been several things that had gone wrong, anything from a clog in the fuel lines to a busted valve.
It hadn't crossed my mind that I-SEE3 would be out of fuel. Although I'm only an outside observer with no experience in interplanetary science, I thought that I-SEE3 was a sure thing.
On July 24th, the Reboot Project started commanding the spacecraft to shutdown any systems that didn't do science. While the original intended mission isn't a possibility any longer, the scientific instruments on board are still functioning and relaying information back about solar activity. For the first time in 30+ years, I-SEE3 is again doing science and reporting it back to earth for any all all to hear. During our most recent solar flare, people were listening as I-SEE3 reported what was going on.
My initial reaction was that ISEE-3 was dead, unusable, spent. And to be sure, the fuel and propulsion system is. It's still hard to remind myself that this is not the case for the whole spacecraft.
In our work exploring our to revitalize the church, I think we have came to similar conclusions about the Episcopal Church. While parts of us are still vital and relevant, other parts are well out of fuel.
We're at a crossroads: do we attempt to revitalize ourselves to go on more missions or should we die and let die in the hope of Resurrection?
I hope you will join us at Diocesan Convention November 7-8 to hear what we think about this question and more.
Robert
I thought I would post an update on the I-SEE 3 Mission as it certainly didn't turn out as I expected. Shortly after my post, the team in control of the spacecraft attempted a series of 11 maneuvers to put it into a new orbit between the Earth and the Sun.Only a couple of maneuvers were successful before the thrusters started to sputter.
For a week I sat on the edge of the seat, hoping for some good news, checking their blog several times a day. There could have been several things that had gone wrong, anything from a clog in the fuel lines to a busted valve.
It hadn't crossed my mind that I-SEE3 would be out of fuel. Although I'm only an outside observer with no experience in interplanetary science, I thought that I-SEE3 was a sure thing.
On July 24th, the Reboot Project started commanding the spacecraft to shutdown any systems that didn't do science. While the original intended mission isn't a possibility any longer, the scientific instruments on board are still functioning and relaying information back about solar activity. For the first time in 30+ years, I-SEE3 is again doing science and reporting it back to earth for any all all to hear. During our most recent solar flare, people were listening as I-SEE3 reported what was going on.
My initial reaction was that ISEE-3 was dead, unusable, spent. And to be sure, the fuel and propulsion system is. It's still hard to remind myself that this is not the case for the whole spacecraft.
In our work exploring our to revitalize the church, I think we have came to similar conclusions about the Episcopal Church. While parts of us are still vital and relevant, other parts are well out of fuel.
We're at a crossroads: do we attempt to revitalize ourselves to go on more missions or should we die and let die in the hope of Resurrection?
I hope you will join us at Diocesan Convention November 7-8 to hear what we think about this question and more.
Robert
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Argue
At our most recent Outside Church Walls meeting we prayed for one member’s granddaughter and her babies who had entered labor too early, and we prayed for another member’s mother, struggling with illness. We further settled in with a group reflection.
And then we argued – passionately and faithfully. It was tense at times, with several wanting to speak at once. As we broke for lunch the most fervent found each other in the next room, not to push their cases one last time but to acknowledge common ground despite their differences.
It felt like a faithful, grace-full time. We worked from prayer and connection, allowing us to remain centered on God, to see light in the midst of the heat. Because of our conflict in the morning (not despite of, but because of), we spent good time in the afternoon reaching clarity on work we’ve been doing for some time.
None of us holds a lock on God’s truth, so much larger than any one of us – or even all of us together – can comprehend. It’s important for us to push each other, to assert and to listen, so that together we can more closely approximate the mind of God.
We live in a fractured culture, fragmenting into ever-smaller groups, each insisting on conformity to its micro-ideology. One gift we can offer is the model of advocating passionately while still listening respectfully, then coming together over what we can hold in common.
And then we argued – passionately and faithfully. It was tense at times, with several wanting to speak at once. As we broke for lunch the most fervent found each other in the next room, not to push their cases one last time but to acknowledge common ground despite their differences.
It felt like a faithful, grace-full time. We worked from prayer and connection, allowing us to remain centered on God, to see light in the midst of the heat. Because of our conflict in the morning (not despite of, but because of), we spent good time in the afternoon reaching clarity on work we’ve been doing for some time.
None of us holds a lock on God’s truth, so much larger than any one of us – or even all of us together – can comprehend. It’s important for us to push each other, to assert and to listen, so that together we can more closely approximate the mind of God.
We live in a fractured culture, fragmenting into ever-smaller groups, each insisting on conformity to its micro-ideology. One gift we can offer is the model of advocating passionately while still listening respectfully, then coming together over what we can hold in common.
Greg
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Church and Religion Not On Their Radar Screens
I spent most of last Thursday afternoon and early evening in the Collins Library at the University of Puget Sound with the sixty artist books that had been chosen for the juried exhibit “Book Power Redux”. It was a power-filled time that I spent slowly and carefully reading the messages being expressed by artists who had created Artist Books addressing the realities of our social and political world for which they feel passion. (Disclaimer: My granddaughter, Sarah Mallory, was one of the sixty participants whose art book was among those was in the exhibit.)
The art books, all creatively crafted to express their particular message, filled me with a wide ranging mix of feelings. Their books called to my attention in deep and multi-dimensional ways these artists’ messages to us about race, diversity, gender, bullying, guns and gun violence, poverty, civil war, rape, affluence and family – and other social and political issues.
What was NOT on the radar screen as the focus of any of the 60 art books was church and religion. Every one of the art books was chock-full of spirit and passion about issues we, inside church walls, at least express some concern.
Savior, hear our prayer.
I wasn’t attending the exhibit as a reporter but as an interested visitor. Yet, I think I would have received a truthful and direct response from each of the artists present to these questions:
+ Why are you passionate about the issue you have creatively crafted into an art story to call our attention to care about this issue?
+ What are you doing to be actively involved with the issue about which you are hoping to raise our awareness?
+ How do you hope to be making a positive difference in how you and we (the we of the world) respond to this concern?
I challenge us, inside church walls, to be able to answer these questions as they relate to us and our Christian faith.
+ Why are you passionate about being a Christian?
+ What are you doing to be actively involved with with your life centered in Christian faith?
+ How do you hope to be making a positive difference as a Christian in action?
Spirit and passion are highly expressive in all the art books created by these sixty artists. Where is our spirit and passion highly expressive within the life of the Church? Why isn’t church and religion a passionate political and social issue to be the focus of an art book? On whose radar screen is it a passionate issue?
Again, I ask, “Why are you passionate about being a Christian?” We are challenged to answer that question. Think about it.
The exhibit Book Power Redux will be “up” until 10/15 in the UPS Collins Library, main floor and just to the left of the main doors.
Go see it!
MaryAnn
The art books, all creatively crafted to express their particular message, filled me with a wide ranging mix of feelings. Their books called to my attention in deep and multi-dimensional ways these artists’ messages to us about race, diversity, gender, bullying, guns and gun violence, poverty, civil war, rape, affluence and family – and other social and political issues.
What was NOT on the radar screen as the focus of any of the 60 art books was church and religion. Every one of the art books was chock-full of spirit and passion about issues we, inside church walls, at least express some concern.
Savior, hear our prayer.
I wasn’t attending the exhibit as a reporter but as an interested visitor. Yet, I think I would have received a truthful and direct response from each of the artists present to these questions:
+ Why are you passionate about the issue you have creatively crafted into an art story to call our attention to care about this issue?
+ What are you doing to be actively involved with the issue about which you are hoping to raise our awareness?
+ How do you hope to be making a positive difference in how you and we (the we of the world) respond to this concern?
I challenge us, inside church walls, to be able to answer these questions as they relate to us and our Christian faith.
+ Why are you passionate about being a Christian?
+ What are you doing to be actively involved with with your life centered in Christian faith?
+ How do you hope to be making a positive difference as a Christian in action?
(Disclaimer: I am an admittedly proud grandmother of one of the exhibit participants.) I’m attaching granddaughter Sarah’s art book “Rise” as one example of the art books in this thought-provoking exhibit. Sarah’s book “Rise” calls our attention to the reality that 744 minors died from gun violence in the United States during 2013. Do we care? Why?
Spirit and passion are highly expressive in all the art books created by these sixty artists. Where is our spirit and passion highly expressive within the life of the Church? Why isn’t church and religion a passionate political and social issue to be the focus of an art book? On whose radar screen is it a passionate issue?
Again, I ask, “Why are you passionate about being a Christian?” We are challenged to answer that question. Think about it.
The exhibit Book Power Redux will be “up” until 10/15 in the UPS Collins Library, main floor and just to the left of the main doors.
Go see it!
MaryAnn
Thursday, September 4, 2014
The Empty Pew Where She Once Sat
I truly wish my blog today had a happy ending. I’ve tried my level best to think of something else to write about, but there is something weighing on my heart today that is begging me to write about it.
Today I had the privilege of meeting a young woman for coffee. I had met her awhile back when she was a student at Evergreen. She had grown up Evangelical and left Christianity behind for Buddhism. Why had she left Christianity? She chose to leave Christianity while attending high school and falling in love with science; particularly environmental science. Her church did not have space for a person of science or a woman who challenged the idea of women being inferior to men. So she left.
While attending college, she took a class where she came into contact with other religious traditions and discovered Buddhism. She loved the silence and the practice deeply but felt that something was missing for her. Somehow she missed Jesus.
When I met her, she was just about finishing up her senior year and was on her way out of state to attend graduate school. She began to come to the Episcopal Church and fell in love. She fell in love with the mystery she told me. She loved the ancient practice, and that science was embraced by our tradition. She loved that women could be leaders.
I helped her figure out the Episcopal church in her new city. So here we were some time later with her coming into town to visit her family. Naturally, one of my first questions was how was her new church working out for her.
She hesitated and looked away. I encouraged her to be honest with me.
It had not worked out well. By her third Sunday there, someone had finally said hello to her. By her fifth week, she was asked to join the Vestry (the church board).
The place felt desperate.
She declined to join the church board but instead got involved with the Altar Guild. I thought it would be spiritual she told me. I thought we would hav silence and learning about the traditions behind all of those beautiful things. Instead, I was scolded for not knowing how to iron and our meetings were bitch sessions about how much the guild hated the Rector and how none of us knew what we were doing.
She stayed close to a year but in the end chose to leave. When I asked her to sum up her experience there, the word she used was superficial.
She’s left and is beginning to explore other churches. She wants to find a place to truly practice her Christianity.
I know this young lady to be a person of incredible maturity for her age. I know her to be someone who can persevere and is an incredible leader. She is working on her masters in marine biology and wants to devote her life to conservation of our oceans. She sees it as her ministry.
She is passionate about this fragile earth our island home and all things green. She loved the language of Eucharistic Prayer C in the Book of Common Prayer. It was a conversion moment for her the first time she prayed that prayer. She was amazed when I told her about our current Presiding Bishop. She scoured the internet looking for videos of talks and sermons given by our PB. She would desperately like to be an Episcopal Christian but sadly, the only Episcopal Church in her area is not open to her gifts.
She wanted to start a Centering Prayer Group but no one else wanted to join her. She joined the Earth Ministry group but when she started talking about things beyond ride your Bike to Church Sunday and Prayers of the People that mention the environment, the group became uneasy. They were not sure about forums on climate change and ocean acidity. They certainly not open to the idea of asking the church to divest stock funds from big oil companies. She loved to join a Bible Study or a book club or other small group but the only one available to her is during the day when she is at school.
The next closest Episcopal Church was not any better and neither one even seemed to notice when she left.
And so another one walks out the door. The pew is empty—did anyone notice?
I wanted to tell her it would be different if she lived in our diocese here in Western Washington. I will say there are many bright spots in our region—there are places that are thriving and vital, place doing amazing ministry. Many places however are struggling; mired down in complex situations from their past or too afraid to embrace new ways of being for their future. We are so afraid of failure that we hold on to the old rut we are stuck in hoping for different results. And so we decline.
I left my coffee date feeling a bit sad. Another young person squandered and lost.
I wonder when will we wake up and stop being complacent about the ones leaving church?
There you are, beloved readers. No neat endings or pleasantries; just an empty pew.
Today I had the privilege of meeting a young woman for coffee. I had met her awhile back when she was a student at Evergreen. She had grown up Evangelical and left Christianity behind for Buddhism. Why had she left Christianity? She chose to leave Christianity while attending high school and falling in love with science; particularly environmental science. Her church did not have space for a person of science or a woman who challenged the idea of women being inferior to men. So she left.
While attending college, she took a class where she came into contact with other religious traditions and discovered Buddhism. She loved the silence and the practice deeply but felt that something was missing for her. Somehow she missed Jesus.
When I met her, she was just about finishing up her senior year and was on her way out of state to attend graduate school. She began to come to the Episcopal Church and fell in love. She fell in love with the mystery she told me. She loved the ancient practice, and that science was embraced by our tradition. She loved that women could be leaders.
I helped her figure out the Episcopal church in her new city. So here we were some time later with her coming into town to visit her family. Naturally, one of my first questions was how was her new church working out for her.
She hesitated and looked away. I encouraged her to be honest with me.
It had not worked out well. By her third Sunday there, someone had finally said hello to her. By her fifth week, she was asked to join the Vestry (the church board).
The place felt desperate.
She declined to join the church board but instead got involved with the Altar Guild. I thought it would be spiritual she told me. I thought we would hav silence and learning about the traditions behind all of those beautiful things. Instead, I was scolded for not knowing how to iron and our meetings were bitch sessions about how much the guild hated the Rector and how none of us knew what we were doing.
She stayed close to a year but in the end chose to leave. When I asked her to sum up her experience there, the word she used was superficial.
She’s left and is beginning to explore other churches. She wants to find a place to truly practice her Christianity.
I know this young lady to be a person of incredible maturity for her age. I know her to be someone who can persevere and is an incredible leader. She is working on her masters in marine biology and wants to devote her life to conservation of our oceans. She sees it as her ministry.
She is passionate about this fragile earth our island home and all things green. She loved the language of Eucharistic Prayer C in the Book of Common Prayer. It was a conversion moment for her the first time she prayed that prayer. She was amazed when I told her about our current Presiding Bishop. She scoured the internet looking for videos of talks and sermons given by our PB. She would desperately like to be an Episcopal Christian but sadly, the only Episcopal Church in her area is not open to her gifts.
She wanted to start a Centering Prayer Group but no one else wanted to join her. She joined the Earth Ministry group but when she started talking about things beyond ride your Bike to Church Sunday and Prayers of the People that mention the environment, the group became uneasy. They were not sure about forums on climate change and ocean acidity. They certainly not open to the idea of asking the church to divest stock funds from big oil companies. She loved to join a Bible Study or a book club or other small group but the only one available to her is during the day when she is at school.
The next closest Episcopal Church was not any better and neither one even seemed to notice when she left.
And so another one walks out the door. The pew is empty—did anyone notice?
I wanted to tell her it would be different if she lived in our diocese here in Western Washington. I will say there are many bright spots in our region—there are places that are thriving and vital, place doing amazing ministry. Many places however are struggling; mired down in complex situations from their past or too afraid to embrace new ways of being for their future. We are so afraid of failure that we hold on to the old rut we are stuck in hoping for different results. And so we decline.
I left my coffee date feeling a bit sad. Another young person squandered and lost.
I wonder when will we wake up and stop being complacent about the ones leaving church?
There you are, beloved readers. No neat endings or pleasantries; just an empty pew.
George
Monday, September 1, 2014
Questions About Structure and People
We recently met at Seattle Tilth. We sat outside in a circle in the August sunshine surrounded by refugee recent immigrants who were working together to farm some 5 acres in the Rainier Beach area.
Our conversation ranged back and forth between two major poles: structure and people. I left that meeting wondering if our structures still make sense. R.C. pointed out that structures have inherent limitations. That promoted me to wonder if our existing structures help the diocese select and support the best people to both proclaim the Gospel and to implement it. Or in terms of Pauline biology, does our body need to evolve to thrive in our changed cultural environment?
We broadly agreed on the need to encourage "entrepreneurial" leadership (with the caveat that many of us disliked the term because the church is not a business). Our existing structures move slowly. For example, it takes a minimum of 18 months for discernment for Postulancy, followed by 3 years of seminary in order to become a priest. That's close to 5 years at a minimum; a substantial percentage of one's life, depending on one's age. Everyone agrees that we should select people deliberately, but is the current structure the best way to do that? Will an entrepreneurial, risk-taking person with new ideas want to sit still for 5 years before getting started or will he or she seek out a more nimble organization? Is this a good thing or a bad thing?
As church membership has declined, our governing bodies have remained the same. Should our vestries, conventions, and councils shrink proportionately?
How should we best use our land and buildings to implement the Kingdom of God?
Most importantly, can lay people articulate what the Kingdom of God even is? This seems to me to be the greatest challenge we face. What exactly is the Good News and what is the relevance of the mythology we all take for granted to people unfamiliar with it?
I don't know what the answers are, but I think we should consider these and other questions about the intersection of people, structure, and faith.
***
The Great Unplugged Blackout is over. Once I submit this article, I'm going to log onto my social media. I have missed connections with friends, really more of "seeing them on the radar" than anything else. Apparently, I also missed something about Ice Buckets (?) that everyone in the world knows about but me. I don't think I'm going back to using social media with the same frequency I did before, though. Social media to me also leads to a lot of frantic spinning of wheels to keep up with things that aren't that important. I do agree with Bishop Greg, that what is a problem for one person can be a lifeline for someone else.
Brad
Our conversation ranged back and forth between two major poles: structure and people. I left that meeting wondering if our structures still make sense. R.C. pointed out that structures have inherent limitations. That promoted me to wonder if our existing structures help the diocese select and support the best people to both proclaim the Gospel and to implement it. Or in terms of Pauline biology, does our body need to evolve to thrive in our changed cultural environment?
We broadly agreed on the need to encourage "entrepreneurial" leadership (with the caveat that many of us disliked the term because the church is not a business). Our existing structures move slowly. For example, it takes a minimum of 18 months for discernment for Postulancy, followed by 3 years of seminary in order to become a priest. That's close to 5 years at a minimum; a substantial percentage of one's life, depending on one's age. Everyone agrees that we should select people deliberately, but is the current structure the best way to do that? Will an entrepreneurial, risk-taking person with new ideas want to sit still for 5 years before getting started or will he or she seek out a more nimble organization? Is this a good thing or a bad thing?
As church membership has declined, our governing bodies have remained the same. Should our vestries, conventions, and councils shrink proportionately?
How should we best use our land and buildings to implement the Kingdom of God?
Most importantly, can lay people articulate what the Kingdom of God even is? This seems to me to be the greatest challenge we face. What exactly is the Good News and what is the relevance of the mythology we all take for granted to people unfamiliar with it?
I don't know what the answers are, but I think we should consider these and other questions about the intersection of people, structure, and faith.
***
The Great Unplugged Blackout is over. Once I submit this article, I'm going to log onto my social media. I have missed connections with friends, really more of "seeing them on the radar" than anything else. Apparently, I also missed something about Ice Buckets (?) that everyone in the world knows about but me. I don't think I'm going back to using social media with the same frequency I did before, though. Social media to me also leads to a lot of frantic spinning of wheels to keep up with things that aren't that important. I do agree with Bishop Greg, that what is a problem for one person can be a lifeline for someone else.
Brad
Friday, August 22, 2014
Intentional Effort
Last week I returned from a service trip to rural Coast Rica. Together with 23 other people, my family spent a week working with a local community on a building project. Our group included people from age 9 to over 70, and many of us had never met before. Over the week when we worked on our project, we encountered construction challenges and torrential rains. As expected, we also experienced a language barrier and differing cultural norms.
This week was challenging physically and mentally, but was also exhilarating. It was amazing to see our group, who had been strangers, work alongside the local community with such focus and drive. As unlikely as it looked at the beginning, we were all determined to complete our project no matter what. All of us, as different as we were, shared a single goal and were willing to do whatever it took to achieve it.
With such teamwork and shared vision, it was no surprise that we completed our project. The pictures of the entire team and the local community members celebrating at the end captured our joy at reaching our goal. It was amazing!
Now that I am back home, I have been reflecting on this experience. What our group was able to accomplish by working together toward our shared goal was incredible. We had given it our all and succeeded. How can I replicate this here at home? How could our churches, schools, or communities benefit from such a focused and intentional effort?
This week was challenging physically and mentally, but was also exhilarating. It was amazing to see our group, who had been strangers, work alongside the local community with such focus and drive. As unlikely as it looked at the beginning, we were all determined to complete our project no matter what. All of us, as different as we were, shared a single goal and were willing to do whatever it took to achieve it.
With such teamwork and shared vision, it was no surprise that we completed our project. The pictures of the entire team and the local community members celebrating at the end captured our joy at reaching our goal. It was amazing!
Now that I am back home, I have been reflecting on this experience. What our group was able to accomplish by working together toward our shared goal was incredible. We had given it our all and succeeded. How can I replicate this here at home? How could our churches, schools, or communities benefit from such a focused and intentional effort?
Kelly
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
What the Church Should Be
I’d like to continue the theme of what the church, specifically the Episcopal Church in Western Washington, should be.
My vision for the church is to be an institution that stands against fear and recognizes each person for who he or she is. Our culture tends to stereotype people into caricature-like categories. In reality, human beings are immensely complex—often self-contradicting—creatures. And when people see things differently, as people inevitably do, we tend to question the motives or good faith. In mischaracterizing others, we not only encourage others to stereotype and mischaracterize us, we shortchange ourselves by squelching an opportunity to learn. For an illustration of this, see the comments on just about any website, which quickly tend to degenerate into ad hominem attacks and name-calling.
We live in a culture of fear: where a mother can be arrested for leaving a third grader in a car while she runs into the store, but without a thought for the potential risks of taking they child inside with her. I call this fake fear. It’s inspired not by actual experience with other people, but by a menacing picture of The Other presented to us by a relentless, always-on media. So we fret and hover over our children rather than sending them to school on their own. (While looking into the perception of risk versus the reality with respect to children, I found an interesting website: freerangekids.com ).
I think that fear, which is aggravated and encouraged by the media, arises because our society has become so atomized. We’re alone in a crowd, wearing headphones and texting with people hundreds of miles away rather than conversing with people right next to us. Everyone is a stranger. We don’t know our neighbors. The opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s fear. And fear is often grounded in ignorance. Sure, there are things in the world that we ought to be afraid of, but those things are the exception. Instead, we’ve made fear the rule. “Encourage your hopes, not your fears.” That’s a bumper sticker slogan and somewhat of a cliché, but it would be a wonderful slogan for the church (in Latin, of course!).
***
It has been almost a month since I’ve been of my social media of choice. In a sense, it has been liberating because I’m not obsessively checking it every few minutes. But there is a substantial downside: the reality of our culture is that social media is how many of us do stay in touch. I have no idea what most of my friends are up to, and am missing parties and events. It remains to be seen how or even if my relationships will adjust to take account of being unplugged. I’ll let you know.
My vision for the church is to be an institution that stands against fear and recognizes each person for who he or she is. Our culture tends to stereotype people into caricature-like categories. In reality, human beings are immensely complex—often self-contradicting—creatures. And when people see things differently, as people inevitably do, we tend to question the motives or good faith. In mischaracterizing others, we not only encourage others to stereotype and mischaracterize us, we shortchange ourselves by squelching an opportunity to learn. For an illustration of this, see the comments on just about any website, which quickly tend to degenerate into ad hominem attacks and name-calling.
We live in a culture of fear: where a mother can be arrested for leaving a third grader in a car while she runs into the store, but without a thought for the potential risks of taking they child inside with her. I call this fake fear. It’s inspired not by actual experience with other people, but by a menacing picture of The Other presented to us by a relentless, always-on media. So we fret and hover over our children rather than sending them to school on their own. (While looking into the perception of risk versus the reality with respect to children, I found an interesting website: freerangekids.com ).
I think that fear, which is aggravated and encouraged by the media, arises because our society has become so atomized. We’re alone in a crowd, wearing headphones and texting with people hundreds of miles away rather than conversing with people right next to us. Everyone is a stranger. We don’t know our neighbors. The opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s fear. And fear is often grounded in ignorance. Sure, there are things in the world that we ought to be afraid of, but those things are the exception. Instead, we’ve made fear the rule. “Encourage your hopes, not your fears.” That’s a bumper sticker slogan and somewhat of a cliché, but it would be a wonderful slogan for the church (in Latin, of course!).
***
It has been almost a month since I’ve been of my social media of choice. In a sense, it has been liberating because I’m not obsessively checking it every few minutes. But there is a substantial downside: the reality of our culture is that social media is how many of us do stay in touch. I have no idea what most of my friends are up to, and am missing parties and events. It remains to be seen how or even if my relationships will adjust to take account of being unplugged. I’ll let you know.
Brad
Monday, August 11, 2014
Sunday Morning at a Small Episcopal Church
Our church is SMALL!! Like 10-15 attendance at Sunday service small! That said, there are interesting aspects of being in a small church community, and one of those is attending worship and fellowship on Sunday morning. I tend to be the first one there (about 9am), to ensure things are cleaned up and put back in place in the parish hall, as we have several 12 Step groups meet during the week, and we are not in the building much ourselves after Wednesday morning Bible study. Usually our clergy arrive next by about 9:30am, followed by everyone else up until we start the service at 10am. And whoever is there gets out the coffee and tea water and sets us for the treats, which are brought in by whoever signs up for that week. Others ready the flowers for the old altar and our other stands—as many as four vases full, most always brought in from someone’s garden or bushes.
Early fellowship time happens, and can even delay the start of the service a bit, but no one generally cares. This particular day we had two of our older women members attend (who have both been fighting cancer for years), and it is always great to visit with them as much as we can. Note, we are all older (or as young, as we feel we are!) Another of our regulars had her 5-6 year old granddaughter visiting her, and brought her along (it’s a treat when we have young children with us). She got to ring our large bell to tell the neighbors the service was starting. And, our one family with a teenager was back from two weeks of vacation, so they read the two lectionary readings for the day.
Our music is from the Church of Canada hymnal, which is newer than our own 1982 Episcopal hymnal, so it has a few more newer songs from more laid back, folk type genre and also more inclusive language with many of our recognizable favorite hymns. Our 90 year old organist does a great job playing our simple but effective organ when he can be there. Today’s hymns/songs: God, We Praise You for the Morning; Like the Murmur of the Dove’s Song; Breath on Me, Breath of God; and In Christ There is No East or West. Our Gloria song is a simple version of This is the Day That the Lord Has Made, and our Sanctus hymn is the fairly familiar version of Holy, Holy, Holy.
We use various Prayers of the People and Eucharistic Prayers, depending on the season of the church year calendar. Our worship bulletin is printed up so it can be reused for an entire season, and contains the entire service in larger type, so the Prayer books are not really needed. (This helps with visitors, who always wonder what we’re doing—so at least they only have a worship bulletin, a lectionary of the readings, and a hymnal to manage.) We are all encouraged to really participate fully in the service--with great voices or weak ones—we are all worshiping and celebrating God together! This Sunday, I gave the sermon, discussing the Old Testament reading about Joseph as a teen and how he became so hated by his older brothers to the point they sold him to Midianites heading for Egypt. The soap opera this family line of Jews acted out is something that we all can wonder about, and then believe we all should be able to do better, as families, and also just as society living together. (10 minutes max!)
We say the Nicene Creed and then move quickly to the Prayers. For this Pentecost season, we are using a PoP version that we found somewhere that we like and has all of us participate in reading, and we bring up those people by name aloud we remember for prayers at each type of issue. We say the short version of the Confession, are blessed by the priest, and then we greet each other warmly, some hugs, some handshakes and try to keep the fellowship to a dull roar. I gave the short announcements, which consisted of asking we not have a Bishop’s Committee in August (just provide the latest finances report), remind all that our schools supplies drive is on and to get out there and buy things they can use (we ask the schools for their lists), and also that our annual church picnic is in three weeks (at the church—we don’t challenge Mother Nature!). Rev. Sarah Monroe will be presiding and preaching that day, and we are to also supply the food for her Chaplains on the Harbor homeless ministry dinner for that Sunday night.
On to the bringing forward the gifts of our money, bread and wine, with the granddaughter getting to do this for us (with direction). The Doxology is still sung (old tradition!) and then the Eucharistic Prayer for our Pentecost season is C (the so-called Star Trek version), which allows us to participate more than normal, and then we all come up for communion. A short post communion, a blessing from the priest, the final hymn and the deacon’s words, which we respond to and say multiple Amens! Under one hour, and I feel is an uplifting time for all.
Fellowship this Sunday brought us treats of some kind of lemon tart and a chocolate cake too, and fresh blueberries. Most everyone sat around the one large circular table we always seem to use and discussed various things they are doing, including lots about gardening and food and travel and the county fair. Three of us sat on the side and discussed the usual sports teams, with a special talk about the upcoming high school football season and the changes to the district 4 teams and the new league. Somewhere in this the reader board was agreed to be changed, and was handled (it now says “JOYFUL JOYFUL WE ADORE THEE”). And the money was counted quickly and dealt with.
We clean up, and hustle off to our many Sunday things we are doing, and another Sunday of worship and fellowship is complete at about noon.
Jim
Early fellowship time happens, and can even delay the start of the service a bit, but no one generally cares. This particular day we had two of our older women members attend (who have both been fighting cancer for years), and it is always great to visit with them as much as we can. Note, we are all older (or as young, as we feel we are!) Another of our regulars had her 5-6 year old granddaughter visiting her, and brought her along (it’s a treat when we have young children with us). She got to ring our large bell to tell the neighbors the service was starting. And, our one family with a teenager was back from two weeks of vacation, so they read the two lectionary readings for the day.
Our music is from the Church of Canada hymnal, which is newer than our own 1982 Episcopal hymnal, so it has a few more newer songs from more laid back, folk type genre and also more inclusive language with many of our recognizable favorite hymns. Our 90 year old organist does a great job playing our simple but effective organ when he can be there. Today’s hymns/songs: God, We Praise You for the Morning; Like the Murmur of the Dove’s Song; Breath on Me, Breath of God; and In Christ There is No East or West. Our Gloria song is a simple version of This is the Day That the Lord Has Made, and our Sanctus hymn is the fairly familiar version of Holy, Holy, Holy.
We use various Prayers of the People and Eucharistic Prayers, depending on the season of the church year calendar. Our worship bulletin is printed up so it can be reused for an entire season, and contains the entire service in larger type, so the Prayer books are not really needed. (This helps with visitors, who always wonder what we’re doing—so at least they only have a worship bulletin, a lectionary of the readings, and a hymnal to manage.) We are all encouraged to really participate fully in the service--with great voices or weak ones—we are all worshiping and celebrating God together! This Sunday, I gave the sermon, discussing the Old Testament reading about Joseph as a teen and how he became so hated by his older brothers to the point they sold him to Midianites heading for Egypt. The soap opera this family line of Jews acted out is something that we all can wonder about, and then believe we all should be able to do better, as families, and also just as society living together. (10 minutes max!)
We say the Nicene Creed and then move quickly to the Prayers. For this Pentecost season, we are using a PoP version that we found somewhere that we like and has all of us participate in reading, and we bring up those people by name aloud we remember for prayers at each type of issue. We say the short version of the Confession, are blessed by the priest, and then we greet each other warmly, some hugs, some handshakes and try to keep the fellowship to a dull roar. I gave the short announcements, which consisted of asking we not have a Bishop’s Committee in August (just provide the latest finances report), remind all that our schools supplies drive is on and to get out there and buy things they can use (we ask the schools for their lists), and also that our annual church picnic is in three weeks (at the church—we don’t challenge Mother Nature!). Rev. Sarah Monroe will be presiding and preaching that day, and we are to also supply the food for her Chaplains on the Harbor homeless ministry dinner for that Sunday night.
On to the bringing forward the gifts of our money, bread and wine, with the granddaughter getting to do this for us (with direction). The Doxology is still sung (old tradition!) and then the Eucharistic Prayer for our Pentecost season is C (the so-called Star Trek version), which allows us to participate more than normal, and then we all come up for communion. A short post communion, a blessing from the priest, the final hymn and the deacon’s words, which we respond to and say multiple Amens! Under one hour, and I feel is an uplifting time for all.
Fellowship this Sunday brought us treats of some kind of lemon tart and a chocolate cake too, and fresh blueberries. Most everyone sat around the one large circular table we always seem to use and discussed various things they are doing, including lots about gardening and food and travel and the county fair. Three of us sat on the side and discussed the usual sports teams, with a special talk about the upcoming high school football season and the changes to the district 4 teams and the new league. Somewhere in this the reader board was agreed to be changed, and was handled (it now says “JOYFUL JOYFUL WE ADORE THEE”). And the money was counted quickly and dealt with.
We clean up, and hustle off to our many Sunday things we are doing, and another Sunday of worship and fellowship is complete at about noon.
Jim
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Are We On Fire?
“Zeal for your house has consumed me” (Jn. 2:17), John says of Jesus, following Jesus’ trashing of temple property as he comes into Jerusalem.
“I have counted all things as loss,” says Paul, so that I can “know Christ, and the power of his resurrection, so I might share in the fellowship of his suffering” (Phil. 3:10).
An old Anglican bishop once said; “Let everyone who professes to be a Christian beware of suppressing zeal. Seek it. Cultivate it. Try to enlarge the fire in your own heart, and the hearts of others, but never, never stop it.”
I am always struck by the urgency of Jesus’ message and the urgency of the New Testament community. If the church needs anything in these days, perhaps most of all it needs zeal—passion, purpose, conviction, urgency. For the gospel, for the work of Christ in the world—a zeal so powerful that it will push us to work and sacrifice and hope and pray in the midst of all of our bad news, and dismal statistics, and collective sense of dread.
I have been privileged to meet many zealous lay and ordained leaders in Christ’s church. I have also noticed that, in times like our own when it is so easy to withdraw into ourselves and our budgets, zeal can be discouraged. Risk taking is frowned on. And, our message and our mission is lost.
When Jesus proclaimed the coming kingdom of God, he was inexorable in his mission. He spoke to a people stripped of land, resources, dignity, and freedom by an occupying empire. Where the Empire brought hunger, Jesus brought a crowd together to find abundance. Where the Empire degraded a whole people, Jesus taught they were beloved children of God. Where the Empire rewarded an elite few with the lion’s share of money, power, and land, Jesus demanded that Zacchaeus and the rich young ruler return what they had stolen and relinquish their power. Where the Empire promoted division of peoples, Jesus healed a Roman slave and a Jewish son, a Canaanite girl (albeit reluctantly) and a woman possessed.
What attracted people to Jesus was not a good and safe marketing strategy. What ensured the future of his mission was not a well balanced budget (and there is nothing wrong with having one of those).
Jesus was on fire with message of good news to the poor, freedom for the prisoners, recovery of sight for the blind, and setting the oppressed free (Lk 4:18). Our mission and our message, in the end, must be the same—our purpose and our passion toward the same aim.
It is this message, proclaimed and lived out with courage and conviction, that changes the world. It is this message that is needed as Gaza’s children die, as Detroit’s residents face water shutoffs, as Aberdeen’s young people live by the river in old mill foundations, as Brazil’s children live in overcrowded slums while vast tracks of land are unused, as Honduras’ teenagers flee death across U.S. borders. If we want relevancy, this is it.
In the urgency of the early Christian community, Luke’s Jesus says; “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!” (Lk. 12:29). Are we prepared for such fire?
“I have counted all things as loss,” says Paul, so that I can “know Christ, and the power of his resurrection, so I might share in the fellowship of his suffering” (Phil. 3:10).
An old Anglican bishop once said; “Let everyone who professes to be a Christian beware of suppressing zeal. Seek it. Cultivate it. Try to enlarge the fire in your own heart, and the hearts of others, but never, never stop it.”
I am always struck by the urgency of Jesus’ message and the urgency of the New Testament community. If the church needs anything in these days, perhaps most of all it needs zeal—passion, purpose, conviction, urgency. For the gospel, for the work of Christ in the world—a zeal so powerful that it will push us to work and sacrifice and hope and pray in the midst of all of our bad news, and dismal statistics, and collective sense of dread.
I have been privileged to meet many zealous lay and ordained leaders in Christ’s church. I have also noticed that, in times like our own when it is so easy to withdraw into ourselves and our budgets, zeal can be discouraged. Risk taking is frowned on. And, our message and our mission is lost.
When Jesus proclaimed the coming kingdom of God, he was inexorable in his mission. He spoke to a people stripped of land, resources, dignity, and freedom by an occupying empire. Where the Empire brought hunger, Jesus brought a crowd together to find abundance. Where the Empire degraded a whole people, Jesus taught they were beloved children of God. Where the Empire rewarded an elite few with the lion’s share of money, power, and land, Jesus demanded that Zacchaeus and the rich young ruler return what they had stolen and relinquish their power. Where the Empire promoted division of peoples, Jesus healed a Roman slave and a Jewish son, a Canaanite girl (albeit reluctantly) and a woman possessed.
What attracted people to Jesus was not a good and safe marketing strategy. What ensured the future of his mission was not a well balanced budget (and there is nothing wrong with having one of those).
Jesus was on fire with message of good news to the poor, freedom for the prisoners, recovery of sight for the blind, and setting the oppressed free (Lk 4:18). Our mission and our message, in the end, must be the same—our purpose and our passion toward the same aim.
It is this message, proclaimed and lived out with courage and conviction, that changes the world. It is this message that is needed as Gaza’s children die, as Detroit’s residents face water shutoffs, as Aberdeen’s young people live by the river in old mill foundations, as Brazil’s children live in overcrowded slums while vast tracks of land are unused, as Honduras’ teenagers flee death across U.S. borders. If we want relevancy, this is it.
In the urgency of the early Christian community, Luke’s Jesus says; “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!” (Lk. 12:29). Are we prepared for such fire?
Sarah
Monday, August 4, 2014
Finding "Trust"
Many times the further you get away from a subject you are anxious or thinking about, the closer you can stumble on an answer. Our Outside Church Walls (OCW) group for the last two meetings has talked about core values and principles for a faithful vital 21st century Episcopal Church in Western Washington.
My children had made plans during this past year to gather the family and whisk me away in July to Trout Haven Resort at Wallowa Lake in Northeast Oregon for a special birthday celebration. Then, one of my granddaughters decided that Grandpa’s birthday celebration would be a good wedding date for her and her fiancee`. So, as you well know, these things can grow a little bit over time and a special day becomes an “extra special day,” a week, two, three, and needless to say I did not make our July 25th meeting. I was thinking about it, maybe not full time but part time, amidst all the love and activity of birthday, wedding, and family.
Reading my Forward Day by Day (FDxD), as I have for 40+ years, on my birthday July 10th prayers were asked for the Diocese of Eastern Oregon, a Missionary District when my wife & I met for the first time in 1946-47 at Ascension Church Camp, Cove, OR. If you still have your July copy of FDxD, grab it and reflect with me.
The author for July was Frank Wade, an Episcopal Priest from West Virginia, with a long pastorate at St. Albans, Washington D.C., then as interim Dean at Washington National Cathedral. He is Adjudent Faculty at Virginia Theological Seminary and has been a frequent contributor to FDxD over the years. While I was fixed on this month for many readings it was his treatment of Jesus’ life through the gospel of Matthew that caught my attention. From July 1-31, with the exception of July 22nd, he went to John 20:18 and Mary Magdalene telling the Disciples “I have seen the Lord.”
On July 1, Matthew 21:23, he speaks about authority and the fact that we live in a fallen world where “TRUST” must be carefully placed. As I walked with him and Jesus through the month it wasn’t until we were back in the Blue Mountains out of Pendleton, OR in the quiet and serene (although by this time a little smokey) with just my wife that a light came on! July 15 Matthew 25:23, “you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things.”
“TRUST”- How is it built, or more often, how is “TRUST” rebuilt. The Parable of Talents provides one of the clearest answers.
God Bless,
Chuck
My children had made plans during this past year to gather the family and whisk me away in July to Trout Haven Resort at Wallowa Lake in Northeast Oregon for a special birthday celebration. Then, one of my granddaughters decided that Grandpa’s birthday celebration would be a good wedding date for her and her fiancee`. So, as you well know, these things can grow a little bit over time and a special day becomes an “extra special day,” a week, two, three, and needless to say I did not make our July 25th meeting. I was thinking about it, maybe not full time but part time, amidst all the love and activity of birthday, wedding, and family.
Reading my Forward Day by Day (FDxD), as I have for 40+ years, on my birthday July 10th prayers were asked for the Diocese of Eastern Oregon, a Missionary District when my wife & I met for the first time in 1946-47 at Ascension Church Camp, Cove, OR. If you still have your July copy of FDxD, grab it and reflect with me.
The author for July was Frank Wade, an Episcopal Priest from West Virginia, with a long pastorate at St. Albans, Washington D.C., then as interim Dean at Washington National Cathedral. He is Adjudent Faculty at Virginia Theological Seminary and has been a frequent contributor to FDxD over the years. While I was fixed on this month for many readings it was his treatment of Jesus’ life through the gospel of Matthew that caught my attention. From July 1-31, with the exception of July 22nd, he went to John 20:18 and Mary Magdalene telling the Disciples “I have seen the Lord.”
On July 1, Matthew 21:23, he speaks about authority and the fact that we live in a fallen world where “TRUST” must be carefully placed. As I walked with him and Jesus through the month it wasn’t until we were back in the Blue Mountains out of Pendleton, OR in the quiet and serene (although by this time a little smokey) with just my wife that a light came on! July 15 Matthew 25:23, “you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things.”
“TRUST”- How is it built, or more often, how is “TRUST” rebuilt. The Parable of Talents provides one of the clearest answers.
- Trust cannot be earned without first being given.
- Trust is built gradually. It takes time as well as generous vulnerability.
- Trust is delicate, essential to life, slowly built, easily damaged, rebuilt with difficulty, and well worth pursuing. Amen!
God Bless,
Chuck
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Social Networking with Care
Brad posted last on this blog and told us he was going to disable his Facebook account, staying off of it for the rest of the summer. I have to say I hear what he is saying, and I think his post deserves a second look. There was much in his post to think about and quite frankly that I agree with. And yet, I have to say this might be the counter argument of sorts to his. I would say anything in this life can become an addiction. Also, anything in this life can be abused, misused, overdone, and soon be death dealing instead of life giving. Facebook and other social media do not escape this reality. What I fear Facebook and other social media has done is take away the care we use when dealing with a real human. Since distance and the illusion of anonymity which comes from posting alone, and yet being in the midst of sometimes thousands, takes away many filters, we tend to be bolder, but also much less discerning. So, while a sabbatical, as Brad suggests, might be good from time and time and maybe even necessary for some, I think the real issue is the effort and care we put into the posts we make, the intention and care we put into our communication. It being so quick, simple, fleeting, it simply becomes a stream of consciousness without the care for what we say. So often this has become about quantity and not quality, about volume instead of content.
While posting or texting during a worship service may detract from the experience for some, it may enrich it for others, and in fact, the well thought out reflection, sent out for those who did not make it, or may never make it, could be a life line for some. Instead of shutting it down, I would advocate less posts and more thought on the fewer we do post. Perhaps thinking about what we post as if we were saying it to one of our most cherished friends, while at the same time considering it could appear on a billboard on I-5 tomorrow would provide a bit more quality, where technology is actually serving us, helping us, connecting us, bringing us closer to reality, not inverting it. Brad was right on about one thing, our communication through social media should be life giving, profound, provocative, inspiring, challenging, not dull or draining. With thought and care and discernment I believe it can be.
While posting or texting during a worship service may detract from the experience for some, it may enrich it for others, and in fact, the well thought out reflection, sent out for those who did not make it, or may never make it, could be a life line for some. Instead of shutting it down, I would advocate less posts and more thought on the fewer we do post. Perhaps thinking about what we post as if we were saying it to one of our most cherished friends, while at the same time considering it could appear on a billboard on I-5 tomorrow would provide a bit more quality, where technology is actually serving us, helping us, connecting us, bringing us closer to reality, not inverting it. Brad was right on about one thing, our communication through social media should be life giving, profound, provocative, inspiring, challenging, not dull or draining. With thought and care and discernment I believe it can be.
Bishop Greg
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Why?
A while back Brad wrote about an elevator speech for why to be an Episcopalian. Recently in Outside Church Walls we discussed the Why that comes prior to that – Why are we Christians?
My answer goes something like this:
Because of grace. I experience God’s grace every day, even when I’m trying to ignore it. So much in my life can only be attributed to grace. I want to receive it, share it, channel it.
That’s why I’m a Christian. What’s your answer?
Greg
My answer goes something like this:
Because of grace. I experience God’s grace every day, even when I’m trying to ignore it. So much in my life can only be attributed to grace. I want to receive it, share it, channel it.
That’s why I’m a Christian. What’s your answer?
Greg
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Unplugging
Last night I disabled my Facebook account. I’m going to stay off it for the rest of the summer.
I did so because I had been spending entirely too much time on it, constantly checking for updates. I found that the quality of posts was declining as the amount of time I spend on it was increasing. It seems that more than half of all posts weren’t written by the people who posted them, but were just links. I was guilty of doing that myself.
Overwhelmed is too strong of a word for it, but I was definitely feeling bombarded by ads, “news”, and the irony of people promoting ideas that they disagree with. Because little is isolated anymore, everything is a Big Deal. It was draining me.
A theme I’ve been developing when thinking about the church is that we should avoid fads and trends. Sure, Teh Interwebz are a useful tool; this article is published electronically. But we need to guard against an inversion of reality where we unwittingly become the tool, serving technology instead of the other way around.
Sorry, but I don’t think it’s appropriate to post updates or text during a worship service. It detracts from the experience. And yet I’ve found myself doing that, because the world is literally in my pocket. Instead, I think we should turn off our devices in church and focus on the authenticity of the liturgy.
We’ll sort out what makes sense and what doesn’t over time, but the answer probably won’t be obvious immediately.
I don’t know what my no Facebook rest of summer will be like, but if I gain any insights I’ll let you know after Labor Day. In the meantime, I’ll be outdoors as much as I can. Enjoy the sun!
Brad
I did so because I had been spending entirely too much time on it, constantly checking for updates. I found that the quality of posts was declining as the amount of time I spend on it was increasing. It seems that more than half of all posts weren’t written by the people who posted them, but were just links. I was guilty of doing that myself.
Overwhelmed is too strong of a word for it, but I was definitely feeling bombarded by ads, “news”, and the irony of people promoting ideas that they disagree with. Because little is isolated anymore, everything is a Big Deal. It was draining me.
A theme I’ve been developing when thinking about the church is that we should avoid fads and trends. Sure, Teh Interwebz are a useful tool; this article is published electronically. But we need to guard against an inversion of reality where we unwittingly become the tool, serving technology instead of the other way around.
Sorry, but I don’t think it’s appropriate to post updates or text during a worship service. It detracts from the experience. And yet I’ve found myself doing that, because the world is literally in my pocket. Instead, I think we should turn off our devices in church and focus on the authenticity of the liturgy.
We’ll sort out what makes sense and what doesn’t over time, but the answer probably won’t be obvious immediately.
I don’t know what my no Facebook rest of summer will be like, but if I gain any insights I’ll let you know after Labor Day. In the meantime, I’ll be outdoors as much as I can. Enjoy the sun!
Brad
Monday, July 21, 2014
The Power of Why
This past weekend I worshiped at an Episcopal church in Savannah, Georgia. It became apparent this small congregation had experienced a split in the past year, and were in a process of re-evaluating their purpose. During announcements at the end of the service, a working group reported on their plan for reconciliation: small groups of remaining parishioners would visit every person who had left, with an emphasis on listening.
Virtually every person in the pews signed up to participate.
It was evidence of the power of “Why.” This congregation that had been adrift chose what was a powerful Why for them: to pursue reconciliation with former members. This purpose for existence clearly mattered to the people in the pews that Sunday morning.
I don’t know whether this “Why” is the best one for that congregation, or whether they will succeed. However, I was glad they had a compelling purpose. Simon Sinek gives a potent TED talk on the power of “Why”, and has a book on the subject as well. The premise is this: “Why” comes first, and effective leaders have a clear and compelling Why.
Often times in churches we are seeking the “How” long before we’re clear on the “Why.” Actually, a “Why” generally exists; it just may not be spoken or acknowledged. The “Why” might be to get enough people pledging to pay the bills, or to keep the church operating in just the way that makes us comfortable.
Because we don’t always recognize our “Why” – or want to recognize it – we often chase “How” instead. We ask, “How do we get young families to attend?” (when we’re really wondering who will pay the bills and do the work now that we’re getting tired). Or we wonder, “How can we get people to pledge more?” (when we’re really just wanting to meet the budget). When starting with “Why”, we are more likely to say, “Our neighborhood is full of young families; what can we do to support them?” Or we say, “We want to help people have a more faithful relationship with all of the things God has placed in their lives. How can we do that?”
We can choose to align ourselves to the “Why” that God intends for our congregations. Each community will have slightly different expressions of their roles in God’s kingdom, based on the needs and circumstances of their neighborhoods. With true alignment will come passion and vitality. The work may still be hard, but it will be the kind of hard work that brings peace that passes understanding.
What is your congregation’s “Why”? Is it openly stated and well-understood? Is it focused on maintaining your comfort, or on making an impact on others? If you’re struggling, it might be time to start with “Why”.
Virtually every person in the pews signed up to participate.
It was evidence of the power of “Why.” This congregation that had been adrift chose what was a powerful Why for them: to pursue reconciliation with former members. This purpose for existence clearly mattered to the people in the pews that Sunday morning.
I don’t know whether this “Why” is the best one for that congregation, or whether they will succeed. However, I was glad they had a compelling purpose. Simon Sinek gives a potent TED talk on the power of “Why”, and has a book on the subject as well. The premise is this: “Why” comes first, and effective leaders have a clear and compelling Why.
Often times in churches we are seeking the “How” long before we’re clear on the “Why.” Actually, a “Why” generally exists; it just may not be spoken or acknowledged. The “Why” might be to get enough people pledging to pay the bills, or to keep the church operating in just the way that makes us comfortable.
Because we don’t always recognize our “Why” – or want to recognize it – we often chase “How” instead. We ask, “How do we get young families to attend?” (when we’re really wondering who will pay the bills and do the work now that we’re getting tired). Or we wonder, “How can we get people to pledge more?” (when we’re really just wanting to meet the budget). When starting with “Why”, we are more likely to say, “Our neighborhood is full of young families; what can we do to support them?” Or we say, “We want to help people have a more faithful relationship with all of the things God has placed in their lives. How can we do that?”
We can choose to align ourselves to the “Why” that God intends for our congregations. Each community will have slightly different expressions of their roles in God’s kingdom, based on the needs and circumstances of their neighborhoods. With true alignment will come passion and vitality. The work may still be hard, but it will be the kind of hard work that brings peace that passes understanding.
What is your congregation’s “Why”? Is it openly stated and well-understood? Is it focused on maintaining your comfort, or on making an impact on others? If you’re struggling, it might be time to start with “Why”.
Greg
Thursday, July 17, 2014
So You Want to Reach Young People?
I am haunted by several images this week. I am haunted by the large numbers of refugees from Central America crossing our borders over this past year and I am particularly haunted by their youth. I am haunted too by the faces of the young men and women of Aberdeen who I am getting to know, who tell me the stories of their lives in poverty in a post industrial town.
I am struck most of all that my generation struggles, in many cases, to simply survive.
In media depictions of millennials, we are alternately maligned for not working hard enough and desired as pew warmers in churches where the average age is rising rapidly. Our habits are discussed and critiqued and our behavior predicted. But in all the talk about micro-beers and shopping habits, there is little conversation about the vast numbers of young people who are struggling to simply survive.
52,000 young people have fled across the U.S. border in the past 8 months as refugees from Central America. 40% of people unemployed in the U.S. are millennials.
It is in this context that I’ve been thinking about what kind of values we need to have in the church. What kind of practices, if we are going to reach young people in a struggling age?
Latino/a theologians sometimes talk about the Spanish word, “la lucha,” or “the struggle,” as a spiritual value, as a theological commitment. This struggle is for justice, for liberation, yes; but most of all, it is a struggle for life. It was Gustavo Gutiérrez that wrote that the struggles of the poor represent “an assertion of their right to life.”
Children fleeing Central America are asserting their right to life. The young men and women of Aberdeen, who have a hard time keeping a roof over their head, who struggle with increasing levels of addiction, who go hungry, who despair of a future—they fight, one day at a time, to simply live. And there are far too many funerals for people who have died young in Aberdeen. And far too many young graves in our southern deserts.
The entire Bible points us toward a struggle toward life. From the Exodus to early church, the people of God struggle for life—the life of God, a life that affects our whole being, body and soul. It was Jesus who said, in John 10:10; “I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.”
What would it mean for the church of God to own this struggle? To enter into the struggle for life with our young brothers and sisters from Honduras and from Aberdeen, from Detroit and El Salvador? To be converted by our young people to a struggle for the abundant life that Jesus promised? What would that look like?
I am struck most of all that my generation struggles, in many cases, to simply survive.
In media depictions of millennials, we are alternately maligned for not working hard enough and desired as pew warmers in churches where the average age is rising rapidly. Our habits are discussed and critiqued and our behavior predicted. But in all the talk about micro-beers and shopping habits, there is little conversation about the vast numbers of young people who are struggling to simply survive.
52,000 young people have fled across the U.S. border in the past 8 months as refugees from Central America. 40% of people unemployed in the U.S. are millennials.
It is in this context that I’ve been thinking about what kind of values we need to have in the church. What kind of practices, if we are going to reach young people in a struggling age?
Latino/a theologians sometimes talk about the Spanish word, “la lucha,” or “the struggle,” as a spiritual value, as a theological commitment. This struggle is for justice, for liberation, yes; but most of all, it is a struggle for life. It was Gustavo Gutiérrez that wrote that the struggles of the poor represent “an assertion of their right to life.”
Children fleeing Central America are asserting their right to life. The young men and women of Aberdeen, who have a hard time keeping a roof over their head, who struggle with increasing levels of addiction, who go hungry, who despair of a future—they fight, one day at a time, to simply live. And there are far too many funerals for people who have died young in Aberdeen. And far too many young graves in our southern deserts.
The entire Bible points us toward a struggle toward life. From the Exodus to early church, the people of God struggle for life—the life of God, a life that affects our whole being, body and soul. It was Jesus who said, in John 10:10; “I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.”
What would it mean for the church of God to own this struggle? To enter into the struggle for life with our young brothers and sisters from Honduras and from Aberdeen, from Detroit and El Salvador? To be converted by our young people to a struggle for the abundant life that Jesus promised? What would that look like?
Sarah
Monday, July 14, 2014
Whose Story
There we were on the floor, the three of us, me and my two boys. They were helping me as I practiced telling the Godly Play lesson on the Parable of the Sower. They couldn’t help themselves. They were eager to know what was inside the golden box I was holding in my hand. The Box contained little artifacts that would help me tell the story, they knew that, they just didn’t know exactly which story would it be. They could contain their curiosity. They were thirsty to know the story, to enter into it, even if just for a brief moment to enter into it. It was as if the world had stopped, nothing else matters but the story. Now I do not want to make my boys sound more pious than they are, they also have the same reaction when I am reading them a book, they just give themselves to the narrative. They live as if it was really possible to cross the threshold of realities. As I come to the “wondering time” in the story (a moment of open questions in which listeners are invited to ponder and explore) I said “I wonder why the sower would scatter seeds in all kind of lands, even though some would not produce fruit…” To this question I received the deepest of answers from my 5 years old son, he said “Papí, the person was throwing the seeds in the other group for the birds to eat, because he wanted them to have food too.” How ‘bout that! Of course, if I had been paying as good attention to the story I would have noticed that too. It makes complete sense that the sower would be sharing the seeds with the birds of the air. After all birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet our heavenly Father feeds them. My sons helped me to move from the point of mastering the story toward a posture of living the story, to letting my perspective and world be changed by the story.
What story is changing your world? What stories are you so curious about that you cannot but help step into it and be transformed by it?
Eliacin
What story is changing your world? What stories are you so curious about that you cannot but help step into it and be transformed by it?
Eliacin
Thursday, July 10, 2014
On the 7th Day God Rested
Back in an earlier era, the 1970’s and 1980’s, when the Leadership Skills Institute in this Diocese, as in many others, was a thriving ministry it offered life changing –faith enriching experiences for many of those (including myself) who participated. It was a six day experience. The essential process (intentionally slow) was one of allowing the soul to catch up with the experiences. The formula for this was 50% experience, followed by 50% reflection on that experience = new learnings. Yes, this takes time. I believe this principle continues to be a truth that, in our nano second world of living now, we have allowed to drop away.
Sunday’s lesson included “And on the 7th Day God rested.” The God I know didn’t sit on his tush on that 7th day taking it easy, but rather was engaged in reflecting and gathering in new learnings about this universe that had been called into existence and envisioned as “God’s kingdom come and God’s will be done on earth as in heaven.
No doubt it is because I have, by necessity, been called to a month of Rest during June this year, that Rest and what it means and how it means to honor Rest, without feelings of guilt, is so present to me. (I had a difficult struggle with my feelings of guilt, of letting go and forgiving myself for being in Rest Time.) It has been and will become, for me, a time for my soul to catch up with my body and too busy life. 50% experience + 50% reflection = new learnings. I am re-learning and remembering that Sabbath is not a luxury, it is an essential quality for living a healthy life.
Our ancient ones have given us the gift of the Creation Story, telling us of our God resting on the 7th day. This brings me to a hard look at our normative Sunday morning services of worship. As we are well aware, many among us are finding that 7th day of rest in other experiences –mountain hikes, bike rides, kayaking, reading the paper, sleeping in and in doing a laundry list of chores needing attention. You can easily add to the list of ways folks find re-creations and rest or attend to their lists of chores needing to be done.
So, I ask of us. Do we go out, invite and welcome people to a place to rest, renew and re-create? Do we show them by our actions that we are people of hospitality and caring for one another? Do we welcome with gratitude those who long for a resting place - those who are weary and stressed? Do we not all too often make our first question of the new comer through our door, “What do you do?” Do we acknowledge the suffering through-out our world today? Do we express our joy and gratitude for creation? Do we give thanks for all people whose hearts and hands are those of Christ today?
What might this holy time of faithful people gathered be for those among us who are yearning, as we have always yearned, for authentic, caring community? To know and be known and to be missed when we are not present.
What I’m writing next are merely a few of my visions of how Sunday morning church-time might be: To warmly welcome each person; to want to know each other by name; want to know one another’s stories and deepen our commonalities and understand our differences. To be truly present to celebrate with one another our joys, sorrows and needs; to experience communion at its best – gathered around God’s Holy Table - to eat the bread and drink the wine that nourishes us for the journey ahead; to hear music to which the children (of all ages) want to dance freely to the songs we sing; for an invitation (without embarrassment) to ask questions and be inquisitive to learn more about the Great Story of Our People who journeyed before us and with whom our stories merge today. God’s story with us continues to be a work in progress and always will be.
The language, the technology, and the images that make meaning of our lives in this 21st are radically different from our ancients who told and later wrote the stories of their lives with God and also when they had forgotten Him. The world we live in has continuously changed, yet our feelings and yearnings as humans remain the same: to know and experience unconditional love and to be loved, to acknowledge and share our sufferings with others who we trust to care, to eat together by participating in a holy meal - the Bread of Life and the Cup of Salvation - in the hope and intention that among people in all times and places holy meals will become a way of living in God’s kingdom come. Finally that we can become a people who revere a time for silence and rest and learning together how to better become one Body of Christ right in the place we live. Hear, reflect and learn what the Spirit is saying to us , God’s people of the Now living and learn in this accelerated time. Hear, reflect and learn what the Spirit is saying to us as she guides us forward on our pilgrimage into the future, which begins with our very next breath. Thanks be to God! God grant you a rest-filled Sabbath time.
MaryAnn
Sunday’s lesson included “And on the 7th Day God rested.” The God I know didn’t sit on his tush on that 7th day taking it easy, but rather was engaged in reflecting and gathering in new learnings about this universe that had been called into existence and envisioned as “God’s kingdom come and God’s will be done on earth as in heaven.
No doubt it is because I have, by necessity, been called to a month of Rest during June this year, that Rest and what it means and how it means to honor Rest, without feelings of guilt, is so present to me. (I had a difficult struggle with my feelings of guilt, of letting go and forgiving myself for being in Rest Time.) It has been and will become, for me, a time for my soul to catch up with my body and too busy life. 50% experience + 50% reflection = new learnings. I am re-learning and remembering that Sabbath is not a luxury, it is an essential quality for living a healthy life.
Our ancient ones have given us the gift of the Creation Story, telling us of our God resting on the 7th day. This brings me to a hard look at our normative Sunday morning services of worship. As we are well aware, many among us are finding that 7th day of rest in other experiences –mountain hikes, bike rides, kayaking, reading the paper, sleeping in and in doing a laundry list of chores needing attention. You can easily add to the list of ways folks find re-creations and rest or attend to their lists of chores needing to be done.
So, I ask of us. Do we go out, invite and welcome people to a place to rest, renew and re-create? Do we show them by our actions that we are people of hospitality and caring for one another? Do we welcome with gratitude those who long for a resting place - those who are weary and stressed? Do we not all too often make our first question of the new comer through our door, “What do you do?” Do we acknowledge the suffering through-out our world today? Do we express our joy and gratitude for creation? Do we give thanks for all people whose hearts and hands are those of Christ today?
What might this holy time of faithful people gathered be for those among us who are yearning, as we have always yearned, for authentic, caring community? To know and be known and to be missed when we are not present.
What I’m writing next are merely a few of my visions of how Sunday morning church-time might be: To warmly welcome each person; to want to know each other by name; want to know one another’s stories and deepen our commonalities and understand our differences. To be truly present to celebrate with one another our joys, sorrows and needs; to experience communion at its best – gathered around God’s Holy Table - to eat the bread and drink the wine that nourishes us for the journey ahead; to hear music to which the children (of all ages) want to dance freely to the songs we sing; for an invitation (without embarrassment) to ask questions and be inquisitive to learn more about the Great Story of Our People who journeyed before us and with whom our stories merge today. God’s story with us continues to be a work in progress and always will be.
The language, the technology, and the images that make meaning of our lives in this 21st are radically different from our ancients who told and later wrote the stories of their lives with God and also when they had forgotten Him. The world we live in has continuously changed, yet our feelings and yearnings as humans remain the same: to know and experience unconditional love and to be loved, to acknowledge and share our sufferings with others who we trust to care, to eat together by participating in a holy meal - the Bread of Life and the Cup of Salvation - in the hope and intention that among people in all times and places holy meals will become a way of living in God’s kingdom come. Finally that we can become a people who revere a time for silence and rest and learning together how to better become one Body of Christ right in the place we live. Hear, reflect and learn what the Spirit is saying to us , God’s people of the Now living and learn in this accelerated time. Hear, reflect and learn what the Spirit is saying to us as she guides us forward on our pilgrimage into the future, which begins with our very next breath. Thanks be to God! God grant you a rest-filled Sabbath time.
MaryAnn
Monday, July 7, 2014
The Importance of Religion and What It Takes To Change
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/06/religion-answer-problems_n_5537783.html?utm_hp_ref=religion
Here is a newer and interesting take on the perceived possible influence of religion in today’s society. The polling data has many things to say to us. I have to say, though, that I disagree with the last paragraph in the article itself, more of a commentary part rather than data, because I have seen lots of polls and data that show that most organizations (especially Christian ones) are trying to spread messages of NOT compassion and caring, but exclusivity--that their way is the only way to God, and all others are doomed. And that is where the judgment starts with them—into every way one lives their lives.
In other thoughts, I attended recently a church with a worship service and congregation that, I guess, you could say, was dead--at least in my view. Unfortunately, I’m convinced that this is becoming very prevalent among many churches in our country these days. I’m not talking about the worship service words or music, although a couple of other choices might make things seem less “dead”. What I’m talking about is everything about the experience I had—no greeters to talk with any visitors coming in, a church that could seat maybe 300 people with maybe 35 people present spread out all over the church, a total lack of participation by the people in the service, and other than the short healing part of the service and at the Peace, no spark at all from anyone. At the very short fellowship time after the service there was little talking among any of the people, and especially not to me as a visitor, and they cleared out quickly.
Is our worship of God becoming this rote and not meaningful at all? Is this lack of enthusiasm and spirit what we take with us from worship each week back into the world to be the people of Jesus?
There are some simple things that can make this experience I had change a lot. The service can be designed so that all can be much more connected—1) everyone can sit much closer together (even by forcing it), 2) the priest can utilize the church in a much more people-oriented mode, doing as much of the service in the nave rather than in the large sanctuary set apart from the rest of the worship space, 3) shared Prayers of the People, instead of one person reading it all including a list of those in need, 4) several different lectionary readers from the people in the pews, and 5) some music selections that are not what I hear called “dirges” or funeral music. And the quality of what is done in any type of service is important.
But the problem is so much worse than just how the service is designed. These people seem to have given up, maybe are just worn out, tired, and don’t know what to do any more. Without any reason to show any spark in their worship they show none. As much as we want to think it is all about clergy leadership, and that a great new clergy person will totally change this church or any other one, it must be about those who are presently attending to resolve to work with good clergy leadership to make the needed changes and become enthused again about their church community and their call to mission in their community. Nothing short of this will attract anyone else to even attend their church, and this is just the starting point. Getting the right messages and actions about what this church is about with its mission with do the rest. New younger (and even older ) people want a church with meaningful things happening that they can relate and plug into, not just go through the motions with the worship or do what has always been done and offer the same boring jobs in the church. Good inclusion into the ongoing life of the church will go a long way, and these people will need to be met where they are first, which is not likely in the church. And maybe it will not be even about getting them into the church at all, but into the community of believers doing the things Jesus calls us to do, wherever that may be.
Jim
Here is a newer and interesting take on the perceived possible influence of religion in today’s society. The polling data has many things to say to us. I have to say, though, that I disagree with the last paragraph in the article itself, more of a commentary part rather than data, because I have seen lots of polls and data that show that most organizations (especially Christian ones) are trying to spread messages of NOT compassion and caring, but exclusivity--that their way is the only way to God, and all others are doomed. And that is where the judgment starts with them—into every way one lives their lives.
In other thoughts, I attended recently a church with a worship service and congregation that, I guess, you could say, was dead--at least in my view. Unfortunately, I’m convinced that this is becoming very prevalent among many churches in our country these days. I’m not talking about the worship service words or music, although a couple of other choices might make things seem less “dead”. What I’m talking about is everything about the experience I had—no greeters to talk with any visitors coming in, a church that could seat maybe 300 people with maybe 35 people present spread out all over the church, a total lack of participation by the people in the service, and other than the short healing part of the service and at the Peace, no spark at all from anyone. At the very short fellowship time after the service there was little talking among any of the people, and especially not to me as a visitor, and they cleared out quickly.
Is our worship of God becoming this rote and not meaningful at all? Is this lack of enthusiasm and spirit what we take with us from worship each week back into the world to be the people of Jesus?
There are some simple things that can make this experience I had change a lot. The service can be designed so that all can be much more connected—1) everyone can sit much closer together (even by forcing it), 2) the priest can utilize the church in a much more people-oriented mode, doing as much of the service in the nave rather than in the large sanctuary set apart from the rest of the worship space, 3) shared Prayers of the People, instead of one person reading it all including a list of those in need, 4) several different lectionary readers from the people in the pews, and 5) some music selections that are not what I hear called “dirges” or funeral music. And the quality of what is done in any type of service is important.
But the problem is so much worse than just how the service is designed. These people seem to have given up, maybe are just worn out, tired, and don’t know what to do any more. Without any reason to show any spark in their worship they show none. As much as we want to think it is all about clergy leadership, and that a great new clergy person will totally change this church or any other one, it must be about those who are presently attending to resolve to work with good clergy leadership to make the needed changes and become enthused again about their church community and their call to mission in their community. Nothing short of this will attract anyone else to even attend their church, and this is just the starting point. Getting the right messages and actions about what this church is about with its mission with do the rest. New younger (and even older ) people want a church with meaningful things happening that they can relate and plug into, not just go through the motions with the worship or do what has always been done and offer the same boring jobs in the church. Good inclusion into the ongoing life of the church will go a long way, and these people will need to be met where they are first, which is not likely in the church. And maybe it will not be even about getting them into the church at all, but into the community of believers doing the things Jesus calls us to do, wherever that may be.
Jim
Thursday, July 3, 2014
Connecting Virtually
Yesterday I was part of an interesting conversation among a group of friends. For many years, this group has been working, studying, discussing, and thinking about how the church can respond to ongoing changes in society. Our meetings are always thought provoking.
The topic yesterday was how to create spaces online where people can connect and have ongoing conversation about common concerns. We talked about how to use technologies and applications to form communities in cyberspace that offer rich opportunities for dialogue and learning. We identified podcasts as a way for those with wisdom to share to get it out there. I know there are other tools out there as well.
The opportunities seem limitless. The challenge is figuring out how to keep these online communities respectful and safe, as well as vibrant and engaging. What tools have you found that help create common conversation online?
Kelly
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)