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
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)