Community Place+

In case you haven’t heard, there’s a new kid in town. Community Place+, the evolution of the notion of a camping congregation, is the brain child of about a dozen people, mostly young adults, who have been meeting at least weekly for the past nine months. Inspired by the Sr. High Camp community, sparked by a young adult spiritual formation retreat at Kirtland Temple, Community Place+ is powered by this group’s mutual conviction that something needs to change, has needed to change for a long time. Our successful camping program gives youth the experience of a lifetime spiritually, emotionally and socially. The sense of community, of belonging, of being a part of something big and important and exciting is inspiring, life-changing; our youth leave camp with a real sense of hope but the majority of them soon disappear. This has been true for generations.

 We’ve been talking, as a church, for a long time about having the young adults take leadership in our congregations, reunions and activities. We’ve been talking about it. We’d like to see it happen. We’re ready! We’ve even let them try some new things from time to time, even made them pastors. It’s become clear  to me that what most of us really want is to have a new generation of well trained copies of ourselves take over the church as it is and keep things as they are. We talk a good game about accepting change but, when it comes right down to it, we are, like the generations before us, scared to death of it. We wonder why our youth and young adults don’t come to church. We think, if we just do a better job of making our worship engaging and relevant, we’ll win them back.

I don’t know, any more than you do, what will become of Community Place+. I know I’d like to see it thrive. I’d like to see it positively affect many lives in ways that I cannot now even imagine. I’d like to see Community Place take a fresh look at the church and at Jesus and find a way forward, find life.

One of the things Community Place+ struggles with is to make our language inclusive. I’m sure you realize that, both as Christians and as members of our particular denomination, we have our own language. It’s filled with words describing holy concepts like Zion, Faith, Repentance, Christ’s Peace, Sacraments, Eternal Life; words which hold special meaning for our people like prayer life, thee and thou, brothers and sisters, restoration, gospel, prophet, only begotten, blessing, sin, prayer and Holy Ghost.  This language is comfortable and familiar to those of us for whom this community has been a home for generations; it is foreign and exclusive to the rest of the world.

Community Place+ wishes to be radically inclusive in everything we do. This won’t be easy; it will take a concerted effort on our part to avoid the pitfalls of familiarity and comfort, both of which can unintentionally create walls of exclusiveness. We welcome all to be a part of Community Place+; no barriers, no expectations, just loving welcome in the hope that together we can BE community.

Community Place+ will intentionally avoid competing with the Sunday morning service. Care will be taken to allow the participants of this outgrowth of the camping community to remain an active part of an existing congregation. We understand the concern of congregations that they can ill afford to lose members to a new program. We wish to partner with interested congregations to share resources, new understandings and programs in a supportive, mutually beneficial relationship. The Community Place+ program is currently sponsored by the Willow, (Willowdale) congregation of Community of Christ and it is our intention to bring to the table a solution to the dwindling numbers and falling revenues affecting our church at congregational as well as at corporate levels.

We have been considering for at least 10 years the idea of a Camping Congregation and now we’ve taken the next step in the exploration of that notion. Community Place+ programming is an outgrowth of our successful camping program and much of what we do will be taken from the camp experience: small group activities, camp worship styles, community meals, sports activities, music and video presentations, talking together about the important things, all these and more find their way into our programs. Sermons will be in short supply. Community Place+ is the dream of Young Adults but is a ministry for all ages. All are welcome regardless of age to connect, spend time in community and perhaps to find a spiritual home.

Prepared by John Morgan
on behalf of
Community Place+

Developing Yourself, to Help Develop Others

Editor's note:  In this posting, we are pleased to feature our new Young Adult Leader, 
Emily Whitworth, with her first contribution to What's the Good Word.  We welcome Emily and trust this will be the "first of many."

As a young adult with a new leadership role in the Church, I question myself often. Am I doing what I have been called to do? Are people satisfied with the work I am doing? Did I say the right thing to the teenager that came to me for advice?

Recently, I was fortunate enough to attend The Spiritual Formation Retreat at Kirtland Temple in Ohio. I left with an overwhelming feeling and find it difficult in truly expressing what a powerful and uplifting  experience it was. At this retreat many of the questions I had been struggling with were answered. The support and knowledge that I gained from the many new friends I made that week was far greater than anything I had expected. One daily exercise we did during the week was Group Spiritual Direction and I quickly developed a strong bond with the three other members of my group. 

I left the retreat with many new skills, friends, and answered prayers.  I hope that others will have the opportunity to a similar experience at one of our many upcoming retreats and camps. I thank all those who make retreats like this possible.  

 I look to the future of this Church with so much excitement!

Emily Whitworth

Young Adult Leader

Tailored

I recently read an article that explained why every single Hollywood star always looks good in their clothes--even in those paparazzi pictures of them schlumping around town in their jeans. It’s because they never, never wear anything that hasn’t been tailored to fit them. They really don’t all have perfect bodies. They don’t walk into a store and find the size that miraculously fits them, when the rest of us never seem able to find that store or that size. The secret is all in the tailoring!

Then I read another blog. You might like to go to this one yourself. It’s a great site that gives me much good stuff to think about.

It seems it’s necessary to tailor our communication to the various folks we want to stay in touch with. Some love email; others hate it. Some live on facebook; others find it silly and time-wasting. Some folks make do with only a cell-phone; others must be reached by landline. And finally they got to talking about the so-called generational divide. Is it really only a certain generation that prefers one thing or another? Is it really only the “young adults” who use this or that bit of technology? We talk a lot about that too.

So my further musings today are around this question: who bears the greater responsibility? Is it up to me to know what you prefer and to tailor my communication to suit you? Is it up to the congregation, or the pastor, or the church planter to tailor our welcome or our pastoral visiting, or our outreach to the exact preference of the folks we want to reach?

Is it unreasonable to expect that once in awhile a visitor or a long-time member might bend to accept our best intentions—even when me miss the mark a little?

We church folk really do spend an awful lot of energy thinking about what will appeal to young adults, or how to adjust our worship practices or our outreach programs. What can you do to ensure the “spiritual but not religious” find out that we’ve done just ever so much work to tailor our programs for them too.

It seems Paul was having some of these thoughts. Here's his conclusion in his letter to the Corinthians (ch 9:17-27)

For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law) so that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that I might by any means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.

So there you have it. Seems Paul wants us all to be tailors! What do you think?

Posted by Marion

Forward

This morning’s post is a forwarding referral to the Peace Blog of the Orange California Community of Christ. This writing, entitled “Is God Real?” was written by Katie Harmon McLaughlin, a fine young adult minister who now lives and works in Orange.

I first met Katie and her husband Zack when I was assigned as Campus Minister at Graceland University. They were both students and part of CCLP, the Community of Christ Leadership Program for which I had some responsibility. As a freshman, Katie impressed me with her deep spirituality, her gifted leadership and her soul’s deep desire to be in relationship with God. You will readily see all of that in her writing.

I encourage you to click on this link and enjoy Katie’s post. It is lovely.

Posted by Carman

Couches

We’ve been bringing the signs of spring to your attention—the greening of nature, the running of ground water, the metaphors available in the hearts of the Easter lilies. But this morning I noticed another sure sign of spring in my university town: the springing up of couches on the curbside.

It’s the time of year that young folks are clearing out their student digs. Broken computer desks, three-legged chairs, bags of trash bound for landfill pile up along the curbs, even in the most up-scale residential areas as basement rooms and granny flats empty out their winter student inhabitants. But mostly, it’s couches!

Occasionally I spot a piece of furniture that looks better than my own, which tends to bear the scars of a rather undisciplined old kitty. But mostly they’re just shabby. Sometimes they’re “footless” or missing their seat cushions. It’s been raining every day, so they don’t sit there long without becoming quite water-logged I’m sure.

I’ve been meditating a bit on this particular sign of spring. What does it mean, this proliferation of abandoned couches?

For every couch there is somewhere a young person (most likely) in a major life transition. They have no more need for this shabby couch; it’s time to move on to the next stage. Time to find a job, or move back home and keep looking. Apartments get rented, and then given up when lay-offs happen. Jobs are more temporary than permanent. Some will go back to school; others will try a new community. Relationships end and change or morph into something different.

Where are your young adults? Have you sent them away to school or a new job or post-graduate study? Do you know what became of that path? Is the support structure that was once solid still stable or secure? Or have you lost track of them? Is someone waiting at that cross-country destination they’ve identified?

All these couches are making me ask those questions about the young adults I know and care about. For every couch there is a story. Just this morning I heard of a couple of folks whose stories I used to know but have lost track of. Maybe one is working shift work, having taken on a second job that makes it impossible for her to come out to the activity she used to enjoy. Another young man is thinking about changing cities and wants to make a church contact. But who will that be? Will the new congregation welcome him? Can he find a job there that will give him some security so he can settle in and feel community again?

Or will he need to toss his couch and move on?

Just some more questions for us to ponder. What are your thoughts about this particular “sign of spring”?

Posted by Marion

Leading

This past weekend, a group of young adults from around the mission centre gathered at the Bathurst Street church in Toronto. The purpose of this gathering was a Vision Workshop with Becky Savage of the First Presidency, and Erica Blevins-Nye of the church’s young adult ministries office. The workshop was number 25 of about 28 such events being held around the world to give the First Presidency a chance to dialogue with young adults and hear what they are thinking.

Of course, like any retreat, the event did not just come together on Friday night all by itself. For months, several young adult leaders have been meeting, both on-line and in person, doing the hard work of planning this event. Schedules were worked out, fun and serious activities were thought of, a budget was drafted, and dialogue sessions were planned. A trip was made to check out the facilities (meeting space, kitchen, beds, showers, parking, etc.), qualified volunteers were found to look after the participants' children, a cook was retained and meals provided. The various dialogue sessions were prepared, worship planners were found and worship leaders recruited. All of this had to be coordinated with the congregation. Small wonder then, that at the end of the event, one of the leaders confessed to feeling a little weary. Pulling off this highly successful event was a lot of work!

While there is a great deal to celebrate about this successful weekend, the aspect that is most encouraging to me is the leadership shown by this fine team of young adults. They know how to lead. They understand how to plan, and the many steps required to make an event a success. Further, they were willing to do the work in order to make the event happen. I am grateful for their willingness, their skills and their leadership.

All of this is just one more evidence of success as we work toward achieving our # 1 mission centre goal: Young Adult Leader Empowerment. We have many young adult leaders, and they have the skills they need to lead. Lets give them room and opportunity to do so.

Posted by Carman

Empowerment

At the CEM conference of 2009, we presented a ten year plan entitled 2020 Vision. The plan included five goals, the first of which is Young Adult Leader Empowerment. Simply stated, the goal is to give our fine young adult Community of Christ leaders a chance to lead. If we are successful in this goal, we will have excellent leaders willing to take the church into the future. If we do not succeed, we will have a problem. We are actively working at that goal.

Last Friday evening, a group of young adult leaders got together to work on the plans for an upcoming event; the 1st Presidency’s VISION PROJECT. On November 12-14, 2010, young adults from across CEM will gather at the downtown Toronto church for a weekend of fun and conversation with President Becky Savage. This planning team met to make sure we will be ready, and to determine if we had answered the appropriate questions.

• How many registrations do we have so far? Twelve, but it is early yet.
• Have we contacted all young adults in CEM? Not everybody? Well we had better get on it then!
• Do we have cooks? Yes.
• Do we have childcare for those who need it? Yes.
• Do we have sleeping accommodations? Yes, there are 22 cots at the church, and some will sleep elsewhere.
• Do we have people to lead great fun activities? Yes.
• Do we have people to lead the workshop sessions? Yes.
• Do we have people to plan and lead worship activities? Yes.
• Are those who come really going to enjoy this weekend together? YES!
  
  It is a pleasure for me to watch these young adult leaders in action. I am there to answer questions if needed, and to offer support, but mostly I am there to listen. I can sit back and let them lead. By being present, I know what the plans are and that the bases are covered. If they need my help, they have it, but mostly they don’t. They are capable, gifted leaders. I am grateful for their willingness and their gifts.
  
  Shortly, this team will send a small poster to each congregational pastor to be posted at church to help promote this event. Whether you see the poster or not, why not encourage young adults of your acquaintance to come? They will be blessed because they did, and I firmly believe, so will the church.
  
  Are there young adult leaders in your area? Are they being empowered to lead? If not, can you help? Don’t be afraid to let us know who they are and we will try to help too.
  
  Posted by Carman

Restored

I have had the privilege of connecting with dozens of congregations in at least five mission centres. In eight of those congregations, I was a member, three I served as a pastor, while with several others I shared as a guest minister for varying periods of time.

Of all of those encounters, three stand head and shoulders above the others in my memory. Those three were the Chattanooga Community of Christ in Tennessee, Highland Manor Ministries in Independence, MO, and Victor Valley congregation in the High Desert of California. The reason these three stand out is because these are the congregations that I saw really making a difference in people’s lives. These congregations knew what their mission was, and they were about it. They became communities of hope for people who previously had very little to be hopeful about. Some of these people were the extreme, inner-city poor. A second group were kids and teens who had wretched family lives. They came to church seeking a source of meaning and order. Still others were people who needed help escaping drugs or other addictive behaviours. All of these found hope within the fellowship of those three communities. Lives were and are transformed and changed by the loving acceptance of people who really cared.

Of all the congregations I have known, these three give me hope that all the work we do to support the church really can make a difference. These demonstrate that it really is possible for a congregation to make a difference in the community and in the lives of people who live there. The members in these churches show me what it means to live out D. & C. 163:2b: “The restoring of persons to healthy or righteous relationships with God, others, themselves, and the earth is at the heart of the purpose of your journey as a people of faith.” When I feel discouraged because of the apparent absence of missional focus in many congregations, the memory of lives changed in these locations keeps me going.

Last week I saw the same kind of hope finding expression in the lives of several campers at Sr. High camp. In this community which gathers for only one week per year, lives were touched and encouraged. Here, people knew they were loved. In this environment they came to believe it was safe to expose their hearts, even for a brief moment, and trust that they would not be hurt. Here, perhaps for the first time, some found people who would love and accept them in the name and spirit of Jesus. For a while at least, they were, indeed, restored. It is amazing thing to see, and awesome to be a part of.

And so, in addition to the three congregations mentioned above, I can add a fourth fellowship to the list that gives me hope; our own Senior Hi Camp. It is a community that lives love and makes it real in the lives of people. Thank God for such a place, and for the incredible lives it blesses.

What gives you hope?

Posted by Carman

MEGA

This past weekend, a group of about 30 (mostly) young adults and Seventy gathered at the Toronto West church campus for MEGA. The name MEGA is an acronym for the theme of the weekend, which was Make Everyday a Great Adventure. To avoid confusion about the above references to 30 and 70, perhaps I should explain that Seventy here refers to the priesthood title a group of missionary Elders in Community of Christ, based on Luke 10. There were four such persons in the group this weekend.)

The weekend had several purposes. One was to provide a forum for young adult leaders and potential leaders to come together. A second was for the Seventy to be together in a ministry situation, and a third was to begin to build community between these two groups.

Each of these groups has its own set of characteristics. Young adults are always bursting with energy and ideas, so being with them is always a lot of fun. Just being in their presence will inevitably lead to lots of smiles and laughter. The Seventy, on the other hand, tend to be natural story tellers. These folks have been on their own great adventure with God for many years, and have lots of stories to share. Given these characteristics, it is only logical that putting these two groups together should make for an interesting weekend. It did.

I think it is safe to say that this group found fun in everything they did. Together they played ping-pong, went bowling, and took in a Blue Jays game at the Rogers Centre, which several still insisted on calling Skydome. Attending the ball game was made even more fun because the Blue Jays actually won! The group also found great pleasure in assembling 150 lunches for the benefit of homeless people in Toronto, and in sharing food together themselves.

On three occasions during the weekend, the group sat around together to share stories. While the Seventy led in this, not all the stories came from them. Several young adults shared their own stories of life; some of which were happy and some of which were not. This sharing of stories led us to amazing moments of seriousness and sacrament, as several people asked for the blessing of laying on of hands for healing in their own life needs; some shared and some not.

Finally, on Sunday morning, the group met together with the host congregation to lead in an outdoor worship service. This too proved to be an adventure (competing with a neighbour’s lawnmower) and a blessing as music and still more stories were shared, followed by a bar-b-que with the congregation.

Should you happen to look up mega in the dictionary, it would tell you that this word is a prefix used to indicate something “large or great.” I suspect the impact of this gathering will be both large and great in the lives of those who participated. It was good to gather, good to have fun, and good to share stories together. We have agreed that this must not be a one-time event, but needs to happen regularly. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, as you go about your day, let me urge you to remember what MEGA stands for, and enjoy your own great adventure today.

Generations

Not many years ago the church’s youngest appointee came from Canada East. I well recall feeling a sense of pride as one of our young people spoke with passion and eloquence in support of the World Conference resolution endorsing the UN statement on Rights of the Child. We’ve been proud of young adults who’ve directed our reunions and we rely on the hundreds (Yes, that’s the right word!) of young adults who make our camping program possible. Young adults are bringing us their traveling ministry; they’re integral parts of important boards and committees across the Mission and in their congregations.

Why then do we also collectively hold the certain awareness that senior high students will go away to school and never return to home congregations? Leadership positions come open, wise elders look around at empty pews and, yet again, step into those roles for the sake of the survival of the community. Everywhere we go we hear the question “where are our young people?” and we bemoan the future of the church.

Yet, young campers long for that single week in the distant next summer when they’ll reconnect with friends once again. Carman has shared his experience with Gracelanders who do long to serve the church they care deeply about. Have they really become invisible to us? Or have they truly gone missing?

Here is our paradox. We have many congregations with aging leaders and young adults who stay away, and young adults who want to serve but feel they will never have the chance. This paradox is what we in CEM want to address with our 2020 Vision Goal #1: Young Adult Leader Empowerment (YALE). We are determined to tackle the challenge to bring our passionate and capable young people into positions of genuine authority and opportunity.

We must get intentional about handing off and supporting the direction younger leaders want to go. We need to give them the training, the experience, the opportunity they need to truly lead our congregations of the future, the congregations of the present.
Maybe it’s time for you to examine your own ideas and attitudes toward the next generation around you. Can you see who the next leaders should be? What if those leaders do something or suggest a direction that isn’t what we’re used to? Are you ready to respond with a heartfelt “let’s give it a try”?

It’s time to take this goal seriously. We don’t even think it’s too late. But we need you to make this your goal too, whatever your age or generation. We need you to do some things, maybe even many things, differently. And we intend to help you.

We’d love to hear from you; how are you committing to Goal #1: Young Adult Leader Empowerment?

Posted by Marion