Thanksgiving

As Thanksgiving Day approached this year, I decided to attempt a list of what I am thankful for. It was soon quite a long list. I thought perhaps I should try to prioritize or rank these elements, but in the end, I decided I did not know how to decide for which elements I am the most grateful.

Then I made a list of what I am not thankful for. That was a short list. Because it is a short list, I supposed I should decide if I wanted to do something about these few elements. I certainly could. Would it be for the best? Again, I decided I did not know, so went back to the first list.

In the end, perhaps thankfulness is like happiness. Just as we can affect our happiness level by deciding to be happy, in the same way, perhaps it is less important to know what we are thankful for than it is to simply be thankful. Despite my lack of conclusions, I still found this a useful exercise. I recommend it to each of you. What are you thankful for? I wonder how similar your list might be to mine.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. May gratitude be part of your day today, and everyday.

Posted by Carman

Missing

I just read another great blog here that you might have missed because of its title. (I do hope some of you take a look at the other blogs we follow from time to time; they tell some great stories!)

But this one has a bit of foreboding in the title. And it’s really a great message about a congregation that’s found its mission in the community where it’s planted. Pastor Jan is a Presbyterian minister in Washington D.C. who is struggling to respond to the many professional ordained ministers who seem to be leaving the institutional church. She, herself, is not going anywhere! She’s staying right there in a congregation that has found its place in its neighbourhood.

“Would anyone care or notice if your church went missing?” is a question researchers ask us. And Pastor Jan answers with a resounding “Yes.” Then she goes on to recount several stories of the very folks who would surely miss her congregation if they “went missing.”

After you’ve read her story, spend some time thinking about all the people that would miss your church if it weren’t there. That’s the important part of this posting. We encourage you all the time to think about your mission. What is God calling you to do in the neighbourhood where you’ve been planted? How have you made your congregation indispensable to the people who share that neighbourhood with you? Who would say to you: Thank God your church is here?

Those are the reminders we may need when we read “the mission of Jesus Christ is what matters most for the journey ahead.” Sec.164:9f

I’m going to quote her:

“Yes, the community would miss us if we were gone. We are truly the church of Jesus Christ in our little corner of suburban Washington, D.C. Our carpets are dirty and our parking lot could use a re-paving job. But we are doing what God has called us to do. And we could do even more.”

How about you? Have you got your eyes off your carpets and your parking lot and fixed them on being Jesus Christ to your neighbours? ‘Cause I hear that’s what matters most.

Posted by Marion

Vagabonds

I recently came across a somewhat surprising court battle being waged in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in the United States. The case involves a struggle between the City of Orlando Florida and the First Vagabonds Church of God, along with other groups who advocate for the homeless. First Vagabonds Church was the brainchild of Pastor Brian Nichols, who was himself homeless for a time as a result of a back injury. His prayers led him to found a ministry for the homeless, and to feed the hungry. Pastor Brian passed away last year in 2009, but his work is being carried on by others.

You can learn more about Pastor Brian and the work he started by clicking on or pasting the following URL into your browser. http://www.myspace.com/firstvagabondschurch

First Vagabonds Church of God conducts open air worship services in city parks, and also feeds the homeless there. In 2006, the city of Orlando apparently passed an ordinance that limits group public feeding in city parks to twice per year in any one area. The law was challenged immediately, and has been see-sawing through the courts ever since.

Perhaps the most interesting comment I have read on this story came from Mark L. Vincent, a well known Mennonite author and stewardship advocate. In the September 30 issue of Depth Perception, Vincent questions whether both the city and the church’s attorneys have missed the point. The following is a brief quote from his article.

Feeding hungry people is not a "symbolic expression," but an essential action.
The devout followers of all this world's great religions fill their lives with
service to the poor--not as a symbol that they are religious, but as a
demonstration that they are humble, grateful for what they received, and aware
of the plight of the destitute. They simply cannot not do it.

Vincent’s comments remind us of Jesus prediction in Matthew 25;

Then the king will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, you that are
blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation
of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave
me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you
visited me.'

Mark Vincent believes that where we serve the homeless is not the issue, but instead that serving the poor is among the highest priorities of ministry and as such is not optional. Do you agree?

Posted by Carman

Retreat

I am aware of two different kinds of retreat going on at this very minute in our area. I know this, because I received invitations to both. Both retreats have something going for them that I really, really appreciate. In fact, I wish they weren’t happening at the same time, thus forcing me to choose.

This happens a lot. At one time I remember we used to check the calendar and try NOT to book things in conflict. But that was a losing venture. So we just try to remind ourselves, and others, that having choices among more than one excellent event is a blessing.

Now, back to what I was going to say about retreating. As it happens, the two retreats now taking place are quite different. (One might say opposite if one were not careful; but I am anything if not careful, so I won’t say that.) One of them is a silent retreat, focusing on meditation, reflection and loving kindness. Participants will spend time together and in solitude. They’ll eat good food and rest in the peaceful surroundings of the Ziontario campgrounds. The other group of retirees (not seniors or geezers or fogeys, no matter what you’ve heard!) will spend time in community. They’ll eat good food and spend time in study, play, visiting and laughing together in the peaceful surroundings of the Noronto campgrounds.

Both are right on track with ancient definitions of spiritual retreat, whether in solitude or in community. Both focus on the noble goal of separating oneself from the usual environment and happenings of daily life to immerse in a safe and uplifting location or community. Outcomes may be reduced stress, increased creativity and sense of encouragement, well-being and health, physical, emotional, spiritual.

Retreat is a military term too. Perhaps some of the comments about military retreats might help us too. Great care must be taken to understand the purpose of a military retreat or withdrawal, lest it turn into a rout. Excellent military strategists and leaders use retreats to reposition troops or to take a stronger position. An apparent retreat may be “feigned” to throw an adversary off his game plan or to use this time of calm to regroup for a stronger attack.

I like to think in the language of metaphor to see what I can find or learn from considering the different perspectives. What do you think?

Please chat among yourselves. I’m away from my computer connections at a retreat. I’ll check in with you next week.

Posted by Marion

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

Appropriate

I’ve been doing some follow up thinking stimulated by last week’s thoughts on Rules.

I’m quoting here: “I realize there is not a rule, at least not a hard and fast rule, and I get that there isn’t even an official guideline, but do you think it’s really appropriate?”

Oh my! How do you answer that one?

Is it possible for something to be appropriate one place and not another? And by that I don’t mean something that’s appropriate on the playground may not be appropriate in a theatre. I mean, is it possible that something is appropriate in my congregation that isn’t in yours?

Don Robb recently shared that he’s now lived in this area long enough to know where he needs to wear a suit and tie to church and where he’s better to be more casual with his Sunday wardrobe. I can now name four congregations where it’s deemed appropriate to bring your little dog into the sanctuary during worship. (As long as it really is little and no one knows it’s there who doesn’t know it’s there.) But by the same token, I’ve recently learned of another congregation where the deacon in charge has ruled that a dog in church is not appropriate!

We do have our local cultures rife with long-standing traditions. It may be traditional to let the pastor make those pesky decisions about what is or isn’t appropriate. But then, it may also be traditional to be annoyed when those rulings turn out to oppose what we, ourselves, think is appropriate. Based upon…I don’t know what!

How do we get clarity on this?

I fall back on my original ruling: talk among yourselves; decide how you’ll decide and stay friends. I think that’s still the most appropriate ruling I can give for most of the questions of propriety being tossed around in many communities I visit.

And if that doesn’t work for you, you can always ask yourself: is this what matters most?

Posted by Marion

Day-dreaming

I recently participated in a workshop where we were invited to day-dream about our ideal church congregation. We were encouraged to visualize a church community, not as it is but as it could become in ten to twenty years. We were told not to worry about whether it was an actual congregation or an imaginary one; we were simply invited to picture the highest ideal of what that congregation might look like that we could possibly imagine.

Accordingly, in response to this instruction, some began to converse together, some began to think silently, and others began to write. I was in the latter group, and here is what I wrote.

¨ Congregation = Community

¨ Open 24/7 maybe?¨

Ideal – a centre of active, swirling energy

o Community based

§ Feeding the hungry

§ Counseling

§ Comforting, loving, accepting

§ Safe for children and youth

§ Fellowship for seniors

§ Sharing and being Jesus

I studied my list for a few moments, and came to a startling realization about what was missing. Was this an oversight? No, it simply wasn't there! I reflected on this for a few moments and then wrote in brackets at the bottom,

(note: Does not necessarily involve Sunday a.m. worship!)

It was an interesting and somewhat surprising exercise.

So let me invite you, dear reader, to do a little day-dreaming of your own. What would your ideal congregation look like? If you could start from scratch and grow a church over 20 years, what would you see? I have posted my thoughts here for all to see. Are you willing to share your ideal with the rest of us?

Posted by Carman