The Order of the Ascension is having one of those email conversations. We do that from time to time. I think we miss each other having done this year’s retreat on Zoom. Also, we get caught up in a train of thought. This one is about “The numbers.”
Brother Scott noted that he had “similar conclusions.” I wrote, “there's a two-fold task … One is that we need an apologetic for these times. The second is what OA is about--as you said, "nurturing healthy development in congregations.” He agreed and said, “an apologetic has to have some hook to give people a reason to listen and respond.” Brother Lowell, weighed in with, “I want to connect people to God.” With the three of the most senior Professed having commented, others came into it.
In saying Morning Prayer there was this psalm verse,
I like the “level ground” and “full assembly” images. Maybe that’s my two-fold task.
I wrote this,
I find myself having these random thoughts about an apologetic. I notice that few of them are about the ideas to be offered.
Here's one - I want to be a church that can be a home for Barack Obama, Pete Buttigeg, John McCain, Amy Klobuchar, Blair White, Jim Mattis, and John Mc Whorter. Okay, and also Joe and Kamala.
The conversation continues.
This was part of Bishop Peter Eaton’s reflection this morning --
Yet the building of Christian community is the hardest thing to do that there is. We are all still too formed by the world and not formed enough by the Gospel, and it takes intentionality to create and sustain Christian community. To be a genuinely inclusive community is not to be without boundaries and expectations, and to say that God receives us as we are does not mean that God does not expect us to change.
All this is hard to negotiate. But not impossible. It takes practice and determination. It takes a particular kind of focus and energy. And most of all it takes prayer and the sacraments. I was once asked how it was that my parish was doing so well, growing and flourishing, and I replied that I was not exactly sure, and there were no quick fixes; but I did know that the well-being of the congregation depended on us saying our prayers together every day and doing a full day’s work. We do know how to help congregations flourish, but such flourishing takes real effort.
I recalled how Bishop Peter sent all his assistants from Lancaster and Denver to the national CDI at General Seminary, and later Deer Isle. Those attending went through three predictable stages[i].
- “This is hard.” Part of it is that the programs are demanding and require focused time and energy. But as the participants begin to engage change projects in the parishes, we hear about the need for persistence, wisdom, and, at times, courage. They talk about how complex interventions are and how challenging the work is intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually.
- “This works!” That’s the second statement we hear about one year into the training. The feelings of being overwhelmed and disoriented have passed. Interventions have been planned, implemented, and reflected upon. Some of the “this works” response rises out of a sense that the parish system is more understandable. They are learning to look under the tip of the iceberg. The other part is they are beginning to see some initial success or, if not success, some understanding of why their interventions did not go as they intended. As the training comes to an end, we hear comments about changes in parish culture with more trust, more openness, and more competence in the core practices.
- “This is inspiring.” This one comes later; maybe during the last workshops, sometimes after that. People have seen themselves, others, and their parish change. It is a kind of reasonable hope about their future together. A confirmation of the investment they have made.
The Bishop’s comment makes the point,
I was once asked how it was that my parish was doing so well, growing and flourishing, and I replied that I was not exactly sure, and there were no quick fixes; but I did know that the well-being of the congregation depended on us saying our prayers together every day and doing a full day’s work. We do know how to help congregations flourish, but such flourishing takes real effort.
We know a lot about helping parishes to flourish. Though most of the church seems either unaware of, or uninterested in, that knowledge. We do know a great deal about “how.” The apologetic for our time—now that’s hard work.
rag+
[i] From “Understanding from Within: Working with Religious Systems,” An article by Michelle Heyne, OA and Robert Gallagher, OA in the OD Practitioner 2015.