by Rhoda Brodie-Smith & Derek Dunwoody
October 2009
Sailing in shallow waters “wonderfully concentrates the mind” to quote George Bernard Shaw. Grounding on sand or mud banks, which may just be embarrassing, or bashing into submerged rocks, which usually has expensive consequences, are ever present challenges. If we were to liken our diocese to a fleet of forty-odd sailboats (parishes) of various sizes with corresponding sized crews (parishioners) navigating their way through the treacherous waters of this new century with hazards visible or hidden below the surface, it is vital that we have good charts and navigation equipment, well trained crews and competent leadership. Perhaps we could extend the analogy a bit further by likening the needed wind in the sails to that of the Holy Spirit. In the Bible the Hebrew word ruach is used for both the wind and the Spirit of God.
We are all very aware that the “fleets” of the Anglican Church in Canada have shrunk in size from those of sixty years ago and the survivors have many individual sail boats that have sunk beneath the waves, are stuck on mud banks, or are “on the rocks” in every sense of that description. The former “main line denominations” are no longer so, or at least not for the time being.
The report of the commission appointed to review the overall condition of the diocese has been published and sections of it should also “wonderfully concentrate the mind” of every member of our diocese. Only a mere handful of parishes (five out of the whole fleet) are still afloat and making some headway. We are grateful that St John’s is one of them. Others are still afloat but have come to a halt. Others are slowly sinking, and some have gone or are going down fast.
What is it about our parish that seems to have it heading slowly into deeper waters and away from rocks and sand banks? We don’t doubt that there are many opinions as to why this is so and just as many who wish that the speed could and should be increased.
For the past few months we have been studying exciting and hope bringing news from - of all places - the U.S.A. To the south of us there are Episcopal (Anglican), Lutheran, Presbyterian, United Methodist and United Church of Christ, all so-called “mainliner”, congregations that are blossoming in all directions. They all share to one degree or another certain characteristics. More about these further on except to say that there are about thirteen of them. (Hmm. Just like the Last Supper. Is this a sign?)
Now this is where St. John the Divine may stand up and say; “Oi! These are some of the things we are doing or are on the cusp of doing, i.e., diversity, justice, healing, contemplation and, coming soon to pews near you, hospitality!
Still to come: experiential worship, discernment/governance, testimony, reflection, beauty, transforming lives, transforming congregations and transforming the world.
To discover the details for yourselves, dear readers, may we direct you to several books that quietly but with a deep compassion are for those who are on the journey of congregational enrichment.
First and foremost; Christianity For The Rest Of Us, by Diana Butler-Bass. This has all the details of the thirteen characteristics.
Secondly; The Naked Now by Richard Rohr is, amongst other things, an incisive description of how Western Christianity made an awful mistake. The result is the current situation in which the majority of the population does not want anything to do with us even though they are searching for a viable spirituality. This is one of the things Rohr writes in this regard,In the West, religion became preoccupied with telling people what to know rather than how to know, telling people what to see more than how to see. We ended up seeing Holy Things faintly, trying to understand Great Things with a whittled-down mind, and trying to love God with our own small and divided heart. It has been like trying to view the galaxies with a $5 pair of binoculars. There is much, much more. Every bishop, priest and seminary instructor should be compelled to read this book.
Rohr warmly commends The Wisdom Jesus by Cynthia Bourgeault.
Fold into the mix Christ Of The Celts by Phillip Newell and also his Listening For The Heartbeat Of God
All these are available from our good friends at Koinonia Christian Books, 1119 Blanshard. Str. Victoria 250-382-5814.