Let's Try Again
A year ago, I wrote what may have been the least popular thing I have written since becoming a priest. In order to mark one year of being your rector, I wrote a newsletter piece entitled “Taking A Year Off,” in which I stressed that, although I would be working just as hard as ever, I would try my best to get out of the way in order to let ideas bubble up from among the members of the parish instead of being imposed from the top down. A dozen people called or wrote to ask why I was quitting. Others complained that I had no business taking a sabbatical after only being here for a year. In response, I tried my best politely to encourage people to actually read the whole article, but, in the end, I recognized that my attempt to convey my desire that members of the parish would take the lead on shaping the ministry of our church fell flat.
I should not be surprised. When has telling someone that you want them to take the lead ever worked? A change of roles like that can only be effective when the one who has been in the lead steps back and makes space—sometimes through painful or awkward absence—in order for another to step up. If my parent, who has made my bed for me every day of my life, wants me to start making my own bed, she or he must not only tell me to do it but actually stop doing it for me and allow me to inhabit the chaos of a disordered room until I decide for myself to do something about it. One of the great charisms of our parish is how new ventures and possibilities arise not from the rector’s office but from amidst the congregation, and, if want to nurture that charism, I have to stop being the one who comes up with ideas and, instead, wait for the chance to celebrate yours.
The pandemic has made that simultaneously more difficult and more important. When it comes to pivoting from our normal practices and adapting new approaches to worship, formation, and pastoral care, the staff has needed to make quick changes in order to keep the core ministries of our church going in these unfamiliar circumstances. As this time of physical distancing has continued, however, we have reached a point where wholly new programs are needed. This is the moment when the creativity and drive of the parish must enable us to explore new possibilities that we have never had to consider before—ideas that reflect the hopes and dreams and desires of the congregation. But getting people together to come up with and try out those new possibilities is complicated if not impossible.
What does it mean to be the church for the next six months? How can we respond to the needs of our community? How will we stay together as a parish even when we are kept apart because of the coronavirus? Some of that we already have figured out. We are getting pretty good at livestreaming worship on Sunday mornings. Our online classes, book studies, and Bible studies are well done. Pastoral phone calls help identify needs throughout our congregation. Vacation Bible School is available online, and weekly formation videos are shared with our youth. Even on a limited basis, Community Meals and Sunday Suppers continue to help feed those in our community who are food insecure. But what is missing? What needs within and outside of our parish are being ignored? Instead of focusing on all of the things that we are unable to do during the pandemic, how can we see this strange time as an opportunity or incubator for new ministries?
Not long ago, my friend and colleague Clint Schneckloth shared on social media a graphic that categorized different activities based on how safe they are during the pandemic. For example, going to a concert or to a bar is particularly risky, but walking through the park or going to a museum is less so. Instead of asking how we can make church activities safer, he asked how we can make safer activities church. I like that approach and think it will be fruitful over the coming months. What are the activities that you are able to pursue and enjoy, and how might those become expressions of our common life as the Body of Christ? Even if you have never thought of them as religious or spiritual, what practices might you share with others as ways to do God’s work in your life and in our community?
If you are waiting on me or the staff to figure out how we can be the church over the next several months, we have both failed. You do not need me or anyone else to tell you what can or cannot be church. As you discern new possibilities, you can safely assume that the answer is always yes. Dream big. Try something out. See what works. Share your successes with others. Let me know if there are ways that our staff or I can encourage or equip you. This is a moment to do more than tread water until the pandemic is over. This is a time when we can find new and lasting ways to explore and celebrate God’s infinite grace, acceptance, and love. Finding them depends on you.
Yours Faithfully,
Evan