Yr. A, Wk. 15: The Dream of God, Part II

Worship and Check-in As Susan and others found that Verna Dozier often provoked us with false either - or dichotomies (either worship Jesus or follow him, either honor the institution or the people), the theme of the evening seemed to be "two sides of the same coin."

Both - and was the theme of Forward Day by Day's meditation du jour, so Scott asked everyone to describe their week in terms of two opposite words. We heard tearful/happy over West Side Story, productive/unproductive because accomplishing big tasks got in the way of routine work, fright/gusto as family dealt with scary health issues with courage, and slow/quick as time inched along but now seems to have been no time at all.

For worship, Scott whittled the hour-long ceremony of Nine Lessons and Carols down to about ten minutes for five lessons without carols. Happy Advent!

Living Faithfully in Your World:
1st yr: Scott 2nd yr: Marilyn, Pete, Nuno; 3rd yr, Susan; 4th yr, Christine. Mentors: Susan and Scott. Absent: None.

Theological Reflection

The church missed its high calling to be the new thing in the world when it decided to worship Jesus instead of following him (Dozier 74).

Our TR was this provocative statement from Dozier, so it served for both TR and reading discussion.

We used the categories of creation, sin, judgment, and redemption to explore Dozier's thesis.

• Creation – freedom to love or not
• Sin - lacking courage to explain your faith and experience – is it for courage to live? Swallowing the idea that clergy is holier than laity, that "lay ministry" is just a help to institutional ministry.
• Judgment - We'll know something's wrong when the institution is rigid. “We will not live the dream of God until we live like Jesus with our own special talents.”
• Redemption – “good creation, friendly folk, friendly skies” - we all ministering to each other …

We offered what came to mind as we discussed Dozier. She was reassuring in a paragraph about risk (p. 109), writing, "I will live by the best that I can discern today. Tomorrow I may find out I was wrong," but the God we know through Jesus is a God "whose forgiveness goes ahead of me, and whose love sustains me and the whole created world."

Variously, we offered individual positions:

• “The church gathered and the church scattered” – great way of thinking about us.
• Through “arts” or “hospitality” or other making / teaching , there’s a lot that church members can do besides worship and listen – in church, out of church – one continuous ministry.
• Still a working together, even though individuals have different talents.
• Dean Taylor, former interim rector of St. James, often said, "You can’t be a Christian by yourself." What about the desert fathers of the church? Though they lived in isolation, they had an institutional context.

We looked in our tradition for some perspective:

• "Love is in solidarity…" is something Dozier writes. She suggests a kind of rebellion, but notice that Jesus sees himself as fruition of Jewish law, not a rebel.
• Some people think Kingdom of God will happen all at once when Jesus returns; yes, Christ says it’s close at hand, but we have to live into it.
• In our culture, Jesus has been appropriated in so many ways. But, from the tradition, we have a sense of what Jesus would and would not do. When we draw Jesus into our own stories through prayer, is it the Jesus we know through Scripture, or some cultural creation? Would Jesus help Cinderella go to the ball? Everyone snorted at the thought!

We shared insights: Slippery slope, trying to be Jesus in the world can lead to authoritarian... Enjoy the etymological connections of words “Community, communion, compassion” – “just and trust” ... We need the leadership and the institution so that we the people can work with others, for others (example of laity who helped me to recognize what I can do) ... Yes, There is tension between individuals and institutions, but remember that institutions are made up of individuals, and individuals in history have risen to "give decadent institutions a kick in the butt” ... Dozier is trying to give some sense of agency back to the individual lay person: we all have a job to do in ministry ... Dozier's strong statement that we were invited by our Creator to be co-workers in realizing God's dream, and we have taken refuge in the Church.

When Scott read aloud Dozier's last two paragraphs and the final sentence, there was agreement: “That’s our collect, amen!” Hearing Dozier’s call to action at the end, we pondered our responses to two questions: What ministry do you imagine for yourself? How could the church be of service to YOU in this?

• help people who think “I’m not creative, I’m not talented” to start thinking of their own lives with artists’ eyes.
• to provide a type of caregiver support group – “caregiver” broadly defined (illness, parenting, eldercare) and it takes “me” out of the equation, and helping the caregiver to REALLY see the person they’re caring for. Church? Bible study can help, but a group with activities that everyone does together is also important. (Art, music, poetry, conversation…)
• to create a program that might be called "The Inspired Retired" for retirees to find new ways to become engaged with (1) themselves and (2) others
• to fulfill the 12th step, i.e., to work with others struggling with substance abuse.
• to make a deliberate effort to engage with people as equals -- especially strangers we encounter, in public, maybe at the drive thru window -– a ministry one conversation at a time. Church could be a place that welcomes people in this way.
• to pay attention to students who need advising to get through myriad hoops and obstacles during this particularly difficult time.

For Next Meeting, January 4 We read the essay for week 16 in the RRG. Susan and I both find that the latter part of the essay, beginning with "Prayer as Spiritual Action" (p. 94), is the heart of the essay. The earlier parts that lay groundwork for it are also good, but may make more sense if you read them last. Pete will bring worship and a question. Scott will supply a source for theological reflection.

Yr. A, Wk. 14: The Dream of God, Part I

Worship and Check-in Susan led worship from the Northumbria Community website. We shared how the past week went, a mix of celebrations and sorrows. We'll be remembering in our prayers Christine's sister, Marilyn's healing, and Nuno's cat Falcon.

Discussion of the Readings We discussed what struck us most in Dozier's first three chapters, and then considered the questions posed in the RRG for this section. Dozier got some pushback in favor of Constantine and the institution of the church, though we all could see the truths in her ideas. Susan suggested that Dozier is making her point with an either/or proposition, when the truth is more of a both/and.

We bought into Dozier's emphasis on the mission of the laity, the "ministry" in EfM. We shared some strong examples from personal experiences with "ministers" of the Church who were not necessarily ordained, and with activities of our own that we can see now as a kind of ministry.

We appreciated Dozier's reminders that the Bible is not a book by God but a library of writings caused by encounters with God. Christine admitted that she herself processes history, poetry, letters and stories all differently -- so Dozier's reminder is helpful to her.

What is the Good of the Church? EfM sent out this link to a video series of discussions that might provide different perspectives on Dozier's doubts that worshiping Jesus in church is the same thing as following Jesus.

Living Faithfully in Your World:
1st yr: Scott 2nd yr: Marilyn, Pete, Nuno; 3rd yr, Susan; 4th yr, Christine. Mentors: Susan and Scott. Absent: None.

Theological Reflection Pete shared this photo from the Depression, one in a series by Dorothea Lang. After sharing our reactions to different aspects of the photo, we decided to set aside our thoughts about the techniques and intentions of the photographer to focus just on the world of the people in the photo.

Their world, we said, was harsh, day-to-day, unjust, exposed. Noting that each figure is clutching another, we imagined that forgetting each other or letting go would be a kind of sin. When we asked ourselves about "redemption" in the world of the picture, we found a softness in the family group, and Christine pointed out the care that obviously went into crocheting the baby's little booties.

We instantly associated this picture with the Holy Family, refugees from harsh conditions. Nuno also remembered the widow who had just enough flour and oil left to feed her son one last meal. But she serves Elijah, and the story has a happy ending. We thought of other prophets who spoke out against the rich and powerful on behalf of the poor and the "strangers." Dozier's thumbnail sketch of Luke's gospel emphasizes Jesus's ministry to the poor and outcast, and she relates love and justice.

There was a thread of judgement in our positions on this photo: what did they do to get into this predicament? What might they have done differently? Alternatively, we heard the position that the family you were born into can limit your choices.

For personal buy-in from the "action" source, Nuno shared some family history and also told us about an encounter he had with a homeless man who surprisingly turned out to be a tourist on a "walkabout," exploring the world.

We came back more than once to the way Jesus sent his disciples out into the world in pairs with no supplies, not even a change of clothes. They were dependent on each other and on the hospitality of strangers the way the figures in the photo are presumed to be.

We thought we might begin our collect with the story of the disciples' mission. As Dozier would point out, we are those disciples, or should be. We thought that we should be praying for understanding and empathy when we see others, compassion, strength, and courage. Nuno volunteered to collect the strands of our discussion(s) into a single prayer.

Collect
Lord Jesus Christ, you send us into this world not with material goods but rather filled with trust, clothed with love, and blanketed in your mercy. Help us to have understanding, empathy, compassion, strength, and courage to share of your bountiful gifts with all those who are in need, knowing that all that we have comes from your divine providence. Amen

We ended with a blessing and Marilyn's reading of the collect she wrote after last week's TR (which will be printed on that blogpost).

For Next WeekWe read the rest of Dozier. The TR will be drawn from the RRG. Scott will lead worship.

Yr. A, Wk. 13: John's Gospel and a Light that can Hurt

Worship and Check-in Marilyn led worship with prayers she chose from different sources. She asked us about the pies we enjoyed with Thanksgiving dinner.

Discussion of the Readings The Y2 crowd met in a breakout room and brought back some points they talked about. John's Gospel begins before the birth. The word "paraclete" gave them pause, and they discussed how the Spirit was with Christ all along, yet came to us after the ascension. John's feels like the most "spiritual" Gospel, yet seems to have a lot of firsthand knowledge of the stories. There's a note of universal salvation here, but also portions that could be used by anti-Semites (though we didn't read it that way).

Living Faithfully in Your World:
1st yr: Scott 2nd yr: Marilyn, Pete, Nuno; 3rd yr, Susan; 4th yr, Christine. Mentors: Susan and Scott. Absent: Christine.

Theological Reflection Susan brought us Emily Dickinson's poem that begins "There's a certain slant of light." [Photo: ext. St. James Church. Scott.] Our focus went to the idea of light that hurts. The opposite thought emerged, too, that darkness can be healing. We also had some personal anecdotes about being able to see a dim glow in deep darkness.

Naturally, we found a lot of light/dark imagery in Scripture.

These insights and positions emerged:

• Twin nature of light - pain of exposure, security and warmth
• “Light within creates light without”
• With light I can see ... light exposes “warts and all”
• light/darkness compared to knowledge / ignorance – John about ignoring the truth
• “With light, the truth is laid bare, and truth is good, but truth can be harsh”
• Seeing in the dark, seeing with eyes closed (“own grey”) – we are not able to perceive dark except in contrast with light -- “The Darkness is not Darkness to You O lord…” (It is not truly darkness to any of us.)
• Barbara Brown Taylor about going in caves and mountains – other senses accommodate – spiritual "Learning to Walk in the Dark."
• Pete’s moonless nights on beach / the phosphorous from ocean; experience of that green light
• Swimming – we all were light to each other

Marilyn volunteered to collect the strands of our reflection into a prayer:

CollectDear loving and ever-living God, we feel the warmth of your light that shines so brightly on one and all, a beacon of clarity and truth: may the light of your love guide our wavering steps through earthly trials and times of darkness; may that love light penetrate our being, and fill us fully, enlivening our hearts, so that we may be fully present, fully loving, and faithfully serving you as best we know how. In Jesus's name we pray. Amen.

For Next WeekSusan leads worship. Pete brings a source for the TR.