From Our Minister Archive
Growing Goodness
Dear Friends,
Over the course of my two decades in the UU Ministry, there are two things that I have found myself being deeply drawn toward: the call of work that is worthy and the good partners that are indispensable in that work being successful.
Work that is worthy is work that sees and summons a spark — a truth — something that is essential to the possibility of growing goodness in the world. I can tell goodness because, when I find it inside of me or in others, it is constantly linked to happiness, hope, creativity, justice, joy. Some of our ‘work’ is learning to see the latent power in our core truths — because they’re almost always buried beneath layers of old hurt, doubt, cynicism, worry and fear. But an even larger part of our work is finding the courage to remove all the ‘protective’ layering we carefully placed around such truths so that they can come alive. The joy at the heart of the world never wanted to be protected. It wanted to come alive.
It was a great joy to be with you for a weekend. In a very short time, I got a chance to put a few faces to names — a little flesh on the bones of the history I read about in your materials. The real beauty of UUCCSM is not your bylaws or policies or the narrative histories I’ve read. It’s certainly not in the challenges I’ve heard described. Your real beauty is the humanness you bring. Your heartfelt drive to be become your best selves. To imagine your best contributions leading to the best community. Your real beauty is in your aspirations toward becoming a beloved community.
You won me over by presenting me with a great gift — one which you might not even be aware of having offered. On the Saturday and Sunday I was with you in May, I got a chance to hear a half dozen stories about my mother, Celia Ward, from people who knew her (largely from her work at de Benneville Pines in the 70s and 80s). My mother, for a relatively small woman, was ‘large and in charge.’ She was often brash and imposing. She could swear like a sailor. But she could also be quite tender and wise. Some saw her as a great mentor and leader. Some, as a great pain in the #$@&%!. To her children, she was a complex mix of both. Not always in the right proportions with the right timing (I trust I am not saying anything too unfamiliar to anyone who compares the parent they were given with the one they sometimes fantasized about). The stories that I heard about my mother contained an awareness of both sides of her.
Part of my ‘work’ over the last 50+ years has been to look, learn, understand, integrate, and accept the various inconsistent – even contradictory — parts of my mother. One of the great gifts we can be given is to be among people who ‘get’ the complexity we’ve been caught up in.
A Buddhist novitiate once asked his master to tell him about delusion. “You are asking me about the horse,” the master said, “and you are riding on it.”
It is my great hope that I can offer some of the same gifts you have helped to give me: a chance to see clearly some of the complexity from which you have emerged. Because what you hope for is what I hope for: to look, learn, understand, integrate, and accept all that you have been given. And to know it is a great gift. A truth. A spark. To remove the hurt or doubt or cynicism that has been draped upon it. And to see it is being called to do great things. It just needs a people with the courage to see its power and use it well.
To the Glory of Life.
— Rev. Greg Ward
Passing the Torch: Saying Thank You and Keeping Covenant
Dear congregation,
And now the time has come to say goodbye. Since November, when I announced my decision to resign as your settled minister, we have had a chance to offer one another a compassionate, caring, and meaningful leave-taking. Thank you for “taking the long way around” in worship and in opportunities for reflection and celebration of my ministry with you throughout our life together (some of which are still coming up in mid-May and early June, thanks to our Farewell Committee and their wonderful organizing!) Thank you, to all of you who have written notes of appreciation, shared stories and memories in “Open Hours” small groups, or one-on-one, or presented me and my family with heartfelt tokens of gratitude. Please know how touched I am by your gifts, and how deeply they have affirmed the very best parts of my ministry with you over the past seven years.
Many of you have been asking where my next ministry will take me. As of this writing, I am not yet sure. I will be looking for a “match” through the process that links congregations in transition with interim ministers, and I am exploring other ministry opportunities here in Los Angeles and on the East Coast. Thank you for your good wishes as this process unfolds for me. Now, it is time for me to pass the torch to your incoming minister, the Rev. Greg Ward. I have great respect for Rev. Greg and all he brings to this time in ministry with the congregation, which has such promise and potential. And, after my final Sunday on June 4, and my final day cleaning out my office on June 10, I will no longer be your minister. This means that I will no longer be in touch with members of this community. It does not mean that I will not say “hello” at the Santa Monica farmers’ market or when we run into one another at a larger UU gathering. But, it does mean that I will be fading from view. This decision reflects my support for you and your new minister, my covenant with my UU colleagues, and my commitment to our UU Ministers Association Code of Professional Ethics. It is time for my ministry with you to become a chapter of your history; your ministry with Rev. Greg and with one another is your present, and your future.
My spiritual friends, it has been an honor and an unforgettable journey to serve as your minister. Thank you for your courage, commitment, love, and trust in me, and many blessings on the new ministry you will soon take up with Rev. Greg.
Much heart,
Rev. Rebeccca
Rev. Rebeccca
Rev. Rebecca’s last meeting with the Heart to Heart Circle facilitators: (back row, left to right) Margot Page, Norm Richey, Kathleen Hogue, Bev Shoenberger, Natalie Kahn, (front row, left to right) Leslie Beauvais, Rev. Rebecca Benefiel-Bijur, Rhonda Peacock, Abby Arnold.
Moments of Connection and Love
Dear congregation,
This is my second-to-last newsletter column as your settled minister, a milestone I intend to mark by writing about transformation, our ministry theme for April.
To me, transformation is the staid and steady form of this powerful word, coming from solid Latin roots that take us from a to b, this to that; but there is also a Greek version, full of the dynamic tension of that ancient culture, which is metamorphosis. In elementary school classrooms around the country, metamorphosis means butterflies — which is actually caterpillar, then caterpillar mush within a chrysalis, and then butterfly. What a powerful reminder of what transformation can look and feel like — how it can dissolve us into our constituent parts before remaking us from the inside out — whether or not we wished to be changed!
As my ministry with you comes to its completion, we would do well to remember how both letting go of old forms and making room for new life are always part of transformation, whether in the seasons changing before our eyes, or in the old and powerful stories of religious and secular culture we hear and tell at this time of year. Stories of freedom — as in the Passover story of how those who had been slaves in Egypt set out on a great journey of personal and communal liberation. Stories of renewal — as in the Easter story of those who had faced betrayal and great loss learned that their story was not over, and that love was stronger than death. And stories of the transforming power of the Earth itself, told in many cultures and in many ways, including Nowrooz, a secular (and in some areas, Zoroastrian) holiday celebrated throughout Iran and in the Persian community of Los Angeles, among many other countries and U.S. cities, to mark the spring equinox and the changing of the seasons.
The religious leader and teacher Howard Thurman reminded us of what he called “the growing edge,” which leads us through times of change and transformation. He wrote the following poem that speaks powerfully to times and seasons such as these:
All around us worlds are dying and new worlds are being born;All around us life is dying and life is being born.The fruit ripens on the tree;The roots are silently at work in the darkness of the earthAgainst a time when there shall be new leaves, fresh blossoms, green fruit.Such is the growing edge!It is the extra breath from the exhausted lung,The one more thing to try when all else has failed,The upward reach of life when weariness closes in upon all endeavor.This is the basis of hope in moments of despair,The incentive to carry on when times are out of jointAnd people have lost their reason; the source of confidenceWhen worlds crash and dreams whiten into ash.The birth of the child—life’s most dramatic answer to death—This is the Growing Edge incarnate.Look well to the growing edge.
In our church, too, as we move through this time of transition and transformation, I know the ending of one chapter in the life of our community is also the beginning of a new chapter. May we look well to the growing edge!
Much heart,
Rev. Rebecca
Rev. Rebecca
P.S. In addition to Open Hours on some evenings and weekends, I continue to offer office hours during the week for all those who wish to meet with me during the day to share a thought, a feeling, or a story of our time together during this season of leave-taking. My office hours are 10 am to 12 pm Tuesdays, and 3 to 5 pm Wednesdays. This is also a time I hold each week for pastoral appointments. A regular one-on-one meeting with me during this time is about 35 to 45 minutes. If you would like to meet with me during these regular office hours, or at another time if these hours do not fit your schedule, please contact me at minister@uusm.org or 310-829-5436 x104 to make an appointment. While you are also welcome to drop in, I may have another appointment and be unable to see you, so I recommend that you call or email ahead.
Moments of Connection and Love
Dear congregation,
I was surprised to learn recently that the Broadway musical “Rent” is now on its 20th anniversary tour. “Rent” was a phenomenon I remember experiencing in high school and college; it was the CD (remember CDs?) that I borrowed most often from my college roommate to listen to in our dorm room. “Rent” tells the story of a group of young people trying to make it on their own in New York City and struggling with HIV/AIDS, drug addiction, relationships, family, money, and identity. Its anthem, “Seasons of Love,” by Jonathan Larson, answers the question, “How do you measure a year?” by arguing that a meaningful life is not measured in time alone, but rather in love, which is often felt deeply in small moments of connection, beauty, and presence. Here are some of the lyrics of the song:
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutesFive hundred twenty-five thousand moments so dearFive hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutesHow do you measure — measure a year?
In daylights — in sunsets
In midnights — in cups of coffee
In inches — in miles
In laughter — in strife
In — five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure a year in the life?
How about love?
How about love?
How about love?
Measure in love
Seasons of love
Seasons of love
As our time together continues to move towards its close — as we enter a season of transition at UUSM — I am noticing and appreciating those small moments of connection and love that make up our church life, and I hope you will, too.
Over the past few months, I’ve worked with our Board of Directors to gain clarity on what tasks in ministry I’ll continue to oversee, which I’ll hand off, and which I’ll finish in this season of transition. Updates on these tasks are available in my monthly reports to the board, and they are already helping me and your elected leaders feel a sense of clarity and control that we are in a process that will carry us through the end of this ministry.
I also want to commend the Board of Directors, and particularly Kim Miller and Jacki Weber of the Developmental Ministry Task Force, for their efforts over the past few months to communicate clearly their vision for next steps in ministry here, and to do so with openness, transparency, and a willingness to be changed by the conversations they are having with congregants. It is our shared goal that there be as caring and seamless a transition as possible between my ministry and that of my successor, and we are well on the way toward meeting that goal.
Much heart,
Rev. Rebecca
Please Seek— and Give—Care
Dear Congregation,
At this time, I want to remind you that my goal is for your church to be a place where you will be cared for, and where you will be called upon to care for others. As your minister, I meet regularly with congregants to offer pastoral care in times of crisis, critical decisionmaking, or at other moments of deep reflection and need for increased spiritual support. In the past few months I’ve been with you through conversations, calls, texts, and emails as you cope with national politics, make it through a tough day, respond to news of my departure, await test results at the hospital, move a loved one into hospice care, or face the loss of a beloved. I also make hospital visits and reach out regularly to our Super Seniors by phone.
At the same time, in a congregation as large as UUSM, it is simply not possible for the minister to serve every pastoral need. Most congregations of our size also have a lay ministry, a group of volunteers trained and supported by the minister who offer caring support and a listening ear to one another, particularly in cases of ongoing need (rather that an emergent crisis). Unfortunately, our congregation lacks such a group of volunteers, and has a history and a culture that, in recent years, has worked against bringing such a group together in a sustainable way. My hope is that such a lay ministry will be a part of the congregational system our leaders will be able to become more aware of, and find more success in changing, in the future.
For now, your board and I are in agreement that we can anticipate an increased need for pastoral care at this time of transition in Washington, DC, and ministerial transition here. To meet this need, I again invite you to call or email me directly, speak with a board member, attend a Listening Circle with our Right Relations Task Force, share with your Heart to Heart Circle, and/or consider reaching out to Michael Eselun, a church member and chaplain who is on-call for additional pastoral care. If you are wondering if you “really need” this support, or if we should “save” this care for someone else, please reach out to me or another person who can offer care and support to you.
Yes, I mean you.
Additionally, I am asking you, again, to reach out and to keep reaching out to your friends in the congregation to check on them, as well. Care is built when we know that there are other members (not only the minister) in our community who are thinking of us, looking out for us, and noticing what is going on with us, in one-on-one relationships of mutuality, authenticity, and trust.
This is what we are here for. This is how we journey together in troubled and troubling times.
With you,
Rev. Rebecca
minister@uusm.org
PS: On MLK Sunday, one of you asked me why we didn’t have “Lift Every Voice and Sing” as one of our service hymns. My answer: In commemoration of Black History Month, we will sing this song as our opening hymn every Sunday in February, as we consider what it means to be a Community of Identity — our ministry theme this month.
Now is the Time for Sacred Resistance and Sanctuary
When I heard our host from the Islamic Center of Southern California say, “Our house is open. Our heart is open. Our door is open. We will wrap our arms of love around you,” I knew I was in the right place. I was moved by these words, offered by our Muslim neighbors who have been targeted for hate and discrimination and who I would not blame for closing their doors in the name of security. But they have made a different decision: they know that safety doesn’t come from closing one another out with more locks and guns; it comes from open houses, open hearts, and open doors.
At the time, just a few weeks after the presidential election, I was sitting next to Rev. Nate from St. Augustine’s Episcopal and Rev. Rick from First UU Church, along with over 50 diverse faith and lay leaders convened by our partners at CLUE (Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice) for a strategy meeting dedicated to Sacred Resistance and Sanctuary. We heard from immigration attorneys and longtime leaders of social change in Los Angeles about what we can expect from the coming Trump Administration. The news was not good. We join our interfaith cousins as we prepare to stand with people of conscience and moral courage, and especially with our Muslim and immigrant siblings, and to stand up to ignorance, racism, and hate.
What can we do here at UUCCSM? There are many ways we can answer the call of love — as we have done
before in times of great need. We can show up for one another and our neighbors; we can organize; we can educate ourselves; we can worship, sing, pray, and walk together. As individuals and as a congre- gation, we can pledge our support and resources to Sacred Resistance and Sanctuary, including specifi actions highlighted by CLUE, such as:
• Expressing our opposition to deportation/registration of Arab/Middle Eastern/Muslim/South Asian/Latino
populations.
• Joining the national Sanctuary Movement as a Sanctuary congregation
• Offering sanctuary to immigrants or those feeling threatened for short or long term stays
• Helping with relocation efforts for those facing immediate deportation
• Receiving training on prosecutorial discretion packets, to help immigrants prior to court cases
• Showing up for acts of public witness and civil initiative to resist ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) raids and discriminatory actions
What will we do at UUCCSM? On January 15, MLK Sunday, our Faith in Action Commission will host a meeting for further discussion and action on these vital issues at 12:30 (location to be determined). I hope to see you there. So many of you have spoken with me personally about your commitment to act against hate and fear. The actions outlined above are not exhaustive or exclusive; there are many ways we can build bridges and not walls. As the activist Christian preacher William Sloane Coffin reminded us, in times like these we are not called to be our brother’s keeper. We are called to be our brother’s brother.
With you,
Rev. Rebecca
PS: Your Board and I are in agreement that we can anticipate an increased need for pastoral care in these difficult times, and because of our upcoming ministerial transition. To meet this need, please call or email me, speak with a Board member, attend a Listening Circle with our Right Relations Task Force, and/or consider reaching out to Michael Eselun, a church member and chaplain who is on-call for additional pastoral care. Additionally, as your minister, I am asking you, again, to reach out and to keep reaching out to your friends in the congregation to check on them. Care is built when we know that there are other members (not only the minister) in our community who are thinking of us, looking out for us, and noticing what is going on for us, in one-on-one relationships of mutuality, authenticity and trust. This is what we are here for. This is how we walk together in troubled and troubling times.
Keeping Our Kids Safe
This month’s column is written with our new director of religious education, Kathleen Hogue.
Dear members and friends,
We are a few weeks into our new church year now, and it is good to be together again.
As you know, our Unitarian Universalist faith is covenantal. We do not subscribe to a common doctrine, and are instead made up of all who have chosen to “walk together” as members and friends of the church. When we gather, we welcome all who choose to join us, and we ask and depend on one another to create a safe and sacred space for all the children, youth, and adults of our community. We also rely on one another to create, talk about, and implement policies that help keep our congregation healthy and ensure the safety and wellbeing of our members and visitors.
As we have just launched a new year of classes and welcomed our new DRE to our church, we’d like to remind our members about the congregation’s existing safety procedures, policies, and plans, particularly as they protect the children and youth entrusted to our care. Additionally, we understand that our Board of Directors has also identified a goal of further review and improvement of our Safe Congregation policies in the coming year.
Here is what we have in place already:
Training: An important part of every year’s RE volunteer training is a review of our safety policies, including classroom procedures as well as a discussion of mandated reporting of suspected abuse. We also review the locations of fire extinguishers and first aid supplies, as well as evacuation procedures.
Screening: RE teachers and advisors fill out a screening form that provides background information and personal references as well as permission to perform a background check. We conduct this screening with new volunteers as well as once five years have elapsed since prior screening.
Evacuation Planning: Evacuation procedures for RE classes are reviewed with all volunteers, and the printed plans are included in every teacher notebook as well as in the attendance notebook for each RE class. In the event of an evacuation during class time, teachers will fill out a form with each child’s name, and parents are required to sign their children out when they are picked up.
Classroom Rules: All of our classes require two adults to be in the room – generally a lead teacher and an assistant. We put windows in the doors of our upstairs classrooms during the renovation to make periodic classroom check-ins possible without disrupting class time. Parents fill out and sign registration forms that include permission to treat in an emergency if a parent is not immediately available, though this is an extra precaution, since our Sunday RE classes happen when parents are also on our campus. A special extra permission form that includes health information is required for any trips or events at UUSM when parents are not present. For local trips (walking), permission is given for the entire year by signing the registration form; parents will be informed as these trips arise. A ratio of at least one adult to six youths is required for any of these special programs (in addition to the two-adult minimum). At no time are a child/youth and an adult in a one-onone setting during activities offered or sponsored by UUSM.
First Aid/CPR: All RE Department staff (DRE, nursery supervisor, and preschool teacher) are First Aid/CPR certified.
Finally, as written in our congregation’s Policy on Disruptive Behavior, while openness to a wide variety of individuals is one of the prime values held by our congregation and expressed in our denomination’s purposes and principles, we affirm the belief that our congregation must maintain a secure atmosphere where such openness can exist. When any person’s physical and/or emotional wellbeing or freedom to safely express his or her beliefs or opinions is threatened, the source of this threat must be addressed firmly and promptly, even if this ultimately requires the expulsion of the offending person or persons. (For more information on this policy, please see http://archive.uusm.org/about-our-church/governance/policies/general-operations/disruptive-behavior )
The time to make plans for how to respond to a breach of trust in our community is before such a breach happens. While the RE program has comprehensive safety plans in place, and much work has been done to develop helpful, clear policies such as that outlined above, there is more to do within the congregation as a whole to support our shared commitment to community wellbeing. As your minister and your director of religious education, we are committed to working with you and our leaders to continue to refine and improve safety policies and procedures, which will enable us to meet the needs of all in our community. Like you, we know this is hard, necessary, and sacred work.
— Rev. Rebecca Benefiel Bijur and Kathleen Hogue, DRE
New DRE Brings Us to Full Staff
I’m delighted to welcome our new Director of Religious Education, Kathleen Hogue (see page 3 ). Hats off to our DRE Search Committee for their leadership and commitment to the future of religious education and exploration at UU Santa Monica. The committee is going to support Kathleen by continuing as the DRE Transition Team. Its members are Leon Henderson-MacLennan and Jo An Peters, co- chairs; Denise Helton, Dan Patterson, Nalani Santiago-Kalmanson, James Witker, and me.
A DRE Start Up Workshop will be scheduled with the UUA Congregational Life Staff, and we are planning an installation to formally welcome Kathleen to our community with a special service of worship and celebration. Please stay tuned for more opportunities to welcome Kathleen and help her feel at home in Los Angeles.
It’s wonderful to be back at full staffing for our Sunday worship services. Our choir is once again singing at our 11 am services, led by Dr. Zanaida Robles. And we plan to have a children’s choir at 9 am services in October, led by Zanaida with help from Lois Hutchinson and her daughter Delaney.
I’m also appreciative of the work of our Long Term Right Relations Task Force, which was appointed by our Board in August and met weekly in September to help us navigate conflict and leadership challenges facing our congregation. We will continue to meet at least twice a month for the coming year. Please ask me and other members of the Task Force what we are learning about congregational systems, conflict transformation, and becoming self-differentiated leaders. The other members are Helen Brown, Leon Henderson-MacLennan, Emily Linnemeier, Vilma Ortiz, Margot Page, Tom Peters, Beth Rendeiro, Sue Stoyanoff, John Sussman, and James Witker.
This month we join UU congregations across the country to consider, embody, and practice what it means to be A Community of Healing. As I wrote last month, our church is now part of the Soul Matters Sharing Circle, an international community of UUs connecting around theme-based questions, resources, and spiritual practices throughout the church year. This month I’m including the Soul Matters monthly column alongside my own. Have you visited the Soul Matters website (soulmatterssharingcircle.com) or FB page to go deeper during the month? What do you think of the questions? (To download content, you need to join. It’s simple and free.) I’m eager to hear how this resource can support you on your spiritual journey, and how this timely theme is speaking to our community in this moment of our journey together.
With you,
Rev. Rebecca
Beginning Again, in Covenant
In UU congregations throughout the country, the summer months are often a time for an alternative approach to congregational life. Some of us travel away from church; some of us stay home and take a break from church; some of us come every Sunday, no matter the season. New teachers and leaders step into new roles, as some of you did this summer to run Hogwarts Academy for Young UUs, in which the world of Harry Potter was explored as a way of investigating our UU faith and values. I also got to learn some new steps, by hosting Bart Campolo, who serves as humanist chaplain at USC, and Ani Zonneveld, president and founder of Muslims for Progressive Values, in the pulpit. Both of these preachers seemed to “strike a chord” with those who heard them, and I found them late into the morning still here among us, fielding your questions and concerns, and engaging in supportive and provocative conversations well into coffee hour. This made me glad, because that is how bridges are built and how new relationships are formed and strengthened.
Thank you to our volunteer worship leaders and pulpit hosts this summer: Leon Henderson-MacLennan, Rima Snyder, and Margot Page. Thank you to all our RE teachers and volunteers, as well, those who brought us through the summer together, and into this new church year.
The new church year is a time of new beginnings. We are welcoming Dr. Zanaida Robles as our director of music, and we are getting very close to finding our next director of religious exploration. We are launching a Right Relations Task Force to support us in speaking and listening to one another more skillfully and to keep working to address the conflict and division present among us, with compassion and in alignment with our UU values. This is continuing work, and this is new work — both are true.
This year, we will join over 190 UU congregations in sharing monthly themes through Soul Matters Sharing Circles. Soul Matters is a UU collaborative that brings UUs and UU congregations into closer community as we share theme-Covenantbased materials throughout the church year, from September to June. In this experimental year, we will be “trying on” Soul Matters materials, resources, and community connections. You can learn more about Soul Matters on their website at www.soulmatterssharingcircle.com and through their Facebook page.
This month, interestingly enough, we join our sibling congregations from New Orleans to New England, and from Calgary to Phoenix, to “begin again” with “Covenant,” which was our theme for May, close to the end of our church year. Together, we will revisit some of the aspects of covenant we began to explore four months ago, while coming along on this next step of our journey together. It is a new opportunity for us to wrestle with, understand, and embody covenant in new and deeper ways, together and in service to our covenantal faith.
With you,
Rev. Rebecca
What Kind of Church Are You Looking For?
One of my goals as your minister is to embody the interdependence between our congregation and the larger UU faith, and to continue to develop my professional skills, through regular participation in our national denomination and district/region, including congregational events such as ordinations, installations, and retirement celebrations.
This year, I participated as an offsite delegate in Ministry Days and General Assembly (GA), both annual conferences for UUs and UU ministers held this year in Columbus, Ohio.
We also sent onsite delegates Jessica Clay, Peggy Rhoads, and Rick Rhoads, and fellow offsite delegates Cathie Gentile and Roberta Frye. For the first time, we offered live-streaming of the Service of the Living Tradition here in the Sanctuary, thanks to Bob Dietz’s AV support, and advertised the events that were open to all. (If you attended or watched, please let me know.)
The keynote presentation at the UU Ministers Association Ministry Days was Rev. John Dorhauer, general minister and president of the United Church of Christ, who spoke about the paradigm shift from “modern” to “post-modern” congregations, which is dramatically reshaping the form and function of religious community.
John described the funding challenge to modern churches that is leading to the choice of “pastor or building?” He sees a shift away from full-time, authorized and credentialed ministers to spiritual innovators creating community for the common good in non-institutional settings. He talked about the lack of brand loyalty in today’s spiritual world (“I’ll join a church but not a denomination”) and themes in his generation (Boomers) of resisting authority and withholding trust from institutions.
In the sea of change, he asked, what must not change? What is the congregation’s purpose and mission? Churches that survive and thrive will answer the question, “But for us, what aspect of faith would be diminished or go extinct? What do we exist to perpetuate that faith could not be whole without?” What matters the most — mission or pipe organ? Mission or sermon? Mission or building?
Post-modern communities are “seeking to be touched” and a traditional modern education to create “experts” won’t get them there. Post-modern communities ask their leaders,“Do you have the capacity to place me in the presence of the holy?” and “How [will you teach or show me how to] expend my life’s resources to contribute to something that I’m proud of and will give me meaning?”
What kind of church are you looking for today, my spiritual companions — post-modern or modern? What kind of church do we have? It’s a question to ponder in these last long days of summer, and a question I hope we will come back to after we gather-in August 21.
See you at church,
Rev. Rebecca
Rev. Rebecca
PS: Here is a link to a study on the postmodern search for “something more” by Harvard Divinity School students Casper ten Kuile and Angie Thurston, with support from the Fetzer Institute. Be sure to check out their description of Sunday Assembly, co-founded here in Los Angeles by Ian Dodd. http://fetzer.org/resources/something-more/