1

vitality on the horizon (part 1):

message & welcome

Consider that we live in at least three worlds.

Pre-modern world

Non-modern world

Modern world

Emerging worldNow

The Table

The Sword

The Book

The Gun

The Screen

The Bomb

Old

Paradigm/

Model

Early

Transition

Late

Transition ?New

Paradigm/

Model

Old

Paradigm/

Model

Early

Transition

Late

Transition

New Paradigm/

Model

As Episcopalians, you have unique

disadvantages and

advantages

in this moment

Advantages

1. A Via Media Mindset:

Many Anglicans never fully surrendered to modern rationalism: openness to mysticism, experience

2. A Celtic Mindset:

Vestiges of non-Roman Christianity

3. A Diverse Mindset:

Space to differ

4. A Liturgical Mindset:

Space to experience God, bonding to meaning, beauty of worship, participatory

Disadvantages

1. An Upper-Class Mindset:

Elitist, “civilized,” uniform, one-size fits all, propriety

2. An Institutional Mindset:

Centralized, controlled, change-resistant, risk averse, bureaucratic - averse to charismatic leadership

3. A Christendom Mindset:

Parish/geography, people ought to come to us

4. A Bi-polar Mindset:

Cold-war: Liberal-conservative

Disadvantages

1. An Upper-Class Mindset:

2. An Institutional Mindset:

3. A Christendom Mindset:

4. A Bi-polar Mindset:

Advantages

1. A Via Media Mindset:

2. A Celtic Mindset:

3. A Diverse Mindset:

4. A Liturgical Mindset:

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressorare needed to see this picture.

Starting Point:

Music?

Structure?

Space?

Liturgy?

Politics?

New Coat of Paint?

Parking?

message?

Needed:

A radically new/old understanding of the gospel

… our core message as Christians.

Our contemporary understanding of Christianity is …

MEMBERSHIP IN A TROUBLED, CONFLICTED,

CHANGE-AVERSE, AND EXPENSIVE INSTITUTION

with a large taboo against holding certain political and social convictions.

with a bias toward being good citizens

with a concern for religious education

with a seldom-spoken of dream of joining God in the healing of the world.

Or …

INFORMATION ON HOW TO GO TO HEAVEN

AFTER YOU DIEwith a large footnote about increasing your personal

happiness and success through God.

with a small footnote about character development

with a smaller footnote about spiritual experience

with a smaller footnote about social/global transformation.

self

church

worldSelf-enhancement in this life and the next

heaven

self

church

world

heaven

world

self

church

God’s love, joy, peace, justice

After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news

of God.

The time has come, he said. The kingdom of God has come near. Repent

and believe the good news!Mark 1:15

Your kingdom come.

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

It does NOT teach us to pray …

May we come to your kingdom when we die.

May we all go to heaven where, unlike earth, your will is done.

Jesus’ gospel of the kingdom* calls us to make (or form) disciples who become agents of change (or mission) in our world …

It is not simply a call to preserve institutions, create “Christians” or

“Episcopalians” or whatever.

What would you be willing to give, risk, sacrifice, and try

in order to build a community dedicated to this vision of

forming disciples as agents of the kingdom (or dream, or dance, or

regenerative economy …) of God?

Our world faces either a great turning, or a catastrophic collapse

and recovery ...

In light of our three primary global crises -

Planet

Poverty

Peace -

Either way, our world would be better off if it was filled with more people who are

learning to live and share the good news of Jesus Christ.

23

A joyful rediscovery of our beautiful message is on the horizon ...

24

How clear are Episcopalians on our message? How are we doing at

communicating to the world at large that this is what we stand for?

Message.

Welcome.

We have a choice:

1. A single, more welcoming public space

2. Multiple more welcoming public, social, personal, and intimate spaces

public

social

personal

intimate

public - some churches, public institutions, outdoors, media, virtual spaces

social - most churches, front porches, coffee shops, restaurants, groups,

clubs, etc.

personal - homes, living rooms, tables

intimate - private rooms, offices, tables, cars, etc.

public

social

personal

intimate

(Joe Myers: The Search to Belong)

16:11 From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis. 12 From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.

    13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. 14 One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message. 15 When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. "If you consider me a believer in the Lord," she said, "come and stay at my house." And she persuaded us.

16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, "These men are slaves of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved."

18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, "In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!" At that moment the spirit left her.

    19 When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. 20 They brought them before the magistrates and said, "These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 21 by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice." 

   22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. 23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. 

   25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken.

May 2010

Baltimore, MD

4.5 on richter scale

(viewer discretion advsied)

At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone's chains came loose. 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted, "Don't harm yourself! We are all here!"

    29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"

At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone's chains came loose. 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted, "Don't harm yourself! We are all here!"

    29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"

    31 They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household." 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.

 

   35 When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: "Release those men." 36 The jailer told Paul, "The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace."

37 But Paul said to the officers: "They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out."

    38 The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed. 39 They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city. 40 After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia's house, where they met with the believers and encouraged them. Then they left.

The spaces of Acts 16

City - public

Riverside (place of prayer) - social

Lydia’s home - personal

Street - public

City Center - public

Jail - social

Outside jail - intimate

Jailer’s home - personal

public

social

personal

intimate

What makes public spaces more welcoming?

What makes social spaces more welcoming?

What makes personal spaces more welcoming?

What makes intimate spaces more welcoming?

51

vitality on the horizon (part 1):

message & welcome

52

vitality on the horizon (part 2):

liturgy & mission

Episcopalians:congratulations!

Letting Go Letting Come

Letting Be

Death(Friday)

Resurrection(Sunday)

Burial(Saturday)

57

59

60

62

63

Starting Point:

Music?

Structure?

Space?

Liturgy?

Politics?

New Coat of Paint?

Parking?

message

welcome

liturgy

Liturgy: A planned succession of group practices and rituals.

“The workout of the people”

Public Worship:

a fitness center for the soul

Trainers/Mentors

Soul Friends Soul Friends

You

Soul Friends Soul Friends

Mentorees/Apprentices

70

What could be done to make Episcopal liturgy more accessible

and meaningful for present and potential Episcopalians?

Getting healthy

in shape

strong

... for what?

Mission: God’s will/justice/peace being done on earth as in

heaven.

Starting Point:

Music?

Structure?

Space?

Liturgy?

Politics?

New Coat of Paint?

Parking?

message

welcome

liturgy

mission

Desired Outcome: Christ-like disciples who continue the movement

of Christ today, challenging all

institutions to new gains, for the common

good of all communities.

The problem of organized religion ...

The problem of organized religion ...

badly organized?

disorganized?

organized for the wrong purposes?

The promise of organized religion ...

organizing for

the right purposes!

The promise of organized religion ...

organizing for

the right purposes!

In Maryland and beyond...

think of this as a promotion

beginning with the neighborhood

to lay people

to local clergy

to national leadership

to global leadership

If you wanted to create a global movement

to organize people to save the world

what better place to start than

the church organized for mission

trained through liturgy

welcoming new participants

with the good news of God’s love?

89

vitality on the horizon

message, welcome,

liturgy & mission

There are many reasons to compare our churches to an old male tortoise …

There are many reasons to compare our churches to an old male tortoise …

Slow-moving … isolated …

Ancient-looking

withdrawn in its shell … won’t stick its neck out

There are many reasons to compare the crises in our world to a tsunami …

There are many reasons to compare the emerging global culture to an orphaned hippo

…

Orphaned by religion …

science … government …

the economy … technology … consumerism… “progress”…

-formation?

What could happen in our world if we turned back

outward toward our neighbors - with good news, welcome,

liturgy, and mission?

104

Do not merely try to bring others to where you are, as beautiful as that place might be.

But do not leave others where they are either.

Instead, go with them to a place neither you nor they have never been before.

Fr. Vincent Donovan (adapted)