"What if they Don't come back?"

Fresh Expressions has a worthwhile article on the challenges and opportunities for the post-pandemic church. Check it out. Click here.

Also, I’ve copied it below for your convenience.

“What If They Don’t Come Back?” 4 Opportunities for Churches Post-Pandemic

By Chris Morton

As vaccination spreads and pandemic restrictions ease, this is the anxious question in the back of many church leader’s minds. Some churches haven’t met in a long time. Others have gathered in limited ways that never really compared to their pre-pandemic participation.

When a Church says “it’s time to regather!” some will respond with excitement, ready to reconnect with friends and worship corporately. Others will feel a sense of dread, unsure if these gatherings will feel safe, either physically or emotionally. Some might not be paying attention at all.

Regathering is difficult for several reasons. There are ever-changing logistics of moving back into unused spaces. Some feel wounded by or distrustful of churches, especially in the U.S., because of how some Christians participated in the hyper-politicization of pandemic, political and social issues over the last year. 

Then there’s the problem of inertia. 

Church members have had over a year to spend their Sundays sleeping in, traveling, crunching, or even visiting other churches. Many may just not feel the need to gather again.

The natural question for Church leaders to ask is “how do we get our people to come back?” 

But regathering also offers opportunities for churches to reimagine their mission and cast a new vision for their congregation after COVID.

How Can We Re-Present Ourselves to Our Community?

What are your neighbors doing on Sunday morning? What about those who live next to your church building?

One tangible sign of the pandemic for many people is the lack of traffic on Sunday mornings. Sadly, the direct neighbors around your church’s meeting space may know very little about you. 

This could be the perfect time to engage your neighborhood in a new way. Announcing your church’s regathering gives you an excuse to send mailers, door hangers, or even knock on doors. At other times you might feel like you need a reason to “bother” people. But now you have one!

Connecting with your neighbors is a chance to get to know them and their needs, not to talk about yourself. As you connect, you can ask questions like:

“What has life been like for you during the pandemic? What would help you today?”

“What are some needs and opportunities you see in the neighborhood? How might our church community help?”

“Is there any way I can pray for you?”

Because organizations of all sorts are going through a sort of re-start, now is the perfect time to begin building relationships with the people you’ve seen around but never met.

How Can We Build on What We’ve Learned?

The pandemic led even the most traditional local churches to be more innovative. Congregations learned Zoom and Facebook Live, conducted parking lot services, and provided food for hungry neighbors. Forced creativity has helped unengaged church members find new roles and has allowed new people to encounter churches online or in unexpected settings.

Churches now have the opportunity to use what they’ve learned and continue to explore new structures for discipleship and new expressions of Church. 

Are there individuals who have taken on leadership in ways they never did before the pandemic? Consider what their next steps in discipleship and leadership growth could be. 

Have you met new people in your community through your efforts to help with pandemic needs like food or loneliness? Consider how the ministries you’ve launched might mature towards a fuller expression of Church.

Have your online experiences engaged people who cannot attend your church otherwise? Consider how you can move beyond a simple broadcast of your weekend gathering to daily interactions that build a sense of community.

How Can We Bring Church to People?

When the pandemic shut down church gatherings, it also closed gyms and movie theatres. People found new ways to exercise, relax and connect. At one point, there was a shortage of bicycles, and sales of camping gear have exploded.

At the same time, the pandemic removed the “social pressure” people felt to go to parties, work in offices, and, yes, attend church on Sunday. While these in-person venues will reopen, there’s no going back. Movies will continue to be released online, outdoor excursions will remain popular, and some businesses may never return to their offices.

One surprise of the pandemic for churches was the new ways it allowed people to engage in new ways. For instance, a small church in rural Texas started using Zoom for their weekend gatherings. A long-time member of their community was blind and found that interacting on Zoom was more accessible to them than in-person gatherings. This person started inviting others from the blind community, and they quickly made up a sizable portion of their gatherings.

Other churches elected to meet in smaller groups as part of backyard gatherings. These churches are rediscovering the foundational nature of home and family life as a central organizing principle. 

When you read about how the Church spread in the book of Acts, it’s interesting that Peter and Paul reached both synagogue-attending Jews and Gentile seekers. When Paul teaches Lydia and her friends who gathered near a river, he doesn’t tell them to come to synagogue on Saturday. Instead, we hear about a church community taking shape in her house.

As restrictions lift, it may be hard to get people out of their pajamas and in a pew on Sunday. What would it be like to bring Church to them?

How Can We Cast a New Vision or Recapture an Old One?

After over a year apart, it’s easy to let the desire to reconnect and return to “normal” drive decision-making. But the pandemic should also force reflection. Much of what we were doing was ineffective, unsustainable, and even worked against our health and vitality.

What if the pandemic is giving you a once-in-a-lifetime chance to reevaluate everything? Was a particular ministry dragging down the rest of your church? Was your worship style inaccessible to the people you hope to reach? Tired of the color of the carpet? There will never be an easier time to address these questions.

At the same time, churches have central ideals and important stories worth remembering. Time causes every organization to drift from its mission. As you regather, you have the opportunity to cast a new vision—or recast an old one—of who God has called your church to be.

Now is the Time

The COVID-19 pandemic is (Lord willing) a once-in-a-lifetime experience! We know we can’t return to the way life was before, and that’s probably okay.

The George Floyd Anniversary

It’s been a lovely spring day here in New England. Everywhere there is evidence of new life. I have enjoyed every single sunny day we’ve had, but I also couldn’t help but start to think about what happens when it gets hot later this summer…we had a glimpse of that over the weekend. We could use some rain. We are getting long overdue.

George Floyd Mural Minneapolis

There is a lot that is long overdue. One year ago today we witnessed on a recording by a witnesses cell phone video, the nearly 9 minutes of torture by a Minneapolis Police Officer, and the subsequent murder of George Floyd. The event was so obviously an act of intentional homicide, that a jury convicted that officer in one of the very few instances of accountability of its kind. That justice was long overdue. But I hesitate to wonder, what would have happened if we did not have that video recording of those nine minutes.

The event brought the disparity of what it’s like to live in this country as a black person versus a white person. The good news is that some progress is being made, the bad news is that in many places little has changed and people of color continue to be killed.

So much and so little has changed since George Floyd.

Martin Luther King Jr reminded us that the ark of justice curves slowly. Slowly indeed. Our calling is to keep bending it toward justice even when it seems futile…because it’s not futile.

The work of addressing racism is hard work for everyone, and for people who look like me, it’s a challenge because it requires a profound self-examination. We face an internal psycho/spiritual struggle as well as an external one involving laws and policy. Both are needed in this case. More than any other author, I have been helped by the work of Dr. Fanny Brewster author of the Racial Complex. Her thesis is that within the collective US American psyche/soul is a cluster of energy that challenges our ability to see clearly our personal and collective wound.

Brewster explores how racial complexes influence personality development, cultural behavior and social and political status, and how they impact contemporary American racial relations. She also investigates aspects of the racial complex including archetypal shadow as core, constellations and their expression, and cultural trauma in the African diaspora. The book concludes with a discussion of racial complexes as a continuous psychological state and how to move towards personal, cultural and collective healing.

While some may criticize this internal investigation as avoiding the external realities of injustice, I’m of the school of thought that says it’s both. We need both the internal and the external work, and in my view, sustained healing will not occur until both are resolved.

If you are interested in being part of a small group that reads Dr. Brewster’s book, let me know. Drop me an email here. Who knows if we have enough people maybe I can get her to drop in on our conversation, no promises though, as she is in high demand these days.

Dr. Fanny Brewster

What do the new CDC Guidelines Mean?

Dear New England Synod

Yesterday, the Centers for Disease Control released new guidance for mask-wearing and gatherings. Those can be found here at this link.

I’ve received the famous question of Martin Luther in his Small Catechism, “What does this mean?” I am not a scientist nor a public health official, and I’ve yet to play one on TV. But, since some of you asked, here are my thoughts:

·      It means that getting a vaccine is essential for a path back to a life of in-person human contact. There is now broad clear and scientifically undeniable evidence that a fully vaccinated person can participate in society.

·      It does not mean you can immediately hold in-person worship and events without masks. It does not mean you can start singing in worship. Let’s proceed with caution. In the words of one mother, “I’m not bringing my unvaccinated children to in-person worship where I know there are unvaccinated adults who refuse to wear masks.”

·      It also means that we are going to have to figure out how to navigate the question of vaccine use by worship attenders. This is a challenging question. One worth discussion by your leadership. How does our often stated “all are Welcome” engage with “all should be safe here.?”

·      It also means that we in the six states of New England, plus the counties in Upper New York need to watch and see how each state government interprets these guidelines. I expect we will know more in a week.

I have continued to advise wisdom and thoughtful engagement during this pandemic, as opposed to a rush to the quick fix.  We’ve done well here in New England so far, let’s continue that judicious approach.

Sincerely

Bishop James Hazelwood

Using Dreams in Spiritual Direction

Recently a friend of mine described a peculiar event in her life. While attempting to parent her teenage son during an emotionally charged situation, she blurted out a series of statements that she not only regretted but did not reflect her true personality. “I don’t know where they came from. It’s like I was possessed or something.”

Have you ever had an experience similar to this one? I know I have. In response to something that was said or done, it’s as if I had lost my mind. Another example might be when you find yourself listening to someone in a meeting and you notice that what they are saying makes no sense at all and even contradicts their own values. I saw this recently when someone was defending their position on a personal medical issue. As they explained to me their thinking, it simply defied all sound reasoning, yet it made ‘sense’ to them. One more example: You walk into a room (a meeting, a classroom, a church, a Zoom session) to listen to a guest speaker. After about a minute or two, you have a really strong reaction. It may be positive such as almost falling in love or considering this person to be the wisest human ever to live. It may be negative, and so strong you just despise the person and think all their points are worthless. What’s going on here? You’ve only been listening for 60 seconds.

It’s as if something else is influencing us. Could it be that there are forces inside us and around us that influence our waking lives? I’d like to use a metaphor to explain that influence. That metaphor is best illustrated by the image of an iceberg.

As you can see from this photo, the vast majority of the iceberg is not above the waterline, but below. Depth Psychologists refer to this submerged part of the iceberg as the unconscious. Above the waterline is our conscious selves, that’s the part we show to the world, take to work, and think is in charge. It’s gone by different names depending on the school of thought: ego, persona, conscious self. Notice what’s underneath the waterline. Notice the size of the unconscious. It’s outsized in proportion to the tiny part we present to the world each day. Do you think it might be influencing us? You bet it does. But here’s the thing, because it’s under the water because it’s the unconscious we don’t know about it. Plus the ego or persona has done a great job of convincing us that the part above the waterline is in charge. The ego thinks it’s the CEO of our lives.

Yet, we see the unconscious spring up from time to time as in the examples I mentioned at the beginning. One of the keys to growing as a person through life’s stages is becoming more aware of those influences that are under the surface of the waterline. It’s my contention that spiritual maturity includes exploring this submerged region of our being.

One of the avenues I’ve found most helpful is Dreamwork. Our dreams are messages, cinematic neurochromes (as in mindful Kodachrome film) that convey via story and images glimpses of our unconscious. All humans dream, and it’s very likely most mammals dream as well. In fact, some anthropologists suspect that dreaming may be the origin of religion in the evolutionary development of homo-sapiens. Those dreams may then have been communicated around campfires, and then joined with the rituals of dance and song that shaped early human life. All of this is to suggest, maybe dreams can be a helpful vehicle in our own spiritual development.

Dreams are certainly part of both the Hebrew Bible as well as the Christian New Testament. Kelly Bulkelly’s Dreaming in the World’s Religions demonstrates the wide variety of dreaming in Hindu, Buddhist, African, Islamic religions as well as Judaism and Christianity. Depth psychologists, particularly CG Jung, have demonstrated the significance of dreams as pathways to growth and maturity. In a podcast, last fall, I spoke with author and psychotherapist Jason Smith about the many intersections between dreams, symbols, and religious life.

In the last thirty years, that I’ve been working with my own dreams, I’ve learned better ways of engaging with difficult people, grown in my practices of prayer and discovered methods for healthier and holistic living. I’ve also learned about those aspects of my personality that are not so helpful to others. It’s been a rich time of growth and maturing…and I’ve still got a long way to go.

Through my study and practice with the Haden Institute as well as years of dreamwork on my own and with various guides, I’ve come to see exploring dreams as a profoundly significant tool for spiritual growth. Some of my most profound spiritual maturation has occurred in dreams and the subsequent lessons I’ve learned from them. A significant part of my training to become a Spiritual Director is now focused on dreamwork with both individuals as well as in group settings. Next fall, I’ll be starting a monthly dreamwork group to be held via Zoom. If this is something that interests you, let me know, and I’ll be glad to describe the process employed using the work developed by Robert Haden Robert Johnson , and Jeremy Taylor, ministers who have developed a method for working with dreams in groups.

If this interests you let me know. You can email me here.

Becoming a Hybrid Church

Author Dave Daubert and I discuss his new book, Becoming a Hybrid Church. I highly recommended it as a tool, not so much for easy answers (are there any?) but for engagement in congregation councils and planning groups. It’s one of those nice thin books that are readable in a short stint.

If you are interested, you can listen to my conversation with Dave. Just click here.

“The COVID-19 pandemic brought almost instant changes to every aspect of the church's ministry. Now, as we adjust to this new reality, every congregation will need to find ways to continue on-the-ground ministry while also finding ways to use the online world in new and creative ways. Using an adaptive framework to start reflecting on these changes, the book’s concise chapters cover a variety of congregational ministries (worship, servanthood, congregational care, stewardship, spiritual formation, and more) that are enhanced when congregations include online ministry in addition to working in more traditional ways. Each chapter includes a closing section with scripture, questions for reflection and prayer that make it the perfect book for small groups, leadership teams, and anyone who wants to think about what the next chapter looks like in the congregation where they are.”

"take the path beyond the ordinary" The Poet David Whyte

Mameen

by David Whyte

Be infinitesimal under that sky, a creature

even the sailing hawk misses, a wraith

among the rocks where the mist parts slowly.

Recall the way mere mortals are overwhelmed

by circumstance, how great reputations

dissolve with infirmity and how you,

in particular, stand a hairsbreadth from losing

everyone you hold dear.

Then, look back down the path to the north,

the way you came, as if seeing

your entire past and then south

over the hazy blue coast as if present

to a broad future.

Recall the way you are all possibilities

you can see and how you live best

as an appreciator of horizons

whether you reach them or not.

Admit that once you have got up

from your chair and opened the door,

once you have walked out into the clean air

toward that edge and taken the path up high

beyond the ordinary you have become

the privileged and the pilgrim,

the one who will tell the story

and the one, coming back

from the mountain

who helped to make it

"beyond a reasonable doubt."

Yesterday, a jury in Minnesota found former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin guilty in the murder of George Floyd last May.

It was a murder recorded by a witness using her hand-held phone, demonstrating the power of this technology. What would have happened if we did not have that video? 

The murder of George Floyd launched a summer of protest we hadn’t seen since the Civil Rights era— protests that unified people to say, “Enough.”  

The verdict is a step forward.  But we should also be clear that such a verdict is also much too rare.  For so many, particularly people of color, it feels like this is a long time coming for the judicial system to deliver a just decision in this one case.

The prosecution laid out a clear and compelling case that included police officers standing up and testifying, and the jury of diverse persons found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.  In the legal case, the prosecutors sought to make this case about just this case. They were seeking to hold one person accountable.

And yet, this verdict cannot be underestimated in its broader significance. It is a step in the long painful struggle of racial disparity in this country. Yet, we should be mindful that it should not be viewed as a final act accompanied by an attitude of “this is fixed now.”

I know from my conversations with persons of color that they all too often have found themselves pulled over in their car, their bike or walking down the street for no clearly explained reason. Living with this fear weighs on them heavily. And candidly, it’s hard for white people to imagine. We have a difficult time putting ourselves in their situation in our minds eye. 

It is for that reason that I am so pleased to see the many congregations of this New England Synod engaged in efforts to understand and act on matters of racism. I know these are challenging conversations. But they are important steps for us as we seek to live into our calling as disciples of Christ. May the efforts continue.

Is Religion Changing?

This may be a somewhat controversial subject, and it depends on how one define's "religion" but I've wondered about this for some time. We've all seen the Gallup polls regarding the decline in worship attendance, but we've also seen a rise in people's passion for an evolving set of values namely politics on the left and the right, sports fanaticism, and idolatry of consumer capitalism to name just a few. The article link below to a Boston Globe article spells this out pretty clearly.

Boston Globe - "Religion in America"

If you can't view it through the BG paywall...here's the summary: A very different effect of religion’s disappearance is already all too visible: The unwavering faith and passion of true belief is increasingly being channeled not into religious observance but into identity politics and the culture wars.

Let me be clear and say at the outset, I am not suggesting that a Public Religious engagement of the issues of our day is not warranted. I believe speaking to matters of Social Justice, Economic disparity, and Environmental degradation are indeed consistent with a faithful biblical religion, indeed consistent with other religions as well including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism.

I, do, however think there is a loss of our encounter and engagement with sacred experience in contemporary US American religious life. An engagement with issues of the day that grows out of a spiritual foundation looks different than one that emerges from a political ideology or mere tribalism. Martin Luther King Jr and Mohandas K. Gandhi are 20th-century examples of a spiritually informed public religion. Today, as the Globe article suggests, we may be running the risk of our religionless society engaging important issues without a foundational frame.

“Political debates over what America is supposed to mean have taken on the character of theological disputations,” remarks Shadi Hamid of the Brookings Institution in The Atlantic. “This is what religion without religion looks like.” His article “America without God” in the Atlantic is another worthwhile read.

For a long time, people who did not wish to attend worship articulated a position that has been summarized as “I’m Spiritual but not Religious.” That seemed to suggest I’m not interested in institutional forms of religion, I’ll find my own way. But, one has to wonder if the now 53% of US Americans who do not attend worship are exploring something spiritual? Or are they, along with the many of us within institutional religion, simply embracing a new form of religion, one that lacks a spiritual core?

The Tragedy of Gun Violence

Yet again, we witness a tragedy of gun violence. “How long, O Lord, How Long?”

A few people have written to ask me for my thoughts, a statement, a clarification of the ELCA Lutheran Church position on this matter.

The ELCA Lutheran Church has numerous social statements that relate to gun violence, and they can all be found here. ELCA Social Statements

In particular, I’d point you to the ones on Criminal Justice, the Church in Society, and the Death Penalty. But, it’s not that simple cause one could also digest the statements on economic justice, race & ethnicity, and peace. My point is that Gun Violence is a result of a wide variety of contributing factors.

We should also ask other questions about why humans desire to harm other humans, what is the core of our violent impulses, and seek to understand the nature of evil? All these questions probe an anthropology that questions our very core.

Erich Neumann wrote a little book years ago titled Depth Psychology and a New Ethic. It helped me grapple with our challenges. A summary: “The modern world has witnessed a dramatic breakthrough of the dark, negative forces of human nature. The "old ethic," which pursued an illusory perfection by repressing the dark side, has lost its power to deal with contemporary problems. Erich Neumann was convinced that the deadliest peril now confronting humanity lay in the "scapegoat" psychology associated with the old ethic. We are in the grip of this psychology when we project our own dark shadow onto an individual or group identified as our "enemy," failing to see it in ourselves. The only effective alternative to this dangerous shadow projection is shadow recognition, acknowledgment, and integration into the totality of the self. Wholeness, not perfection, is the goal of the new ethic.”

My own position on guns could quite simply be: I have no desire to own or operate one, but respect those who choose to for hunting and sports activities. Beyond that, owning guns, especially automatic weapons designed solely for use in warfare strikes me as irresponsible, dangerous for society, and wrong. Full Stop.

Neumann pushes the deeper question whereby we are invited to understand ourselves, our own shadows, and our own propensity to do violence. That’s the hard work both individuals and society are called to do.

Remembering Ronnie Goodman Artist of and for the Incarcerated

I commend to you this retrospective on the artist Ronnie Goodman

Click the link here to attend

Ronnie Goodman was born in 1960 in Los Angeles and raised in San Francisco. He was a self-taught artist, long-distance runner, and urban bicyclist. His love of art began at the age of six when he started drawing. Growing up in San Francisco’s Fillmore neighborhood, he discovered his passion for jazz, and music remained a recurrent theme throughout his creative work. Life’s journeys took him away from art, but he rediscovered it through the Arts in Corrections Program at San Quentin State Prison. He continued to make art—including a number of murals—upon his release, often addressing mass incarceration and homelessness, both of which he had experienced personally. His work is featured in Marking Time: Art in the Age of Mass Incarceration at MoMA PS1, and has also been exhibited at The Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia, Athens; The Mission Cultural Center, San Francisco; and the San Francisco Public Library. His work has appeared in the New York Review of Books and the New York Times, and is held in the collection of The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Goodman passed away in a housing encampment in San Francisco’s Mission District on August 7, 2020.

This program is presented in conjunction with Marking Time: Art in the Age of Mass Incarceration.

Tragedy again: Atlanta

As we witnessed the violence in Atlanta this week and the horrific murder of Asian American women and others, our hearts grieve with the families of the victims, and we stand in solidarity with members of the Asian American community and those facing discrimination and hate incidents.  We must speak up against any aggression and we must be active in our pursuit to end racism and discrimination of every kind. We must work to protect the whole community.

The tragedies and violence continue to mount. We grieve as the Psalmists expressed it well.

Psalm 130

Waiting for Divine Redemption

1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
2     Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
    to the voice of my supplications!

3 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
    Lord, who could stand?
4 But there is forgiveness with you,
    so that you may be revered.

5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
    and in his word I hope;
6 my soul waits for the Lord
    more than those who watch for the morning,
    more than those who watch for the morning.

7 O Israel, hope in the Lord!
    For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
    and with him is great power to redeem.
8 It is he who will redeem Israel
    from all its iniquities.

God’s infinite and compassionate love is for ALL

Like many of you, I read the news. Some days it breaks my heart more than others. This week another part of the Christian community articulated a perspective on the blessing of LGBTQ weddings that is contrary to what we articulate in the ELCA Lutheran Church, as well as my own personal views. If I were to issue my own credo it would read something like:

I am blessed by family and friends who are gay

I serve in a church that is blessed by the LGBTQ+ community.

I know and love all the people across the whole spectrum of human sexuality.

I believe our world is enriched by all of God’s creation and the full expression thereof.

I believe God’s infinite and compassionate love is for ALL.

Jesus and the Disinherited

Howard Thurman has come across my desk many times in the past year. His book Jesus and the Disinherited is a small and readable guide to the experience, perspective, and theology behind the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 60s. A few excerpts for you:

“Many and varied are the interpretations dealing with the teachings and life of Jesus of Nazareth. But few of these interpretations deal with what the teachings and life of Jesus have to say to those who stand, at a moment in human history, with their backs against the wall.”

Thurman proceeds to lay out what can fairly be called an early treatise of a US American version of liberation theology for the African-American church. Martin Luther King often carried this little book with him from place to place. Many considered Thurman the pastor, the mystic, and the chaplain to the Civil Rights movement. He was not the one marching, he was the one to whom those who marched would retreat for sustenance and resolve.

“Fear is one of the persistent hounds of hell that dog the footsteps of the poor, the disposed, the disinherited.”

Herman’s style is accessible. No degree in theology is needed to understand his writing. He is direct and to the point with his analysis of the disinherited experience. But he is also one to turn toward solutions and strategy.

“Deception is perhaps the oldest of all the techniques by which the weak have protected themselves against the strong. Through the ages, at all stages of sentient activity, the weak have survived by fooling the strong.”

and

“The religion of Jesus makes the love-ethic central…To love such an enemy requires reconciliation, the will to re-establish a relationship.”

But, let’s be clear here, Thurman is not offering the love-ethic and reconciliation as an easy way of cheap grace. His book concludes with clear-eyed honesty that the disinherited must recognize the fear and hatred expressed upon them while engaging in the use of the tools at his/her disposal for living out a life in the Spirit and in the manner of Jesus

First published in1949, one could read this book with 2020 and 2021 in mind.

Thurman was also a mystic and a poet and a wordsmith. If you’d like more, I commend this interview with Rev Otis Moss III conducted on the On Being Radio Network. Thurman’s books can be found here

A Spirituality of Poetic Dreaming

The poet, book entrepreneur, and first amendment advocate Lawrence Ferlinghetti passed away last week at 101. After a stint in the military during World War II, he returned home a pacifist. He’d seen enough. While he was among the many post-war poets to take American poetry out of its stilted University conservatism and into the angst underlying Eisenhower’s suburban America, it was his bookstore and publishing house that changed America. Yes, a case could be made that everything of the free speech movement in the early 1960s can owe its origins to Sir Lawrence. He started a small press, New Directions, and among the early books published was a little-known book titled “Howl” by Allen Ginsburg. That book was the subject of a lawsuit, which Ferlinghetti defended as a right to free speech under the First Amendment. He won, and so did democracy.

While I lived in Berkeley, I had two stomping grounds; one was Moe’s on University Avenue, the other across the bay in San Francisco – City Lights. I once crossed the street in that neighborhood and found myself walking next to Allen Ginsburg. Our conversation was brief and mainly about the weather – an unusually hot day in the city accustomed to fog.

I might have been in seminary, but I wanted to be a writer…a poet but lacked the courage of my convictions to choose that path with questionable opportunities for remunerable work. Theology and Philosophy intrigued me, and the life of a Pastor offered a steady salary.

The first time I read a poem was in the fifth grade. My teacher, Mrs. Sylvia Vok, had us read a little Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, and Walt Whitman. I loved Whitman, such free and soaring language that took me places I didn’t even know I wanted to venture.  She then assigned a project of writing a poem. Mine was selected along with a few others to appear in published form in the class newsletter, a typed document reproduced on a mimeograph, circulation nearly 20. I’ve been writing personal poetry ever since. Now that I’m older, most of them make me laugh at my naivete. 

Later, a college professor introduced me to other works in a class called “The Literature and Psychology of Mysticism.”  Pablo Neruda's poetry, Rainer Maria Rilke, and Gary Snyder became staples of my reading diet and searched for used copies of their books at Moe’s. One day I saw a flyer for an evening of poetry with Robert Bly. I recognized the name as a translator of Rilke and Neruda’s work, so I went.

This irascible Nordic from Minnesota read his poems, played the dulcimer, and recited translations of others with such drama and passion. He offered insights into symbols and metaphors and laments for his fractured relationship with his father. Somewhere through the reading, he talked of dreams and the work of the psychologist Carl Jung.  I’d read his “Memories, Dreams and Reflections” in that college class. Now dreams and poetry were connecting in ways I’d never know.

I was a young man, maybe 23, struggling to assemble a structure that would allow me to manage my internal chaos with a world calling me to a career and a mortgage. After a marriage that had been an excuse for both of us to move away from our parents, I entered therapy. There I began an exploration of my life, my dreams, and a calling that I simply could not escape.

A mentor in seminary and local pastor, Don Green, took me under his wing and introduced me to ways of reading scripture that invited an entrance. I could put myself inside the story and let it do its magic. In one brief conversation, he commented, “I listened to a local rabbi speak last week. He was talking about Jacob wrestling with an angel and said: “You know, that’s what religion is all about, a wrestling with God.” I nodded as if I knew what he was speaking of, but on the inside, my head exploded.

“What is this story? Where can I find it? Why has no one told me this before?” I later searched and found the narrative in Genesis; I then discovered Martin Luther’s commentary. He said that essentially Jacob is wrestling not just with an angel but with the very word of Christ. I noted the tale involves Jacob's dream and later discovered that his discernment of dreams would be passed on to his son Joseph. The latter would later gain quite a reputation in Egypt as an interpreter of Pharaoh's dreams.

 While my classmates were reading a dreadfully boring two-volume faux leather systematic theology text, I walked the bay area streets and sat in cafes reading and writing my dreams and poetry. I snuck through those seminary classes that seemed stilted and stale with barely passing grades. But I devoured others that connected my world of poetry, prose, and the dream world. One professor sharply critiqued my performance, indicating I’d never be much of a pastor or preacher. I resented his words at the time but knew their accuracy based on my efforts in his classroom.

I spent time in museums, explored the burgeoning punk rock scene of the early ’80s, found escape in a sensory deprivation tank and an occasional hallucinogenic. My therapist would bring me back to earth in our sessions, and in many ways, kept me from moving to the coast, living in a motorhome, and drinking cheap wine at 7 a.m.

Slowly Jacob kept wringing in my head. The fact that people in the scriptures could wrestle with angels and demons and come away blessed. In that was hope, and hope was needling its way in me.

A friend got me a summer job working alongside a man who owned several properties. Mr. Lincoln was a silver-haired stoic Scandinavian type. I cut grass, repaired windows, and carted away junk in a wheelbarrow. He died at the end of that summer. His funeral service filled the church, and all I remember from that day was the cemetery on a beautiful sunny day in the hills on Oakland. After the graveside ceremony concluded, Mrs. Lincoln walked over to me to thank me for coming and then added, “you know, you’ll make a fine pastor someday.” I smiled, walked back to my car, and drove east for several hours.

A year later, I moved to the Midwest for an internship, met another woman whom I still love to this day, and made the shift into the blessing that Jacob taught was possible for those who wrestle. After four decades, the poetry and dreams, and scriptures remain, but the wrestling never goes away. For the longest time, I thought it was a match to conquer; now I realize it’s a life to live.

Recently, I had a dream that takes place beneath an ancient Roman city park in an underground cavern where I am speaking to a large group of people who have come at the birth of a new church. In the middle of my speech, I say, “This is not a church where you will find the answer, although there are answers along the way.”

Ferlinghetti's commitment to free speech and a small publishing house opened up a kind of democracy of thought in our nation and my soul.

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This led me to a lifelong interest in poetry and dreams...my own, others, and the deep connection between dreams and religion. Did you know that evolutionary psychologists theorize that humans gave birth to belief out of their telling their dreams around the campfire?

In my book, Everyday Spirituality, I discuss the value of attending to our dreams in the chapter on sleep.  You’ll also find a brief discussion of the frequency of dreams in the Bible. This winter, I’m slowly making my way through Kelley Bulkeley’s Dreaming in the World's Religions. Wow. Dreams are everywhere in the world. 

The poets have often connected us to the world in ways similar to the way dreams connect us to the underworld. Mary Oliver describes the complexities of a dream in which her deceased father appears in “A Visitor.”  The poet-philosopher David Whyte describes the conversational nature of life. He suggests our calling as humans is to be incarnational creatures who bring that which is deep within us to full fruition in the world while acknowledging how great a challenge those efforts be. 

Does this area of Poetic Dreaming interest you? 

I’m considering a new venture. Once a month, I invite a group of people who are interested in exploring their dreams. This dream group meets for one hour via Zoom. We’ll hear a dream from one of us and then reflect on it using the dream work technique developed by Robert Haden, who founded the Haden Institute, where I am currently studying Spiritual Direction.

This is not for everyone, and I get that. But, there may be a few of you who want to dive into this world of dreams. Drop me a line here.

What's Going to Happen after the Pandemic?

Introductory Comments. It’s easy to dismiss Rainer because he lives in a different branch of the Christian denominational tree. His language is not the same as ours in the mainline of Lutherans, Episcopalians, UCC etc. But, once you move beyond that, you’ll find something to chew on for 2021. For instance, I think he is on target for his predictions around digital use, membership & finances as well as further denominational erosion. But, I’m not sure how he determines an increase in conversions, perhaps that’s just his hope for his own Southern Baptist denomination.

As you read through these, I think it’s worth asking some questions:

•  If it’s going to be true that all churches will have to have both a digital presence and an in-person presence post-Covid19, what can your church do now to plan for that reality?

• What can you do now to strengthen the connectedness of your congregation now, as a way of minimizing the possible attrition Rainer references in # 7 below? 

•  As you read his comments about Adopted and Micro Churches, what intrigues you about this idea? Who could you partner with to share ministry?

•  One thing Rainer left off his list is the reality that churches connected with needs in their neighborhoods will find increased need going forward. How will your church respond?

Enjoy the read, as well as the conversation

James Hazelwood

12 Major Trends for Churches in 2021

By Thom Rainer

While escaping 2020 has been a stated goal for many people, there will still be challenges in front of us as we move into 2021. Churches will be among the organizations to confront clear and present challenges.

Of course, the topic of COVID is unavoidable as congregations move forward to a new year. The devastation the pandemic has wreaked among people and organizations has also been acutely felt by churches and their leaders. 

While predicting future trends is never a precise effort, we do see enough data points to suggest these twelve trends are potentially powerful movements that will affect congregations, some for better and some for worse. They are not listed in any particular order.

1. Massive growth of co-vocational ministry. It will be increasingly common for churches to have fewer full-time staff. Some will hold other jobs because churches cannot afford full-time pay and benefits. Some of the staff will choose to be co-vocational so they can have a marketplace ministry. Both of these factors will result in a massive number of staff moving from full-time to co-vocational.

2. Baby boomers will be greater in number than children in the majority of churches. This demographic shift has three causes. First, the birthrate is declining. Second, the boomer generation is large in number, second only to millennials. Third, increasing longevity means boomers will be around for a while. If a church is not considering what senior adult involvement looks like, it’s already behind the curve

3. The micro-church movement begins in about 5,000 North American churches. A new manifestation of the multi-site movement will be multi-site campuses with 50 or fewer congregants. The early adopter churches, estimated to be around 5,000, will define this movement and become the models for future micro-churches.

4. Digital church strategies will complement in-person strategies. We’ve seen some leaders advocate a “digital first” strategy while some insist on an “in-person first” approach. As we have followed thousands of churches, we are seeing more strategies where neither approach is a priority over the other. Church leaders are moving toward blending these two important areas in a complementary fashion. We will be looking at this reality in future articles.

5. The number of adopted churches will begin to catch the number of closed churches. This trend is very positive. While we are not seeing a decline in the numbers of churches on the precipice of closing, we are seeing a major trend develop as more of these very sick churches get adopted by healthier churches. This development means more neighborhoods will have a gospel witness.

6. Church fostering will move into the early adoption stage. Church fostering takes place when a healthier church helps a less healthy church for a defined period, usually less than a year. We anticipate 30,000 churches (meaning 15,000 foster churches and 15,000 fostering churches) will enter into this relationship in 2021. Again, this trend portends well for the overall gospel witness of local congregations.

7. Once the pandemic stabilizes and the number of cases decline, churches’ average worship attendance will be down 20% to 30% from pre-pandemic levels. As of today, we are seeing quicker recovery among smaller churches. If this pattern continues, churches over 250 in attendance (before the pandemic) will have the greatest challenge to recover.

8. The new definition of a large church will be 250 and more in average worship attendance. These “new” large churches will be in the top ten percent of all churches in North America. Before the pandemic, a church would need an average worship attendance of 400 to be in the top ten percent.

9. Denominations will begin their steepest decline in 2021. In terms of membership and average worship attendance, denominations overall will begin a greater rate of decline. This negative trend can be attributed to three factors. First, the churches in the denominations will decline more rapidly. That factor is the single greatest contributor. Second, there will be fewer new churches in the denominations. Third, the combination of church closures and church withdrawals from denominations will be slightly greater than previous years.

10. Giving in churches will decline 20 percent to 30 percent from pre-pandemic levels. For the most part, the decline in congregational giving will mirror the decline in attendance in churches.

11. Overall conversion growth in local churches will improve. This indicator is mostly positive. We define conversion growth as the average worship attendance of the church divided by the number of people who became followers of Christ and active in the church in one year. For example, if a church has 20 conversions and an average worship attendance of 200, its conversion rate is 10:1 (200 divided by 10). Lower is better with conversion rates. We say “mostly positive” for this trend, because some of the improvement in the conversion rate is due to lower worship attendance.

12. Nearly nine out of ten North American congregations will self-define as needing revitalization. Though this trend is troubling, it does indicate at least one silver lining in the cloud. Congregational leaders, particularly pastors, are more open and willing to admit they need help.

Originally published

https://churchanswers.com/blog/twelve-major-trends-for-churches-in-2021/

Grateful for Problems?

What we have before us are some breathtaking opportunities disguised as insoluble problems.

JOHN W. GARDNER

Every morning the good folks at gratefulness.org send me a short quote. Some days they are spot on, others not so much. This past week I received the above attributed to John W Gardner.

Upon first read, I thought it naive and overly idealistic. But then, I paused, and thought no, this is actually an honest assessment of your times while pointing to a chance to do something. But life is overwhelming these days, and I’m now old enough to realize that I’m not going to change the world. But I can change some things in my own world.

Here’s what I’m tackling in three spheres -

1. Seek first to Understand. I’m spending time learning about what’s going on in our US American society. This means engaging in conversations, reading, and reflecting with those who see life differently than I do. Yes, I’m spending time outside my bubble. This is hard work. Whether the person is an African American preacher serving an urban congregation or a White working class Trump supporter, listening to their life experience challenges my over-educated white middle class comfort zone.

2. Digging Deeper. There’s a layer underneath the sociological descriptions that reveals some significant shifts. I’m unclear on all this but depth psychology, evolutionary anthropology and the study of religion are one way of getting at all this change. We are in a time of dramatic transformation. I’m not satisfied with “the world is in a technological revolution.” Yes, that’s true, but why and how is that impacting all of us.

3. Conclusions are tentative. It seems that at ever moment, an answer is elusive. I’ll arrive at a point of satisfaction only to have it blown up the next day. This is frustrating, but also indicative of something a foot. However, I am increasingly convinced that the great divide in US America today is between those who have a capacity to engage change and those who resist it. Obviously this is not either-or, it’s a continuum, and I have days where I drift along that line. The wave of change is a Tsunami and we each have a choice. We can attempt to ride the wave or just be plowed over.

Am I grateful for the problems of living in our modern age? Candidly, No. I’d rather it all be easy and without challenge. Really? Even gravity is a challenge we fight every moment of life. To live is to face change and resistance, the question is how we face it. I’ll tag this with another quote from JRR Tolkien

“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. "So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman

When day comes we ask ourselves,
where can we find light in this never-ending shade?
The loss we carry,
a sea we must wade
We've braved the belly of the beast
We've learned that quiet isn't always peace
And the norms and notions
of what just is
Isn’t always just-ice
And yet the dawn is ours
before we knew it
Somehow we do it
Somehow we've weathered and witnessed
a nation that isn’t broken
but simply unfinished
We the successors of a country and a time
Where a skinny Black girl
descended from slaves and raised by a single mother
can dream of becoming president
only to find herself reciting for one
And yes we are far from polished
far from pristine
but that doesn’t mean we are
striving to form a union that is perfect
We are striving to forge a union with purpose
To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and
conditions of man
And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us
but what stands before us
We close the divide because we know, to put our future first,
we must first put our differences aside
We lay down our arms
so we can reach out our arms
to one another
We seek harm to none and harmony for all
Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true:
That even as we grieved, we grew
That even as we hurt, we hoped
That even as we tired, we tried
That we’ll forever be tied together, victorious
Not because we will never again know defeat
but because we will never again sow division
Scripture tells us to envision
that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree
And no one shall make them afraid
If we’re to live up to our own time
Then victory won’t lie in the blade
But in all the bridges we’ve made
That is the promise to glade
The hill we climb
If only we dare
It's because being American is more than a pride we inherit,
it’s the past we step into
and how we repair it
We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation
rather than share it
Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy
And this effort very nearly succeeded
But while democracy can be periodically delayed
it can never be permanently defeated
In this truth
in this faith we trust
For while we have our eyes on the future
history has its eyes on us
This is the era of just redemption
We feared at its inception
We did not feel prepared to be the heirs
of such a terrifying hour
but within it we found the power
to author a new chapter
To offer hope and laughter to ourselves
So while we once we asked,
how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?
Now we assert
How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?
We will not march back to what was
but move to what shall be
A country that is bruised but whole,
benevolent but bold,
fierce and free
We will not be turned around
or interrupted by intimidation
because we know our inaction and inertia
will be the inheritance of the next generation
Our blunders become their burdens
But one thing is certain:
If we merge mercy with might,
and might with right,
then love becomes our legacy
and change our children’s birthright
So let us leave behind a country
better than the one we were left with
Every breath from my bronze-pounded chest,
we will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one
We will rise from the gold-limbed hills of the west,
we will rise from the windswept northeast
where our forefathers first realized revolution
We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the midwestern states,
we will rise from the sunbaked south
We will rebuild, reconcile and recover
and every known nook of our nation and
every corner called our country,
our people diverse and beautiful will emerge,
battered and beautiful
When day comes we step out of the shade,
aflame and unafraid
The new dawn blooms as we free it
For there is always light,
if only we’re brave enough to see it
If only we’re brave enough to be it

Words for our Time from Martin Luther King Jr

On this day when we remember the birth of Martin Luther King Jr, let’s also recall his words have application to our time as much as they did fiifty or more years ago. Today’s New York Times has a fine article on this subject. You can read it here.

Some quotes from that article include:

“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”

— from Dr. King’s speech in St. Louis on March 22, 1964.

“Even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

— from Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington on August 28, 1963.

“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

— from Dr. King’s speech at the Washington National Cathedral on March 31, 1968.

“Now, let me say as I move to my conclusion that we’ve got to give ourselves to this struggle until the end. Nothing would be more tragic than to stop at this point, in Memphis. We’ve got to see it through”

— from the last speech given by Dr. King, on April 3, 1968, in Memphis, the day before he was assassinated.

The march on Washington was about economic equality as well as civil rights. The two go hand in hand

How 'Anxiety' is our new Drug of Choice

Breathe. Calm. Breathe

Apparently a single social media post has gone rampant like a virus and raised everyone’s anxiety about this weekend and this week among our churches across the country. One denomination, not the ELCA, decided to post an alert on their website in bright red letters.

Let me be clear, according to FBI statements there are, as of this moment that I am writing on Saturday evening, no credible increases in threats in our New England states. While I understand everyone is on edge, and that’s justifiable based on last weeks events, let’s all take a step back from social media, Fox News and MSNBC.

Tomorrow in worship, likely you’ll be in your home, pause and pray. Breathe deeply, repeat a word of peace like Shalom or YahWeh or Maranatha. Then go outside for a walk, get some fresh air. Yes there will be a time of acting, but may I advise that tonight and this weekend we enter into a time of prayer.

I’m also mindful of the words of Edwin Friedman who years ago accurately described our society. I think if he were alive today, he’d liken our level of anxiety to an addictive drug. I wonder if we seek it out because of something in our brains that can’t get enough, even though we know it’s not good for us.

“Those five characteristics (of a chronically anxious family/system/church/nation) are: 1. Reactivity: the vicious cycle of intense reactions of each member to events and to one another. 2. Herding: a process through which the forces for togetherness triumph over the forces for individuality and move everyone to adapt to the least mature members. 3. Blame displacement: an emotional state in which family members focus on forces that have victimized them rather than taking responsibility for their own being and destiny. 4. A quick-fix mentality: a low threshold for pain that constantly seeks symptom relief rather than fundamental change. 5. Lack of well-differentiated leadership: a failure of nerve that both stems from and contributes to the first four.”
―Edwin H. Friedman,A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix

For now, let’s step back from the computer and catch our breath. Yes, we have work to do, but right now our work is to pray.

Calm

Daily Prayer at 12 noon for the Coming Week - an invitation

I invite you to join me everyday for the coming week at 12 noon for a time of prayer for peace and calm in our nation.

Whether you choose to read/pray one of the prayers below, or simply pause for a moment of intention, silence, meditation. It doesn’t matter. Just let us all enter into a moment where we ask the Peace and Calm prevail.

The nation

Holy Trinity, one God, you show us the splendor of diversity and the beauty of unity in your own divine life. Make us, who came from many nations with many languages, a united people that delights in our many different gifts. Defend our liberties, and give those whom we have entrusted with authority the spirit of wisdom, that there might be justice and peace in our land. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our sovereign and our Savior. Amen. (ELW, p. 77)

Responsible citizenship

Lord God, you call your people to honor those in authority. Help us elect trustworthy leaders, participate in wise decisions for our common life, and serve our neighbors in local communities. Bless the leaders of our land, that we may be at peace among ourselves and a blessing to other nations of the earth; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen. (ELW, p. 77)

Conflict, crisis, disaster

O God, where hearts are fearful and constricted, grant courage and hope. Where anxiety is infectious and widening, grant peace and reassurance. Where impossibilities close every door and window, grant imagination and resistance. Where distrust twists our thinking, grant healing and illumination. Where spirits are daunted and weakened, grant soaring wings and strengthened dreams; in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. (ELW, p. 76; ELW Prayer Book for the Armed Services, p. 30)

Bitterness, anger

Lord God, when we are assaulted by the troubles of life, and the deep waters of anger threaten to overwhelm us, do not let us sink. In your great compassion, hear us and help us. Deliver us from anger's power over us. Lead us out of bitter silence and hurtful words so that we may speak the truth in love. Heal every heart set on vengeance, and show us the way to honesty and reconciliation; through the one who has shown us both impassioned zeal and forgiving love, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen. (ELW Prayer Book for the Armed Service, p. 29)