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| Skipton, day 1 TdF |
In previous posts I have outlined a proposal to reform our thinking and practice in relation to multi centre ministry, both for those in leadership and for those who find themselves living and worshipping under such a structure.
If you recall I suggest a human relationships approach to how we view local faith communities and the role of leadership in oversight. We are who we are and as human beings we can only relate with deep intimacy with a limited number of people. This very human pattern we mapped onto the way many organisations are naturally run and we saw this pattern in the ministry of Jesus and the early church.
History has given us inherited patterns of church leadership and ministry that work well when the church is catholic in the sense of universal at the grass roots level. In the past for many centuries in the Near East and Europe this meant everyone being within walking distance of their local gathering point/shrine, meaning the place the local community, who both worked together and prayed together gathered with their minister/priest to worship God. One church, one "man", one people, replicated like cells in a honeycomb from "the land of the midnight sun" right down to the near equator.
This pattern is now breaking up fast. Many reasons can be given, but whatever they are the experience of the "cells in the honeycomb" is as it is! From within our historic resources, looking to times of branching out in new mission movements in the past we have considered the way religious communities are established and governed as a model that could stabalise the current situation and allow a locally based grass roots revival of hospitable, outward looking faith to flourish.
But how can local faith communities, who fear change, - as in their experience change always seems to mean "pay more, get less" - to begin to see themselves as the community God has planted in a specific locality and to enjoy both the gift of such fellowship and to take hold of it for the good of their local area? How can leaders in oversight positions be helped to see themselves in their new role as overseers of multiple communities, each with its own integrity and yet foster a generosity of spirit for the common good of the wider area? (Which is a way of saying, sharing good stuff with neighbouring communities without anyone getting jealous, penny pinching or "humphy" about loosing out to that lot down the road!)
Lets make a start.
COMMUNION - more than a bit of bread and a sip of wine.
Communion is at the heart of faith experience. Faith is about belief and belonging, being a person of faith is about being "in communion"; in communion with God and with that which God loves. This is experienced in communion with fellow people of faith, in communion with the natural world and our fellow human beings in their need.
How can we begin to understand this experience, focussed in and through the sacrament of holy communion - the eucharist?
Here is an exercise that works well with older children and adults to begin to broaden out their understanding of the experience of communion, which reaches right down into the heart of our humanity, our deepest expressions of our emotional, rational and instinctual life. If you have gathered the members from a number of faith communities who are to be grouped together you will need to decide if you wish to mix everyone up or get them to work in their local parish/community groups. This will depend if you wish them to work on a generic understanding and get to know their neighbours a bit better or you wish them to understand their local contexts well and share these with their neighbours at a later stage. If you have a large singular church/faith community which needs splitting into small groups then again decide on how to go about it depending on where you sense there is a need to deepen understanding.
Exercise in understanding "Communion" for a small to medium sized group
(if you have a large group, split them up into small group s and bring everyone together for a plenary, ensuring each table contributes a "word".... you'll understand this shortly. Each group will need a scribe and an encourager/leader to keep the flow going)
Each group will need pens and big pieces of paper to work with. Ideally your group/s will be sat around tables so they can work together.
On the central medium of your choice; paper, marker board or screen have the word;
COMMUNION.
Spend 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the group's expectations on introducing what we hope to get out of the time being spent together.
Having introduced the exercise along the lines of helping us think more in the round about what communion means write/reveal the beginnings of the words;
COM UNI
Ask the group/s to list all the words that come to them that start with these prefixes in two lists, some words might contain both... these are OK in the "no mans land" between the two lists. The group/s must do their very best to ensure everyone, especially the quieter members contributes. Groups could go around the circle or "spin the bottle", as long as everyone gets the chance to make suggestions. We are building and experiencing communion here as well as trying to describe it. Emphasise that there are no right or wrong answers and words that seem odd are OK to be included (15 minutes or until groups have exhausted the list).
Next gather all the words together on the central board/screen, one at a time from the group/s. Draw from each one something that relates to communion as the relationship between God, ourselves and that which God also loves (other people, creation etc.). This might take some time, ask questions of the room about some of the words to get their ideas about the links between the words and "communion".
Once the list has been assembled ask the group/s to discuss and draw up a shortlist of words that describe communion in its deepest sense, its very essence, that is the essential elements without which communion is lost. A list of five words is ideal .. whittling them down to such bare essentials will hopefully get the grey cells working. Tell the group that they will need a spokesperson to tell the other groups what their shortlist is and why they have chosen their particular descriptive elements.(20 mins or so).
In plenary gather the lists from the spokespeople so all can hear each groups reasoning.
(If you have grouped your groups according to their church/community then you could head each shortlist with each communities name. Do not reveal this until this stage or else the groups might steer their list in a competitive way, especially if there is historic mistrust between some of the communities.)
Have a general discussion about what the groups think about the differences and overlaps between their short lists. Does this matter? If we were perfect people would all the lists be the same or are their local influences that will always shape the differences? Examples from the floor would be helpful here?
Note down any factors that seem to have influenced any differences.
To finish recap on what has been undertaken and the things the groups have found out about the essence of communion.
End with an act that brings everything together, shared worship, tea break with buns.. or an agape or eucharist, as seems best for your context. What ever it is, keep it simple and give space for the human element and God's presence.
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| Here they come! |
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