Bishop Rickel's Blog

Getting the “Missional Renaissance” Started!

Dear Ones,

 

As you are probably aware by now I have chosen Reggie McNeal’s book, Missional Renaissance: Changing the Scorecard for the Church, as our Lenten study should you choose to join us.  I have heard from quite a few who are, and also the request for the same interaction we shared last year through my blog.  I do intend to do that.  I know some of you will choose to go at your own pace, and with your own method and I completely encourage that.  Others would like some kind of timeline and a weekly “nudge” through some questions, and I plan to offer that again as well. 

 

First, I wanted to post again what Reggie McNeal sent along to forward to you.  He was most encouraged to find out his book would be our selection this year.  He writes:

We are privileged to be living through a time of missional renaissance in the North American church.  The confluence of cultural, scientific, political, economic, and religious currents create the opportunity for the church to have a different conversation with God and with each other about our role in the world.  The book Missional Renaissance discusses some of the implications of these factors for the church, along with some suggestions for how the church can change our scorecard to reflect greater missional ministry.  I hope as you read it and discuss it (and argue with it!) you will even change the game!

We have just finished negotiations to get him here in our diocese in November.  More on that later.   Along those lines, I do want you to be aware that Phyllis Tickle, author of  The Great Emergence, our title for last year, will be with us for the Clergy Conference and then a public event on Wednesday, April 21^st, at 4 p.m. at St. Andrew’s, Seattle. 

 

While I shudder a bit at the subtitle of McNeal’s book, “changing the scorecard” mostly because of the idea of “keeping score” I think we all know what this means.   He has simply named the obvious.  We seem to do it, without talking about, and he chooses to talk about it here, in hopes of getting us, the Church, looking at our work, call, and ministry a bit differently.  

 

 

First, the rough outline:

 

February 21-27-                      Introduction and Chapter 1

 

February 28-March 6-             Chapters 2 and 3

 

March 7-13-                            Chapter 4 and 5

 

March 14-20                            Chapter 6 and 7

 

March 21-27                            Chapter 8 and Conclusion

 

 

So, as you can see this week we will begin with the Introduction and Chapter 1.   Here he outlines his view of the word “missional” stating that all one has to do is Google the word to see how many different renditions exist and to see just how many want to be part of this new way of being Church.  He states in the introduction that the ideas have grown around this enough to be able to say what missional is, not simply what it is not. 

 

He then lays out his three main concentrations, which he calls three major shifts. 

 

1.      From internal to external in terms of ministry focus

2.      From program development to people development in terms of core activity

3.      From church-based to kingdom-based in terms of leadership agenda.

 

In Chapter 1 he focuses on describing his view of the missional renaissance he believes is in front of us now.  He says the confluence of three significant cultural phenomena, 1) the emergence of the altruism economy, 2) the search for personal growth, and 3) the hunger for spiritual vitality. 

 

So, questions to consider for this week.

 

1.       When you hear the word missional, what do you think it means for the Church?  Do you see it differently after reading McNeal’s description?

2.      What are you initial reactions to the “three major shifts” which McNeal speaks of?  What do you think are the implications of these shifts?

3.      Discuss the three “significant cultural phenomena” McNeal posits in Chapter 1.  Do you see these in your community? 

4.      And a question for every week, how does everything discussed this week impact your “being Church”? 

 

You may post thoughts, concerns, and additional questions to the blog. 

 

May you have a blessed, prayerful, and reflective Lent. 

 

+Greg

 

 

A Message from our Friends at St. Paul's, New Orleans on Haiti and our work together

Recently, Connie and Mark Uddo visited Olympia on a mission to share in the farewell of Bishop Nedi Rivera and her husband Bob.  Nedi was the inspiration behind our "We Will Stand With You" campaign which we started with St. Paul's after Hurricane Katrina.   They came and shared their smiles and the warmth they always share, and they brought with them this letter, from the new Rector of St. Paul's, addressed to the people of this diocese, with a new dream and vision to help those in Haiti, working together.  He says it better than I, and so I commend the letter below to you!

Blessings,

+Greg

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in New Orleans
Homily for the Second Sunday after Epiphany
January 17, 2010
The Rev. Dr. Scott Albergate, Rector

A Letter to Our Friends in Olympia on the Occasion of St. Paul’s Decision to Stand with the People of Haiti in Their Time of Tragedy—“Haiti: New Orleans Will Stand By You”

Dear Bishop Greg and Carl,

I want to thank you for your recent gift to St. Paul’s of $5,000 on your continuing pledge to stand by us what you made some five years ago.  Your generosity and steadfast support never cease to humble me.

I know that later this week you are holding the farewell celebration for Bishop Nedi Rivera, which, I understand, is also meant to encourage the people of the Diocese of Olympia to continue remembering and supporting the people of New Orleans and of St. Paul’s Church in particular.  Words cannot capture the emotions that stir up within me when I think of that act of love towards us.  I am quite sure I speak for others at St. Paul’s in saying that.

I will not be attending the celebration for Bishop Nedi because my place is here—especially right now.  I cannot attend because, for St. Paul’s, our moment has come.  Our moment has come to pay forward the grace you gave to us in so many ways, financial and otherwise.  Our moment has come to take into our hearts the lessons we learned from your steadfast love for us.  Our moment has come to accept the mantle of leadership on behalf of Episcopalians in the City of New Orleans to lead the way.

The “moment” that I speak of came unexpectedly but, to my mind, with absolute clarity, when we heard the news this past week about the devastating earthquake in the country of Haiti.  Of course, our hearts were moved like those of other Americans as we watched the tragedy unfold.

But we here in New Orleans—and especially us at St. Paul’s—see something else in these events in Haiti.  We see ourselves.  We remember what happened here; we also think about what the next few years will be like for our sisters and brothers in Haiti.  To put it in New Orleans terms: “We know what it means.”

In the hours after the news about Haiti reached us, we at St. Paul’s sprang into action.  It is not as if we knew what to do; we just knew that we were being pulled forward by the Holy Spirit to respond.  We hastily organized a prayer vigil that took place here on Friday morning.  Because of my wife’s connections to Haiti—Kathy works with an orphanage and a small church on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince—we were able to quickly set-up an earthquake relief fund to get immediate financial aid to the people of Haiti.  In a flurry of phone conversations and emails with parishioners and staff, we settled on a theme that captured our heartfelt desire to respond as a people who know: “Haiti: New Orleans Will Stand By You.”

The prayer vigil in our church drew more than 100 people over the course of three hours.  People came from our church, children and teachers came from our school, people came from our neighborhood, and people came who just happened to be driving by and saw the hand-painted prayer vigil sign we threw up over our church sign.  All came in to offer a prayer and light a candle of hope for Haiti.  And they gave generously.  Just that morning, our collection plate filled $2,400.  Many more dollars have come in since.  My cell phone was jammed with messages to the point that I had to spend a good part of this weekend answering and clearing messages so that I could continue to receive calls.  From people, priests, and churches around the Diocese of Louisiana, Kathy and I have received offers to be part of rebuilding teams to go into Haiti when the time is right.

I most note one very strange thing, however.  When I put together the prayer vigil and relief fund, I assumed that St. Paul’s would be one of many churches in our Diocese springing into action.  On Friday morning, a news team from the local Fox TV affiliate came to our prayer vigil and spent more than two hours filming and interviewing in our church.  I thanked the reporter for what he was doing, but said to him, “Don’t you have other places to go?  Aren’t there other churches doing this?”  The reporter looked at me silently and shook his head.  “You’re it,” he told me.

I do not mention this to raise questions about others in this city or to read into what is or is not going on in other churches.  To me, what seems most important is that God is calling us to lead the way.  In fact, the only thing that I can read from this is that for St. Paul’s, our moment has come.

It is our time to lead; even if it means that we will have to lead way out in front.  It is our time to lead, even if we are in a lonely place of leadership.  It is our time to lead even though we cannot see the road ahead clearly; even if we do not seem to have all the gifts necessary for this undertaking.  Something tells me that you in the Diocese of Olympia were in this very same place five years ago as you watched us from afar and felt the call to lead the way whatever that meant and wherever that would take you.  Of course, we know from the Holy Scriptures that God chooses people to stand up and lead, regardless of any misgivings on the part of those who are chosen to be the light of Christ for others.

So be it.  Our hearts are ready.  A reporter asked me the other day, “Why you, why St. Paul’s?”  I could only reply, “Why not us?  Who better than us?”  I then pointed to one of our water line plaques and said, “Even floodwaters couldn’t overcome the love of God which rushed through here, joining the hearts and hands of compassionate people across America with our hands.”

Our time has come.  Tell the people of Olympia to pray that we will continue to honor the gift you gave us as we moving into our future.

Your brother in Christ,

Scott+

HYC, January 2010 at St. Margaret's, Bellevue

HYC was held at St. Margaret's, Bellevue in January.  This video is a brief tour through the workshops the youth participated in that weekend!