| Monthly Messages from the Clergy 
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Wednesday Commmunity Night Sessions:
Come share the Eucharist at 6:30pm and a catered dinner at 7pm (sign up for dinner across from the information desk on the previous Sunday). At 7:30pm, we offer a series of meeting and activities including choir practice, sewing group, study hall / tutoring for students, and committee meetings. Book club meets monthly. |
 The Reverend Doctor William Hague
Dear Friends,
Happy New Year - another giant step in the midst of our spiritual revolution!
In case you had not noticed we are in the midst of a revolution of faith and yet another reformation of religion. In her book, THE GREAT EMERGENCE, Phyllis Tickle points out that religion experiences a major transformation every five hundred years:
500 years ago: 16th Century - The Great Reformation
11th Century - The Great Schism (the split between Roman Catholicism and the Eastern Orthodox Church) and the fall of the Roman Empire
6th Century - The rise of Monasiticism
1st Century - Christianity is born
6th Cent. BC - The Jewish Babylonian Exile
16th Cent. BC - End of the Age of the Judges and the beginning of monarchy for the Jews
So where does this leave the 21st century in this cycle? Phyllis Tickle believes that we are presently experiencing a monumental phenomenon that she calls the Great Emergence. Like the Great Reformation people are questioning the
"truths" that many established faiths have declared sacred. In the tradition of Martin Luther many people are searching for deeper truths - truths that touch their souls and provide meaning and purpose for everyday lives. And just as this search was promulgated in the Reformation by the invention of the printing press, our 21st century invention of the world wide web with its mind boggling technology of instant communication is revolutionizing our ability to search for the truth and communicate our opinions about reality. That search has become a very personal one. Equipped with the ability to have instant access to global information individuals are less inclined to accept the beliefs that are handed to them by institutions, established churches, traditions and cultures and more likely to grasp their own understanding of reality. This search for truth and meaning is grounded in a natural thirst for something beyond ourselves that seems to lie at the core of our being. In her book, FINDING YOUR WAY HOME, Melody Beattie describes this search as:
"an itching, a longing, a yearning, a desire bordering on urgency - almost a cosmic movement.
"We want to find our purpose, our right place, the right people to live and work with, the right work to do.
"We want to discover and live our soul's purpose.
"We want to bring out and use all the parts of us we've kept denied and tucked away.
"We want to have fun. We'd like to make a little money, too. Maybe a lot...We don't want to worry about money anymore.
"We want to feel good...we want a few friends who are truly friends - belong to a tribe of kindred souls; and we want more than a relationship...
"Or we want to be happy and comfortable being alone.
"We're tired of straitjackets, limitations and selling our souls for money or security." (p. 2 & 3)
Given this sense of yearning that permeates our society in the 21st century how can the church help? What do people want from the church? After all the church has recognized this yearning for centuries, beautifully summarized in the prayer of St. Augustine: our hearts are restless until we find our rest in God.
Such restlessness is at the core of every reformation and revolution. That yearning restlessness is also at the heart and soul of our quest at Christ Church, Kensington. In response to our yearning souls 2010 will be devoted to a visioning process that will provide an opportunity to revision the purpose and identity of Christ Church as well as our own individual identities. Not only do we need to grapple with some of the questions mentioned above but we must address the issues of the Great Emergence (the needs of our neighbors who have no church or supportive faith community). This is a natural, cyclical quest. Just as the Great Emergence is part of a 500 year cycle, Christ Church is in a 5 year cycle. Our vision and resulting strategic plan of 2003 has come to fruition, and we need to reassess our present needs in light of our ever changing circumstances.
Over the next two months we will be inviting each of you to join a small group in which practical issues will be raised about church life and life in general based on a common survey. These groups will meet during Lent (Feb. 17- March 24), a traditional season of introspection and soul searching. The results of our group discussions will provide the core for our new strategic plan for the next five years.
It is our hope that this visioning process will not only clarify our mission but will inspire renewed vitality in a more intentional direction. We need to respond not only to the needs of our parishioners but to a society that yearns for the Good News that we can offer in ever changing ways.
We need your thoughts and your help. Would you please fill out the brief form below and return it to our office? With your participation this will indeed be a Happy New Year! Welcome to the Great Emergence!
Faithfully,
Bill
CHRIST CHURCH VISIONING PROCESS
This intrigues me. I would like to learn more. Please get in touch with me.
Name:
Best way to contact me: phone _________________
e-mail _________________
Visioning Steering Committee Members: The Rector, Eva Nye (chair), Tina Cleland, Lisa Johnstone, Sue Mitchell, Kathy Cowan, Rich Parsons
The Rev. Virginia Gerbasi
Bill
God's Work, Our Hands...
An Update on Arcola
It was Friday morning, and the weather folks were predicting up to 8-10 inches of snow for the weekend. (Doesn't that sound quaint now?) I was headed out to buy boots and snow pants for the boys, who had outgrown every snow-appropriate clothing item in the house. Arcola teachers and staff were due to come to church on Monday after school to pick up dozens and dozens of jackets, scarves, hats, and gloves and 130 bags of groceries. Something wasn't right. I was heading out to buy warm clothing for my boys so they could play in the sure-to-come-this-weekend snow. What about the Arcola kids? What would they play in over the weekend? I don't think this should wait until Monday...
I called Tina, the counselor at Arcola, and she told me excitedly to bring the cold-weather gear over. The principal, vice-principal and I unloaded my van (three trips) while Tina called the teachers to find out which kids had come to school without appropriate jackets. The morning had God's - and your - fingerprints all over it, because as we now know, the kids were out of school until January 4th. Because of your generosity, dozens of kids went home that snowy weekend with a warm jacket, gloves, a beautiful scarf, etc. It was truly God's warm embrace made possible by your warm hearts - thank you!
But what about the food? The original plan had been for the teachers and staff to pick up food on Monday afternoon to be distributed to families that evening in the school gym. Our initial back-up plan, put together Friday morning, was to have food at the school all day Tuesday and Wednesday for families to pick up. But there was no school Monday. Or Tuesday. Or Wednesday. So what happened?
A flurry of phone calls and emails (remind me to tell you about how we know God has a Blackberry) brought to church a convoy to bring groceries to Arcola, where Eric, the principal, was waiting. We arrived at the school - cars weighed down with bags and boxes of groceries - as the first families were arriving. Elaine Finney, the smallest of God's helpers that day, was a grocery-carrying, box-packing angel. She and the rest of the team had those groceries (and a few extra coats) unloaded in no time! Along with the groceries, we delivered gift cards to round out any unmet needs. By the time we left, more families were arriving, and Eric was checking his list and handing out groceries. The dedication of our church helpers and the staff at Arcola was truly inspiring. Know that your contributions made a difference in the lives of the families at Arcola. It was truly God's work, made possible through our hands. Thanks be to God!
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