| We've Got DOCC! 
By Kathy Cowan
This past winter/spring, Christ Church offered for the first time the Disciples of Christ in Community (DOCC) program. I participated and think the program is a great fit for us. It addresses two priorities in our long range plan: the desire for small group experiences and additional opportunities for spiritual development. It reflects the intent expressed in our mission statement “to grow in relationship with God and each other so as to find and offer hope in the world through God’s Love”. I found that the course embodies the commitment “to support each other in the journey to know and follow Jesus Christ”, as well as embraces doubters, seekers and believers.
DOCC is run by the Washington National Cathedral and is offered by dioceses and churches around the country. It is modeled after the early church, when fledgling Christians gathered in small groups to discuss their faith and how it was working in their lives. They were pretty much making it up as they went along, with what was probably, at best, sporadic guidance from the early church leaders.
In this, DOCC has a tremendous advantage.
The program provides a well-organized 15-week curriculum involving weekly 2-hour sessions and a 1-day workshop. Each session starts with a lecture on DVD, which is followed by an hour-long small group discussion. The DVD lectures are given by the Very Rev. Samuel Lloyd, Dean of the Cathedral, and Rev. William Barnwell Canon Missioner at the Cathedral. They are enlightening, inspiring, and thoroughly engaging. Although DOCC has been around since the 1960’s, it has been reworked overtime. We are the first group to use the DVD format for the lectures and the Diocese is looking to us for feedback as they plan to roll out the DVD program next fall. We hope to expand it at Christ Church as well.
Sixteen of us participated in this pilot. We ate dinner and watched the lectures together but broke up into two groups of eight for facilitated discussions. In keeping with the principle of small group development, we stayed together in our small groups the entire 15 weeks. We also made a commitment to be there every week to the extent possible.
This is a critical component of DOCC. Our purpose was not just to explore how faith is working in our lives, but also to develop meaningful connections with our fellow group members. In other words, to build real community. We came to the process with different perspectives and needs, each adding a facet to the prism that became our collective DOCC experience. Indeed we represented a myriad of faith backgrounds, ages, family configurations, and lifestyles.
For my part, I am a cradle Episcopalian and have been a member of Christ Church for nearly 25 years. I have taught Sunday school, ushered, headed the stewardship committee, co-chaired one of our building campaigns, played in the bell choir, been a lay reader, served on the outreach committee, served on the vestry and as junior warden, written our two most recent long range plans and our current vision statement, and participated in the mission trip to New Orleans.
Twenty-five years is a long time (48 if you count my childhood). One might conclude that by now I would have developed a strong, firmly rooted faith into which I fully live my life. In reality, I seem pretty much stuck fumbling around in the seeker phase of the spiritual journey, more often tipping into doubter than capturing the light of true belief. I have gotten pretty good at thinking God, occasionally even believing I see God in others, but I am not sure I really feel God.
For a long time I have wanted some way to delve deeper into my faith that met my needs. I find adult education hour too superficial (albeit interesting), prayer groups beyond my current capacity, and programs like EFM (Education for Ministry) too demanding. Like many people, my life is pretty busy. I have four children, a full time job, parents with serious health problems, and a husband who regularly travels overseas. A weekly commitment to anything is a major commitment for me. I realize, though, that these realities not only constitute barriers to finding time for reflection but also important reasons for doing so.
Not only was DOCC doable; Tuesday nights quickly became a beacon in the week. I am not sure how much concrete progress I have made along the spiritual continuum but, as I said often in group discussions, “there’s a there there” and it felt good to be part of it. Most of us who participated feel the same way and are discussing how to continue the journey together.
In closing, I would like to share two thoughts from our work together. First is a verse from “Anthem” by Leonard Cohen that Sam Lloyd highlighted in an early lecture. It became somewhat of a centerpiece for our discussions.
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.
At our final gathering this past Tuesday, we had a Eucharist and shared our collective reflections on our experience. This is part of a prayer written by one of the groups, which I think gets to the heart of the program.
Lord, hear our prayer.
Whether we were glimpsing a community emerging or feeling deeply comforted by it, through hearing each other’s faith expressed, we experienced a common, mysterious hope.
Lord, hear our prayer.
Special thanks go to Tina Cleland, Kathy Slack, and Prescott Bullard from Christ Church and Ron Owen from the Cathedral for organizing the program and serving as small group facilitators.
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