Day 2 of my workshop retreat was awesome. The morning was a workshop on Encountering the Wise One. It was guided meditation and a lot of information from a woman who was a catholic nun, then trained in the shamanic tradition for 16 years. She had more knowledge of spiritual matters than anyone I've ever met. One of the most interesting ideas was a way of understanding how Jesus Christ could be fully human and fully divine at the same time. It was that he was a human who stepped into the Christ energy and didn't step out. Fascinating idea. She named the energy of wisdom Sofia and we meditated about her, asked her questions, and did some drawing. It was very woowooo, but I wanted new experiences, and was open to them. It was really quite interesting.
Lunch was... interesting. I blogged that encounter at my other blog.
The afternoon was a singing workshop. There wasn't a lot of energy healing, or even a lot of talk about energy. It just seemed like choir practice, but it was enjoyable enough. I was very proud of myself for doing what I needed. The lady next to me was singing the tunes quietly while the leader was talking, and it was annoying because a) she kept missing notes; b) I couldn't pay attention properly. So when the leader asked if everyone could hear, I jumped on the opportunity to tell the woman next to me that I couldn't because she kept singing while the leader was talking. She was so mad at me, but honestly, that's not my problem. I asked her politely not to do something that took away from my enjoyment of the class. It was her choice to react in anger. Had I not said something, it would have been me who was angry, at both her for doing it and me for not saying something. I am often too passive in situations like this, and I did what I needed to do, for me. So I'm very happy with myself. I'd prefer that she were happy too, but that's not in my control.
Showing posts with label christianity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label christianity. Show all posts
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Monday, January 28, 2013
New hope for an old church
I've been having a hard time finding hope lately. Never mind all that sunshiny goodness that I came home with after Son-Rise New Frontiers. It's a lot of things, and I know I could find it again, but I think the misery is serving me somehow right now, because I'm reluctant to even try to let go. Part of it is definitely chemical though. I keep getting glutened, and that has some serious psychological symptoms. I'll admit my part, but I think I get a pass on part of it. :)
My church is very likely closing. I'd say it's a near certainty that it will close June 30 this year. I am grieving. I know that I could smile that I had it, not cry that it's gone, but it's been a big part of my life and I'm going to miss it terribly. It's not like the Catholic Church where I could just drive down the street to the next one and have the exact same experience. My church is small, upbeat, casual, welcoming to all. We have amazing music and wonderful people. When I broke my foot a few years ago, hundreds of dollars arrived at my door, anonymously. I know it was from church, but not from whom in particular. No one let on. When my 3rd kid was diagnosed with Autism, people cried with me and held me, and told me how awesome I was. One woman has spent countless hours doing energy healing (Healing Pathway) with people, 10s of hours with me alone! It was someone from church that convinced me to try Son-Rise! (Thanks Arnold! You'll never know what a blessing you are.) When I look around and see gay couples snuggled up listening to the sermon, right next to a breastfeeding Mom, next to an octogenarian who is smiling at both of them, I wonder where I ever could find this love again. When I hear the pianist playing Old Grey Mare as a way of teasing the minister during the prelude, and kids in costumes, or adults in their running clothes, I wonder if I'll ever find a place so casually comfortable. And I doubt it.
But we're too small to keep going the way we're going. And the way we're going isn't really healthy anyway. We're pretty insular. We do some fundraising for good causes and provide cheap rent to AA groups, but I don't see us doing a lot of mission* work. At least not as a church. I think there are a lot of people who do mission work on their own. I know there are, actually. But together as a church, we're not doing much. We have a problem finding volunteers. And there's a good reason for that. We know it's not working. We know it's dying. And we're tired of doing the same old thing and nothing working.
The Church (this time uppercase C, meaning the whole United Church of Canada and really, all of Christendom has been saying that the Church will have to undergo radical change in order to thrive. But churches are more conservative that your Aunt Clara, and slower to move than her bowel after a steak dinner. Most individual churches' idea of "radical change" involves changing the service time to 11am on Sunday rather than 10:30.
So we're dying.
I'm sure hoping for another resurrection! No false hope, as I recall, is the name of this blog. Hope means "I'll try", I think I said. So I will try. I will bug people to do things differently. Our church voted on "doing church differently" and most voted in favour of it, but there was no common vision of what that would be. Council decided that we couldn't afford it anyway, in money and time, and recommended a proposal to close. Now, I think that's remarkably short-sighted and self-defeating. How on earth or heaven can anyone determine that they don't have enough time or money to do something when they haven't defined what that something is?
Here's my vision, as clear as I can make it: Sell the albatross that is the building and land. Bank the money, and rent a small commercial space in a strip mall or under condos. Make it on a bus route. Downtown Colwood would be perfect. Maybe near the casino on the View Royal side. Use that commercial site to run some sort of mission. I don't care what. Ideas include: cheap daycare, youth drop-in centre, soup kitchen, tech exchange/tutoring (poor people need tech help too!). Pick one. It could open even once a week to start with. Grants, donations, fundraising in the community (not just in our congregation) can make this happen. And there can be worship services for those who wish to attend, just like they are now. We don't lose the spirit of our church, and we start doing, as a church, what Jesus told us to do.
We don't have the money? Sell the building. We don't have the volunteers? If we tell them what we're planning, and advertise for more volunteer help, it will happen. It can happen. But there needs to be clarity of vision. Not "we'll be different. Can you help?" No. No, I can't. "We need volunteers for church school. Can you help?" No. No, I can't. That's the same old thing, and I'm bloody sick and tired of it. This is not 1962. It will never be 1962 again. So please, let's look to the future, to completely new ways of doing things, not rearranging the chairs.
Here's hoping!
My church is very likely closing. I'd say it's a near certainty that it will close June 30 this year. I am grieving. I know that I could smile that I had it, not cry that it's gone, but it's been a big part of my life and I'm going to miss it terribly. It's not like the Catholic Church where I could just drive down the street to the next one and have the exact same experience. My church is small, upbeat, casual, welcoming to all. We have amazing music and wonderful people. When I broke my foot a few years ago, hundreds of dollars arrived at my door, anonymously. I know it was from church, but not from whom in particular. No one let on. When my 3rd kid was diagnosed with Autism, people cried with me and held me, and told me how awesome I was. One woman has spent countless hours doing energy healing (Healing Pathway) with people, 10s of hours with me alone! It was someone from church that convinced me to try Son-Rise! (Thanks Arnold! You'll never know what a blessing you are.) When I look around and see gay couples snuggled up listening to the sermon, right next to a breastfeeding Mom, next to an octogenarian who is smiling at both of them, I wonder where I ever could find this love again. When I hear the pianist playing Old Grey Mare as a way of teasing the minister during the prelude, and kids in costumes, or adults in their running clothes, I wonder if I'll ever find a place so casually comfortable. And I doubt it.
But we're too small to keep going the way we're going. And the way we're going isn't really healthy anyway. We're pretty insular. We do some fundraising for good causes and provide cheap rent to AA groups, but I don't see us doing a lot of mission* work. At least not as a church. I think there are a lot of people who do mission work on their own. I know there are, actually. But together as a church, we're not doing much. We have a problem finding volunteers. And there's a good reason for that. We know it's not working. We know it's dying. And we're tired of doing the same old thing and nothing working.
The Church (this time uppercase C, meaning the whole United Church of Canada and really, all of Christendom has been saying that the Church will have to undergo radical change in order to thrive. But churches are more conservative that your Aunt Clara, and slower to move than her bowel after a steak dinner. Most individual churches' idea of "radical change" involves changing the service time to 11am on Sunday rather than 10:30.
So we're dying.
I'm sure hoping for another resurrection! No false hope, as I recall, is the name of this blog. Hope means "I'll try", I think I said. So I will try. I will bug people to do things differently. Our church voted on "doing church differently" and most voted in favour of it, but there was no common vision of what that would be. Council decided that we couldn't afford it anyway, in money and time, and recommended a proposal to close. Now, I think that's remarkably short-sighted and self-defeating. How on earth or heaven can anyone determine that they don't have enough time or money to do something when they haven't defined what that something is?
Here's my vision, as clear as I can make it: Sell the albatross that is the building and land. Bank the money, and rent a small commercial space in a strip mall or under condos. Make it on a bus route. Downtown Colwood would be perfect. Maybe near the casino on the View Royal side. Use that commercial site to run some sort of mission. I don't care what. Ideas include: cheap daycare, youth drop-in centre, soup kitchen, tech exchange/tutoring (poor people need tech help too!). Pick one. It could open even once a week to start with. Grants, donations, fundraising in the community (not just in our congregation) can make this happen. And there can be worship services for those who wish to attend, just like they are now. We don't lose the spirit of our church, and we start doing, as a church, what Jesus told us to do.
We don't have the money? Sell the building. We don't have the volunteers? If we tell them what we're planning, and advertise for more volunteer help, it will happen. It can happen. But there needs to be clarity of vision. Not "we'll be different. Can you help?" No. No, I can't. "We need volunteers for church school. Can you help?" No. No, I can't. That's the same old thing, and I'm bloody sick and tired of it. This is not 1962. It will never be 1962 again. So please, let's look to the future, to completely new ways of doing things, not rearranging the chairs.
Here's hoping!
Monday, December 17, 2012
The Joy of Change
Yesterday, there was a meeting at church. Our church needs to change. Or die. Those are the choices. So there are people who want big change, some who want a little change, some who think it's time to let it go. I'm in the first category. Surprised? :)
The Christian church was born out of death and resurrection. If the apostles had said, "Oh well, that was fun while it lasted" where would we be now? But they took Jesus's message to go forth and heal the sick, feed the hungry, clothe the poor and visit the imprisoned, and they went with it. I'm rather sure they changed things up as they went along. We've been doing church one way for too many years, and it's not working any more. So instead of clinging to it, I want let go and rebuild. Not in the same way. Not in the same buildings. Not in the same anything, really.
My vision of the church in the coming years is a church of service to the community. Social justice in God's name. No one who joins has to believe. There can be so old fashioned worship services for those who need them, but no one need feel compelled to attend. Bible study for those who love the scripture. And all are welcome, to come serve the community or just be part of it. Soup kitchens, community centers, coffee shops that offer coffee by donation and a place to sit and chat with people, laundromats that let homeless people do their laundry for free. I picture storefront churches where people can come in, buy a book, chat with the minister about life, the universe and everything (42), where there's a cup of tea and a quiet room to get away from it all. Warm beds at night. Non-profit daycares and medical clinics.
And the name Jesus or God never needs to be uttered once, by anyone working at any of them. Because God will be there. They will know we are Christians by our love. Not our cramming of our theology down their throats. Because that's what's happened too much. We've misused God so badly that the mere mention of Jesus or God or even "holy" sends people running. And it doesn't have to be that way. The mere act of service can be our worship.
God's message to Christians to go and spread the Good News has been so badly perverted. We must stop with the message of intolerance for people who don't believe. We must stop talking about sin and Satan and Hell. We must stop doing our good works in order to try to convert anyone. In fact, we must stop trying to convert people. Because we're doing it wrong. If we want people to hear God's word through us, we have to stop being such assholes all the fucking time. We have to start being awesome, wonderful, beautiful, tolerant, accepting, generous, kind and compassionate people just for the sake of being all those things. Not because we're afraid of God. Not because we're afraid of hell. But because we love God and we love our fellow humans. Remember, that is exactly what Jesus said were the commandments in a nutshell. Love God. Love each other.
It's advent and yesterday was the day we lit the joy candle. Let this be the advent where a new Christianity is born. Let's rejoice in it. Let's have joy in our days, so that we're happy, joyous people. And when people see that and want that, we can teach them to love and be loved too. If they don't see it or don't want it, that's okay too. Because we'll still be happy.
The Christian church was born out of death and resurrection. If the apostles had said, "Oh well, that was fun while it lasted" where would we be now? But they took Jesus's message to go forth and heal the sick, feed the hungry, clothe the poor and visit the imprisoned, and they went with it. I'm rather sure they changed things up as they went along. We've been doing church one way for too many years, and it's not working any more. So instead of clinging to it, I want let go and rebuild. Not in the same way. Not in the same buildings. Not in the same anything, really.
My vision of the church in the coming years is a church of service to the community. Social justice in God's name. No one who joins has to believe. There can be so old fashioned worship services for those who need them, but no one need feel compelled to attend. Bible study for those who love the scripture. And all are welcome, to come serve the community or just be part of it. Soup kitchens, community centers, coffee shops that offer coffee by donation and a place to sit and chat with people, laundromats that let homeless people do their laundry for free. I picture storefront churches where people can come in, buy a book, chat with the minister about life, the universe and everything (42), where there's a cup of tea and a quiet room to get away from it all. Warm beds at night. Non-profit daycares and medical clinics.
And the name Jesus or God never needs to be uttered once, by anyone working at any of them. Because God will be there. They will know we are Christians by our love. Not our cramming of our theology down their throats. Because that's what's happened too much. We've misused God so badly that the mere mention of Jesus or God or even "holy" sends people running. And it doesn't have to be that way. The mere act of service can be our worship.
God's message to Christians to go and spread the Good News has been so badly perverted. We must stop with the message of intolerance for people who don't believe. We must stop talking about sin and Satan and Hell. We must stop doing our good works in order to try to convert anyone. In fact, we must stop trying to convert people. Because we're doing it wrong. If we want people to hear God's word through us, we have to stop being such assholes all the fucking time. We have to start being awesome, wonderful, beautiful, tolerant, accepting, generous, kind and compassionate people just for the sake of being all those things. Not because we're afraid of God. Not because we're afraid of hell. But because we love God and we love our fellow humans. Remember, that is exactly what Jesus said were the commandments in a nutshell. Love God. Love each other.
It's advent and yesterday was the day we lit the joy candle. Let this be the advent where a new Christianity is born. Let's rejoice in it. Let's have joy in our days, so that we're happy, joyous people. And when people see that and want that, we can teach them to love and be loved too. If they don't see it or don't want it, that's okay too. Because we'll still be happy.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
A New Hope.. wait, that's Star Wars, not Jesus
I didn't quite intend to start a hope blog the week before advent started, but here we are. Hope is one of the themes of advent for many reasons, but no small part of it is the hope that Jesus would bring peace, a new reign of love. Yeah, we screwed that up but good, didn't we? :) The man spoke of love, we nailed him to a couple of boards and put him on display. He told us to go forth and spread the word, and we killed people who didn't believe the way we told them to. He told us to love our neighbours, and we used him as justification to hate them because they were gay. Or Muslim. Um, oops?
But you know, it's never too late. There is new hope ever single day. Every day, I can be a better person than I was yesterday. Every day I can say no to greed, to judgement, to hatred, to fear, and just embrace love. And I love that. I love getting a new start. Oh sure, there's the pesky having to take responsibility for what I did yesterday, but approach that with love and wow.
And you don't have to believe in Jesus to do any of this. As one of my friends, an atheist, says, "Be good. For goodness' sake". Yeah. Just be good because. Because. Because it feels good. That's cool. I'm not going to say there's no hope for you if you're not a believer. Who the hell am I to say that? Nuh uh.
My little church is going through a very rough patch right now. We have no money. Something has to change. And that's really hard for a lot of people. But you know, the church was founded on the idea of change and resurrection, so I think we'll survive. And if we don't, well, there are other churches. They're changing too. The christian church will survive. That much I am sure of. I hope that it changes. Because right now, we're failing the people. The job of the church is to serve the community, and we're not doing that. We're serving pretty much only the community members who actually show up on Sunday mornings. Too many churches are worried about how to get asses into pews (and onto committees), and not looking at the bigger picture, which is that the needs of the communities have changed, and the churches haven't. People don't need social clubs with a bit of service and worship thrown in. I don't know exactly what we need, but it isn't that.
I have a bit of a vision of what a church could look like in the future. A coffee shop with meeting rooms. A place where people could come in, get a cup of coffee (assuming the coffee bean isn't extinct by then!) and chat with the people around them. There might be a room with a clothing exchange, a computer exchange/repair shop, and a little chapel for those who'd like to sit and have some place quiet to just be with themselves or God. Maybe a social worker and a counsellor for those who might have needs of that sort. A community centre for all. Not just the downtrodden and needy. A nifty place where anyone might feel comfortable to grab a cuppa joe and chat with whomever is there.
I think Jesus would approve. And I'm pretty sure the rest of the gods and prophets would be okay with it too. :)
High hopes? I hope so.
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