In, Aside, and Astride the Trenches

As I drive by the overflowing creeks and rivers on my way between the churches and my home, I cannot help but think of creek banks and trenches. The water is rushing so mightily and eerily close to the roads and houses. A quick rush of waters or a sudden change in the depth of the water and someone or something may be pulled away. It is so hard to keep one’s footing along the banks and trenches even when the water is flowing smoothly, but the concerns greatly increase when something unexpected happens.

Seeing these creek banks and trenches reminds me in some ways of the “cautions” of my work as a ministry developer. Many of my colleagues in the ministry developer world would say that we live, work and play in the trenches. We dig deep into what is going on at the various churches with which we work. We have the luxury of offering an objective stance that allows us to notice what is transpiring from the outside. More importantly, we can offer objective advice about possible options and solutions. For years, people have said that I “speak the truth”; perhaps that is both a gift and a burden that ministry developers must share. We are called on to “speak the truth” diplomatically, with care and love. Yet, sometimes, it is difficult to be the diplomat while speaking the truth in a manner that is truly heard as intended.

But today I am not thinking about this work from the midst of the trench, with mud squishing between the toes. Today, I reflect on the cautions that I must take to assure that I do not fall into the trench because of the unexpected—my failure to be prepared. Not that I can always be well prepared. God’s work is not predictable. But it does require me to keep my balance and to get my bearings as I move from one ministry or church to another, making sure that I do what I need to do and not spread myself too thin. Or hurt too many feelings in the process. It is a true balancing act. Although my favorite part of gymnastics was the balance beam, it was not because I have good balance. I am quite clumsy in fact, as anyone who knows me will attest. But I guess a good sense of humor does not hurt, and the ability to trust in friends and colleagues to pull me out of that trench when I happen to take a misstep. Since my colleagues in this work are many miles away, it is even more important that I develop communities within the various parishes (and outside them as well) to help give me reality checks and forgive me when I do take that occasional misstep.

As I look back again at these flowing creeks and rivers, I see a lot of energy. I see a lot of energy as well within the parishes themselves. I pray to God that I can keep my footing as I walk the trenches and do this work. I also pray that others will find it in their hearts to rescue me when needed.

Theresa

Springtime Amnesia

Oh, the pleasures of springtime in rural Western Maryland! The church yards and unpaved roads may be muddy from the nearly-daily rain, but (alas!) we begin to enter our annual amnesia of the hazards of travel during the less pleasant (at least for me!) periods of ice and snow.

The women’s groups may now resume their monthly meetings. We can plan other evening activities as well. Unlike our urban and suburban church friends, our activities ramp up, instead of slowing down.

Sure, the churches with young children slow down and stop having children’s activities because of soccer, softball, and camping activities.  But those churches with few children and youth seem to find renewed energy as they host their fundraising dinners, look to parishioners to assist with monthly church workdays, and host festivals and picnics once again.

I notice more smiles and a renewed commitment to engage in activities, certain that a May or June snow is unlikely to create travel concerns. I notice that I am energized as well. I now can go to evening meetings and not begin and end in the dark. Even memorial services and celebrations of peoples’ lives can be scheduled without wondering if icy roads are in store.

The flipside? We now must worry about excessive heat. Will the wedding party wilt for the lack of a good breeze in our “natural-air-conditioned” churches? For me, the biggest challenge is projecting my voice throughout an entire worship service, including sermon, with the doors open to allow a nice breeze (and perhaps even a stray bird or creature to enter). Will the friendly bear that enjoys the church’s dumpster dare to come and join us in our melodious singing as well?

Ah—I love the life of a missioner! Winter and early spring may pose travel concerns and possibly unexpected cancellations, but oh the wonders of late spring and summer! The fresh breeze wafting in the windows and the casual, more intimate nature of worshiping amidst the sounds and smells of nature is so inviting. Suburbia does not know what it is missing.

Theresa

Musings from Holy Week

As a missioner working with eight churches, I try to make it to one or more services or activities at each of the eight churches from Palm Sunday through Easter. Each of the last two years, I have made it to six of the eight. What a grand week,  getting to worship with so many different people, walk the stations at different churches, watch children scramble to find hidden eggs, attend multiple Easter parties, and even assist with a feeding ministry!!

I guess it is one week of the year when there is a kaleidoscope of opportunities to experience. The biggest problem is learning how to schedule out the week in a way that still allows for getting to as many churches as possible. There are fewer special worship opportunities for Holy Monday and Holy Tuesday, and nearly all of the churches have overlapping service times on Holy Thursday/Maundy Thursday. After all, a church can strip the altar only once! Emotionally, I am not too sure any of us could handle that too many times in a day in any case! Reading and preaching from the Passion three times on Palm Sunday is rough enough!

Good Friday is somehow easier, as there are so many ways to experience that day liturgically. For me this year, it was an 8 a.m. communion from the reserved sacrament, a 12 noon Good Friday liturgy, a 1 p.m. Stations of the Cross, a 2 p.m. Good Friday liturgy, and then a 7 p.m. Good Friday liturgy with communion from the reserved sacrament. Whether participating as a leader or as a congregant, each was very meaningful. It also was necessary to my journey from the Last Supper to the cross and to the tomb. All to be followed by the long wait until we can celebrate Easter with the Easter Vigil. Darkness to light to celebration. Yes; a great week indeed.

What are your thoughts and reflections on this week? Is it just too difficult and draining a week to sustain the energy and feel like it went well? Does the secularization of Easter distract too much from the spiritual energy and experience of the week? Other thoughts? I would love to hear them.

Theresa

Deafness to call to serve

As I attended Ash Wednesday services this year, I was struck by the words of the Litany of Penitence (BCP p. 267-9). I have spoken these words each year for far too many years for me to count, yet this year I noticed the words more than I ever had before. At that moment, I made a promise to myself to continue to reflect on the words throughout the next 40 days of Lent, and beyond.

I don’t know how well I have done in that regard—honestly, I would guess that I have failed. I guess there is never enough prayerful thinking on those very words. More importantly, I cannot ever stop putting into action the heart and intention of the words that I spoke as I confessed to God for my failures and asked for God to accept my repentance. 

Today, however, I reflect particularly on two portions of the Litany:

“We have been deaf to your call to serve, as Christ served us.

We have not been true to the mind of Christ. We have grieved

your Holy Spirit.”

Have mercy on us, Lord.”  

and

“Accomplish in us the work of your salvation,

That we may show forth your glory in the world.”

As a ministry developer, I am called to model service to God and Christ and assist others in doing the same. Listening to that call and helping others to do the same is hard but rewarding work.

We all know that we are called to serve God and Christ, but it is not always easy to know what that call may be, where it might lead, or how it might unfold. We may not even recognize our own gifts. We have to rely on God’s mercy to assist us in that endeavor. We have to rely on prayerful seeking of God’s guidance and mercy in looking past the times when we said “not now” or “you have to be kidding!” instead of saying “yes, send me.” We have to rely on faith to keep on the right path and trust in God that we are doing God’s work, and are doing this work in accordance with God’s commands, on account of our faith in God and Christ.

But as a ministry developer, it goes much deeper and broader than this. We not only have to give up control so that God can “[a]ccomplish in us the work of [God’s] salvation” but also encourage others to do the same. That seems a daunting task. An impossible one.

As I reflect on those words, I realize that it is just the same all over again. It is a matter of my letting go of control and allowing God to lead me, use me, guide me in accomplishing God’s work so that I and others with whom I minister “may show forth [God’s] glory in the world.”

Hmmm. I think I will take advantage of the excuse of Lent and its cocoon-like environs to pray on this more heartily and listen to God more intently to guide me as we journey through Lent and approach the celebration of our risen Lord. 

Will you join me?

Theresa

Ministry developer "hats"

I refer to myself as a ministry developer. It seems to be common lingo among those “in the industry” of connecting ministry resources and ministry needs, within the framework of engaging people to live into their baptismal covenant to do God’s work, with God’s help. But it also seems to be a misnomer in many respects; I am not developing ministries but instead am companioning and teaching people to be better ministers of God and Christ.

The fact that I wear so many “hats” in that regard sometimes astounds me. When am I a teacher, as opposed to a shepherd, or a companion, or an encourager, or even a safety net as I coax others to take some risks and even “try on” something new? The tasks and roles bleed into the next, but not in the sense of a bowl of cake batter but more like a rainbow of roles. Each role is distinct and yet it isn’t at the same time.

Ministry development is much like the rainbow’s arc of colors, where the red blends to become orange, the orange becomes yellow, etc. There is no clear point where one color becomes the next and no longer is the same. Much like a rainbow, ministry development also can be most beautiful to behold, as one sees the results of people taking on new or expanded ministries or even just feeling more confident in their own ministries.

Much like a rainbow, the task of ministry developer also is difficult to “capture,” whether figuratively or literally. Just as we cannot reach the point of the rainbow or find the legendary pot of gold at either end, the roles and tasks of a ministry developer just keep expanding out of reach. We cannot fully describe the roles to others, and there is no one definition that is true for all ministry developers.

Similarly, there is no end to the ministries that can develop or the persons who may be guided to live into their callings as ministers. There always is room for growth, learning, and new experiences. Thus, unlike a rainbow, there really are pots of gold to behold and they appear along the way as we journey together toward the rainbow. The pots of gold just keep appearing, often when least expected. Much work is invested by the people involved (as well as the ministry developer), and the pay off may be small or large.

We may find the pot of gold where it is least expected. It may just appear when one feels the most defeated in the work, but it will appear and appear again, and perhaps appear once again, twofold and then threefold.

The most difficult part is patience, I guess. My own and that of others. Yes. Perhaps that is what a ministry developer really is—someone who helps instill patience and continued energy into God’s ministers and ministries, and does not abandon them along the way. I am much like a parent guiding a young child on a bicycle with training wheels. One day, the minister is balancing all on his or her own and does not even notice that I no longer am holding on but standing behind, smiling one giant grin.

Now that is ministry development!

Theresa

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog. As I noted in my profile, it records some of my meandering thoughts as I serve as the first full-time ministry developer for Western Maryland. "Ministry developer" is one of my many “hats” for the Region and the Diocese of Maryland. As a ministry developer, I have both the joy and the challenge of companioning others as we all become people of MOAB. Not Moab like Naomi and Orpah of the Book of Ruth, but MOAB as in Ministry Of All the Baptized. As baptized Christians, we are called to use our God-given gifts to serve God and the Church in the world. According to the Episcopal Catechism, on our baptisms, God adopts each of us as God’s children and “makes us members of Christ’s Body, the Church, and inheritors of the kingdom of God.” (Book of Common Prayer p. 858)  Perhaps more clearly, when we renew our our Baptismal Covenant with God and Christ, we affirmatively agree that we will proclaim the Good News of God in Christ, seek to find and serve Christ in all persons, and strive for justice and peace in the world. Ministry is not something restricted to the ordained. All baptized Christians are called to serve God and Christ and to do so by serving to achieve justice and peace for all others. But we are hesitant to take the risk—to take the plunge into the waters of our baptisms—to do just that. It is easier in some ways to allow others to do the work. It is easier in many ways to wait for another person to act and then follow along. Sure, there are leaders and there are followers. We need both, but each of us is gifted, and each of us is required to use those gifts. We are all members of the whole and the whole is not whole without our contributions, whatever those might be. Encouraging others to demonstrate and use their gifts is my mission. Supporting them in that service is part of that mission. As I travel and spend time with the various people of the Region, I learn so much about the rainbow of gifts that the people have. Such an array of gifts, shining forth and complimenting the hues and textures of the gifts exhibited by others! Such a rich array! It is awesome! And much like a rainbow, it never ends. With each effort that we take to find the limitations on our gifts, we see the rainbow just spreads further. It just spreads further and further, with the pot of gold being something shared with all.

Thank you for joining me in this meandering pilgrimage of exploring and pondering ministry development and our shared ministry in the Church. More thoughts about this grand pilgrimage later….

Theresa