Dear Sabbath Bloggers,
This past Sunday was Music Sunday at Islington United Church, a day for celebrating the many gifts that are offered musically in this congregation. Two people offered reflections, one on Bach, the other on Neil Young’s song “When God Made Me.” A young adult preached on the amazing words of this song, and following his spoken word, he sang these words to us:
Was he thinkin' about my country
Or the color of my skin?
Was he thinkin' 'bout my religion
And the way I worshipped him?
Did he create just me in his image
Or every living thing?
When God made me
When God made me
Was he planning only for believers
Or for those who just have faith?
Did he envision all the wars
That were fought in his name?
Did he say there was only one way
To be close to him?
When God made me
When God made me
Did he give me the gift of love
To say who I could choose?
When God made me
When God made me
When God made me
When God made me
Did he give me the gift of voice
So some could silence me?
Did he give me the gift of vision
Not knowing what I might see?
Did he give me the gift of compassion
To help my fellow man?
When God made me
When God made me
When God made me
When God made me
Needless to say, the Spirit moved past the safe place I have created to shield my soul from the changing winds of the Spirit. I was especially moved by the words in the last verse where Young speaks of God’s gifts of voice, vision and compassion, each from in the context of love. I was moved to a place of bravery for my youth, for my ministry and for the vision the Spirit has granted to me.
Sarah Chapman, who is working on the GO Project this summer in Toronto, and I have been gathering together to hold not only the GO Project in the light of Sabbath time, but have also bonded together to share each week our joys and struggles, in each our individual beings. A while back, at our last meeting in Tatamagouche, NS many of us on the team shared our difficulties in holding the Sabbath time on our own. My time in sharing with Sarah has re-enforced the necessity of gathering two or more together in sacred time together. I encourage each person, on the team, or simply reading this blog to find one person, with whom you can gather together with, over coffee, over a candle, over a pint, to share your time and story with.
When God made you, a vision of community was created, a vision that sparks into action our voices, our compassion, our hope, our love, for a world that is a better place for all, a church that is truly open to the change found only in the love of God.
I hope these words and the words of Neil Young inspire these gifts to rise up within you.
Peace Sisters and Brothers,
Michael
ps - the following link has a recording of the song if you want a listen, following a 10 second add, enjoy!
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4736779
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Wedding Season - May 25-31, 2008
John 2:1-11
This posting is late. Approximately 2 weeks late. It’s been a busy couple of weeks, but the three months before that were basically commitment-free, and I didn’t even think about doing anything ahead of time. So much for the value of Sabbath preparation, eh? No excuses...
It’s also been a challenging couple of weeks for our discernment group. People have shared their personal struggles with ministry, with call, and with commitment. It’s taken courage and faith for them to open up and speak honestly. Their concerns and struggles are probably the same concerns and struggles that we all face in one way or another, but usually we don’t feel that we have the tools or often, the willingness, to bring up. Hopefully, our intentional time together in April helped to create a community that encourages us to be more honest and challenging with one another. There are definitely limits to what internet community alone can provide.
The challenge is figuring out how to respond when people are struggling. Whether it’s the youth in our churches, or ministry friends spread out across the country, it’s hard to know how to care. Ministry of presence is tough over the internet. Sitting silently with your hand on someone’s shoulder doesn’t have the same effect when it’s an electronic hand, and an electronic shoulder. And how do you even convey supportive silence electronically? Text “hmmm...tell me how that makes you feel” every once in a while?
So, this is the best I can do for now. You are my friends. I admire you, I respect you, and I am constantly in awe of your wisdom, faith, and strength. Your experiences are your own, and I don’t know what it’s like to be in the places you are right now, facing the hurdles you face right now, and making the decisions you’re making right now. But, I’d like to hear about them.
At the very least, I can assure you that none of this stuff is a reflection of your ability or skill or worthiness or anything else like that. Everyone who has ever been dumb enough to get involved in youth ministry knows what it means to feel woefully inadequate. The hard thing to accept is that there’s no such thing as adequate. We’re all hopelessly in over our heads, but somehow God thinks that’s ok.
My sister got married a couple of weeks ago, and the entire production was a gong show from the moment it started until the final party-goer left the hall at 3am. Typical small town Saskatchewan hill-billy wedding. My only responsibility was to emcee the evening, and the phrase “herding cats” came to mind quite often. The bridal party was an hour late for supper, the bartender didn’t show up, the sound system only worked sporadically, and the darn computer projector kept going into sleep mode in the middle of the cute picture shows.
Absolutely nothing went the way it was supposed to. Well, nothing went the way I thought it was supposed to, anyway. All the half-funny jokes, all the hours spent wrestling with powerpoint (and cursing Microsoft), all the planning and stress...and nothing worked.
And the worst part came after everything was over. It’s 3:30 in the morning, I’m lying in the hotel room, smelling like stale beer (did I mention that somebody forgot to hire a cleaning crew?), and for some reason, I kept thinking about Sabbath and ministry with youth. The image stuck in my head was Jesus trying to get everybody to chill out at the Canaan wedding. How sick is that?
At times it feels like herding cats. Nothing goes the way it’s supposed to. The literal and symbolic powerpoint never works, people don’t show up, the wine runs out (don’t worry, we had that one covered), and there are plenty of late nights spent cleaning up somebody else’s mess.
As much as it drives us insane to admit it, none of it makes one bit of difference in the end. When it all comes down to it, nobody remembers that junk anyway. The only thing that matters is that there was a beautiful celebration of love and God’s presence.
Friends, in weddings and youth ministry and Sabbath and life, we’re in way over our heads. Please know that your cat herd isn’t the only one that feels out of control. We can’t herd them, but at least we can love them, even if it is only one at a time. And that’s better than ok. God thinks that’s incredible.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Elihu and listening...
Job 32:1-14
In this passage Elihu is a youth. He has been sitting in the shadows for sometime, watching as the older men speak. He respectfully listens, truly listens to his mentors...listens intentionally to be changed by what they are saying. Although, he gets frustrated and after his listening he speaks out. Most believe that these speeches were an addition to the book of Job. Either way, they really capture the importance of the voice of youth.
I don't know if we always truly listen to youth. I think we know what we want them to say. This weekend was MC Youth Forum and Rick brought a question to the youth from the floor of conference. I realized that I knew how I wanted them to respond, and some did accordinly. Yet, there were so many different answers. Diversity in expereince and perspective among youth is important and I think I need to remember this. I need to be open to be changed by their words instead of already presuming what they are going to say.
Also, I think I may have been putting to many presumptions or expectations on my Sabbath time or prayer life as it has been lacking space to just listen. I forgot that to listen to hear that what the spirit is saying to me, just might be different from what I have heard before. Just might have the power to change me or move me in a new direction.
Elihu's words are empowering for both their presence and their content. Reading this passage this week taught me that maybe if I listen harder I might be able to actually have something more powerful to say.
In this passage Elihu is a youth. He has been sitting in the shadows for sometime, watching as the older men speak. He respectfully listens, truly listens to his mentors...listens intentionally to be changed by what they are saying. Although, he gets frustrated and after his listening he speaks out. Most believe that these speeches were an addition to the book of Job. Either way, they really capture the importance of the voice of youth.
I don't know if we always truly listen to youth. I think we know what we want them to say. This weekend was MC Youth Forum and Rick brought a question to the youth from the floor of conference. I realized that I knew how I wanted them to respond, and some did accordinly. Yet, there were so many different answers. Diversity in expereince and perspective among youth is important and I think I need to remember this. I need to be open to be changed by their words instead of already presuming what they are going to say.
Also, I think I may have been putting to many presumptions or expectations on my Sabbath time or prayer life as it has been lacking space to just listen. I forgot that to listen to hear that what the spirit is saying to me, just might be different from what I have heard before. Just might have the power to change me or move me in a new direction.
Elihu's words are empowering for both their presence and their content. Reading this passage this week taught me that maybe if I listen harder I might be able to actually have something more powerful to say.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Reading for May 18th - 24th, 2008
Acts 2: 42-47
They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship,
to the breaking of the bread and the prayers.
Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles.
All who believed were together and had all things in common; the would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.
Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread together at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God
and having the goodwill of all the people.
As we enter the long weekend and celebrate the beginning of the summer season, we may find ourselves traveling to visit friends and family. I'm looking forward to a weekend volunteering at Lumsden Beach Camp. A place where many youth and leaders are coming together to enjoy fresh air, share stories, pause from everyday routines, and play.
It's a get-away from work, school, technology, and busyness, and a moving toward intentional rest, play, and togetherness. This ritual of coming together in community with people we love, to share in conversation, summer barbeques, is a wonderful way to spend Sabbath time. Sabbath time is best spent with others, as many of us learned during our first 4 months of Sabbath. I invite everyone to invite others to share in Sabbath time and ritual. Be open to what "awe"some things happen when you intentionally explore what Sabbath can mean to you.
I'll leave it at that for now. More later in the week!
Peace and Blessings for the long weekend.
Sandra
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Was frustrated but am adjusting
Hello, Sabbathers!
Thinking about our time together in Tatamagouche. I was grateful to be able to deepen relationships with all of you during our time. But as we shared our Sabbath experiences I got discouraged. Not that I needed everyone to have a similar experience in every way but one way I had hoped we could share was that we all would remain committed to attempting a Sabbath ritual or practice of some kind.
Between our first meeting in Regina and our Tatamagouche meeting I did my ritual based on the assumption that we were in solidarity with a commitment to the ritual. During that time we were learning from each other that some found it really difficult if not impossible and I was OK with that. I certainly understood the guilt around that. It was more at the meeting when I felt that there was more or less a collective abandonment of commitment to ritual. Yes, people would try to honour Sabbath in their own way (once a week, once a month, every 7 years, whatever!). But I found it sad to have to let go of what I had hoped we could be with the ritual. Maybe I have misunderstood where we left off with the ritual of Sabbath.
It would have been helpful for me if we had taken some time to re-commit to a more personalized ritual. For instance, I would commit to continuing my Wednesday morning Sabbath. Another member might commit to a weekly family meal and treating it as Sabbath. Then I could know that we were still in solidarity in our Sabbath "experiment" which I feel is central to our discernment of the work we need to do for the larger church.
And I also must admit that as well as I am doing at Sabbath practice I am not doing so well at discerning the youth and young adult ministry questions which we named near the end of our meeting. And clearly at the meeting there are many on this great team who excel at working through that piece. So I feel inadequate in that respect.
Anyway, as we named together, our church is not that good at being vulnerable and honest. So this blog entry is my attempt.
Peace.
Rick G(unn)
Thinking about our time together in Tatamagouche. I was grateful to be able to deepen relationships with all of you during our time. But as we shared our Sabbath experiences I got discouraged. Not that I needed everyone to have a similar experience in every way but one way I had hoped we could share was that we all would remain committed to attempting a Sabbath ritual or practice of some kind.
Between our first meeting in Regina and our Tatamagouche meeting I did my ritual based on the assumption that we were in solidarity with a commitment to the ritual. During that time we were learning from each other that some found it really difficult if not impossible and I was OK with that. I certainly understood the guilt around that. It was more at the meeting when I felt that there was more or less a collective abandonment of commitment to ritual. Yes, people would try to honour Sabbath in their own way (once a week, once a month, every 7 years, whatever!). But I found it sad to have to let go of what I had hoped we could be with the ritual. Maybe I have misunderstood where we left off with the ritual of Sabbath.
It would have been helpful for me if we had taken some time to re-commit to a more personalized ritual. For instance, I would commit to continuing my Wednesday morning Sabbath. Another member might commit to a weekly family meal and treating it as Sabbath. Then I could know that we were still in solidarity in our Sabbath "experiment" which I feel is central to our discernment of the work we need to do for the larger church.
And I also must admit that as well as I am doing at Sabbath practice I am not doing so well at discerning the youth and young adult ministry questions which we named near the end of our meeting. And clearly at the meeting there are many on this great team who excel at working through that piece. So I feel inadequate in that respect.
Anyway, as we named together, our church is not that good at being vulnerable and honest. So this blog entry is my attempt.
Peace.
Rick G(unn)
Saturday, April 26, 2008
for the week of April 27 - May 3
The focus scripture comes from the theme (Acts 1:8) that the Princeton Forums on Youth Ministry is using this year.
Acts 1: 6-11
So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’
He replied, ‘It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’
When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up towards heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’
Acts 1: 6-11
So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’
He replied, ‘It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’
When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up towards heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’
Monday, April 21, 2008
Sabbath Team Gathering April 2008: What we learned!
Sabbath Discernment Gathering
April 7-10, 2008
Sabbath is…
Sabbath is a gift from God!
Sabbath is about making space for God to move, to work, and to be in our lives.
Sabbath is about taking time to rest, to cease, to embrace, and to feast.
Sabbath is about establishing a rhythm in our life.
Sabbath is not…
Sabbath is not expressed in the same way for everyone.
Sabbath is not something that you can contain or box up.
Sabbath is not something that can be deeply experienced without preparation.
Sabbath invites us…
Sabbath invites us to engage our faith.
Sabbath invites us to be in community.
Sabbath invites us to listen deeply to ourselves, one another, to creation, and to God.
Sabbath calls us…
Sabbath calls us to be vulnerable.
Sabbath calls us to be honest.
Sabbath calls us to be in relationship.
Sabbath calls us to live out our faith in all parts of our life.
Sabbath calls us home.
Sabbath is a gift! A gift from God!
As we began to share our stories of Sabbath with one another in the beautiful and comforting setting of Tatamagouche Centre in Nova Scotia, it was clear that our experiences and our perceived success in the Sabbath ritual varied greatly. The ritual that we had set out for ourselves back in September worked for some and not for others. Feelings of guilt, fear of letting down the team, feelings of isolation were shared by many of the team. Others found Sabbath to be grounding, peaceful, and life giving. As a group we found it hard to stay connected across the country, and many of us expressed a longing to hear more about what was going on for everyone on the team. In the end I think it would be safe to say that we each could name moments where we experienced Sabbath and as a result we all have a better understanding about what Sabbath is and isn’t, and it is slowly seeping into our lives and affecting our work and our faith.
Our purpose for gathering was to begin intentionally practicing Sabbath as a way to examine and truly recognize the breadth of work that has been done in youth and young adult ministry and discern the work that must continue or be a priority. David White in his book “Practicing Discernment with youth; A Transformative Youth Ministry Approach,” points out that:
“The Sabbath includes the sense that work and rest are not to be distinguished too discretely but are to be considered as integral to creative action. Work that does not include Sabbath risks alienating our bodies from our hearts, minds, and souls. By failing to remember God’s presence in the suffering and bliss around us, we risk the possibility that our work may serve purposes other than God’s which may fragment the beauty and integrity that God intends for creation.” (p.182)
With this in mind, we began to discern what the unique role of the National Church is in this ministry. We also explored what it might look like if we were a “Youth Shaped Church.” As we entered this time of discernment we thought about what we might need to cease doing or being about. We pondered the questions where do we find rest in this work, and what do we need to take a rest from. We feasted and celebrated the breadth and depth of work that has been done in this ministry over the past 12 – 15 years. We celebrated how Youth and Young Adult ministry has grown and changed over the years. Finally, we began to discern what needs to be embraced in order to live out the call to youth and young adult ministry.
During our time of discernment what became clear is that we feel called to share our practice and experience of Sabbath with the wider church. The Moderator, David Giuliano, wrote the team a letter saying, “Friends, thank you for keeping the Sabbath on behalf of our larger community that has great difficulty with this discipline. I know that some of you are struggling with it too. None-the-less it is a prophetic call to the wider body to live less out of the “works-righteousness” that comes so easily to us. Through Sabbath we continue to find our place in creation and live more profoundly out of grace in our lives. We come to know who we are supposed to be.” The team left Nova Scotia with deeper understanding of each other and our faith, and renewed passion for this ministry. We named patterns that we have been living in and the need to end these.
We recognize the challenge of allowing ourselves to be vulnerable, but that it is a prophetic call to be honest and open with each other in our fears, our pain, our joy, and our love. We wish to invite others to find the space to enter into deep conversations with us and each other, to acknowledge the brokenness and pain and fear that you carry, and to trust that you are loved and that we truly are the body of Christ called to speak for justice, with compassion so that we can bring healing to all levels of our church.
Written on behalf of the Sabbath Team by Karen
April 7-10, 2008
Sabbath is…
Sabbath is a gift from God!
Sabbath is about making space for God to move, to work, and to be in our lives.
Sabbath is about taking time to rest, to cease, to embrace, and to feast.
Sabbath is about establishing a rhythm in our life.
Sabbath is not…
Sabbath is not expressed in the same way for everyone.
Sabbath is not something that you can contain or box up.
Sabbath is not something that can be deeply experienced without preparation.
Sabbath invites us…
Sabbath invites us to engage our faith.
Sabbath invites us to be in community.
Sabbath invites us to listen deeply to ourselves, one another, to creation, and to God.
Sabbath calls us…
Sabbath calls us to be vulnerable.
Sabbath calls us to be honest.
Sabbath calls us to be in relationship.
Sabbath calls us to live out our faith in all parts of our life.
Sabbath calls us home.
Sabbath is a gift! A gift from God!
As we began to share our stories of Sabbath with one another in the beautiful and comforting setting of Tatamagouche Centre in Nova Scotia, it was clear that our experiences and our perceived success in the Sabbath ritual varied greatly. The ritual that we had set out for ourselves back in September worked for some and not for others. Feelings of guilt, fear of letting down the team, feelings of isolation were shared by many of the team. Others found Sabbath to be grounding, peaceful, and life giving. As a group we found it hard to stay connected across the country, and many of us expressed a longing to hear more about what was going on for everyone on the team. In the end I think it would be safe to say that we each could name moments where we experienced Sabbath and as a result we all have a better understanding about what Sabbath is and isn’t, and it is slowly seeping into our lives and affecting our work and our faith.
Our purpose for gathering was to begin intentionally practicing Sabbath as a way to examine and truly recognize the breadth of work that has been done in youth and young adult ministry and discern the work that must continue or be a priority. David White in his book “Practicing Discernment with youth; A Transformative Youth Ministry Approach,” points out that:
“The Sabbath includes the sense that work and rest are not to be distinguished too discretely but are to be considered as integral to creative action. Work that does not include Sabbath risks alienating our bodies from our hearts, minds, and souls. By failing to remember God’s presence in the suffering and bliss around us, we risk the possibility that our work may serve purposes other than God’s which may fragment the beauty and integrity that God intends for creation.” (p.182)
With this in mind, we began to discern what the unique role of the National Church is in this ministry. We also explored what it might look like if we were a “Youth Shaped Church.” As we entered this time of discernment we thought about what we might need to cease doing or being about. We pondered the questions where do we find rest in this work, and what do we need to take a rest from. We feasted and celebrated the breadth and depth of work that has been done in this ministry over the past 12 – 15 years. We celebrated how Youth and Young Adult ministry has grown and changed over the years. Finally, we began to discern what needs to be embraced in order to live out the call to youth and young adult ministry.
During our time of discernment what became clear is that we feel called to share our practice and experience of Sabbath with the wider church. The Moderator, David Giuliano, wrote the team a letter saying, “Friends, thank you for keeping the Sabbath on behalf of our larger community that has great difficulty with this discipline. I know that some of you are struggling with it too. None-the-less it is a prophetic call to the wider body to live less out of the “works-righteousness” that comes so easily to us. Through Sabbath we continue to find our place in creation and live more profoundly out of grace in our lives. We come to know who we are supposed to be.” The team left Nova Scotia with deeper understanding of each other and our faith, and renewed passion for this ministry. We named patterns that we have been living in and the need to end these.
We recognize the challenge of allowing ourselves to be vulnerable, but that it is a prophetic call to be honest and open with each other in our fears, our pain, our joy, and our love. We wish to invite others to find the space to enter into deep conversations with us and each other, to acknowledge the brokenness and pain and fear that you carry, and to trust that you are loved and that we truly are the body of Christ called to speak for justice, with compassion so that we can bring healing to all levels of our church.
Written on behalf of the Sabbath Team by Karen
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