Space to Reflect

For as long as I’ve been a leader in Christian ministry (12 years ordained, another 8 years before that), I’ve been interested in what makes Christian communities strong, vital and transformational. What is it that makes some communities radiate a sense of being alive, while other communities, which could be only a few miles away, struggle and often give off the sense of decline?

No matter the community that I was a part of: youth ministry, young adult ministry, camp and conference, diocesan, small parish, medium parish, large parish, I’ve always been curious about what makes it go, and go well. My experience is that most of us have been in a Christian community and been able to have a sense that, to paraphrase Oakland native Gertrude Stein, “there’s a there there.”

This interest in congregational vitality grew exponentially when I arrived at All Souls in 2008. Though I had been a priest for five years, I hadn’t served as the primary leader of a congregation yet and immediately felt the steepness of that learning curve. I quickly reached out to some colleagues in the area, all priests in new calls who were part of interesting, vital parishes. We began a study group that used books on leadership, church dynamics, and change as lenses to the work we were engaged with in our congregations. It has been a phenomenal, grounding, and inspiring experience that I look to continue as long as I am in ministry.

After a few years at All Souls, when the growth of the parish began to significantly effect our structures and practices, I began to look for ways to not only develop my leadership but also the wider leadership in the congregation. It was this search that led us to the College of Congregational Development in the Diocese of Olympia in the Seattle area. The work that we began nearly a year ago has transformed the way that I lead and practice as a priest, both in depth and in breadth.

Along the way, I have been asked to share some of our experience with seminary classes at CDSP (the Episcopal seminary up the hill) and PSR (the inter-denominational seminary also up the hill). This process of reflection and teaching has also deepened my ongoing study and affirmed in me this sense that not only is “there a there there,” but that there are principles and practices that can be learned in order to create the space for life-giving Christian community to exist.

When I was called to be the Rector of All Souls, the Vestry offered what was at the time a unique way to spend sabbatical time. The standard approach has been to take six months in the seventh year of a call. All Souls, though, offered a practice more in line with the academic approach more common in this community: to take three or four months every three or four years. It is a practice now being adopted by more congregations in our diocese for a few reasons: parishes and priests often found that six months was too long, priests weren’t lasting until the seventh year to take sabbaticals, and this regular time for reflection for both the parish and the priest can be fruitful.

As you may remember, in the fall of 2011, Sarah, the boys and I travelled to Oxford, England on sabbatical. There I studied intentional Christian community using the Wesleys of the 18^th century and the Oxford Movement of the 19^th century as lenses. When I returned I felt able to preach and teach from a space of greater depth and wider perspective.

For this sabbath time, in keeping with the work I’ve begun in the Rector study group and the teaching I’ve offered at CDSP, I will be studying congregational vitality. Part of this time will be spent as part of our eight person team returning to the College for Congregational Development in Seattle. And a good deal more will be reading, reflecting and writing. So far the books that I’ve set aside for this time are about: congregational dynamics, broad-scale cultural changes and the church, corporate and personal spiritual practices, theology, and leadership. The challenge hasn’t been, “what books will I bring during this time,” instead it has been, “what will I leave behind?”

When I realized that the practices of congregational vitality are what I wanted to spend time studying, it became clear that I can read, reflect and write from nearly anywhere in the world. And so after conversation with Sarah and the boys, I will be spending this time on the road and in the wild, from Arizona to Montana and back.

I will be posting my reflections regularly (as regularly as cell phone signal and wifi allows), so that anyone at All Souls and in our wider community who is interested can follow along. You will be able to subscribe directly or follow the posts when they are linked in the Pathfinder.

In all, please know that I will be keeping All Souls in my thoughts and prayers daily. I feel incredibly fortunate to experience the trust and faith of this parish––it is a humbling privilege to serve All Souls. I am looking forward to what comes of this time for the parish as a whole and for me as a leader. And I really cannot wait to see what will be on the other side when I return after Labor Day to this vital and engaging Christian community.

Peace,

Phil+