It’s a busy time of the year. It is a time of secular and religious holidays. A time when there is a lot beyond the “everyday.” It is also the time when the year is coming to a close. Within the Western Christian traditions the last Sunday of the year is a week from today, and the following is the start of the season of Advent and the new year. In Western society the new year beings just about a month later at the close of the month of December, half way through Christmas.
Today I had the privilege to share in fellowship and worship with a small gathering of people. If I counted correctly there were 33 of us in the sanctuary and three more in the nursery for most of the service. Most of the youth of this congregation were not present, being instead at Junior or Jr. High retreat, as were several other older members of the congregation who were there to serve and encounter the Holy with them. Next week it will be the senior high youth, and while there are some in this congregation, not where here this day.
For this particular service with the Theme “Provoke One Another to Love” I had the responsibility of planning it and presiding over it. While the service went okay, I feel there were parts that could have gone better. Afterwards I paused and spoke to a friend of mine, and fellow young adult. She had had the opportunity last weekend to attend a Young Adult retreat, which I unfortunately was unable to attend due to work, (though not attending did allow me to be able to aid in the monthly pancake breakfast and some of the preparation of the Annual Thanksgiving dinner, both of which transpired on the same day). One of the things that came up was that desire and need to bring the retreat home to here. And I agree things are “blah” at times, the energy, motivation, engagement is “blah.” Which brings me to some thinking I have been doing, both from today and before.
The first is the longer term thought and reflection process which has led me to realize the need to step out from my comfort zone, to engage, and perhaps more importantly to risk. In the next few weeks a business meeting will be taking place, and I believe it is time for me to step out in faith and be willing to risk, to engage my calling, to engage the preparation I have been undergoing to… I’ll write more on the day of the business meeting, or when announcement of the meeting date happens.…
Next is about today. This morning as I spoke, and engaged various members of the congregation about where they were in life, as I shared with those joining the congregation what and when things were, and as I paused and reflected on my own, a few things came up. Many of the older generations remember the “good old days” when the church was larger, when there was more programs, more engaging with the community and its needs. When the youth and young adults were engaging more, and there were more of them. Then I started to wonder as I thought about this… Do they have a distorted view of how things were? That is, in those “good old days” when they were younger what were they doing and what were the older people of that time doing?
We often seem to wonder what happened to the youth, how do we get the youth and young adults back, but what about the older people. They may be physically present, but are they often truly engaging. We tend to focus on the past 40 years while we wondered and tried to birth ourselves, tried to grow in understanding of our identity as a time when some things were lost. People tend to focus it on somehow we didn’t keep the youth interested and engaged, we lost a generation, or two… But perhaps we truly lost more. Perhaps the generation we truly lost are the ones who’s heads are grey, white, and bald, sitting in the pews every Sunday. Who come to church and that’s about it. Who say “but we’ve always done…” or “it’s always been kept here…” or… Perhaps we lost them when they were the young adults… Perhaps they were not fully aware of the needs of the community and the participation of all. As the old people got older and passed away, did the young take upon themselves the roles of the old, or did they just keep doing what they did, and wondered how things seemed to drift away.
Could part of the problem not be what transpired during the time that we as a faith tradition were going through the pains of transforming from negative to positive identity, from drifting from calling to realizing our calling and how to live it in a new time and place, but rather just before this painful time of re-embracing, re-affirming, remembering, re-engaging who we are to be? And if so, How do we find and provide the ministry that is needed to all the lost generations so that we can prophetically engage our calling, particularly when one of the lost generations is the dominate group in the pews each Sunday? How do we get them out of the pews and engaging the needs of the world? How do we get those in the pews and those who have long since sat in them out and engaging the mission of the church: “to proclaim Jesus Christ and promote communities of Joy hope love and peace” each and every day, in each and every place, with each and every one they encounter?
Somehow we have become stagnate, somehow we have become a people who like to go “yes” when hearing the call, that like to “remember” the “good old days.” (were they really that good? or is that just how they are remembered)? Some even like to place the struggles, the reduction in action, on others. Which perhaps at times others did embrace policy or did action that was harmful, but that is only part of the story to our struggles… we forget the “We” and want it to be just “them.” When the new comes to try to engage, to revitalize we keep complaining and adopt a “Wait and see” however if we “Wait” we never engage, and thus we never see.. or only see the lack of action, but never take responsibility for our part in that.
So now back to post service… the conversation with a friend and the thoughts that came to mind in the hours since… Each day, no matter how much I struggle with the idea, I keep seeing myself making a choice, a decision, a risk. It’s not what I want to do, at least not where I want to do it… and yet and yet it is what I need to do. But I can’t do it alone. I’ve got to have help, a lot of help. Help from those in the pews each Sunday, help from those who are actively engaging the ministry of Christ, but whom I have never once seen in those pews, but whose names are upon the roles. We need all our gifts. We need to take the spirit of “retreat” the Spirit of events where we go “Yes, this is something I want to be part of!” and bring it into the everyday life of the body, to make worship truly a place where we come, we are empowered and are sent forth to a world that is groaning, where people are needlessly suffering and do Christ’s work.
Part of this will be helping people express and understand what their gifts are and how they can be applied to the needs of the church, but more importantly to the needs of the world. Part of it will be finding ways of engaging worship. Worship that is theologically sound, but also that address the various needs. I can not do this alone, none of us can. As a mystic, and as one who is drawn to contemplative services, I am not as gifted as others to form and craft other forms of worship services that I need, and we all need along side the more reflective.
We need to find ways in this busy world to help each other, to support one another, to sustain opne another so we can engage the Holy each and every day and in all place, which at times means letting others be the symbol of the Holy’s life in our lives.
I’m willing to take the risk. I’m willing to prod, I’m willing to encourage, to be present, to love and be love, I just hope we all will be willing to. I hope we will all be willing to become Community of Christ. That which we have been, are, and yet to be… So can we bring the “that” to the “here” and in doing so go out to all places sharing love and uplifting the worth of all persons?
I sure hope so, a new year is about to start. As we prepare for the birth that took place so long ago, can we also prepare for our own birth into true living disciples of the One who came, taught, ministered, died, rose and is still with us?
Let us remember:
Collectively and individually you are loved with an everlasting love that delights in each faithful step taken. God yearns to draw you close so that wounds may be healed, emptiness filled, and hope strengthened. Do not turn away in pride, fear, or guilt from the One who seeks only the best for you and your loved ones. Come before your Eternal Creator with open minds and hearts and discover the blessings of the gospel anew. Be vulnerable to divine grace.
God is calling for a prophetic community to emerge, drawn from the nations of the world, that is characterized by uncommon devotion to the compassion and peace of God revealed in Jesus Christ. Through divine grace and wisdom, this faith community has been given abundant gifts, resources , and opportunities to equip it to become such a people. Chief among these is the power of community in Christ expressed locally in distinctive fashions while upholding a unity of vision, foundational beliefs, and mission throughout the world. There are many issues that could easily consume the time and energy of the church. However, the challenge before a prophetic people is to discern and pursue what matters most for the journey ahead.
Doctrine and Covenants 163: 10-11
Peace…
— Lyle II