Politics

I spent most of yesterday at Fresh Start, a Diocese-mandated continuing education program for priests taking up new appointments. This is my second year in the program, and after having been through most of this stuff already in three years of Momentum (also a Diocese-mandated program) I've about reached my fill. Certainly the didactic content is old hat. Three years of looking at PowerPoint slides with titles like, "Power, Authority, and Influence," gets a little old. The real value of these programs is the opportunity to share real ministry problems in an atmosphere of collegiality and trust. This kind of group problem solving really plays to the strengths of most pastor-types. Still, I think it might be helpful to condense or abandon most of the didactic material and replace it with prayer, discernment, and more "spiritual" stuff. I think most of us priests are more in need of that than more slides about dealing with parish conflict!

Came home--nursed Betsy (she has been feeling under the weather), made dinner, then watched the U.S. Vice Presidential Debate. It was a much better debate than the McCain-Obama debate last week--more substance and more civility. I was particularly impressed with the amount of time Palin and Biden spent talking to each other after the debate. They clearly enjoyed the exchange and have evident mutual respect. I'm very excited about this election. I even sent my (Absentee) Ballot off last week!

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Judy Paulsen on Leadership

Here is the Powerpoint presentation that the Rev'd Judy Paulsen (Incumbent of Christ Memorial Church, Oshawa) gave to our Momentum group a few days ago. Many thanks to her for sharing it....

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Also, a few books Judy recommended:

• Heifetz, Ronald. Leadership Without Easy Answers. 348pp. $20.46.
• Heifetz, Ronald. Leadership on the Line. 252pp. $21.75.
• Lencioni, Patrick. Death by Meeting: A Leadership Fable.
• Lencioni, Patrick. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.
• Roxburgh, Alan J. and Fred Romanuk. The Missional Leader: Equipping Your Church to Reach a Changing World 240pp. $16.29
• Roxburgh, Alan J. The Sky is Falling.

-t

Momentum

Momentum is over for me. The last hurrah was a good one. Lots of good laughs and some interesting final sessions about leadership. One of these was a presentation by The Rev'd Judy Paulsen--she promised to send me her Powerpoint show to post here when I get the chance.

Work has been busy and stressful. Missing two days means stuff piles up (including blogging stuff). But I'm not going to stay late on a Friday night to do that kind of Administrative stuff. I am, however, going to have a nice full riding my desk tomorrow. Tonight we are going over a friend's place for dinner. It will be nice to be pampered for a while.

-t

Craziness

Very, very busy day. Trad Com (BCP Communion), then fellowship lunch. Then I had barely an hour to return a bunch of phone calls before our staff meeting. The meeting went very well. Lots of good discussion as we covered a lot of ground and made some good-feeling decisions about a variety of matters. Amazing how much goes into running a place like this. For instance, we are still struggling to deal with the trash. Toronto Waste Services keeps missing the pick-up, for some reason. The "Trash Inspectors" (think police internal investigations but for trash) are trying to figure out why we keep getting missed. We also have yet to source a good, rugged trash receptacle for outside. The rats (yes, rats) ate through what we had out in the alley before--so we need something super tough.

We had to end the staff meeting when Susy Bleasby arrived to plan some more details of this summer's mural project. It's going to be intense. As I'll be away for much of it, good planning will be critical. I'm also thinking that I may need a designated "project manager" on the church side of things to coordinate the various things that need to mesh together. I should pray for God to give me a volunteer keen to do property management!

Again, I barely had an hour to do some e-mail and phone calls before the happy couple arrived to do marriage prep. Now it's 7:30 and I'm tired and looking forward to going home.

Tomorrow and the next day I'll be at a Momentum retreat, so don't expect a post. It's my "graduation" from the program--so a very bitter sweet moment in my professional career. Consider that I've shared deeply with these friends for the first three years of my call to Canada.

-t

Momentum Retreat at SSJD

I was gone the last two days on a retreat with the Momentum group at the SSJD Convent. Momentum is a three-year program for new clergy in the Diocese that has a meeting together once a month for years one and two, and then every other month for the last year. Because we see each other so much and have so much in common, the bonds have become intense and the trust is very high. We share with each other in a way that is virtually impossible to find elsewhere. It's a precious thing.

The program also gives us a certain amount of information content to absorb and learn, yet much of that is review for most of us. For example, at the this last session my year learned about pastoral services like baptism, confirmation, marriage, and funerals. The basics of these was review (we've all done plenty of these already) but the learning came when we talked about more unusual or difficult scenarios. Some experienced priests joined us to share war stories and reflections about excellent practice in ministry.

The Convent is a great backdrop. Worshiping with a Monastic community is always a treat, and the sisters have a beautiful new chapel. I'm particularly fond of their organ, the layout of the space, and their collection of icons.

I noticed something interesting at Mass both days. After giving Communion to everyone present, the Celebrant and the Minister of Communion (with the chalice) formed up behind a sister with a small candle and a bell. She led them out of the chapel and down the hall, ringing the bell the whole way. The purpose of the bell and candle is to alert people to the fact that the Holy Sacrament was in their midst (so that they could make the proper signs of devotion). They gave communion to at least one Sister unable to attend chapel and then returned in the same fashion. It was a simple yet profound action.

The convent has many fine features, but I must admit that the food in previous retreats has left a little to be desired. This time, however, the food was better, and I was pleased about that. They take all their meals in silence, so it's hard not to notice!

Coming back on Thursday night I barely had enough energy to get through dinner and check some e-mail and watch a documentary with Betsy about Roman technology before going to bed. Slept well. Woke up early this morning to prepare for a Corporation meeting that just wrapped up.

Corporation is the governing council of the parish. We meet monthly to discuss various issues and make plans and approve expenses. It felt like a productive meeting. I'm very happy with the group of people I have to work with at COTM.

Now I have just a few minutes before another meeting. This afternoon I need to visit someone in the hospital and then I have a singing lesson in the afternoon. I'm hoping to be able to take it easy tomorrow, but we'll have to see!

-t

Momentum Recap

The Momentum retreat was as rewarding as ever. It's a real luxury to meet with colleagues so often (either every month or every other month) for so long (this our third year). We've developed deep trust and understanding.

This session was about church management issues. Among other things, we spent several hours learning about how do the Annual Church Vestry Meeting. Ours will be at the end of February. There is a lot to do before then, especially since this year we are instituting a number of new projects/initiatives. For instance, I'm going to reconstitute the Advisory Board (aka Parish Council). That means recruiting people of good will to lend some of their time and talent.

-t

Church Politics Explained

I doubt I'll be able to blog much in the next two days as I'll be away on a Momentum Retreat, so here's another post of dubious (but amusing) value:

This is, of course, by Dave Walker and used with a license. Dave has been asked to be the "Cartoonist in Residence" at this year's Lambeth Conference, which should produce some interesting results. Lambeth is a meeting of the Anglican Bishops that happens every ten years where they get to argue with each other about who is most faithful to the Gospel (or, at least, it seems to be heading that way).

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"Low-Hanging Fruit"

The other day I ran into Dave Robinson, the lead Diocesan consultant for congregations. He had a great phrase when he said that I should "pick some low-hanging fruit," but not get side tracked from strategic initiatives that develop congregational vision and identity. In other words, while the early successes of new pianos, chairs, and paint jobs are important to build momentum and energy, it's really things like a parish-wide workshop on our history that are going to be transformative in the long run. So I'm looking to do something like in November, stay tuned.

I went to the Principal's Dinner at Wycliffe last night. Wycliffe College is one of the two Anglican seminaries at the University of Toronto. We had a little Church of the Messiah table going with two of my Wardens (Virginia and Brendan) plus Megan and her husband Chris and Betsy and myself. It was a valuable chance for me to make contacts with some valuable players in the Toronto church scene, including the Principal, George Sumner. I'm hoping to re-establish the close connection that once existed between Wycliffe and COTM, and that means having good relationships with the current leaders and players.

I'm still processing some of the great conversations from Momentum. At one point I found myself talking about the need to find a well of spiritual good stuff closer to where I live and work than where I have gone in the past (I'm speaking of both geographic and other kinds of distances). Sister Anitra suggested that I come to the convent for worship, but I noted that finding the water there, even if it's close to the surface, will still require a certain amount of digging. That is, establishing relationships and a pattern of attendance and so forth. She looked at me in that Jedi-Christian way of spiritual directors and waved her hand as she said, "Come expecting nothing." And I knew that she was right. The Force is strong in that one.

Speaking of St. John's Convent, here's a picture of their chapel for those that have never been...


Note the progression from Font to Ambo to Altar. Also note the chairs facing each other across that axis. It's simply the best arrangement for a worshiping community of that size that I've seen around: which is why all the cool kids are doing it.

I came across this interesting blog by Edward Murray today. He's a church musician in Los Angeles. Any blog that quotes Mary Oliver, Rumi, and the like deserves some attention, IMHO!

-t

Momentum

I'm just getting back this afternoon from a two-day "Momentum" retreat. It's a great chance to spend time with colleagues talking about ministry and life and sharing ideas and stories. Because we all have so much in common, the connections form quickly. Because we've share a lot over the last two years, the bond is extremely strong. It's what you might call a "high trust" environment.

This particular Momentum event was held at a beautiful Jesuit retreat center outside of town. One of their brothers had died a few days earlier, so his body laid in state in the chapel while we met next door. I must say that the presence of death in the midst of our retreat was not unpleasant, several of us were quite moved by the situation. He was of ripe years--in his 90's I'm told--and none of the mourners seemed particularly distressed that God had chosen this moment to take him home.

Sister Anitra from SSJD (an Anglican Order of nuns with a convent here in Toronto) joined the third-year Momentum folks to help us debrief our last positions. Most of us are just starting our new ministries after having been Curates. My situation as an Associate was a bit different, and yet so much the same that the differences haven't been very important. I liked Anitra. She's got that monastic spiritual sensibility that is both completely down to earth and yet also deeply, deeply wise.

Now I'm back and doing a bunch of church stuff before a dinner tonight at on the the seminaries. Got to run.

-t

Gone to Momentum

I'm gone to Momentum this morning. It's a Diocesan program for relatively newly ordained folks. This is my third and last year of doing it. Back tomorrow.

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The Problematics of Programatics

This morning after saying Morning Prayer at my desk I attended to various administrative matters and then had lunch with Doug C.--former Director of Music and Liturgical Arts at COTM. I've always enjoyed talking to him, and over pub fare we ranged over a wide variety of topics (including, of course, COTM and SMM). We are the same page with most of our observations about both places and I think we both learned a few new things as well. He was impressed with Sunday night's Induction Liturgy, which is pleasing. No matter how secure ministers may act, we are all gluttons for approval. Interestingly, though, I find that I need approval less as I mature in the role. I suspect that's partly because I simply became more secure in ministry and partly because a necessary skill for priest-craft at SMM was the development of internal validation. It's not a place that heaps approval and validation on clergy.

Spent part of the afternoon after lunch sorting out some Social Insurance paperwork at a government office. While I waited in chairs I read a snoozer of an article sent to me by the Diocese about how to present Case Studies. This is necessary because I'm scheduled to present a Case Study at the next Momentum gathering. Not sure what I'm going to talk about yet, but I'm old hand at this kind of peer review thanks to four units of CPE (Clinical Chaplaincy training)! I actually fell asleep while reading this article several times. I had flash backs to when we were learning how to be "reflective practitioners" back at Yale Divinity. To tell the truth, those sessions about how to learn ministry by doing ministry were much more useful than I realized at the time.

By the time I got back to the church there was a minor administrative fire burning. In the end we found a sort of solution to the problem and then I only had time to run a quick errand to the bank before Betsy picked me up to go to dinner with Uncle Michael. He's here in town for a conference of the Canadian Council of Christian Charities. We had a nice supper that included pictures of his latest grandkids as well as a chocolate Sundae and a trip back to COTM and our Rectory to show off our new digs. Along the way we had some rewarding conversations about the nature of modern ministry and its associated pitfalls.

Particularly today I found myself sharing my concerns about being overly program focused. It's quite easy to get overly invested in the creation and maintenance of good church programs and initiatives--especially when the goal of "church growth" is on the line. This turns out to be a reincarnation of the demon of materialism. Really I should be much more focused on my relationship with the Big Dude in the Sky. The program aspects of what needs to be done at COTM are becoming more and more obvious, anyway.

Reminds me of sailing again--there are really only a limited number of viable sail configurations given a course, a sea, and a wind. There are even fewer optimal configurations. This becomes clear as soon as you try to achieve such a configuration. Same with church--it will quickly become clear what's going to work or not. It's much more important at this point look across the vast wide sea and feel that thrill of heart that you only get by encountering the infinite horizon of possibility.

-t