Environics - First Glance

As part of the "Messiah Commons" project our church been engaged in "missional listening," that is, trying to figure out ways in which God is already active in the areas around us. Part of that, in turn, is basic data gathering. Virtually nothing is more basic than a demographic analysis of precisely who lives near the church in the first place. So we commissioned a company called Environics Analytics to do a study for us. This goes way beyond the kind of census data that is available to anyone with an internet connection and some time to collate data. This is an in-depth analysis using proprietary databases that you have to pay to look at. The main market for these studies is the business world, naturally, but a number of churches have used them, too. In fact, Environics was recommended to me by several churches as the place to go for study of this kind. The result is 12 pages of analysis followed by 50 pages of charts, tables, and maps.

On my first read through a couple of things struck me. One was this:

Strongest Social Values:

• Consumptivity
• Importance of Aesthetics
• New Social Responsibility
• Rejection of Authority
• Adaptive Navigation
• Pursuit of Originality
• Ecological Lifestyle
• Sexual Permissiveness
• Personal Creativity

Weakest Social Values:

• Regional Identity
• Religiosity
• Primacy of the Family
• Attraction to Natur.
• Pursuit of Happiness to the Detriment of Duty
• Heterarchy
• Aversion to Complexity in Life
• Ethnic Intolerance

Doesn't that just cut it down to the bone? Or how about this, the concluding paragraph?

The local market area around The Church of the Messiah is made up of younger singles and couples, with some families who have older children or are empty nesters. Many residents are in the early stages of starting their careers and while they may have few family commitments, lead full and active lives. Perhaps because of their high education levels, they tend to be interested in gaining more knowledge of the world around them and in exploring new situations. There tends to be some affiliation with the Anglican Church in the market area, but residents often do not exhibit a strong desire for a richer spiritual life. Instead, residents are continually looking to connect with people in their communities and to help them out whenever they can. A third space, such as a coffee shop, could provide a valuable meeting place for residents to converse with others allowing them to learn what is happening in their neighbourhood and how they can be a part of it. Any space created should be an organizations’ best foot forward and provide these detail-oriented residents with only the best experience, aesthetics and products. With their willingness to participate in community organizations and their enthusiasm to adopt new practices learned from others, residents might be open to the expanded presence of The Church of the Messiah, especially if it helps bring people together, deepens community bonds and creates a comfortable place where residents can strike up an engaging conversation with their neighbours.

There are many other gems in here as well. For example, check out this one:

Religious Affiliation in the Parish of the Messiah

That means that we've got 5,179 people in our neighbourhood who, when asked, report being "Anglican." Where the heck are they on Sundays?! Lol. Sleeping in, apparently. There an additional 12,235 who claim no religious affiliation at all. So you can see how useful this kind of information is.

I have a lot more work to do with it, natually, but this is going to feed our planning for years to come. I'm very pleased that invested in this study.

Movie Review: Undercity

This video made the viral-Internet rounds about two years ago, but I'm only just now getting around to seeing it since it was recommended by the videographer Philip Bloom as an example of how even a one-man show used to do weddings can still shoot/produce a breakout piece of work. So here is the movie, all riveting 40 minutes of it.


In this video filmmaker Andrew Wonder followed around urban explorer Steve Duncan as they illegally ventured into subway tunnels, sewers, bridges in Manhattan. It's suspenseful and thrilling and informative at the same time. I particularly appreciate the interviews they got with various street folks. We've all heard about the "mole" people living underground, here is your chance to learn a little more about what that might be like.

Also, this is a good example of how the form factor of the Video-enabled DSLR's really let you get into tight, tight places and shoot without being to conspicuous, even in low light, without too much loss of quality.

More Wedding Photos...

More photos from Jeremy and Carolyn's Wedding...

The St. Paul's Water Project

Here is a good example of a church turning a fairly prosaic repair problem--redoing a parking lot--and making into a fantastic ministry. Note how embedded into the city this project is. Note also how slow and deliberative was the discernment work that went into creating this project.



-t

More Security...

We had so many security problems at the church that we finally decided a few months ago (even before I was punched) to install security cameras. That work was finished today. Fast forward to this evening, when I got a call from the alarm system monitoring station--they were showing a burglar alarm at the church that hadn't been reset. I get these calls every few weeks--usually it's a false alarm. Sometimes it's the real deal.

So I dutifully put on my coat and shoes and headed out the church at 8:30pm. When I arrived I found the cleaning crew. They told me that the alarm had been going off when they arrived. I didn't figure out why it hadn't given them the usual delay to give them the time to reactivate it, nor why the monitoring station couldn't see that it had been reset. I shrugged, said goodnight to the cleaners and came home.

I had just taken off my shoes and coat again when the cleaners called back. Someone was in the building. They had heard someone closing a door upstairs in the daycare and were seriously freaked out. The cleaners ran outside and called me.

So I went back down to the church. Odds are, this is someone left over from the AA meetings earlier in the evening that was looking for somewhere warm to stay. I carefully searched the whole church with my big Maglite. As best I can tell, the person was probably scared off by the cleaning staff and left out the back stairway.

I'll find out for sure tomorrow when I check the video footage from our fancy new security cameras!

-t

The "Crazy" Season

Advent, the period leading up to Christmas, has a way of bringing out the crazy in people. In the past few weeks a number of situations in church-land and beyond have seemed to escalate in intensity and anxiety. Several people that I counsel or have pastoral charge of seem to be having a harder time than normal, and I really think it's because of the added pressure of this season. Between the holiday parties and gifts and church events and services, things are getting more crazy in every way.

For example.... A few days ago I was assaulted by a mentally ill person known to our community. I don't want to share too much on this for legal reasons, but it is something much on my mind, obviously. I got punched in the stomach while standing in the doorway to the church by someone because they thought, in their delusional state, that this was a good idea. I was actually talking to 911 at the time, and the police did come and arrest this person for assault. Luckily, my ample ninja-priest tummy has a near-magical ability to absorb punches, so I'm absolutely fine. The person that hit me was not very strong. The last (and only other) time I was assaulted was in Los Angeles when I did social work, and I could write a whole set of "lessons learned" from both occurrences.

So... the precautions we take at the church to lock doors and install video cameras may seem excessive for some, but then something like this happens and we all realize that due vigilance is required, especially for those of us in urban ministry. As this story has gotten out, a LOT of my colleagues have shared similar incidents. One guy I know was chased out of St. Thomas' by a mentally disturbed person. It can happen to any of us, at any time.

The police are handling it and I suspect this person will be re-institutionalized, which is the best thing for it. I just wish that we had a better way to help the severely mentally ill than the criminal justice system. It's a shame that we've criminalized mental illness.

What concerns me now, however, is the way that this "craziness" fits a December pattern. I know a lot of other people that find this time of year very, very difficult. I, myself, find it difficult to maintain a positive attitude when I worry about the church deficit or certain parishioners that are having a hard time coping right now.

And yet there is a lot to be positive about. We recently had five new people join the church. Next week I'm going to expand the Contemplative Eucharists to Saturdays. The Women's Bible Study is flourishing. I'm thinking of starting some kind of house church event. I think most people in the parish are extremely happy with the way ministry is happening here. So why is my soul troubled?

I've wondered whether this is displaced anxiety from my coming fatherhood. Yet I was similarly anxious last December, so maybe not. And when I think of the baby I'm mostly excited. I get a lot of prayer and meditation these days, but what I experience are strong feelings of concern and love that ache with something close to nostalgia or regret, not joy and elation (as I have felt at other times). All I have to do is attend to my feelings at the Contemplative Eucharist on Wednesdays or the Healing Prayer service on Saturdays and there IT is--that feeling of December anxiousness.

The Advent Prose (Rorate Coeli) resonate remarkably well with it. We've been singing a modern English translation in place of the Gloria/Kyrie on Sundays. It's a searching, longing melody that just aches with desire for the fulfilment of God's Advent promise. "Pour down, O heavens, from above, and let the skies rain down righteousness." It's a haunting musical/liturgical meditation on the hope of the prophets. Perfect for the crazy season upon us.

-t

Tay with the Cops

This evening, after work, I went on a ride-along with the police. I showed up at 53-Division and they partnered me up with Sergeant for the rest of his shift. First, they ran my name through the computer to make sure I didn't have any outsanding warrants ("I see your house got broken into...") They gave me a bullet proof vest to wear, showed me how to use the radio in case of emergency, and basically said, "don't get shot." The Sergeants ride around on patrol, but they have a different role than the regular patrol cars. The regular cars are responding to 911 calls in order of urgency. The Sergeants respond to certain types of calls (in the case of a death, for example) to make sure that the first responders are doing things correctly. They really aren't supposed to get "in the mix" too much if they can avoid it.

Still, as we sat waiting for something interesting to come up the officer was keeping his eye out. He was running license plates from passing cars--a habit he picked up on his patrol days. He learned how to quickly type them into the police computer with one hand. The computer also has mapping software that shows where all the patrol cars are and what calls people are responding to, etc. As we were driving around a BMW went through a red light right in front of us. Of course the lights went on and we pulled the guy over.

The Sergeant explained that he rarely gives out traffic tickets, and even had to dig to find his pad, but he couldn't let such a flagrant violation go. He said the driver apologized and was gracious about excepting his $180 ticket.

The windows were down the whole time, and often we were going rather slowly. "You can drive as slow as you want; no one will say anything. It's better because if you drive too fast you can't see anything and you can't hear anything."

This officer has sharp eyes, and noticed a guy walking on the sidewalk near a liquor store that looked out of place. He immediately pulled the car around and started to pull into a parking lot after him. As he did so, he took off his seat belt. I thought that this was so he could jump out quickly, but actually, he told me, it was more because if something happened he might need to get to his "tools" quickly.

Once in the lot, we lost sight of the person of interest. When we found him again, we could see that he was wearing a blue bandana (a gang sign) and also had a black tear tattoo under his right eye. This is a gang tat, and normally it means one murder for every tear. The cop told me later that his impression was that the guy was either in a gang or crazy. As it turns out, he was a bit of both. I thought the guy might run, and so did the cop, which is why he stayed about 12 or 15 feet away from him. "If the guy runs for it, you want to be a little ways off because then you can cut the angle and get him, if you are too close then he has a head start. I was also worried that he might have a knife, because I hadn't searched him yet. This way I would have enough time to Tazer him." Having the guy sit down was also a way to make sure he didn't run. "I love that. It gives me a huge advantage."

At first the guy was indigent about being questioned by the cops. "I'm sure you get stopped like this all the time," was the response of the cop. Indeed, it turns out the guy has a criminal history and is, essentially, on parole with conditions. By this time, another cop car came up and gave some assistance searching him. The Sergeant told me later that he really expected the guy would probably have some kind of weapon on him or that he might run. I certainly noticed that the cop was very alert and never took his eyes off the guy, so neither did I. A few minutes later another patrol car swung by just to make sure the situation was under control. Neither of these cars had been requested, they just heard about it over the radio.

The story the guy gave us didn't make any sense, and the cops were pretty sure the guy was getting ready to shoplift from the local liquor place when we spotted him. He has a criminal history, but he is also mentally ill. The cops certainly thought he was crazy to be walking around in gang clothes in this neighbourhood. "Look," the Sergeant said, "any cop that doesn't stop that guy is just being lazy." Still, he hadn't done anything wrong and they let him go. Later, they entered some information about the guy into a database. "We put everything in here. We've caught murderers because someone made a note in the computer about some guy that looked suspicious."

Another call was for a man that had passed away at home. He had terminal cancer, but the cops still have to investigate. Because he is effectively a field supervisor, all the Sergeant had to do was ask some questions of the guys that were handling the case. He told me that the detectives would talk to the cops on the scene, but might not come down unless there was something suspicious. He told me that his least favorite job is death notifications. I told him about some of my experiences as a hospital chaplain, and was thankful I was just observing at the death we attended.

I got a tour of the Division HQ. Things were nicer than I expected. Computers were up to date and things looked quite professional and nice. The offices for the detectives could have been pretty much any business office. it was a relatively quiet night when I was there, but they said that it gets busier later.

One of the interesting things we spoke about was the culture shift happening as the baby-boomers retire. The job has changed a lot. "Really, I'm just a social worker with a gun." Cops today are expected to work with the community and make referrals and really do a lot of problem solving.

The Sergeant had hoped that something more dramatic would happen during the ride along, but I was satisfied that I got a sense of what my Parish area looks like from a cop's perspective. I think these sorts of experiences are important for pastoral clergy. I mean, if all you know about your parish what your congregation tells you, then you miss out on some very important aspects of the community you seek to serve.

Would I do it again? Sure! It has exciting moments and can be kind of fun. The sergeant told me that he likes doing these ride-alongs because it gives him someone to talk to!

-t

VCP Conference Comes to an End

I posted many of my thoughts coming out of the Vital Church Planting Conference over on my Mission Church Toronto Blog. One of the things I haven't unpacked yet in either blog was the workshop presented by one of the pastors (Paul Morris) of The Meeting House.
Bruxy Cavey, Teaching Pastor of The Meeting House

The Meeting House is a non-traditional church that has experienced explosive growth in Southern Ontario. They are based in Oakville, but are most famous for gathering in movie theaters all over the GTA where the Oakville sermon/teaching is presented live via satellite. They are focused on people for whom a traditional Sunday Service is irrelevant and unappealing. But don't underestimate how successful a relatively simple formula can be: their Average Sunday Attendance (ASA) is just shy of 6,000 (yes, six-thousand) in 2008 and they've been growing at a rate of 35% per year.

The most telling thing for me that Paul Morris told us is that they know their version of church has a self life. The question is not whether the Meeting House will plateau and decline, but when. They've decided that they want to be able to embrace their death when it comes, so they unafraid of talking about it now. They see this way of doing church as simply a tool which they will freely abandon when it ceases to work. Isn't that striking?

Anyway, the conference gave me a lot to think and pray about...

-t

The "Walking Sisters" Leaving Their Home

The Roman Catholic Order of nuns known as the Sisters of Mercy (RSM) are closing their 146-year-old convent in Brooklyn. The leadership of the Order decided that the $20 million price of fixing the structural and accessibility issues wasn't worth it for the 38 nuns living there.

One of the major ministries of the Convent had been an orphanage.

Thousands of children came to live with the sisters over the decades. Rather than fend for themselves as ragamuffins, they lived in tidy dormitories, supervised by two nuns and a helper. In the chapel, an ornate sanctuary of stained glass and gleaming marble, the youngest had a place of honor at the front, sitting in pews that were smaller than the rest. ...

The order’s leadership realized in the last few years that the old building presented too many obstacles for older women. An engineering study in February recommended extensive exterior renovations, removal of asbestos and rebuilding the foundation. Sister Christine McCann, the president for the region that includes the convent, said the millions of dollars needed for repairs could be better used to finance social and educational work by the order, which still has about 4,000 nuns in the United States. (source)

I've run into this order a few times over the years and always been impressed with them. These are some tough, religious ladies!

They've been leaving one-by-one or in small groups as they've been stationed in new houses or nursing homes. They've developed an interesting ritual for their departures.

By midafternoon, the remaining nuns and their guests had gathered in a circle to say goodbye to Sister Marguerite Relihan, who was moving the next day to Hartsdale, in Westchester County. The mood was subdued, with a gentle sadness in the air. They prayed for one another, and for those outside their convent who had neither home nor hope. At the end, Sister McCann dabbed holy water on Sister Marguerite’s forehead, whispered into her ear and hugged her.

“Dwell secure in his love in your new home,” the group intoned.

And out of the gathering, a voice arose.

“Marguerite!” someone said with a chuckle. “Hold on to my room until I get there.” (source)

God bless 'em. 146 years is a ripe old age for any human endeavor to reach.

-t

Fire at St. James Cathedral

I'm just hearing about it today, but apparently there was a fire last week at St. James Cathedral here in Toronto:

St. James Cathedral hit by fire

Sprinklers contain blaze at Toronto landmark
Nov 14, 2008 11:59 PM
DALE ANNE FREED
STAFF REPORTER

Church officials are praying they'll be able to open St. James Cathedral for a worship service Sunday after the Toronto landmark caught fire Friday night.

"I would anticipate so. There's just a little bit of smoke damage," said Assistant Bishop Philip Poole of the Anglican church diocese of Toronto, adding no one was injured.

The damage is estimated at $20,000.

Just half an hour before an organ recital was to begin, fire broke out in a chapel off the main entrance of the more than 200-year-old cathedral at Church and King Sts.

Assistant sexton Ross Hopkins said he saw flames licking the dark walls of the unlit and minimally furnished prayer room about 7 p.m.

Hopkins said only three people were in the cathedral at the time, himself, the organist and one seated parishioner.

"The room had been in darkness . . . I saw the flames and called 911," Hopkins told the Star. "The sprinkler system went on right away."

Ten fire trucks arrived just after 7 p.m. and 10 minutes later the fire was out, said District Toronto Fire Chief Don Beam.

"The main body of the fire was held back by the sprinkler system, said Beam, after walking through the smoke-filled cathedral to assess the damage.

"The fire is still under investigation ," he said.

Toronto Fire Capt. Mike Strapko said it's not considered a suspicious fire.

In 1849, the cathedral was destroyed by fire, according to an account of its history on its website.

A rebuilt cathedral opened in 1853. (source)

I hear that the damage was mostly limited to St. George's Chapel. Despite what this article says, the thinking right now is that this was most certainly a deliberate act of arson. Thank God it happened when people were around and able to act quickly!

It's a tough balance to provide the public free and easy access to our church buildings and yet protect the buildings from this kind of catastrophic abuse. The Cathedral seems especially vulnerable--I know of at least two other incidents where people decided to abuse the Cathedral's hospitality. In one case, some guy tried to steal the collection from a U2charist I helped organize to help in Africa. One of my clergy palls actually chased the fleeing thief down with the help of the police.

In another incident, a man sitting in the front row exposed himself to the presiding priest and had to be forcibly removed by the Sidespeople (ushers)! On the other hand, whenever I stop by the Cathedral during the day I usually find people inside praying quietly. So the balance between access and safety needs to be found.

The ideal solution is to have volunteers on hand inside the church to answer questions and keep an eye out. Less ideal, but possible, is to have video cameras out and then to have some alarms in place like museums do.

-t

The Parable of the 98 and the 2

And He told them this parable:

A shepherd has 100 sheep. Two are lost. One of these is old and ragged. His wool is thin and wiry and he will not live more than another season or two. The other lost sheep is young, strong, and fertile. Does he not leave the 98 to search for one of the two? And will he not save the old, sickly one?

I know, it seems like a false dilemma, in ministry and mission it rarely seems like we are choosing in such an abstract way to appeal to one group or another, but in reality things seem quite different.

Here's the reality. I have two or three people that call me several times a week, each week wanting my care and attention. They are both very marginalized. Yet both on the phone and in person I am able to give these people great comfort and care. It seems pretty straight forward, they need care, and within reason I give what I can.

Now, on the other hand, there are lots of ways that I could be reaching out to the high-functioning urban success stories that inhabit this neighborhood. I could offer another meditation group or set up a MOPS group or do something similar. This will take a lot of time and energy and the results are uncertain.

How do I, as a Pastor, decide where my time goes between these two things? The Gospel imperative seems to favor care to the sick, the poor, and the friendless, but I'm also told I need to "grow" the church (preferably by adding young, attractive families to the rolls).

WWJD? Perhaps he would engage the most proximate mission: reach out and heal whoever is at hand? In practice that's tough to engage, since the closest mission to hand is utterly subjective. It seems like there is so much need around me and COTM that we could engage any of them quite easily, but not all of them. How does the Holy Spirit guide us to the right mission?

I barely have a clue. Prayer, I suppose. Listening, of course. Maybe something else?

This is where ministry gets really hard--like editing, the key is choosing what gets cut out. It takes a certain courage to take something off my desk and put it in the trash can. It may be a very nice and pretty thing, but the desk is overflowing already. Many times when I pray for my ministry I pray the wisdom to have the detachment necessary let so many things (and even people) go.

-t

Baptism?

Here's one for the ain't-ministry-odd bin.

A guy comes in (without an appointment, of course) and wants to talk to me about baptism. I say "Great, have a seat." Then he explains that he grew up Muslim (in Africa) but not particularly religious. Since coming to Canada, he sees that there is truth in all religions and has found great spiritual unity with the divine power and would like to be baptized. As we explored further, he revealed that he had no interest in going to church, and had never, in fact, been in a church before that moment. Nor had he read even a small part of the Bible, but he wanted to be baptized. Why not come to church? Because Christians aren't very good people, according to what he's heard on TV. Shouldn't he come and judge for himself? No, thanks, he just wanted to be baptized and get out of here.

He is then quite mystified that I won't just baptize him right then and there. Why does it have to be on a Sunday? He doesn't want to sign up for anything--he just wants to be baptized. In fact, he tells me, he's already been baptized by the Divine Spirit. Why does he need me? Because, he says, it's important to fulfill outward appearances. Umm, huh.

So I'm at a loss with what to do with this guy. Interestingly, he seems to think he knows what Christianity is and what baptism is, and is not convinced otherwise be me. I pull out the BAS and try to walk him through the sacrament so he can understand it better, but he's not really listening to me except to find loopholes. His desire for this sacrament is totally based on a selfish desire for some metaphysical benefit that he could not describe but expects to receive.

So I'm polite and give him water to drink and suppress my frustration that this guy could be so ignorant and presumptuous. I tried to tell him a parable about how foolish it would be for me to tell him things about his home country based upon rumors I had heard--that I must listen to people like himself to know the place. He counters that rumors I have heard about his country are probably correct, and that I know all I need to know about his country. I realize, by this, that he is just playing games with me and has no interest in learning anything new--he just wants this blessing.

Stalemate. I tell him that I'm not going to baptize him today--but I exhort him to come on a Sunday and meet people and see how the church feels. He goes away utterly unchanged in his opinions. Hard not to feel like I failed to give a good account of "the hope that is in me." Sigh. They don't prepare you for this crap in seminary.

-t

Me Kilt!

Check out my new "Utilikilt." It's basically a modern, casual version of a more traditional kilt. Some of it advantages over a traditional kilt include pockets, the fact that it rides on the belt line rather than the waist line, and it's machine washable. And just look at that manly belt! Of course it's comfortable as all hell. I'm not surprised, I've long since discovered how great Cassocks are.

From the Wikipedia article on the subject:

Utilikilt's commercial success is primarily from word of mouth, as the company does not pay for product placement or commercial endorsement and eschews professional models in favor of photos of actual customers. Despite this low-key approach, they grew from sales of 750 kilts their first year to over 11,000 three years later. The company received a big boost in recognition after Richard Hatch donned a Utilikilt on-screen in Survivor: All-Stars. (source)

I haven't tried mine with a clerical shirt, yet, but I'm sure it will look as good as it will feel. Ah, freedom, my brothers!

-t

Holy Week

Well, we are about to tip over the edge of Holy Week into the down-hill slide towards the resurrection. I find that this is usually a very difficult time of the year. Even before I worked in the church, I found that the last few days before the Triduum bleak. The weird thing is that it seems to be something in the whole universe that makes it feel that way, not merely my own interior goings-on. I remember the Lent I spent at Holy Cross many years ago when I had a big tiff with another resident of the monastery. It was really a silly little argument that we resolved the next day, but it fit with the whole depressing mood of the place and we went deep into Good Friday. Yuck. And as recently as last year I felt terrible at this time. This year I'm not feeling particularly good, either. I'm sick of the snow and sick of Lent and tired and blah, blah, blah. Easter can't come fast enough.

Today I worked a bunch of minor projects, including sorting through a bunch of old e-mail and having lunch with a colleague from a nearby church. Of course we talked about church and evangelism and mission and all that good stuff. We each went away having learned something new, which is exactly what I think we were both hoping for.

In particular, she mentioned something called "MOPS"--Mothers of Preschoolers. It's an ministry designed to meet the needs of young families by providing a place for mothers to gather and share community. From their website:

A MOPS group is a dynamic, inviting environment where women can come-just as they are to build friendships, be encouraged and gain practical parenting strategies. All while their children are lovingly cared for in the MOPPETS program.

What makes MOPS outreach approach unique?
At MOPS International, we believe in the model of lifestyle evangelism - that through meeting the needs of women, we demonstrate the love of Jesus for them in the following ways:

* Teaching and encouraging women about issues that are relevant to their stages of life
* Sharing our faith through actions and the way we live
* Taking the opportunity at least twice a year to present the gospel

How will I see MOPS directly impact growth in my church?
Moms who normally wouldn’t go to church will often join a MOPS group. In this season of early mothering, the need for practical help and spiritual hope, provides the chartering church with an opportunity to meet the long-term needs of the mom and her family. Through practical experience and training, MOPS gives women opportunities to develop their leadership skills to go on to serve in leadership positions in their churches, communities and places of work.

Intriguing, heh? I'll float some trial balloons with some of the mothers in the parish and see what they think of this.

-t

Lent 5 Sermon

I went much longer than usual: almost 20 minutes! Maybe I was just reflecting having heard John preach last week. Or maybe I simply had a lot to say this morning...

-t

Devo-to-Go Podcast

Trolling the web for nuggets of religious/spiritual wisdom as a I do a few times a week, I found the "Devo-To-Go Podcast" put out by the Episcopal Campus Ministry at GSU. Check out this fascinating exploration of the Annunciation Story (Luke 1:26-38). If you've ever imagined the Holy Spirit singing Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" to Mary at that fateful moment, then this will appeal to you! Very hip Christianity.

-t

My Horoscope

I don't believe in Horoscopes, but I did find this one that appeared under my sign (Cancer) in Now Magazine amusing:

You worked your ass off in 2007. Am I right, my fellow Cancerian? In fact, you threw yourself into your hard labours with so much dutiful fervour that you sometimes lost sight of the fact that they were mostly just preparation for bigger and better assignments. Luckily for you, I’m here to snap you out of your amnesia. Please begin immediately to formulate a vision of how you will make the transition to those bigger and better assignments.

Bigger and better assignments, heh? I wonder if that means spending the first few months of 2008 getting the Centre for Children's Faith Formation up and running? It's an ambitious project that could really put us on the map if I do it right. I have in mind the sort of thing done by The Children’s Mission of St. Paul & St. James, New Haven. From their website:

Founded in 1995 as a ministry of the Episcopal Church of St. Paul and St. James, the Children's Mission reaches out to city children and their families with hope and help. In our varied programs we seek to enrich children's lives through books and stories, art and music, liturgical worship, cooperative learning, loving adult attention, and table fellowship, and to make available to them and their families the parish's resources of faith, celebration, pastoral care, support and love.

We offer four major programs to city children, focusing on ages 3-10:
• Mustardseed Club: a secular story hour that meets in the sanctuary during the Saturday Loaves and Fishes food pantry
• Light and Peace: a simple Compline (evening worship) service for children followed by craft time and supper
• Light and Peace Summer Program: three week afternoon summer program of friendship, crafts, singing, games, stories, worship and food
• Mustardseed Afternoon Club: an after-school enrichment program providing academic enrichment in a safe and structured environment five days a week

Of course I don't want to reproduce this at COTM--but it does give me the sense that something like this possible, even for a pastoral-sized congregation. All it really needs is some ambition and good Christian leadership.

And yet God knows there's plenty of other stuff for me to address. Today I've got the roofer coming to look at a minor leak we are having. And then there are the Christmas services to do. And of course I have barely begun planning for Lent! Ahhgg!

-t

St. Bart's in the NYT

St. Bart's, NYC, is one of these parishes that people talk about a lot as an example of how to renew/rebuild an urban church. Today the Rector, Bill Tully, was profiled in the NY Times. From the article:

His very first Sunday sermon at St. Bart’s was, in a word, lonely. In a space designed to accommodate 1,300 worshipers, there were perhaps 200. Extinction not only seemed a real possibility; in a sad way it seemed to make sense, even to him. “I didn’t want to be known for being the rector of a fancy landmark and nothing more.” Mr. Tully came to the instant revelation that if reinvention was in the cards, putting new people in the pews was paramount. “A theology of radical welcome was what we needed,” he says. “Because there is no parish here in the traditional sense of a residential neighborhood, we had to become a destination church. We are loose around the edges, but solid at the core. This is a thinking person’s church.”

Now that he has grown the numbers and has a good corp of people, he has started to raise the money to repair the facilities--that will take about $100 Million. His first phase is only $30 Million, but still inconceivable by the standards of most Canadian Anglican churches. And yet he's already well on his way.

One of the comments that my Canadian colleagues always make when discussing St. Bart's is something like, "Americans aren't afraid to ask for money." And I think they may be pointing to one difference between American and Canadian Church culture, but at the heart of it I think a more profound difference is evident: American churches are more entrepreneurial in character. "Radical" initiatives of the type that made St. Bart's successful are simply more common and better accepted in the ECUSA than the ACC.

This pattern is shifting. There is a lot of talk in ministry circles about being being more entrepreneurial. That means taking risks and being creative and spending resources without a guaranteed return. I know of only a few churches in this diocese that seem to be doing that (I'd rather not name them here). And it also requires a very new kind of pastoral leader:

Only an outside-the-steeple thinker whose idea of a religious experience is donning cycling Spandex for a full-throttle 12-mile bike ride through Central Park at daybreak could be unfazed about raising $30 million — in phase one — in the current fiscal climate. So far, his parish has come up with $15 million; corporate donations, led by a $1 million gift from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, have yielded just over $2 million. Progress.

This is not your grandfather's parish priest--nor am I. Pastoral leadership that is capable of this kind of transformation requires a certain amount of edgy gumption. I'm sure that means that people like Billy Tully are weak in other areas. And I'm sure there are lots of faithful disciples out there who won't gain much from his leadership--but he sure has done a remarkable thing at St. Bart's.

I think it's a mistake when looking at examples of good clerical leadership to focus too much on what was done or even how it was done. The more fruitful question to ask is about the character of someone like Billy Tully. What sort of person is he? How does he live? What does he care about. Where does he spend his time? And so forth. Alas, a short profile in the New York Times won't help me much in this regard.

Another church that gets talked about a lot is St. Gregory of Nyssa in San Francisco. I see that they are hosting a conference on leadership in late January. I'm tempted to go--it seems right where I am. As usual, though, much will depend on the timing of things.

-t

The New Conspirators

My cousin a few times removed sent me a link to The New Conspirators conference happening is Seattle in late February. This looks to be a very interesting event to explore the Emerging Church and other efforts to find a new and authentic gospel expression in our age. And it's in Seattle, which is where I was born and have visited many times. I'm sure I'd come away pretty excited by the possibilities.

-t

Urban Ministry

Here's a picture that helps remind me that I really am doing urban ministry....The door to the alley behind the church
It says "Jesus Freak."

It's easy to forget that we are near the heart of a huge metropolis--much of Toronto feels less "cityish" than many of the other places I've lived (like Los Angeles or even New Haven). I've heard some other people living in Toronto say the same thing--something about how spread out things seem to be.

Today I had a conversation with someone who decided to convert to the Roman Catholic church from the Anglicans. She said that the Anglicans are not "clear" enough about what we believe. She said that we tend to try to make room for everyone, and that she wants her child to grow up with a laid out and defined set of beliefs. I suppose if that's what she wants than she is not far off the mark, we Anglicans are notoriously slippery on doctrinal matters. It's one of our great strengths, actually. The focus of defining churches according to doctrinal stands is really, in my opinion, a product of the reformation. It leads to a very head-oriented kind of Christianity. Yet Jesus was no systematic theologian. His ecclesiology had more in common with the Emerging Church Movement than the mainline traditions (IMHO). Anyway, I'm a big-tent kind of Anglican--but just how big should the tent be? Whom to do we exclude? There was a famous ethicist who searched for something that everyone could agree was wrong. What he came up with was "killing babies for no reason." Indeed, I think we can all agree that's outside the Anglican tent. But what about people that don't believe that Jesus was Divine? Or that Mary was a Virgin? Etc., etc. There is no answer to this--just the observation...

I'm seriously interested in adopting a new cat--but Betsy quite reasonably thinks we should wait until after the BSC. Sometimes the best part of a project like this is the expectation....

Had a good lesson with Halley today. she's pleased with my progress. Right now I'm comfortable between A below middle C and middle C. Beyond that I tire out very quickly. So Halley worked with me on focusing on relaxing all my muscles except the ones actually involved in singing. It's hard not to scrunch up your eyebrows or frown your lips when reaching for that high note. Relaxing into it requires a lot of concentration. Reminded me of meditation.

Mom comes tomorrow. That should be a good time!

-t