Inherited and New Monasticism, with Sister CJ, SSJD

Bishop Linda asked me to record this excellent presentation by Sister Constance Joanna (most of us call her "CJ") of the Sisterhood of St. John the Divine about the history of Monasticism and how it relates to some new movements in the emerging church. SSJD is making some interesting adaptations, itself, to the changes in the church. If you are a woman who wishes to experience the monastic life without necessarily making a life-time commitment, check out their new Companions Program starting this fall. From the website:

The Sisters of Saint John the Divine invite women between the ages of 22 and 40 to explore an expression of new monasticism rooted in the Anglican tradition. Companions will develop a rhythm of life including public and private prayer, engage in service to others, and learn to live in intentional community.... Room and board are provided, and most living expenses are covered by the Sisterhood. Companions, in turn, use their gifts to share in the work of ministry and have the same free time, retreat opportunities, and vacation as the Sisters. (source)

My spirituality has been greatly enriched by my relationship with a monastic community (The Order of the Holy Cross), and I commend it to anyone wishing to go deeper in faith and spirit.

Appreciative Inquiry in the Diocese of Toronto

Here is a quick video from last week's training session in Appreciative Inquiry...



-t

Comings and Goings

What is Tay up to? Tay is pushing himself hard to get as much done as humanly possible on many simultaneous fronts. That means I am violating the very important spiritual principle of Sabbath (or, in Benedictine terms, "Holy Leisure"). It's not at all sustainable, but this seems like such a critical time in the life of my parish that I simply can't bear to let the opportunities pass.

On my mind: Natural Church Development. Our church did an NCD survey a few weeks ago to get a snapshot of the congregational dynamic. The parish's NCD leadership team got the first view of the results, and I have been processing that. The congregation will get to see the full results in a few weeks, in the mean time I've been studying and thinking about the profile. The biggest surprise so far, my people don't know how to relate the bible to their 6-day-a-week faith. So that gives me something to work on! Incarnating faith.

This past Saturday I went to the parish work day. Once upon a time, before I came to Messiah, they had a hard time getting volunteers to take care of the grounds around the church. Now we organize half-day work events two or three times a year. The main objective of this last weekend was to get the place ready for winter. I took charge of making sure the burned-out light bulbs were replaced.

A word about light bulbs for all you church nerds out there. You are far better off getting your light bulbs from the sort of place that sells to electricians and contractors than from a place meant for consumers like Rona or Home Depot or Canadian Tire. Electrical supply places have a much better selection and are much more informed about the products. I went ahead and replaced our "Par 38" Incandescents with the same, but I also got a CFL version to experiment with. But what I really have my eye on is an LED bulb. These are expensive, but last a long, long time. And after you've been on top of our mega-tall forty-foot ladder you begin to see the wisdom of LED! LED lighting is definitely the future.

In truth, I find the interior of my church too dark, especially at night, and I look forward to getting better lighting someday. It's right up there with getting the interior repainted.

Anyway, back to the work day. I was pleased by the turnout. We had lots of people and therefore made fast work out of everything we tackled. We were finished on time to have lunch at noon and then I did my usual services.

We did not have high hopes for Sunday. The Toronto Marathon was this Sunday and the route surrounds the church on three sides, making access very, very difficult. So we were pleasantly surprised that our attendance was relatively good. First time visitors made the difference, and I can't wait to see if they come back!

Indeed, the service had a great vibe. People have settled into the square layout nicely and it was used to full advantage. I even did an impromptu dramatized Gospel Reading to start my sermon that worked very, very well. (Yep, I'm already thinking of ways to deal with the scripture-relevance issue). Circumambulating around the altar as I preach feels natural, and I love the way the community sounds me for the Eucharist. Just brilliant.

The next challenge is to adapt this for the upcoming Holocaust Education Week event on November 7th. We won't be celebrating the Eucharist as part of the main service that day in deference to our Jewish guests (last year we had the disconcerting experience of seeing half of them leave at the Peace!). So having the altar in the centre just doesn't make a lot of sense. Instead we are doing Morning Prayer, adapted. Hmm.

I felt that my sermon was strong and all the other pieces, including the music, were just great. Thumbs up all around.

Monday I was running around doing church stuff most of the day, even though it is my day off. For instance, I bought a bunch of stuff at Home Depot to organize the maintenance closet at the church. Peg board, hangers, a tool box, etc. I know this seems like a strange thing for the Rector to be concerned with, but it's precisely this kind of detail that populates the positive edge of the bell curve of ministry excellence. That closet has been a mess for three years--enough with that!

Today (Monday) I got up early to head up to the SSJD Convent for training in Appreciative Inquiry. Appreciative Inquiry is a process for organizational development that fits into parish work and pastoral care quite well. Basically,
it gives practitioners a paradigm to structure dialogue in a way most conducive to the desired outcomes. Perhaps after I'm finished with the training (Thursday afternoon) I'll have time to write more about it.

So another day-and-a-half of training to go. Then back-to-back meetings on Friday. At least I was smart enough not to schedule myself to preach this Sunday!

-t

Wardens' Retreat

30 The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught.
31 He said to them, "Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while." For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.
32 And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. (Matthew 6:30-32)

Yesterday I took the COTM Wardens for an all-day retreat at SSJD. As it happened, it was also the Feast of the Visitation of Elizabeth to the BVM, so I was pleased to get my Marion fix while I was there. We arrived in time for Morning Prayer. Had two sessions after that, and then broke for Eucharist and Dinner (Lunch), and then had another session together after that.

Here's a learning: it's easy to over prepare for this kind of thing. That is, I went in a bit anxious about how it would go, so I planned out some stuff ahead of time. Most of that went out the window as soon as we started talking--and the results were better than my plans. So beware of over planning something like this.

As it was, it was plenty to do to spend the first session talking about own spiritual well-being, the second on the church's, and the third on plans and priorities for the next year. I think we came away with a better sense of each other and some ideas about next steps for the church.

SSJD, btw, was an excellent host as always. They told us the rules, put out the coffee and cookies, and left us alone--precisely what we needed!

-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

Evening Prayer with the Sisters

So, I did make it to the Covent yesterday and had a nice Evening Prayer with the sisters. Of course, it took me more than 45 minutes to get a half-hour service, but prayer is a precious thing that is worth sacrifice. Being there reminded me of just what a treat it is to pray the Office with a community that it does it so richly. After the Office one of the sisters came up and told me that she was glad that I came. Me, too. Now I just have to visit Holy Cross's house more often...

On another note entirely, here's an amusing clip about an aspergance gone wrong...


Via Eva from Gloria.Tv

Otherwise, today was another busy day. Among other things, I'm learning more about residential furnace systems than I ever cared to...
-t

Response...

Today was incredibly busy. It started off with the "Tradcom" (BCP) service in the morning. It went extremely well--certainly my preaching was better at this Tradcom than at the previous ones. I'm definitely finding my preaching groove again. Now that I'm preaching pretty much every Sunday I expect to things to heat up nicely. I'm already thinking some good thoughts about Baptism of the Lord this Sunday.

After the Mass we had lunch. After lunch I was inundated with important yet tedious administrative stuff--much of it involving property maintenance issues and coordinating various tradespeople. It's easy to get overwhelmed.

So that's it; I've had enough. Today is the day I go to the Convent to pray Evening Prayer with the Sisters. I've been putting it off long enough. I'll blame Bishop Johnson's note!

-t

Advent III

Well, the horrendous snow kept most people away from church this morning. I think we were lucky to get the 31 brave souls who did manage the trip. Such a small crowd produced a very intimate feeling liturgy, but I was disappointed by my sermon.

It's weird. I prepared well. I read the scriptures and then the commentaries and even five or six sermons written by others. Then I ruminated on those ideas for several days and came up with some decent nuggets. This morning I rounded all that work out with a long (at least an hour) meditation in the shower. I felt like I had a decent sermon by the time I walked down the hill to COTM. And yet somehow in the delivery I failed to find the sweet spot where my gospel-passion meets the pastoral relationship. Bummer. I blame myself. I think it's a symptom of my own failure to live on my spiritual edge. That is, I'm not really pushing myself to the places where my most vital spiritual growth will happen. It's very hard to preach my style of sermon when you're not living a spiritually adventurous lifestyle, if that makes sense.

I know what I need to do. I need to make time to go up to the Convent for Offices. I need to pray with the nuns. I need to let the rhythm of the Daily Offices take over for a while. Sr. Anitra, after hearing me pour my heart out about my need to find that spiritual edge again, said simply, "Come to the Convent for the Offices. Expect nothing." It was that second part--"Expect nothing"--that really rang the bell. As soon as the words escaped her mouth I knew them to be true.

I regularly thank the Holy Spirit for giving us these kinds of encounters....

"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