Developing a Missional Imagination

In early February, over ninety Anglicans joined together online for the first Missional Imagination conference. Of those who participated, one third were from the Diocese of Kootenay. 

The conference was directed towards resourcing lay people and clergy who are sensing God’s invitation to explore creative approaches to mission. Whether they know what they're being called into, or they feel uncertain about the next steps to take, the conference was designed to provide a framework as well as a variety of stories from  practitioners to help inspire and to provide new ways of addressing the challenges of being church in this time and place. 

The imagination on offer was about more than updating liturgy or changing service music. In fact, neither were mentioned by presenters at any time during the conference.

Liturgy is vital to the church's mission. Prayer is central to our faith. And yet we are in an age when so few people have heard the story of Jesus. We live in a time when decreasing numbers of our neighbours know what is to be found beyond the doors that separate the world from the church.

If people don't know anything about us, the God we serve, or our own stories of transformation, why would they come? Sure, there's the prompting of the Holy Spirit. And that does happen.

But here's a question: How many folks are going to suddenly find themselves interested in something they don't know about, that nobody talks to them about?

How long will we assume that "Christianity is in the air" and folks are just itching to come back, if only we'd fix the liturgy or play the music that younger generations want to hear? 

To assume that folks are waiting to come back to something they've never experienced is to delude ourselves about our current time and place in history. For decades we relied on attractional models of church. That model relied on the existence of a Christian consciousness within our communities, and throughout the land. Such consciousness is all but gone. 

To move forward, we need to look back to a much earlier time, as when St. Paul writes to the church in Rome:

But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent?  (10:14-15)

Liturgy and prayer are vital and central precisely because they sustain and enliven the faithful as we seek to participate in God's mission, which is always for the life of the world. This is a message proclaimed and embodied amongst those who have not yet heard (let alone experienced) the Good News we are daily meeting in Jesus.

All of which is to say that we are those being sent.

This isn't the priest's job-something they are to do on our behalf. This is our shared ministry, by virtue of baptism. 

Because our participation in God's mission takes us beyond our comfort zone, out into the world, we need to deepen our reliance on God and one another. We need to develop and nurture our imaginations. We need to practice what it means to be brave in our interactions with others. As one of the presenters shared, "it's difficult relating to people: that's a given." Once we've accepted this, we need to figure out how we might respond to God and our neighbours in faith. 

Conference speakers bore witness to the ways God invites us out into the neighbourhoods where we live, where we work, where we relate, where we tend, where we care, where we volunteer, where we pray, and where we worship. 

In a presentation during Thursday’s opening session, the Rev. Michael Garner from St. Albans Anglican Church in Ottawa, Ontario, spoke about the importance of deep listening to God and to the needs of our neighbours. He called the congregation's approach Action Listening: 

Michael began his story by relating how when his parish council meets, they spend the majority of time in prayer. Indeed, prayer is central not only to the worship life, but also the "business" of St. Albans. Members of St. Albans’ parish council are expected to engage in daily prayer focused on the life and ministry of the congregation. And so, when the council meets, they bookend their gatherings in communal prayer. In the middle, each individual shares what they have been hearing in their prayer for the congregation. In light of all that they are hearing, the council seeks to discern the congregation’s next faithful steps. 

Action Listening relies on this foundation of prayer, but is not afraid to act in response to the needs that members of the congregation, and their leadership discover. Where as Anglicans, we can often listen, and listen, and listen, never ready to act, Rev. Garner shared the importance of bravely taking small steps with the information at hand to respond to the community around them. For St. Albans, such Action Listening has led to the University inviting the congregation to provide monthly meals in one of the residences with the highest incidence of food insecurity. 

Pastor Beth Carlson-Malena shared her experiences co-planting the Open Way Community in Vancouver.

Open Way is a community that developed out of a specific need for folks she had met in the queer community for a congregation where they would be fully welcome for who they are. For those who had been raised in an Evangelical tradition where there was no room for them, there was a growing need for a congregation that would embrace them, and would be a place where they might explore their discipleship in the way of Jesus, together.

Beth's story reminded me how far we have to go towards the full embrace of all God’s children in our church communities. It reminded me of how existing ministries need to change. I was also reminded of the need for new ministries to emerge. I was reminded of the importance of having ministries led by people and groups historically underrepresented in church leadership, especially folks who have been historically marginalized by the church.   

Throughout Beth's talk, I was refreshed by her commitment to partnership and celebration. I was inspired by the way in which each of the three pastors (all part time) contribute from their strengths to lead the community. I loved hearing about their commitment to partnerships - including their partnership with the local Anglican church who offers them space. From the beginning, the Priest at St. Margaret's Cedar Cottage told Beth and the community that she wasn't looking for renters. She was looking for a community with whom to partner. That vision of a mutually transformative partnership across denominational lines in which there might be new life and abundance for both communities was inspiring.   

Musician and United Church music minister Drew Brown spoke to the importance of Creativity, Listening, and the Prophetic Imagination.

Drawing out the idea of church as Beloved Community as developed by Martin Luther King Jr., Drew shared a quote from bell hooks, one of King's students:  

"Beloved community is formed not by the eradication of difference but by its affirmation, by each of us claiming the identities and cultural legacies that shape who we are and how we live in the world."

To cultivate beloved community, there needs to be space for each one, in all of our peculiarities and particularities at the table. Drawing inspiration from hooks, Brown shared stories from his life to illustrate this point.

He spoke of gathering with neighbours in the local park, and on his front porch, envisioning a neighbourhood that embodies their deepest shared values. He spoke of how folks gather on his porch at Hallowe'en to dream up the year ahead. Sitting there in the twilight, they imagine ways of enacting  this vision: block parties, neighbourhood gatherings, breaking down the loneliness of modern life. How?

Brown shared this: "We dream. We pray. We pray 'OK God, do your thing,' and then we act.'"

One day after school in the local park, he was compelled to tap another father on the shoulder, asking if he wanted to meet up at the local pub for wings after putting the kids to bed. The look of surprise, and then a Yes. He asked another, and then another. By the time 8.00pm rolled around over twenty men had gathered in the local pub.

It was a vulnerable ask--one that led to laughter and tears, new relationships formed, and others deepened. With each step, each interaction, an opportunity and invitation to contribute to the building of God’s beloved community by fighting off the loneliness of modernity in favour of vulnerable connection.

Over the course of the conference, there were so many incredible presenrtations, each of them gift. My hope is that in the coming weeks, we will be able to post them online and share them with all who want to hear. 

At the heart of each presentation was the reminder to listen deeply to God and to our neighbours. At their core, the commitment to taking small responsive steps in faith, hope, and love. Each person, in their story, bore witness to the centrality of Fidelity to Christ, Prophetic Imagination, and Brave Steps.

Isn't this what the world needs? 

I mean, I sure think so, but I'm never quite sure what others think. At the end of the conference, a few questions loomed large for me: 

Do we believe that this news is good enough to share? If we don't believe it to be good, why do we stick around? And, if we do believe that this news is truly good, what brave vulnerable steps are we willing to take?