Want an Assignment?

Another part of what I'm about in these weeks (see further down to understand that "another")is looking at other congregations that are similar to MPC that seem to be "getting it".

Interesting fact #1 is that congregations of the size of MPC (both in terms of membership and attendance) are pretty rare in the PCUSA, and when you add the factor of the church's commitment to mission as witnessed by its support of denominational ministry, the number shrinks considerably. I've come up with 14-16 churches that meet MPC on that matrix of membership and mission giving.

So here's an assignment for any who might like! Most of those churches have websites. If you choose to accept it, look them up, rummage around, and then in one way or another, let us know what you think! This is similar to the church visits that the Sabbatical team is about, but it lets you come along from the comfort of your computer screen--so click away, and let us know your impressions:

First Presbyterian Church, Stamford, CT

www.fishchurch.org

First Presbyterian Church, Cedar Rapids, IA

www.fpccr.org

Blacksburg Presbyterian Church, Blacksburg, VA

www.blacksburgpres.org

Wallingford Presbyterian Church, Wallingford, PA

www.wallingfordpres.org

St. Philip Presbyterian Church, Houston, TX

www.saintphilip.net

Troy Presbyterian Church, Troy, OH

www.fpctroy.org

First Presbyterian Church, Tupelo, MS

www.fpctup.org

Immanuel Presbyterian Church, Milwaukee, WI

www.immanuelwi.org

First Presbyterian Church, Decatur, IL

www.firstpresdecatur.org

First Presbyterian Church, Greer, SC

www.greerfpc.org

Danville Presbyterian Church, Danville, KY

www.presbydan.org

First Presbyterian Church, Hartsville, SC

www.firstpreshart.org

Government Street Presbyterian Church, Mobile, AL

www.gspcmobile.org

Happy hunting!

Rounding the Post

Sorry it's been so long since posting--this sabbatical has now entered a very different phase, as the meeting of wonderful and exotic places and welcoming and delightful people has given way to a parade of ideas, as I've "read around" in things I think might move me along the larger project of how we're called to be the Church of Jesus Christ.

Jeremy Begbie continues to exercise the greatest influence on my mind right now, in his book, "Theology, Music and Time." This is a VERY dense book, which makes posting on it something of a challenge--talking about it assumes a level of competence with the ideas that I'm not sure I can claim! Suffice it to say you're glad THIS was not one of the books I suggested to the congregation--unless you're interested in an immersion in music theory and practice in the 20th century and its theological implications.

But, I'll try! The idea that rings through the book for me is that one of the things in this 21st century world that surrounds us that is most out of whack is the way in which we understand and dwell in time. Simply put, we live in a world in which time is understood to be a scarce commodity--worth fighting for and trying to hoard. Begbie argues that music gives us a way into understanding that from a theological perspective, time is neither a commodity nor scarce. It is, rather, a gift which enfolds us, and encircles us, and gives us the space within which we can live our lives in the presence of God.

Boy, THAT needs more working out! But the way it's been processed in my little brain is that maybe one of the most important things the church has to offer the world around is a DIFFERENT way of being in time: one that is GRACIOUS; one that understands that the time that the clock can measure is, in the end, the most trivial kind of time there is--a way of being in time that does not view others as a threat, but as a gift (listen, here, for overtones of the questions of hospitality and community that started this dance!)

I think of the powerful image that Frederick Bueckner invokes in his autobiographical remembrance of the day his father took his own life, and how, in an instant, time was transformed for him--from an endless and open presence to "hanging on as the horse charges toward the end."

What would a church look like that truly understood its ministry in the world as a ministry of "taking time for each other"? Discipleship, community, commitment, and yes, surrender, become important criteria.....I dunno--just thinking!

Freedom's Just Another Word

A week has passed since last post, and it's been a week of regaining bearings, catching up, and relaxing a bit, as well. The major journeys of this time apart are now past, and the next 6-7 weeks are intended to be a time to think, read, and put the many pieces of this jigsaw into some sort of order.

We all, of course, celebrated the 4th of July--Independence Day--and I had at least in the corner of my mind the delightful Bobby who chided us outside the parliament building "if you all hadn't been so uppity there in Boston, YOU could be part of this, too!"

I found myself thinking about St. Augustine, and his understanding of the truest form of human freedom being nothing more or less than conforming our human will to the will of God. That, of course, is about the opposite of what I suspect the common definition of freedom was among those who celebrated the 4th (and the 2nd, and the 3rd, and the 5th!) thinking that freedom 1. Is my ability to do what I want, and 2. If God has any place in this, it should be in shifting the world around so that what I want is a little easier for me.

Am I being to cynical, or has freedom become, in Janice Joplin's words, "nothing left to lose"? A hammer with which we can shape the world to the form of our choosing? It's Florence, and the Medicis who come to mind now, and the amazing collections of the Vatican Museum. So much of what is now for us a true treasure of art was assembled in order to assert a particular order on the world around them. Freedom--if it was an important word at the time--was the ability to control the forces in the world in your favor.

But what might it mean if our deepest and fullest freedom comes when we give ourselves over to God and find ourselves in a community of shared value in which each person's first responsibility is to look after the other?

The thought that crossed my mind as I watched skyrockets burst in the night sky is that this community of shared value would really be a perpetual motion machine--no fuse to light, no time at which the last shell would burst and we'd all go home. If I'm concerned for my neighbor, and my neighbor's concerned for me, there's ALWAYS a light on! And if, as Jesus insisted, my neighbor is only and always the one whose need is present to me, then this community of shared value (done correctly) is always growing, moving, shifting its focus beyond itself, as well. Its boundaries cannot be fixed by doctrines, or theological positions, but only by the OTHER, and specifically, that Other's deep need.

Alexis de Tocquville said that the thing that made this nation unique (this was back in the 1800's) was its combination of fierce individualism and deeply held civic responsibility. Many commentators on de Tocquville in the past ten years have noted that the fierce individualism is doing just fine, but we seem to be losing that sense of civic responsibility. I still see enough signs of hope and promise to be skeptical of their conclusions, but I see what makes them wonder. Freedom, unbounded, as Augustine understood, is just another form of slavery, and far more destructive, because you end up a slave to your own shifting appetites and desires.

So, happy 4th! Let freedom RING!