musings on the emerging church

It seems to me now that to be a blogger you have to blog. Christmas services now loom for me at St Hilda's. 3 on Sunday; 2 on Monday and 2 on Christmas Day. Then a week in Broome, in the North West of Western Australia - yeh.

Having spent three years in this parish i realise i am only just stracting the surface when it comes to changing the church around to a missional footing. Plans for 2008 include a four prong approach.

1) Continue to offer different services. So far we have Taize and Evensong up and running on a Sunday night. Plan to run an 'Iona' based service as well as a creative 'compline' service to round out the month of evening services. I will also continue to sharpen up our morning liturgies. The real question is hospitality to children and whether this means a once a month saturday service?

2) Continue work on renovations to hall and toilets. This has run on too long but finally we are getting a little traction and hope to have this finished early 2008. This will mean better facilities and Much Better STORAGE - so as to clear the junk from the church - YEH

3) Continue to offer strong Adult faith formation programmes.

4) Work on developing community in and being community for North Perth.

Already a huge agenda.

It has taken too long for this 40 year old priest with a heart for the post-modern church to get his church a bit post-modern even with a web page. Anyway here it is: www.northperth.perth.anglican.org check it out

Since my last post over 6 months ago i have accepted a position as parish priest at st hilda's anglican church, north perth, western australia.

having recovered from the shock of being in a parish after an absence of 6 years i have only now found the time to return to regular blogging.

it seems to me that congregations are on the whole eager for change if only to give them a sense of being okay about the future. the problem arises in that we don't have creative enough imaginations to visualise a future in the liquid c21.

case in point - my church has a web page but it is infact really just a pew sheet stuck in cyberspace. it's like people thought we needed one, so anything would do; now it's there and unless i the leader push hard (against my nature) it will not be updated

anyway, now that i am back i hope to catch up with old friends

ps - found a really good prayer that i now use before every sermon.

O Saviour Christ, in whose way of love lies the secret of all life and the hope of all people. We did not choose to be born or to live in such an age but let its problems challenge us; its discoveries exhilarate us; its injustices anger us; its possibilities inspire us and its vigor renew us. For your kingdom's sake. Amen

I haven't had a lot of time to blog recently since I got back from my trip. With my boss about to retire I have been involved in a lot of farewell functions for him (Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia)

We are having our General Synod of the national church in a couple of weeks and I am responsible for the worship. I am planning to expose the church to some of the stuff I have experienced around the world. I will keep u posted.

However, tomorrow I have to present a workshop for churches in our central region on IT and how it can be used in a parish setting and that made me think of blogging and so I am back on line.

I think one of the tensions about the 'emerging' stuff all around the world is how much is actually 'new' or is it the case that we are just doing what everyone has done for pretty much the last 2000 years - and that is making the gospel fit the culture.

ie is it a new gospel or is it the old gospel in new wineskin?

i think the evangelicals among us and maybe others would say it is the gospel in new wineskins but i want to push them and say it really is a new word from the Lord (so to speak) and that the gospel is different.

just been reading a lecture given by david tacey (melbourne lecturer and writer. u should read his book 'reenchantment' fantastic. anyway - just found the following summary useful

"the task of religion, i believe, is to re-position itself as a vital resource for spirituality. it can no longer compete with spirituality, which is today by far the bigger force. instead of competing, it has to re-fashion itself as an aid, a support, and a contributor to the spiritual jouney. this is the only way forward, in my estimation: reliion needs to translate its language, and transform itself. it must make itself more accessible, unwrap spirit from dogma, and make it freely available to the people. to do this, it would have to translate its theology into a new language that people can understand..."

i wonder whether this translation job that tacey mentions actually changes the message?

just wondering...

i have been impressed with the 'living room' established by karen and co (COTA)in seattle. (see it at www.livingroomseattle.org )

it makes me think and ask the question:is this the new church

ie provide an all round space which the new church is but one part of, or even sponsers the space. it seems that it creates an interest among people; creates a neutral space inwhich people feel comfortable with out feeling that the 'church' is trying to grab them or convert them or even sell them 'religion'

too many of the cafes and coffeeshops set up by the evangelicals seem to do just that - entice or bait and swap.

however, in england i dont see this development happening - it still seems to be mother church providing space for emerging church to form under its wings (once mother hated her young now she seems to be wanting them back in the nest!!) there doesnt appear to be any other space established apart from the 'come and experience' the numinous!

what do others think?

here in Aus we dont have that many to make the distinction but i think we are more the UK rather than US model!?

cheers

karen @ kangaroo and kiwi pub in seattle
karen ward @ kangaroo and kiwi pub, seattle

while recently away i managed to take about 5 hours of video of the places where i visited. (including a really good interview with karen ward) i have started to edit this stuff and was wondering whether anybody knew how to get a video on to a web page or blog.? i need help!

have arrived back home after a whirlwind three weeks around the world.all up i was able to experience 'church of the apostles' and 'quest' in seattle; 'st bartholomew's episcopal church' in new york; and 'st luke's west holloway', 'grace' and 'moot' while in london.

i suppose there are many insights concerning the emerging church and i will endeaver to ponder them here over the next month or so. it does seem the main point to reflect upon is the question of 'mission' for 'alt worship groups'. this was on the agenda at 'grace' where they grilled the bishop (bishop pete) last sunday. after a brief chat about the report on mission from the CofE, pete asked 'grace' about how it was missional. as i have posted elsewhere this is the question (is it a first order or second order question?)

also, it seemed from the point of view of the report and the bishop that the CofE wanted to reclaim 'emerging church' and legitmise it as an option along side 'solid church!

others would claim that 'emerging church' is really showing the 'modern church' what it needs to do and change in order to be culturally relevant.

it seems 'moot' are on about this rather than just being a place for disaffected postmods to find a place relevant for them.

i will have to spend some time doing the translation for this into the australian context. more to come...

after a shocking flight from nyc i am here in london over the weekend til i fly back to australia on mon.

conference at st barts nyc was overall okay and in parts excellent. in terms of the five worships offered there is not anything a well versed alt.worship person would find interesting. standing around the altar, co-celebration very good.

what did make me think is the notion of 'radical eucharistic hospitality' all and i mean all are made to feel that the eucharist is for them on any given eucharist. so partake and then come to understand what it means for the community. interesting stuff when we got all those rules about having to be baptised and so on.

saturday i am off to see 'grace' and have a chat with jonny b and on sun at church at st luke's with dave tomlinson and then to see moot in the afternnon. should be a wild weekend.

catch u soon...

flew out of seattle on tuesday morning bound for nyc and arrived late at 10pm. after standing in line for about 45m for a taxi i finally arrived at the house of the redeemer on 95th street (upper east side) only to find it all closed up for the night. so i walked down madison a couple of blocks and found a bar open til 3.00am. I still had about 5 hours to kill so i was directed to an all night dinner on 86th and 2nd avn. stayed there for the next 6 hours drinking coffee and finishing off pete ward's 'liquid church'. as i have said before i really think this is a seminal piece of work. while i have some questions i would love to chat with pete about, the basic premise that church is now not about gatherings in congregations but rather about communication in networks is i think correct.

posting this in an internet cafe just off times square. gee ny is busy and never seems slow.

more later... (Geoff yes i did get your comment - i will email later)

went with karen to the kangaroo and kiwi pub sunday night to check it out. only in america would they be as rude as put the kiwis with kangaroos but who are they to know..(from a culture that can put george bush in the white house i suppose anything is possible!)

but it wasnt that bad..the place started to get busy around 10.30pm and there seemed to be a small expat community in seattle that calls this home. at least you can get a coopers pale ale and that covers a multitude of sins in my book!!

had more chats about the emerging church and caught on my trusty video karen's theology of belgium bear and the emerging church. in short - no two belgium beers are alike; they are a reflection of local custom and taste; there is no philosophy of consistancy or control; it a very fluid system - just like the pomo church (should be)

reading pete ward's liquid church at the moment - god this is a seminal work - essential reading - repeat essential reading. here's just a taste (buy the book yourself from amazon - follow the link)

" (p15) liquid church starts from the positive elements in the new, fluid environment and tries to work with these and make them part of the way forward for the church. we need to develop ways of being a church that doesn't float on water like a boat. to be liquid church means that we are able to combine with water to become fluid, changeable, flexible, and so on. we need to embrace and internalize the liquid nature of culture rather than learn to sail through it. only bt locating church within culture can we find ways to develop a distinctive christian expression within that culture."

unfortunately my time in seattle is fast running out. off to nyc tuesday and then to london before returning to perth, wa. once i have time to edit the video i'll post it on the blog...

opps - its looks like my blog found the original post i did on pentecost so now there are two reports - just choose the one u like the most - by the way - anyone out there reading this...

wow - how to describe the liturgy at church of the apostles, seattle, under the gentle leadership of karen ward. i tried to write a post about it that turned into a small essay and then disappeared into the ether when i tried to publish, so this time i will be short and hope it gets up.

if i were to interpret the worship from the point of the view of 'traditional anglican/episcopal liturgy'then one has to say that its fairly trad and maintains an orthodox liturgical shape of gathering, ministry of the word, ministry of the sacrament, and dismissal. karen says that some have described cota as 'digital orthodoxy' and i would have to agree. they are orthodox. however, the rub is in the details!

language: its fresh to say the least: you get a thin sheet when you arrive that basically is an outline of the liturgy. it renames the elements so now its:

focus (gathering and welcome)

wisdom (scripture and sermon and prayers. the sermon is 'reverb')

fuel (the communion)

movement (final blessing and dismissal)

being pentecost sunday it was nice to have the scriptures read in different languages: bosnian, german, chinese, and american sign language

space: the space is a small shop front at 4301 fremont ave n seattle. its called 'living:room' and also hosts a arts collective and various music offerings and other creative artistic events in seattle. it would seat 70 at a pich (about 45-50 on the night i was there) small stage at one end which the band uses. shop counter at the other end which has the mixer desk and laptop which drives the data projection (no 2nd rate powerpoint here - using the gifts of ryan and others the visual aspects are tight and well put together -video loops, interesting slides, good transition slides and with a strong enough projection system to be able to see in good light.

there are chairs around the place, some small tables, lounges, lava lamps and in front of the low set altar (which is off set to the left) are some beautifully crafted lights which look like flames. candles abound everywhere. good sound system with the band (lead, bass, drums, flute, electric piano)there is art from zappon on the walls and the place has a warm, comfortable feel of a real living room. there is a fridge offering sodas and beer and of course great fair-trade coffee and tea off in one corner.

the place is set up for wireless so people can bring there laptops and be online for free. there is a computer there for online stuff and surfing as well

music:
the music is not overpowering from the band. lacey brown is the music director and she is multi-talented. it has the feel of edgy rock. they do not play praise - no 'i just wanna praise you lord' choruses here! there is enough talent to change the line up from week to week and the style keeps changing (dj's and are a regular feature and part of the process of reaching into the arts community of fremont seattle) three songs during the liturgy and recorded stuff during the communion

communion:

karen writes her own thanksgiving prayers using resources from the deep heritage of orthodox, anglican and lutheran sources. again the laguage is fresh. she doesnt robe and her presence is low key - yet can she preach. her sermon using the images from the 'burning man' festival was excellent - punchy and to the point (about 11minutes) theme: we need to burn for jesus - the real burning man.

hospitality:
great coffee, fried chicken dinner afterwards in the space (gospel bird dinner!)plenty of cards outlining what cota is on about available for newcomers and of course a great web site (www.apostleschurch.org)

what did i think:

here is an approach to worship that is vibrant and fresh yet deeply rooted in tradition. it is liturgical yet digital and free flowing - has great use of symbols and space. one part of the liturgy i forgot about is the open space after the reverb where people can say private prayers, write a prayer or light a candle. given more space this would work even better than it does. the age demographic would be mid 20's

qustions for me to ponder and others to comment on:

what is the ideal size of a worship community. the intimacy of cota is something lost in say a 'mars hill' or other big sized worship experience. is small the way to go - but how to fund it?

who is the worship for? disaffected christians who want worship which is relevant to them and that speaks fresh words of hope/ those off the street with no background in the faith whatsoever? - dare i mention the dirty 'e' word - evangelism - are 'emerging churches' ones where evangelism is a 2nd order question

what is the relationship of these models to the establishment and old order?

anyway, i thin thats enough for now...

wow - how to describe the worship for pentecost @ COTA. karen ward, pastor of this episcopal/lutheran emerging church plant, has stated that some call it digital orthodoxy and i think this is right on the money. in a small office front at 4301 fremont ave n, seattle, you encounter the living:room - the worship space for COTA and also used by the arts collective and other groups as a performance venue.

the space aint big - last night there were about 50 and it was comfortably full. there's a stage on a slight rise at one end with a large screen at 45o to it. the data projector is hidden on top of a light fitting well out of sight and is controlled at the back by a Mac laptop behind the front counter (along with the multi-track sound system). the space is wired so you can bring your computer along and be online or use the mac desktop sitting in one corner. there's plenty of fold away chairs, some small tables, a few couches and comfy chairs, cool lava lamps and specially designed lamps that look like flames. these surround a low set small table which was the altar, just in front of the stage off cnetre to the left. the altar was draped in material which run down to a smaller table that held a bible opened at the gospel for pentecost.

there's a fridge with sodas and beer next to the counter at the back, and opposite this is a table with filtered fair-trade coffee and pipping hot water for tea.

the atmosphere is warm and cosy. there is a large three panel icon off set on one wall and the other walls are covered with local art work by zappon. candles abound on most surfaces and the lighting is subtle.

the format of the worship is pretty standard (and ergo orthodox) in the sense that it follows the accepted four-part liturgical practice of :
1) gathering
2) scripture & sermon & prayers
3) sacrament
4) dismissal

however, the funky thing is the renaming of these elements. so you now have:
1) focus (which has a welcome and songs)
2) wisdom (scripture readings plus sermon - now called reverb)
3) fuel (breaking of the bread and communion)
4) movement (notices, final benediction and dismissal)

(as a side thought - i think the renaming has effects for two groups: those with a christian background are jarred out of a sleepy 'same old routine' by the fresh language, while those who just happen to wander in find a liturgy which on the surface seems to make sense of their culture - a double plus and something karen is especially good at - just check out the apostles site and see the description of what they are on about www.apostleschurch.org)

The band playing for the service is lead by lacey brown (www.laceybrown.com)and is tight. consists of lead, bass, drums, violin, bongo, flute, synth. music is edgey praise style. i'm lead to believe that each week lacey puts together a different combo. also the music would vary in style - some weeks dj's spinning tracts etc. the assembled body sings along.

after 'reverb' there is what is called 'open space'. a space for people to light a candle, write a prayer, say private prayers, meditate or grab a coffee whatever. the limited space makes it hard to move much however the concept is great.

communion prayer by karen is her own creation with touches of eastern orthodox liturgies - again, a fresh approach to language which dips into the rich heritage in an ecletic way without being forced or controlling.

analysis:

the use of multimedia is well incorporated into the liturgy in a way that makes it wallpaper and not 'gee wiz aint we cool'. the age of the people in mainly 20's and 30's with a few older. nice touch was having for pentecost the readings done in different languages, bosnian, german, chinese and american sign language. hospitality afterwards was great - 'gospel bird' aka fried chicken and free sodas.

this is a worship driven by a desire to be totally inculturated yet totally orthodox. the question facing this community like others is what happens when the group gets to a size when you stat to lose the intimacy of small numbers. also, the question of catechesis - ie is this a service for the disaffected christian or for those who happen to drop by without any background in the faith whatsoever. i think its for both but long term i think that is a question to be addressed.

would i go again - god yes - the community is alive to the spirit moving in seattle, has great leadership sensitive to incorporating the gifts of the community, open to creative impulses and yet committed to the faith of the apostles.

more insights to come...

finally after a million hours on 4 flights find myself in seattle staying with karen ward, pastor of church of the apostles - one of the few postmodern emerging churches in the states. have video camera this time around so will be able to interview her and others about what the emerging church looks like in this place. stay tuned for insights...

"it is understandable that those on the barge suffered and many became desperate. some are still trying to row back upstream, but that is proving impossible. it also displays a lack of faith in the god of histor and in the leadership of the church which..believes that the modern world is where the church wants to be. some jumped overboard in ones and twos hoping to survive in small dinghies, bobbing up and down amid the waves. but dinghies are too small to carry the mission of the church, and are little use in the open sea. others, unable to face what is happening, sat in the pilot's cabin and painted river scenes on the windows, trying to convince themselves and others that they were still in the river and that everything would be alright if everyone kept on doing what they were trained to do.

what had to happen, of course, and no one is pretending it is easy while the waves are crashing around us, is that we need to put a keel on the barge, and reshape its prow. we need to make institutional changes that are faithful to the direction and task that has been given us, but that can cope with the waves and take us through them to the sea. jesus may appear to be asleep, but he is with us, he said he would be till the end of time. if we cry to him, he will inspire us, together, to refrashion the craft so as to retain all that is good in it. we will be able to maintain direction and continue our journey in a new environment, impelled by the love of christ, directed by his spirit towards our father's home."

one lha (large happy anglican) 

Our problem is that in our time the river has hit the sea, with obvious results for the barge. There is nothing wrong with reaching the sea: that is where rivers are meant to go. But the barge which has done an excellent job in bringing us down the river is not built for breaking through waves and negotiating the open sea. The waves are coming against the flow of the river. They are pounding against the flat prow of the barge, causing it to shudder and break apart, with the loss of much that it was carrying... more to come

the following is a story from 'a priest after my own heart' by michael fallon (st paul's publications nsw 2001 pp.142-144)

"the church of yesterday can be likened to a river barge. it was a large barge, with straight front and sides and with a flat bottom, well built for navigating a river and able to carry a huge cargo of churches, schools, rectories, assistant curates and chaplains etc. There were tennis courts and halls and camp sites for the youth orgainisations, and mothers' union etc. the priest was trained to pilot the barge along the river. the river had many bends and it was not by any means easygoing. there were alligators and swamps, and every now and then rapids had to be negotiated. but on the whole the river was fairly predictable. the pilot could learn his job and carry it out well if he followed the instruction book. this is a caricature, but i hope it captures some truth."

more to follow.....

been wanting to do this for a while and have got the courage to go on line. i believe the future church will need to have a option for international and internet community building - not just local 'live within walking distance' types of churches and i think 'blogs' are part of that. i have been impressed with other blogs and so finallt have one myself. thanks to blogger.com its even free, and you cant complain about that. maybe others will read it but i suppose in one sense that is not the point.

main focus will be my thoughts on the emerging church. i hope my church denomination - Anglican Church of Australia - has a future but lets see.