Book: People of the Way

“We have unique gifts to contribute to the church and society. What is required is a new kind of posture, one of learning, innovation, experimentation and discovery. Rather than assuming we have everything figured out and under control…we must embrace the identity of learners, even when learning entails failure.”

For those whose bishops have not already recommended the book, People of the Way is a great little volume that might be of special interest to those of us engaged in Young Adult and Campus Ministries. Not only is it a ready-to-go study guide great for small group discussions, but it could easily serve as a powerful tool for leadership development, particularly with eager and bewildered newcomers.

Dwight J. Zscheile provides an intensive and yet not overwhelming introduction to Episcopal polity and identity. He tells our history, explores our theological traditions, and offers compelling frameworks for where we are and where we might be going. But perhaps most helpfully, he offers historical and cultural insight into our quirks, our gifts, and even our dysfunction – and all of this without going so far as offering excuses and letting the rest of us off the hook.

Exploring legacies of establishment and power up through the development of the 1950s suburban church he sheds some light on the baggage many of our parishes unknowingly carry. For a young adult stumbling upon the Episcopal Church and ready to carry forward the Gospel, the idiosyncrasies of our polity can become stumbling blocks to leadership and even turn them off completely.  (Why DO we have a committee entirely devoted to washing and pressing linens and why aren’t they letting me use the Advent altar hanging for our welcome table?) The book does an excellent job of holding these realities in tension with the Gospel imperatives that may be calling them into question, equipping a budding leader to challenge the institution while holding its people with care and compassion.

In addition to providing a roadmap to the obstacle course of Episcopal sacred-cows, Zscheile also provides helpful caution to those newcomers (and long time members) who might become a little too enamored of the tradition and lose sight of the Gospel it is meant to convey. In particular, his visions for the priesthood, the laity, the diaconate and the episcopacy could be hugely helpful in helping young world-be priests consider the potential of all of the orders of ministry beyond the current and sometimes fading models.

By deconstructing our rise and fall from National Church-dom, Zscheile opens a space for all Episcopalians (newcomer or not) to imagine a new era in the life of our church, one that doesn’t depend on our access to power or spotlight, but can refocus on being a community of compassion, curiosity, and real relationship, one where we accept the hospitality of the world as often as we host, where we witness the Kingdom present in the world as often as we glimpse it in our worship.

In a time when an unchurched child is more likely to become an active young adult Christian than one raised in a mainline denomination(p35), we must find ways to effectively welcome, invite and equip newcomers for leadership in our church, and Zscheile has provided us a powerful resource in doing so.

Digital Disciple

“Remember, we can’t separate the danger from the opportunity; we can only hope to trend toward the opportunity while trying not to ignore the nature of the danger.”

This morning as I ate breakfast I put aside my computer and phone and picked up an honest to God, paper and ink book. I had only a few pages left in the Rev. Adam Thomas’ Digital Disciple: Real Christianity in a Virtual World. It’s a fairly quick read and seemed particularly appropriate as I returned from a week of in-person meetings with my colleagues in New York and prepared to step back into the virtual world of my remote office in Seattle.

In the book Thomas explores the implications of our virtual lives, the familiar potential for both isolation and connection. From online dating, to World of Warcraft, to texting in public, he provides an in-depth look into the ethical and theological implications of the technology-saturated life of a twenty-something.

The text has a geeky wit and is accessible to Silent and Millenial alike as Thomas provides numerous footnotes explaining everything from Twitter to the Decemberists to the theological concept of Incarnation.

While I’m not sure that the book successfully sells the virtues of the virtual to the skeptic, it definitely provides a much-needed moment of reflection for those of us immersed in the world it describes.

Thomas doesn’t argue that technology inherently disconnects us from God or ourselves, but instead he proposes that it has created a new dimension to add to Paul’s Trinitarian Body, Mind, and Soul. We are no longer only physical, mental and spiritual beings, we are virtual beings, and in this new dimension we have the potential to serve God and live a life in the Spirit just as we do in the others.

Exploring the ways our online lives provide easy opportunities for knowledge and connection, Thomas wonders how we might linger long enough with God in these spaces for that knowledge to deepen to wisdom, that connection to communion. When it is so easy to outsource our memory to Facebook photo albums and our knowledge of other people to the avatars of email and chat histories, how do we internalize and incarnate the experiences and relationships the virtual makes possible? How do we balance the breadth of our connectedness with the depth of our communion?

Thomas offers some possibilities for personal practices, but leaves the question very much open. The reality is that we as the church are still exploring how we can be together in meaningful Christian community when separated by miles and machines. Young adults (and all ages) across the church are pushing the limits of what is possible virtually and discovering new ways to be church to one another with little concern for geography or proximity.

I’d invite you to take up this book and read it alongside the young adults in your community, or read it for a peek inside a young adult world you’re struggling to understand. These are conversations we are in desperate need of having and I thank the Rev. Adam Thomas for so thoughtfully and artfully providing us a point of departure.

Check out Adam’s blog here.

Support Episcopal bookstores! I purchased my copy of Digital Disciple from the Cathedral Shop at St. Mark’s, Seattle. If there’s not one close to you, order from an online Episcopal Bookstore like this one.

Christian Mission in the 21st century

Some reflections and resources from the Rev. Greg Bezilla, Chaplain at Rutgers State University of New Jersey and Campus Ministry Coordinator for Province II. Please share the links and feel free to comment and begin some conversation.

Below are more than seven resources for understanding better the changing context of ministry with emerging and young adults and for discerning what might be effective for Christian mission in the 21st century:

1. Religious affiliation is declining, especially for people under age 30:

National Public Radio is broadcasting a series of reports “Losing Our Religion” about the rising number of the religiously unaffiliated. A third of people under age 30 report no religious affiliation!

Listen to a discussion about the reasons for trend toward no religious affiliation:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/01/14/169164840/losing-our-religion-the-growth-of-the-nones

Listen to young adults discuss the loss of faith:

http://www.npr.org/2013/01/15/169342349/more-young-people-are-moving-away-from-religion-but-why

The NPR series interviews Robert Putnam, author of Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community – an influential work describing the decline of membership in all institituions of American society and the weakening of all institutions in American society:

Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community

2.  Sex, booze & Facebook:

College bars are no longer popular as meeting places; read and reflect on profound changes in the lives of emerging and young adults that can be traced to the influence of mobile technology and social media:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/27/fashion/for-college-students-social-media-tops-the-bar-scene.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Dating is very different today – it may be disappearing. Read about “hook up” culture of emerging adults:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/13/fashion/the-end-of-courtship.html

Perhaps the most insightful reckoning with technology and social media and of the losses for intimacy and community is MIT professor Sherry Turkle’s Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other.  Listen to an interview with the author:

http://www.npr.org/2012/10/18/163098594/in-constant-digital-contact-we-feel-alone-together

3. The way forward begins by acknowledging that our Christian institutions may be experiencing a “dark night of the soul”:

In “Dark Night of the Church” by L. Roger Owens and Anthony B. Robinson (Christian Century, Dec. 26, 2012) learn from St. John of the Cross  and reframe Christian leadership  as spiritual direction: enabling us as a church to sit in safety and acknowledge the brokenness of declining institutions and the ineffectiveness of many religious programs in a time of rapid cultural change.  Note that reading the article online requires a paid subscription (but if you’re interested, I can share with you copy of the text): http://www.christiancentury.org/article/2012-12/dark-night-church

4. If religious institutions are broken or declining, then who can be saved?

As a doctoral student at Princeton Theological Seminary, David Lohse ministered in several New Jersey congregations; today, as a professor at Luther Theological Seminary, he reflects on institutional inertia, the renewal of the Church, and what we all might learn from the book and film Moneyball about asking better questions for the future of the Church:

http://www.faithandleadership.com/blog/01-10-2013/david-lose-its-time-think-differently

5. The most important time of faith formation may be childhood and the most important influence on young people is the influence of adults in their family – that’s a principal finding of the most singificant study of religion in youth and emerging adults, the National Study of Youth and Religion.  For a list of related publications: http://www.youthandreligion.org/publications/books.html

See especially Christian Smith’s Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers.  There is a related DVD that is an engaging discussion starter (and I have a copy I’d be glad to loan to your church) – view the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqGkiToWBs0

6. The place to engage youth, emerging and young adults is mission outside the walls of the church.  An excellent resource for engaging the theological imagination for reflection, discussion and experimentation in ministry is Dwight J. Zscheile’s People of the Way: Renewing Episcopal Identity.   It’s the 2013 One Book for the Diocese of New Jersey, and there are a limited number of copies available FREE to churches in the diocese by contacting Sarah Paige at Diocesan House: spaige@newjersey.anglican.org

7.  What’s in your cup?  Do you know about “Darkwood Brew”?  This weekly webcast originates from a Midwestern coffee house and features a jazz band, live audience, social media interactions, and Skype interviews with theologians and ministers from a variety of churches and traditions: http://darkwoodbrew.org

What’s working in your churches or ministries.?  What’s broken?  What insights and understandings would you like to share about ministry with emerging and young adults?  What are your questions?

Yours in Christ,
Greg+

Three Students

Check out this short video about a few of the students at Rockwell House!  We had a lot of fun making this!

Interfaith Progressive Dinner

One of the annual traditions at UC Davis is to have an Interfaith Progressive Dinner each November.  Held the week before Thanksgiving, it gives students the chance to come into four different ministry centers: CA House (Methodist, Presbyterian, and UCC ministry), Hillel, the Islamic Center, and the Belfry (Lutheran and Episcopal) - my ministry.  At each house we pair up with another ministry – the Unitarians, Newman Center, Sikhs, Buddhists, etc. – so that everyone is represented.  It takes about 2 1/2-3 hours to go to each house and eat, etc., but it is always a highlight of the school year.

As with any progressive dinner, the meal is served in courses: appetizers in one place, soup & salad in another, main course at another stop, and finally dessert.  To accommodate religious food restrictions we agree to have all food be vegetarian – no meat at all.  We also agree in advance that this night is not about proselytizing.  Our goal is to have the students meet each other and to share/learn something about each faith tradition.

This year, each group shared whatever would be their traditional food blessing.  Not all groups have a prayer like this that is universally accepted, but some definitely do.  Our group sang the doxology.  The food is always delicious and it is so nice to be welcomed into each ministry space.  It demystifies what happens behind the doors of each center and allows everyone to see and hear something about what each group does.  Students routinely ask for more events like this by the end of the night.

This is one way we have interfaith dialogue and collaboration on our campus.  How does it happen on yours?

Episcopal Campus Ministry Leaders Gather

Do you know who your Provincial Coordinator for Campus Ministry is? Tasked with advising, resourcing, connecting and advocating on behalf of campus ministers, they are indispensable to the Campus Ministry Network of the Episcopal Church…and they’re volunteers.

Every November, Episcopal Young Adult and Campus Ministries gathers the Provincial Coordinators for Campus Ministry in New York for 3 days at the Episcopal Church Center to evaluate the year past, to explore the current trends, challenges and opportunities on college campuses, and to plan for the year to come.

But we also bring them together to thank them for their service. Like many provincial officers, these positions were once paid, but now as volunteers, most of whom work full time as Campus Ministers in their own context, their work has become more important than ever. We count on these eight individuals to be the first line of defense (or resource) for campus ministers and dioceses. They are able to be pastoral and present, to give direction and guidance, and to listen carefully in incredible ways that make the ministers and the churchwide office more effective.

This week we will gather our newest group of Provincial Coordinators for Campus Ministry in New York for three days of prayer, exploration and visioning for the future of Campus Ministry in the Episcopal Church. We ask that you hold us in prayer and look to these incredible individuals as the leaders they are in our Campus Ministry Network.  The Provincial Coordinators for Campus Ministry are:

Province 1: The Rev. Dr. Cameron Partridge, Boston University
Dioceses: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Western Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont

Province 2: The Rev. Gregory Bezilla, Rutgers University
Dioceses: New Jersey, Newark, New York, Long Island, Albany, Central New York, Rochester, Western New York, Haiti, US Virgin Islands, Convocation Churches of Europe

Province 3: The Rev. Peter Antoci, University of Maryland
Dioceses: Washington, D.C., Delaware, Easton, Maryland, Bethlehem, Central Pennsylvania, Northwest Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Virginia, West Virginia, Southern Virginia, Southwest Virginia

Province 4: The Rev. Dann Brown, University of Georgia
Dioceses: Mississippi, Louisana, Central Gulf Coast, Alabama, Florida, Central Florida, Southwest Florida, Southeast Florida, Georgia, Atlanta, South Carolina, Upper South Carolina, East North Carolina, North Carolina, Western North Carolina, East Tennessee, Tennessee, West Tennessee, Kentucky, Lexington

Province 5: The Rev. Reid Hamilton, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Dioceses: Missouri, Quincy, Springfield, Chicago, Milwaukee, Fond du Lac, Eau Claire, Northern Michigan, Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Michigan, Ohio, Southern Ohio, Nothern Indiana, Indianapolis

Province 6: The Rev. Sally Maxwell, University of Minnesota, Duluth
Dioceses: Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming

Province 7: The Rev. Michael S. Bell, Diocese of Kansas
Dioceses: Arkansas, Kansas, Western Kansas, Western Louisiana, West Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Northwest Texas, Fort Worth, Dallas, West Texas, Rio Grande

Province 8: The Rev. Jocelynn Jurkovich-Hughes, University of California, Davis
Dioceses: Arizona, California, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Joaquin, El Camino Real, Northern California, Oregon, Eastern Oregon, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Spokane, Olympia, Taiwan

Province 9: Vacant
Dioceses: Colombia, Domincan Republic, Ecuador Central, Ecuador Litoral, Honduras, Venezuela, Puerto Rico

We are entering a new phase of life in Episcopal Campus Ministries, but we do so with great hope and excitement for the new things God is doing with this generation.

Appalachian State University

The Rev. Beth Turner talks about moveable feasts and a new “community design” project in the Diocese of Western North Carolina.

Read more about the Diocese of Western North Carolina’s work with young adults

Read more about FTE’s Vocation Care Practices