Christianity for the Rest of Us

Index	Chapters Summary	Hospitality	Discernment	Discussion Notes
Summary Notes -
Part II - Off the Map. "Rather than a set of directions to get saved, Jesus is, as his earliest followers claimed, "the Way". Jesus is not the way we get somewhere. Jesus is the Christian journey itself, a pilgrimage that culminates in the wayfarer's arrival in God. ... God keeps asking us to "show up" through grief, confusion, joy, hopelessness, and fear. ... Too often, contemporary Christianity seems to be a religion about belief, a kind of spiritual club that can be joined by agreeing to a statement of faith. But emerging Christianity is not about pure doctrine or agreeing with a set of philosophical presuppositions. The kind of Christianity enacted in the congregations where I traveled is more like a recobery group: "Act as if..." If you act like a Christian by joining in its practices, by following its tracings, you may well become one. Being a Christian is not a one-moment miracle of salvation. It takes practice.. It is a process of faith and a continuing conversion. And it can be a long walk." Ch 5. Hospitality - Welcoming Strangers. "...my childhood church failed at hospitality because their were no strangers to welcome in." Nouwen called our time "a world of strangers, estranged from their own past, culture, and country, from their neighbors, friends and family, from their deepest self and their God." and "Hospitality is not to change people, but to offer them space where change can take place." We are all cast out, all strangers today. So the church can and must offer true hospitality, but not as a recruitment strategy. People are invited in and encouraged to be themselves. This new church is embracing and accepting. It is the experience of those offering true hospitality that their hearts are moved, that both host and guest are changed. Both experience "God's transformative love." Ch 6. Discernment - Listening for Truth. "We need to hear with our hearts." " God loves us and calls us by name; that God asks us to participate in the unfolding of divine beauty." "...words are not about truth, they are about power." There is a "rhythm - silence, isharing, silence, response, and silence..." "... discernment as a practice .. can be developed through participation in reflection, questions, prayer, and community." "...a kind of spiritual compass..." "Discernment ... is the way that Christians talk about deciding on a course of action that they believe is grounded in God's will and that will help relaize the reign of God. It is closely related to theological reflection but goes beyond reflection to decision making." "All the old standards for guidance have ceased to function. ... if the old village and all the old answers have vanished, then how do seekers determine goodness, truthfulness, and beauty.?" by "...asking God-questions instead of I-questions ... by listening for the spirit in the world today." "When I learned to say yes, God looked after the rest." "You have to pay attention when you're not sure where you're going". "Protestants have long defined metanoia as an act of individual choice in which we are born again." It is "ancient practice in contemporary settings." Five phases of discernment per Mark McIntosh are faith, distinguishing between good and evil, practical wisdom, sensitivity to pursue God's will, and contemplation of wisdom. It can become seeing God in everything you do, stepping back and listening before acting. And it involves a sharing of the journey - it is too joyful not to share.
Ch 5. Hospitality - Welcoming Strangers. ...Joanne Wiens
Hospitality was always an important face of the church. An early image of her growing up church in Victoria was John the greeter, whose habit was to meet people just outside the church. She became friends with an older woman and for four years sat next to Mrs Rainer in service. 25 years later, Joanne visited again to find John still greeting people coming to church. John knew her name still, and suggested that Mrs. Rainer might well like to meet her again too. Here at St. David's, the council has appointed a hospitality team. It was that team that put on last sunday's brunch. The objectives of the team are to welcome people, to help them to connect to groups in the church community, and to identify new interest groups that are needed. These 3 things connect to each other. It is not always easy. There are often issues of sensitivity. People have their own pace of opening up and sharing.
Ch 6. Discernment - Listening for Truth. ...Marjorie Gibson
Our Monday night study group seems to have a habit of pushing us into examining what really makes us tick. On top of that, it is hoped that we will verbalize our discoveries well enough so we can be understood, if not agreed with. Here goes. I was behind in my reading when I came to class last Monday, and learned I was on deck tonight. Prudently, I skipped ahead to chapter 6, the one I was to introduce. However, it felt odd to examine Bass’s ideas without first defining what discernment means to me now, at this stage in my life. So I put the book aside, picked up my pencil – and found this personal definition came quite easily! For me, discernment operates in two arenas – external and internal. On examination, I realized that in both arenas I tend to use the same procedure. So – my personal definition of discernment is: “Discernment if the process of looking at a situation as clearly and objectively as possible in order to understand: 1. What is going on? 2. Is what I am seeing or experiencing a reality, or a reaction to a reality? 3. Based on what is deduced from #1 and #2, is it possible for me to arrive at an assessment of what the situation is, and then decide 4. What should my personal response be? Add a dictionary definition: “Discernment is the faculty of applying acuteness of judgment and understanding” -- not contradictory to my definition, but without having the personal response as an integral part. By now I’m beginning to realize that for me discernment is a faculty or quality which has grown and changed as the years passed by. It is more unconscious than conscious – but the times (all too frequent), when I am not pleased with myself, are usually the times when I have failed to follow the pattern, and I know I have not hit the mark. Finally I turned to Chapter 6, and read with much interest. Bass’s chapter on discernment challenged me. I can agree with many of the points made – am sceptical about others – and have questions about what we can take from this chapter that could be useful in our congregation. Let me present a few of the ideas and points she raised for your attention. I need your thoughtful but candid reactions to bounce against mine, to help me evaluate this chapter. Does it have insights that are valuable, and does it present practical applications that are usable here in St. David’s? When we get to our small groups perhaps we can discuss some of these. You have read the chapter. You will have your own initial reactions. Add the following to your mix. I present 4 types of selections: First – 3 portions with which I have a high degree of agreement (p 94,96,97) Second - 2 portions which give me fits (p 90,91) Third - 1 very good question (p 93) Fourth – 1 very good statement. (p bottom of 94 and top of 95) First –p94 – “Discernment is theological, ethical, and critical” and is a process “guided by the light that our spiritual traditions provide”. -p 96 – He (theologian Mark McIntosh) identifies five phases of discernment: “faith, distinguishing between good and evil, practical wisdom, sensitivity to pursue God’s will, and finally, contemplation of wisdom.” Together these five movements of discernment form a “pattern of the discerning life” that takes us beyond technique-driven and self-interested popular spirituality”. -p 97 – “The way of discernment can take many forms”. Second – p 90 – “Risen Christ, I want to hear you call my name. What do you want me to do?” (My personal hang-up with hearing voices. Example – tenant on farm.) p 91 - “Christians believe human beings have the capacity to hear, see, touch, and feel God – a genuine sensing of truth and beauty through which we know God and know God’s will. Christians call this discernment. Some Christians depict this capacity as a supernatural gift, a miraculous directive, or an extraordinary mystical experience. Others view finding God’s will as a mechanical process, if you follow “four spiritual laws” or go through “forty days of purpose”, you will know your life’s direction”. (Not in my book of beliefs) Third – p 93 – Episcopal priest Richard Valantasis asks “How does a person know that what one does, or thinks, or feels is right, or holy, or of God?” Fourth – p end of 94 and top of 95 – “Although discernment was a foundational practice in all the vital congregations in my (Bass) study, in no case was finding God’s will equated with some doctrinal Truth, an answer handed down from high for all eternity. Rather in every congregation, discernment involved asking God-questions and listening for the movement of the spirit in the world today. Mainline Christians had found new pathways by paying attention to God in the context of reflective questioning and making faithful connections between the past, present and future” I am looking forward to our group discussion on this chapter.
Summary of Discussion Notes after Small Groups The Questions: 1. Share examples of Hospitality and Discernment that have been spiritually meaningful to you. 2. What recommendations respecting these things does you group have to recommend to council?
- Fond remembrances were expressed about how Stan Errett practiced this connecting of people, how he embraced hospitality. - discernment sometimes seems more slow consultation that bolts from above. - Recalled how Southminster United Church experimented with home churches. - recalled when overseas students were put up by church families. - Dorothy as therapist, observed to receive and listen responsibly is to give healing. It is important not to get in the way of healing. - being family in the church environment gives gifts of both discernment and hospitality. - "I'd say yes God, if I knew what you wanted" is a book that speaks to these matters. - discernment of God's voice is to discover God's influence. - Ken commented upon the connection to the university with their department of religious studies, and other intergenerational opportunities. Possibly invite speakers from the university. What might common resources be? - hospitality opportunities exist in the area of young couples. - a body to discover opportunities of hospitality could be set up. - there is a possible channel of information respecting those that have left St Davids over the last few years.

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