What Will We Bring?

Dear Friends in Valhalla Parish—

As you know, people from across the Diocese of Kootenay gathered online last week for Synod. I encourage you to chat with our parish representatives—Lorraine Deans and Chris Hildebrand—about their experiences. Over the course of our day together, we broke out into multiple sessions for discussion. My experience was that the conversation was rich, searching, and full of hope.

Our first session focused on getting to know one another in our small groups—who we are, where we're from, and our hopes for Synod. The second session focused on the proposed Values, Vision, and Mission that I mentioned last week (I mentioned these last week—later in the day, this Vision was adopted by Synod). Our third breakout session had us thinking as though we were packing for a trip. At this point in the church's history, when we dump out all of our baggage on the bed, what ought we to leave behind? What ought we to bring with us? What new items might we need to pack as we step bravely into God's future? Here are some highlights of what I heard:

What We're Prepared to Leave Behind

It was interesting to hear what people were prepared to leave behind. At the top of the list was an assumption that congregations are led by full-time clergy. Right next to it was the assumption that having a church building (or perhaps, the current church building) was the right tool for the job. A number of responses pointed to the need to let go of our preconceptions of power and status. Acknowledging who we are now, our relationship to God now, and our role in society now, ought to help. us lighten the load and prepare for the particular journey we find ourselves on.

What We Need to Take With Us

Central to our common understanding of what we need to take forward was a sence of community grounded in Anglican tradition and identity. Worship, with Eucharist (though perhaps not every week), gatherings of people exploring and living out their faith in the world were all core. A sense of connection with and ministry in the wider world was core. What perhaps surprised me most was the emphasis on joy. Even in the midst of the challenges ahead, people from across our diocese emphasized the centrality and necessity of joy. We can't leave the joy of the gospel behind!

What New Items We'll Need to Pack

Going forward, the focus was on Lay Leadership, through and through. Folks talked about building better partnerships between lay leaders and ordained leaders. Conversations highlighted the importance of outreach and evangelism—sharing stories of how God has been (and continues) to be faithful to us and the whole world. What we'll need to pack is courage and deep relationship with God and one another—a sense that with education, training, as well as a desire and practice of waiting on God, new and beautiful opportunities will show up in our midst. 

As we go forward together, may we take the time to explore these questions together. As we seek to be faithful to Jesus in this time and place, what will we need to keep for the journey? What can we leave behind? And finally, what new things ought we to bring as we seek to embody our Diocese's core values: Wholehearted Worship, Daring Discipleship, Right Relationship, and Thriving Communities. 

Every Blessing

Andrew Stephens-Rennie
Valhalla Parish Missioner