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So, here I am at GC40.

The 40th General Council for The United Church of Canada.

I get to help elect a new Moderator.

I get to discern well over 100 proposals.

Specifically, I will be spending time on Palestine and Israel, dangerous dump sites, support for Canadians in prison...and, Emerging Spirit.

Yes, I will part of the group that will try to discern the future for Emerging Spirit - our programs like WonderCafe, advertising campaigns and congregation training seminars. How did they ever let me in?

Although I clearly have a bias, even a passion for Emerging Spirit, I will listen, I will share and I will do my best to hear the voice of God as we make our recommendations.

But before, I get properly objective - let me say a couple of things.

There was an elephant in the room. I have yet to name the elephant, but I think it is customary to put "bo" on the end. This elephant was spotted roaming around my Conference Annual Meeting on the weekend, knocking over the odd table and crashing through the book display. Despite an obvious attempt to grab the floor, the elephant went unacknowledged.

I was in Calgary recently to attend a few presentations by Richard Rohr. His work has had a strong influence on me ever since I first heard him at a Sojourners event a few years ago. He is an American, a Franciscan priest, and a renowned teacher of spiritual development, especially for men. Rohr was in Calgary at the invitation of the Franciscan community.

One of Rohr's presentations was on the Emerging Church movement. He calls Emerging Church a "movement" in order to distinguish it from the later stages of evolution he calls "machines, museums, and monuments." As a movement, says Rohr, the Emerging Church defies definition and analysis to a certain degree. His attempt is an early one to identify some common threads in the movement.

The four themes of Emerging Church that Rohr identified are:

I was recently at a meeting and it was, as has been the case over the last two years, a meeting in which there was a lot of energy. This particular group of men and women have been meeting to review where the congregation has been, discussing where it currently is, and imaging where the Spirit might be guiding. In times of such intentional reflection there is always richness. This group, as with most that engage with leadership, modelled self-challenge, as well as comfort in listening to ideas that were either new or difficult. I suspect that many who are in leadership, either Ordered or Lay, have been in this place. And, as my own experience has evidenced, there are moments of profound insight, perhaps even revelation ...

I have a friend who owns a restaurant. Actually, he is a Master Chef, one of about 400 in the world; he has been honoured as Chevalier de l'Ordre du Merite Agricole (like being knighted in France). Last week, he finally had a good restaurant review. Not that he's had bad reviews-in the past five years his reviews have been okay to good-but this one was great. It's not so much that the reviewer loved his restaurant, but rather that she understood what he was trying to do. Earlier critical reviews would say his was not a good bistro or that he failed to achieve modern synthesis; one reviewer didn't know Escoffier from Bobby Flay. My friend's restaurant is classic Parisian dining - not bistro, not roadhouse, not garlic-infused steakhouse. I think that his pleasure over the review was that the reviewer understood what the restaurant was trying to achieve - and had it been very critical, he would still have been pleased that they at least understood the concept and the goals.

Other than making me hungry and convincing you that I am a French cuisine snob, what does that have do with the Emerging Spirit?

Jon Meachem, in the lede to his recent article in Newsweek magazine say that the percentage of self-identified Christians in the United States has fallen 10 points in the past two decades. Canada is, and has always been, a different nation, but it can be argued that trends in the United States - religious, political and otherwise - have always affected us, and been reflected by us. How will this change affect the America we know, and how in turn will that affect us?

In the words of a pastor interviewed by Meachem: "The most basic contours of American culture have been radically altered. The so-called Judeo-Christian consensus of the last millennium has given way to a post-modern, post-Christian, post-Western cultural crisis which threatens the very heart of our culture."

But might this shift be a good thing, both for the state, and for the church? The church, while shrinking, is in no danger of disappearing. Could it be that the declining political influence of the church will lead to a re-orienting - a church separate from the corruption of political power, but still involved and engaged in the world? In many ways, the end of Christiendom in North America marks the beginning of a significant opportunity for the church to identify and live into the mission and the cutting edge of the gospel to which we are called to bear witness.

 

Originally posted at www.emergingspirit.ca.

How many of you have heard of Lumby, British Columbia. Few, I am sure. We are a small village of about 1800 people on highway 6, just south of Vernon in the North Okanagan. Close you Cherryville? Whitevale? Does that help?

 

1. Emerging Spirit provides an excuse for your congregation to engage in significant conversations about mission and the cutting edge of the gospel to which you are called to bear witness.

2. Living the Hope learning events provide resources, tools and theory to increase the effectiveness of your congregation's welcoming ministry.

3. WonderCafe's free, easy-to-use church microsites offer a place for your congregation on the Web.

4. The vibrant discussions on WonderCafe allow participation in conversations on spiritual issues that really matter to people.

5. Emerging Spirit offers provocative seasonal ads you can use to raise the profile of your congregation and invite people to explore your Christian community.

6. The Emerging Spirit blog offers insightful reflections and discussion on ministry in 21st century Canada.

7. WonderCafe's national advertising campaign lets people know the United Church differs from the usual assumptions about organized religion.

8. Emerging Spirit has a network of gifted presenters across Canada who can visit your church to create a unique learning event.

There are many more ways that Emerging Spirit can help congregations. Please help us add to this growing list by letting us know the ways Emerging Spirit helps your congregation.