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2 SPRING 2017
PRESBYTERIAN
Connection
A Message from the General Secretary
Written by the Rev. Ian Ross-McDonald, General Secretary, Life and Mission Agency
For 140 years, the Presbyterian Record magazine served The Pres- byterian Church in Canada (PCC) as one of its primary modes of com- munication in and about the denom- ination. The Record didn’t just share stories about the witness of the PCC in Canada and around the world but also provided analysis of the ways of the denomination in context and
Renewal Conversations
in relation to the world around it.
As a separately incorporated body from the PCC, The Record was able to ask questions and pursue stories that pushed the church into new ter- ritory and, at times, stirred passions and anger. And this, too, was a gift. But perhaps The Record’s greatest gift to the church was the role it
played in keeping us connected. The decision of the Board of The Record to cease publication in De- cember 2016 is an undeniable loss, one that cannot be fully replaced.
3. As we navigate the processes of change, what is our vision of the fu- ture?
Vision is critical as we embrace change within us and around us and move into the future. Yet most con- gregations do not have a vision of their future. We know the passage, “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18a). Perhaps we hear these words anew through an alternate understanding: Where there is no vision, the people flounder. Many of us are not concerned about perish- ing; most of us are floundering.
4. How do we envision the way our future will relate to the past?
A few years ago, I heard Brian Blount, President of Union Presbyterian Semi- nary, comment on a passage from Revelation: “See, I am making all things new” (21:5). He noted that the passage does not say, “See, I am making all new things.” There is a profound differ- ence. Our past is not meaningless. It is, through God’s initiative, transformed.
5. So what might we do as we follow God’s lead in the renewal and revi- talization of faith communities?
I suggest we alter many of our con- versations, beginning with a resolve to listen in order to hear God’s call anew. After all, the gospel remains relevant. If, therefore, there are questions of rel- evance as our congregations relate to the world, we need to question whether our ministries and practices are rele- vant to the cultures in which we serve. Perhaps they were relevant at one time. But things do change.
Renewal through
the Holy Spirit
Written by the Rev. Ron Rienstra, PhD, Associate Professor of Preaching and Worship Arts, Western Theological Seminary of the Reformed Church in America, Holland, Michigan, USA
It seems to me that both the first and last words to be spoken in response to this prompt is this: renewal is always God’s work, never ours. It comes by the
But there is room—and a need—for something new.
The Presbyterian Connection newspaper will provide news and decisions of the denomination, edu- cation, interviews, stories that high- light Christ’s continuing ministry of hope and reconciliation in the world done through the PCC, and will help ensure that we stay connected.
Please take a moment to ensure you are subscribed using the online form at presbyterian.ca/connec- tion or by calling 1-800-619-7301.
grace and movement of the Holy Spirit. Of course, this does not mean we do nothing, or even nothing save prayer. Churches are rightly trying all sorts of things as they seek renewal for their communities, and specifically, renewal for worship—the weekly engagements with God that are at the heart of those communities. This is my field of study, and it is a fruitful area of congregational exploration and experimentation.
For example, I see renewal where churches are discovering music for worship from a wider range of sources than ever before: classic, theologi- cally rich hymn texts updated with new tunes, songs written in pop and jazz and folk idioms, melodies from El Sal- vador and Sri Lanka and South Africa, refrains written by the talented teen in your own congregation. All of these, discerningly chosen, have the potential to enliven and enrich a congregation’s song. They invite God’s people—old and young, body and soul, mind and heart, doubt and belief, lament and joy—into fuller participation in the li- turgical drama. They make us mindful of the worship of the worldwide and eternal community into whose ongoing song we occasionally join our voices.
Other sources of renewal:
• The Psalms. Many congregations are exploring the richness of the psalms as a source for their corporate devo- tional life. In mood, mode and metaphor, the psalms are a deep well of refresh- ment and honesty when congregational prayer seems dusty and rote.
• Sacred Stuff. Congregations that attend to space and symbol in worship find that God works beyond words to communicate grace to human beings who are helplessly corporeal. This is especially important in the Reformed tradition, where we rightly prize the Word of God spoken plainly and pow- erfully. In such contexts, a countervail- ing emphasis on the “stuff” of worship and life, on candles, ashes, colour and dance; on bread, wine and water—on the central things around which the community gathers—help to make worship a place not merely of “tell” but
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The mission and ministry of The Presbyterian Church in Canada is alive and filled with dedicated people who worship together, pray together and join together from across the country. We hope this newspaper helps further unite us in our com- mon mission of serving and loving God.
“show and tell.”
• Liturgical Resonance. The Holy
Spirit is also working renewal in the church through educational efforts to help congregations to see the links between the service we render for 60 minutes on Sunday and the grateful service/worship we render in all our lives. Worship is all-of-life in distilla- tion. We learn and practice in praise to map joy to its source in God. We learn and practice in confession to admit our shortcomings and ask others for for- giveness when we wrong them. We learn and practice in the sermon to qui- etly attend to the still small voice. We learn and practice around the Table to taste and see the goodness of the Lord. We pass the peace and give our offer- ings and pray for others to learn and practice hospitality and generosity and compassion.
I often tell my students that worship is like sailing: we work hard at preaching and presiding, but we aren’t in control of what happens. We seek renewal; but the Spirit blows where it will. Our joyful task as preachers and worship leaders is to let out as much sail as we possibly can. When we trim the sails well—when we preach with clarity and vividness, when we celebrate the sacraments with rich- ness and vitality, when we enact the church’s liturgy with authenticity and faithfulness—then we cooperate in God’s transforming and renewing work, bringing our full presence into that of the Triune God who meets with us Sun- days and shapes us for Christian living throughout the week.
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No growth without change
Written by Kenneth J. McFayden, Academic Dean of Union Presbyterian Seminary, Richmond, and Professor of Ministry and Leadership Development, Virginia, USA
I treasure conversations in which faith communities are exploring ways to work toward renewal and revitalization in their contexts. In these conversa- tions, people express a deep love for the church, often reminiscing about the past when their congregations seemed stronger and more alive. They express hope that if they can find the right lead- ers, and if their leaders do the right things, their congregations will grow once again.
I generally sense two primary mo- tives for revitalization and renewal in these conversations: a desire for more members, par ticularly younger mem- bers, and a desire for more financial resources to back congregational budgets. As one leader in a congrega- tion once said in a strategic planning retreat, “We need more bucks in the plates, and more butts in the pews.”
Many congregations want to grow. Most of them, however, are unwilling to change in order to grow. So they are stuck—stuck with a desire for renewal and revitalization and a wish for the church to find a brighter future by re- capturing its past. Two things are prob- lematic here. First, there is no growth without change. Second, we can only grow forwards, not backwards.
Many congregations seem to be stuck in time, caught between desires
for renewal and revitalization, and a desire to remain the same. They are stuck because they are deeply at- tached, perhaps overly attached, to the rich histories and traditions that have formed and shaped them. They are stuck, it seems, because they are focused more on what will attract new members (consumers?) to their con- gregations than on redefining them- selves in light of what God is calling them to become and do. Renewal and revitalization in the eyes of God may not be the same as renewal and revi- talization in the eyes of congregational members.
I offer several questions and com- ments for reflection and discussion as we seek to become less stuck in conversations about renewal and revi- talization:
1. Why do we as congregations ex- ist? Why, in relation to God? Why, in relation to members? Why, in rela- tion to neighbours and strangers? Many congregational leaders have difficulty ar ticulating why they do what they do. Perhaps we have be- come so established and comfor t- able that we have lost a sense of urgency in relation to our purpose. I fear that we have become so attached to the material things that define us, including our buildings, that we have diminished our primary attachment, as people of faith, to the living God who continues to create, redeem and sustain.
2. If renewal and revitalization ne- cessitate change, is our why strong enough for us to move courageously through challenges that accompany change?
Ron Heifetz and Mar ty Linsky, in Leadership on the Line, suggest that people do not resist change, per se; people resist loss. It seems to me that the dynamics of attachment are critical as we understand the nature of our attachments and therefore the losses we experience as our attach- ments are altered, if not broken, in the midst of significant change.
CONFERENCE
Being re-formed? Following and leading in a world of change
Leadership Conference with Kenneth J. McFayden, Academic Dean of Union Presbyterian Seminary, Richmond, and Professor of Ministry and Leadership Development
October 20–21, 2017 Toronto, ON
CONFERENCE
Worship words: discipling language for faithful ministry
Pre-General Assembly Worship Conference with the Rev. Ron Rienstra, Associate Professor of Preaching and Worship Arts at Western Theological Seminary
June 3–4, 2017 Kingston, ON