Page 40 - Presbyterian Connection

Connection
REFLECTIONS
Church Membership in a Globally Connected World
40
PRESBYTERIAN
SUMMER 2021
presbyterian.ca
By the Rev. Janet Taylor, Braeside Presbyterian Church in St. Albert, Alta.
Is it time to change our understand- ing of membership in the PCC?
There is no question that the events of the past year have driven congregations, Sessions, pastors and outreach programs to explore new and different ways to share the gospel. Camp Kintail’s efforts to host a women’s shelter is just one exam- ple of the Spirit at work during the pandemic.
Shortly after the pandemic began, I attended an online meeting with Dr. Rober t Strang, Nova Scotia’s Chief Medical Officer of Health. The focus of discussion was how churches could navigate the shutdowns. Dr. Strang observed that churches could take one of two views: either the pandemic is an insurmountable obstacle, or it invites unlimited op- por tunities. Each church and con- gregation will choose one or the other viewpoint, he suggested.
The Session at Braeside Presbyte- rian Church in St. Albert, Alta. chose the attitude of limitless possibil- ity stretching out in front of us. Like most churches, we’ve tried dozens of different ways to keep connected with our members and to reach out to
our community in the past year. The Rev. Angie Song, at Vaughan Pres- byterian Church in Thornhill, Ont., accurately summed up how church leaders have been feeling when she said, “We’re throwing spaghetti against the wall and seeing what sticks!” Some of our efforts have been successful and others fell flat.
Contrary to what we might expect, many congregations have experi- enced an increased presence in their communities through live stream- ing and worship recordings. Church members are sharing websites and video links with family globally, lead- ing to participation from people on every continent of the globe on any given Sunday. Church attendance historically was grounded in geog- raphy: we attended the church clos- est to where we lived. That changed somewhat with the invention of the automobile, leading the faithful to choose a worship home within a reasonable driving-distance. But with the explosion of Internet connectivity in almost all churches, any restric- tions on who could (and would) at- tend have dissolved.
We might have assumed that church polity demands that mem- bership in a congregation is only connected to geographic location.
However, because so many of us are using Zoom, there are no longer any limits on where in the world we can reach to from our church on the corner. I recently received a request for membership from a person living three provinces away (but related to a current member).
The questions surrounding our long-held understanding of mem- bership, community and participa- tion have begun a process of re- flection in our Session. Hoping to frame this process of reflection in a positive way that can inform other congregations, I will be exploring the topic in DMin studies at St. Ste- phen’s College, Edmonton, star ting in July of 2021.
We Presbyterians believe that the church is “Semper Reformanda,” always reforming, and I believe the Holy Spirit is doing just that during this ongoing health crisis. Do we have the courage to be church in a new, broader way?
I look forward to hearing from con- gregations across the country who would like to share their experiences of online worship par ticipation and how they have welcomed new par tici- pants from around the globe. I can be reached at braesidepc@outlook.com.
A Conversation with the Creator
By Vivian Ketchum, originating from Wauzhushk Onigum Nation of North- ern Ontario, a member of Place of Hope Presbyterian Church in Winni- peg, Man., and former member of the Life and Mission Agency Committee
Creator: Hello, Vivian.
Me: Yes, how are you today?
Creator: I am fine. I have a path for you to walk on.
Me: Oh?
Creator: You’ve done well in your healing journey.
Me: Thank you.
Creator: See the path in front of you?
(I look to where He is pointing. It is very narrow. Rough and bumpy. Not straight.)
Creator: I see hesitation in your eyes.
Me: It looks too hard. Don’t think I can walk that path. Do you have an easier path?
Creator: You have been given Gifts to help you on this path. Words of mouth that a needed messenger re- quires.
Me: I talk lots but it is more babbling than anything else.
Creator: You also have the Gift of pen and paper. The ability to write those spoken words that are around you.
Me: I see people with heavy burdens on their backs. I am still broken in some ways. How can I help them?
Creator: You know their tears. You have shed similar tears. You know
their pain. You have once carried the same burdens.
Me: I am still getting used to my emo- tions. The walls that I had to protect me are still at my feet.
Creator: And that is why you are cho- sen for this path.
Me: I will be alone on this path, but then again when have I not been alone in my troubled times?
Creator: You will not be alone. You have the Gift of friendship that will guide you and help you. People that you meet along the way.
Me: You speak of the Gifts that will help me on this difficult path. Why me?
Creator: I don’t send the broken but a healing person to help those that are broken. To show what is possible. To show those broken walls at your feet. That they come down and feel those emotions without fear. To let them know of the Gifts that they have within them. To let them know they are not alone.
Me: I am scared. Of failure.
Creator: There will be times when you can rest. Rest, but not turn back. You will be guided. There is no failure when you are helping someone on this path.
(I stood before the path. Put my foot on it and looked ahead. Unsure, but I have to trust in the Creator. He has spoken of some of my Gifts to help me. I am told that I will discover more Gifts as I walk this path. I take an- other step.)
Creator: Walk lightly, Little One. I will be with you.