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Newsletter # 32 CANADIAN RURAL CHURCH NETWORK Writer / Editor: Joyce Sasse (Rural Minister)
INDEX:
BETTER COMMUNICATIONS ● Join a CRCN Google Group
RURAL ISSUES ● Country People Still Matter
RURAL MINISTRY (life and faith) ● The Bible as a Partner in Conversation ● Faith in Action in Cuba
WORSHIP RESOURCES ● The Baptism ● Aging Gracefully ● Embrace Adversity ● Out of the Root of Jesse
SAMPLER OF RURAL MINISTRY ● Postcards from the Valley ● Home Church Mission ● The Center for New Community
BETTER COMMUNICATIONS Join a CRCN Google Group (Paul Thoms has sent the CRCN up with a Google Grouping so participants in our Network can exchange ideas and information. For those who don't understand how this works or how to access same, Paul has provided us with the following information.) Following the Rural Ministry Symposium 2008 the Canadian Rural Church Network web-group was initiated. The purpose of this web-based group is as follows: This group welcomes those in rural ministry for the collegial purposes of: ● seeking answers and guidance for ministry, ● resource sharing for ministry, ● passing on info about books read, and books one would recommend. To utilize this media for mutual encourage and reflection as we engage in rural ministry, mindful that as we journey and we are not alone! There are many web-based groups out there. If you are subscribing to Canadian Rural Church Newsletter then you might be interested in participating in the web-group for Canadian Rural Ministry. It is very much like using a web-based email (gmail, hotmail, yahoo are some examples of the same). It is easy to become a member of the Canadian Rural Church Network web-group just request a membership, or ask a member of the group to invite you. Once you're a member you can invite others. Unsure of what to do, or how to make use of a web-based group, then take the Google Groups Tour. After taking the tour, once or more than once, you will see how web groups work and how to use them. You may even find other groups that you may wish to join. Once you subscribe to a web-group you will receive emails of updates (and you can control this by clicking "Edit my membership"). The emails you receive from the web-group will notify you of pages that have been added (or updated) and recent messages posted by members. The sharing of resources and of books worth reading are for me the two things we can probably all benefit from passing on. Already there is a reading list at the Canadian Rural Church Network web-group courtesy of one of the presenters of the 2008 Symposium. Give it a try! Ask a question. Post a resource. Need help - just ask! (Paul C Thoms, Jan / 09)
RURAL ISSUES
Country People Still Matter
"We all like to have folk meeting us on our own patch", Rev. Bill Bennett writes from New Zealand. "It helps us understand that most Christian ministry is going on every day in the paddocks, milking sheds and stockyards throughout the parish. Our incarnation God is not confined to a country church building."
In the 90's, when Anglicans had to "rationalize ministry in parts of New Zealand, fully-stipended clergy withdrew and church leadership came through Local Shared Ministry." Most leaders "were working people - farmers, nurses, teachers, etc - the traditional ministry of visiting farming families throughout the year became an unrealized ambition".
An old Anglican Dictum was recalled: "A house-going parson makes a church-going people". Bill Bennett, though technically retired, was appointed as a rural pastoral care visitor in his region. (Similar appointments have also been made in other areas.)
The visitors take info about local congregational happenings, and let people get to know them. "It is only later that they are prepared to open up about their deeper worries and challenges."
"Phone ringing before hand helps save time. Wet days are good times to visit. I avoid visiting on stock sale days or other important rural events. But attending these events is worthwhile in itself as they offer many pastoral opportunities."
Pleased with the response to this kind of home-visiting, plans are underway to hold pastoral care training events, and Bennett is preparing a visitor's manual.
Most note-worthy: "It seems that rural people like to be able to trust those who come a visit them on behalf of their congregation."
(Source: www.presbyterian.org.nz, Rural Network News, Nov 2008)
RURAL MINISTRY (life and faith)
The Bible as a Partner in Conversation
Rural people are often wary of easy answers, yet feel burdened by decisions that need to be made in turbulent times. It is important to note that the church can facilitate Community Forums where people gather and share diverse points of view as the community moves forward in decision-making., writes Rev. Robyn McPhail from New Zealand.
The key to making the Forums successful is to use the Bible as a partner in the conversation.
Whether the topic be the implications of sustainability, the stress of drought, or a safe food supply, "decisions need to be made in the midst of a cacophony of voices." There are "the strong voices of big players in economics, the niggling voices of government compliance, the immediate needs voices of family and farms, and the quieter yet deeply compelling voices of ethics and ecology."
"What do we listen to?" people ask. The Forum can help those voices talk with each other. Biblical narratives, carefully selected, can open the discussion and invite the conversation to move toward the realities of rural lives.
The "many perspectives" approach, which uses the text as a window, can be a healthy way to look at the current context.
"A (Biblical) story can be like a prayer for calm and for a clear head. But as a story that relates to practical concerns it will remain part of the conversation as people turn their minds to the (issues at hand). The images and ideas will linger in their minds."
Next step in the Community Forum is to break into small groups for more in-depth discussion. "When it comes to coping with rural trials, the experts are those who are gathered. As people talk together about their struggles, as they lament the situation they are in, the instinct is to be fellow travelers, sharing the pain and sharing techniques for moving on."
(Source: www.presbyterian.org.nz, Rural Network News, Nov 2008)
Faith in Action in Cuba
In October I accompanied seven United Church women to Cuba. The land was beautiful. "Listen, the rooster awakens early, to greet a new day, confident in the hope of dawn, of sunlight. Joyous in the opportunities of the day. Eager and refreshed. Listen, sugar cane and palms rustling in the breeze. The ducks and geese send out their call to creation." (Phyllis Buchnar)
The call to creation is a call to re-creation in a country held in economic bondage by the blockade, and often by hurricanes. The faith communities we visited responded with visions of sustainability, compassion and faith.
"We learned of their struggles which did not sound like struggles but opportunities to care and to serve others with self-sacrifice and love. Their surrounding world is their mission field and they enter it with a sense of community, strong and effective, which embraces all." (Alicia Kitt)
Some Cuban responses challenged us. "Perhaps the greatest challenge I encountered was that of "belonging". Everyone belonged! Regardless of race, color, age or creed (or lack of it) all were cared for equally by the community." (Pat Edmonds) "It was amazing to be embraced by another country and culture." (Betty Piper)
We experienced God in Cuba. "I saw the respect of the Divine One in those at the Christian Centre for Reflection and Dialogue providing programs for elder care, nutrition, health, social and spiritual nurture. Respect for creation at "El Retiro" growing organic crops and a biosystem using cattle excrement that provides fertilizer and fuel for heating etc. (Win Czum)
We saw faith in action. "I loved the energy and abundance of faith and hope for their future." (Vilia Fera) "My last image, so powerful ... was a new plant arising from a stone walkway at the Seminary." (Sara Jenkins) Dios es amor - God is love. We experienced it in Cuba.
(written by Anne Martin, Spiritual Formation & Small Group Ministries, United Church of Canada)
WORSHIP RESOURCES
The Baptism
He never came to church, He didn't feel he should, Until one day he called us To ask us if he could.
The problem was quite clear - It all concerned his son, It seemed the time was right To have his small boy "done".
So the preacher met with them To hear the father say, "I'd like my boy baptized Next month - on my birthday."
Well, the meeting soon was over And the preacher learned his fate, when the council all agreed This was a time to celebrate!
So the ladies baked a cake - It was planned as a surprise, And as the son was baptized Tears filled his father's eyes.
The church sang "Happy Birthday", There was no condemnation, Just words of warmth and welcome, And joyous celebration.
Now that man seems strangely different In the silence of his heart, For this company of strangers Gave the best gift from the start.
(written by Carol Carley in 1990)
Aging Gracefully
For two-thirds of our lives it is as if we move on a Bullet Train: always rushing to keep the schedule, with no time to take in the landscape.
With retirement, on the back-third of life's journey, we find ourselves transferred to something equivalent to the local Mail Train. Our conveyance stops everywhere and exposes us to aspects of life we've not yet thought about.
We notice the landscape passing. We find ourselves in the midst of life-and-death issues before we've had time to prepare ourselves. Memories of our failures haunt us. Feelings of loneliness force an uneasy restlessness.
Would-be means of escape and wild suggestions of solutions come from every direction. How do we cope with the bombardment? Where can we find understanding travel companions? Can we confront our fears about tomorrow? Dare we explore the mystery of what lies beyond?
New life is in the making as we cross this threshold. On the one hand, standing on the brink of old age too often means the world ignores us. On the other, we have opportunity to reach toward our God-given potential.
What about the letting-go, the adjustments, the sadness, the limitations? What about the possibilities, the search for freedom, the wisdom, the experiences of forgiveness, the feelings of fulfillment?
All of these are spiritual questions. But alas we live in an age that has become so focused on youth and the middle-age, there is a dearth of spiritual mentors with whom we can consult.
We need to make our needs known. We need to form networks of folks who want to grow old gracefully. We need to push church and community leaders to hear our groans and help us find the resources we need. By learning how to overcome our burdens and embrace our blessings, we can make a powerful contribution in a world threatened with meaninglessness.
(written by Joyce Sasse, Jan / 09)
Embrace Adversity
The stark world with all its skeletons and ghosts is so very much with us these days. At times it seems overwhelming.
News of the world comes at us from every side with menacing statistics. What was once the longest undefended border in the world now has chain-link fences at key crossings, and guards asking for passports as we travel along wilderness trails.
Government agencies, meant to attend the well-being of our country's citizens, too often tend only to the well-being of big business.
Once respected countries now have to be chided by the populace and embarrassed by smaller countries before they will make serious commitment to try to help reduce pollution.
Promises are made to right previous wrongs with First Nations Peoples, but there is little evidence that those commitments are being taken seriously.
We live in a world that has grown cynical and crass, where power corrupts those who promise to lead, and the lack of funding dilutes the pool of investigative reporters.
On the cusp of a New Year, we need to name the names and repeat the litany by way of giving voice to our doubts and our fears. But if we stop here, the fears will leave us feeling impotent, and the wrong-doings will become even more entrenched.
How important to start with the litany, then look ahead to the positive possibilities. By embracing our adversities, we can learn from them - and thus become passionate dreamers who look for positive possibilities.
How important to call on our seniors, who have lived through many adversities, to show us the way. By telling their stories, by naming the progressive steps that have been made, all can enlighten and enliven succeeding generations.
Memories, time, and active imaginations are our most effective resources for triggering all who live in a world of adversity to believe in positive God-given possibilities.
(written by Joyce Sasse, Nov / 08)
Out of the Root of Jesse
While words of economic depression blanket these darkest days of the year, we need to keep looking for glimmers of hope.
In the Thirties when drought, depression and destitutions cloaked the Canadian prairies, a handful of thoughtful men and women directed their feelings of helplessness and anger in a coordinated, positive direction. By 1935 the Co-Operative Commonwealth Federation (now known as the New Democratic Party) had a leader and a constitution.
The ideals of the Party were viewed by many as being totally unrealistic. J.S. Woodsworth shifted the focus. The burden of economic failure, he inferred, was not the fault of the jobless. It was because of government incompetence. Universal pension, health and welfare insurance, unemployment insurance, a minimum wage and farm security were named as objectives the CCF Party sought to bring to reality.
Ground work was laid, strategies were clarified, and members were recruited. Strange, isn't it, that the party never had many seats in the Legislature, but the ideals they fought for could not be suppressed - today we assume these to be God-given securities.
Tommy Douglas was touched by the spirit of the CCF Movement. His passion for justice, nurtured by Party ideals, combined with his oratorical and leadership skills, equipped him for political leadership on the local, provincial and national stages-of-power.
It didn't happen overnight. It didn't happen without a lot of work and risk-taking, prayer and persistence. But Saskatchewan enacted hospital coverage (1947) and medical coverage (1962). Then, in 1968, the Medical Care Act was passed providing universal health insurance to all Canadians.
So often, out of the ashes of calamity, people find ways to fight for ideals that reflect justice, mercy and righteousness.
Out of the root of Jesse, the ancient Prophet Isaiah wrote, new shoots shall burst forth from the tree that was cut down. Righteous leadership shall again emerge.
(written by Joyce Sasse, Nov / 08)
SAMPLER OF RURAL MINISTRY (Ministry is expressed in many ways. The following examples show the work being done by a church judicatory, parish clergy, and a food justice advocate.)
Postcards from the Valley
Shortly after David Giuliano was installed as Moderator of the United Church of Canada medical specialists informed him he required immediate surgery, which needed to be followed by radiation treatments and careful follow-up.
Giuliano writes in his book Postcards from the Valley "I dreamed of leading our church for a time from a place of strength, wisdom, and creativity. Instead I have been offering my weakness to the church, trusting that God's power "is made perfect in weakness". I would not have chosen it, but I cannot deny that it has been a gift to me and others.
"Personally, this journey through the valley has been a source of deepening my experience of the presence of God and of the Way of Jesus. There is a breaking open of my heart that can only truly be known from a place on the ground of lowliness. I am learning about vulnerability, limitation, and beauty. It has been an unwelcome and unasked-for blessing.
"For the church, my "wound near the temple" has become a lens through which I have tried to speak to the woundedness of our temple. As a community we are learning about the "valley of shadows" after a history spent primarily on top of the world. We are experiencing tremendous change and loss as a community. The church we have known and loved is dying. Death is always a part of transformation.... There is confusion, denial, and pain, as well as hope, in our body. I think we are closer to Jesus ..."
("Postcards from the Valley", United Church Publishing House, 2008)
Home Church Mission
Cariboo Church on the Cariboo-Chilcotin plateau of B.C. covers one-fifth of the area of B.C. Three couples plus the elders of the parish "reach out with the love of Christ to people in rural and remote areas beyond the reach of the traditional church."
"The idea is to have elders in each house-church (throughout the region) who can have oversight over that group ... (But) elders are appointed because of their gifting, not because of geographic location", Bruce Fraser, from the Presbyterian Church in New Zealand reports after his visit to Cariboo Church in Canada.
David Webber, one of the clergy leaders, provides most of the teaching for the seven house-churches he works with, either directly or indirectly through meeting with the leaders. Most music and Christian Education comes form the local community.
Charles McNeil has worked hard to train Elders. He and his wife focus 75 % of their work at Lac La Hache.
Jon and Shannon Wyminga have oversight of eight house-churches.
Webber says "We (the Presbyterian Church of Canada) have a model of ministry that is antiquated, and trying to find people who are open and can relate to people of all different denominational backgrounds and no-denominational backgrounds, who are willing to go and sit with two people, if necessary, and pastor them after you've driven 2 hours; (people who) can let go of numbers and structure and accept rural realities in this kind of area, that's really hard, and when we are training people in the city, it's hard to find people who are leaders (for rural settings). We've started to realize we've got to find leadership within the ministry. I don't think the seminaries or the theological schools hold a heck of a lot of hope."
In this extended area each part seems to regard itself as a separate entity. "There is also the sense that if you haven't lived here for forty years or more you don't belong." Drought and depressed stock prices are a major concern for these ranchers and may indicate the ending of family farms.
The logging industry is also in crisis. Communities are threatened but the church sees itself fulfilling an important mission in the remotest regions. Community concerts, rodea church services, a 3-week long young men's Christian boot camp, daily holiday Bible schools, weekly community outreach dinners, worship service gatherings are reminders that the Gospel message and community connectedness are integrally related.
(Source: www.presbyterian.org.nz, Rural Network News, Nov 2008)
The Center for New Community
The Center for New Community,
centred out of Chicago, has grown significantly, and our staff (now
15 full- and part-time) is working nationwide on a range of concerns and
commitments.
(Details for this work can be found at www.newcomm.org)
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