St. Simon the Cyrenian goes knocking on doors

Members of The Church of St. Simon the Cyrenian in New Rochelle, New York, spread out into the local neighborhood, ringing doorbells and invited people to church. Interim Pastor, the Rev. Canon Titus Presler describes on his blog how it came about and what happened on their first outing:

On Tuesday, June 22, four members of the Evangelism Team of the Church of St. Simon the Cyrenian visited about 70 homes in the immediate neighborhood of the parish in the first installment of what is planned to be a regular door-to-door outreach.

Such outreach is not exactly common among Episcopal parishes, so people often ask, “Well, what do you say when you go door-to-door?” Each pair of visitors asked residents this particular question, “Is there something you would like us to pray for in church at St. Simon’s this Sunday?” People were home at about 20 of the residences. Seventeen prayer requests were received, and these will be offered up in this coming Sunday’s liturgy. Each of the responsive households will receive a follow-up letter from the parish.

Team members went with an invitational card, and with a copy of the previous week’s bulletin. These were given to respondents and left in the mailboxes of those not home. The visitors were three members of the parish’s Men’s Fellowship – Ardon Michaels, Herman Harvey, Cuthbert Barker – and myself as the interim pastor. We split into two pairs and moved down on opposites sides of each street, ringing doorbells as we went. Team members plan to share from their experience during this Sunday’s announcements.

In only several instances were those who answered the door unwelcoming. Responses from others ranged from mild interest to real appreciation to theological discussion. Among the highlights:

• One person came out of her home and sat on the front stoop to engage a team with lengthy and cordial conversation.

• One person said he was a Muslim and therefore not particularly interested in conversation, but he thanked us for visiting and referred us to two apartments upstairs that we might otherwise have missed.

• Several people expressed appreciation that we were going door to door and noted that they were not used to seeing that. One person said that she had never seen a pastor visiting the houses on her street and that she was reassured by the sight.

• Of the 17 responding households, probably about a dozen already had a church that they regularly attended. We told them that we rejoiced in that. We certainly were not urging any changes in membership. With other households we were quite frank in inviting them to visit St. Simon’s.

• People had prayer requests You that they wanted to share. Some of them were very general like “world peace” or “family.” Other prayer requests were a good deal more specific.

• We were struck by how far many people travel to go to church. New Rochelle is a city of about 75,000 people located northeast of New York City, about a half hour away by train. Some respondents traveled to the Bronx, Brooklyn, Bronxville or Times Square to get to church.

The team met on the previous Saturday for an orientation session that I conducted. The group took as its biblical foundation Jesus words to his disciples, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people” (Mark 1:17). I defined mission as ministry in the dimension of difference, an understanding that I have been working on for some time and which is developed fairly fully in my forthcoming book, Going Global with God: Reconciling Mission in a World of Difference. I defined evangelism as telling our story in the light of God story.

The evangelistic outreach of visiting homes in the neighborhood was related to St. Simon’s mission statement, which highlights an aspiration that the parish be a beacon for the community. I noted that St. Simon’s has a strong internal community but that last winter’s Vestry retreats had raised the question whether the parish was effective in having an impact on the wider community of New Rochelle and the neighboring towns.

The open-ended question – “Is there something you would like us to pray for in church this Sunday?” – is designed to catalyze conversation that has both the vertical dimension of relationship with God and the horizontal dimension of community care. It is a question that seeks to serve. It does not pry into people’s theological persuasion, nor is it aimed at buttressing church membership.

Evangelism is one aspect of the broader mission that the parish is organizing and which includes outreach to local colleges and service to major communities of need in the local area. For instance, last week a group of leaders from the parish met with the assistant to the city manager of New Rochelle in order to seek assistance in discerning how a congregation like St. Simon’s can best serve the wider community.

There are some aspects of this project that are worth noting:

• motivation--The basis of the project was grounded in the congregation's understanding of mission and their role in the community as a "beacon for the community." Note how the parish undertook mission projects which involved going to city and civic leaders and listening to how the parish might serve the community more and in projects of direct outreach.
  
• listening--I was intrigued by the question asked by the visiting teams to people who answered their doors, "“Is there something you would like us to pray for in church at St. Simon’s this Sunday?” Clearly, the visitors are telling people about St. Simon's and certainly their hope is that some people would come to their church. But the content of their opening question asks what St. Simon's can do for the person, and it is framed in terms of what St. Simon's does best. It is also a question that requires the inquirer to stop and listen to whatever comes next. So to do this successfully, the visitors must be ready to accept whatever response they get and must go with an accepting attitude, rather than wanting to change a person's mind on the spot.
• story--I think a project like this is consistent with the work we in the Diocese of Bethlehem has been doing around evangelism, not only because the congregation chose a pro-active approach, but mainly because the approach St. Simon's chose is grounded both in mission and in the spiritual vitality of the congregation. Previously, the parish took their Palm Sunday procession which had previously been restricted to the church and parking lot out into the streets of their city. Folks who take part in the effort, must be aware of their own spiritual story, but also have the maturity and confidence to listen first, pray when needed, and the confidence to accept gracefully whatever response comes along.

This project shows how evangelism is grounded in the mission and spiritual vitality of a congregation.

Catch the buzz

The opening video at the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada now meeting in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The lessons of this video are not limited to Canada. They express the environment in which we do mission today all over the globe, including the Diocese of Bethlehem. Learn more about how we can "catch the buzz" in the Diocese of Bethlehem. Communications is a whole ministry grounded in vision and prayer. Evangelism is how we communicate the Gospel. Can we adapt Canada's slogan? How about "Catch the buzz: Tell what you have seen and heard."

"Fresh Expressions" reimagines what it takes "turn around" declining churches

Jim White, Religious Herald writes in the Texas Baptist Standard about "Fresh Initiatives," an approach being used in the Church of England to both revitalize existing congregations or plant new congregations (or both).

White writes:

If turning around a declining church were easy, more declining churches would be reversing course.

And if Christians in the United States think turning around a church is difficult, think of trying it in the Church of England, where tradition reaches back hundreds of years and hierarchical structure often hamstrings changes local congregations want to make.

But Bob and Mary Hopkins believe fresh expressions—a term they prefer over “revitalizing a congregation”—can come even to Anglican churches in the United Kingdom.

Although they began—and continue—as church planters in urban settings with Anglican Church Planting Initiatives, from 1998 to 2005, the Hopkins served on the leadership team of St. Thomas’ Church in Sheffield, which grew to 1,500 in attendance, primarily reaching young adults with emerging culture interests.

They acknowledge cultural differences between the United Kingdom and the United States, but they emphasize that differences favor American churches. According to the Hopkins, culture in the United Kingdom is more influenced by secular atheism and is further into an era being called post-Christendom. The Brits have fewer megachurches and a greater percentage of smaller congregations. In addition, their congregations are attended by older people—average age 61—with fewer financial resources.

Because of their success, the pair has been asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury to serve on the Fresh Expressions team charged with bringing new vitality and energetic ministry to Anglican churches.

Although not everyone accepts their belief that churches in decline should not feel guilty, Bob and Mary Hopkins teach churches to begin by rejecting the belief that they have failed. Shying away from terms like “traditional churches” that often have negative connotations, they prefer the term “inherited churches” to describe churches that have been around for years.

“It isn’t good or bad,” Bob Hopkins said. “It simply describes what is. This is the church that has come down to us.”

But fresh expressions of church life require more than just a name change. In the past, they insist, the church’s approach has been attractional—inviting people to come to church.

Some churches have transitioned to an engaged approach that says, “We’ll go out and engage people and bring them back to the church.”

The couple believes more transition is needed—an emerging approach that says, “We’ll go out and stay engaged with people in our culture and see what new expressions of being the church arise.”

What characterizes an emerging approach?

“First and above all,” Bob Hopkins said, “we’ve got to stop starting with the church.” Instead, he insists, start with the nonchurched in their social contexts.

The couple believes, based on their relatively recent successes, the inherited church must be willing, able and even eager to initiate changes designed with specific interest groups in mind. They foresee churches for young adults, adults with young children, network churches, community initiative churches, alternative worship churches, school-based student churches and even work-based churches.

These churches may or may not worship on Sundays. They may or may not have paid staff. They may be smaller, worship in cafes, or around tables or in homes as cells. They may even be intentional conventional church plants, but Bob and Mary Hopkins believe the church must take the teaching of Christ to its world rather than expect the world to come to it.

Neither can the church in the future expect the world to reflect its values and teachings. The world is becoming increasingly worldly. In such a context the attractional church has little chance of surviving, they believe.

They do, however, see a future for what they call “mixed economy” churches that affirm what they have inherited from the past while transitioning into churches having a mission to the non-churched.

While at St. Thomas in Sheffield, Bob helped begin a discipleship process called Lifeshapes which has become international in scope. They believe that staid, passive, all-but-dead Anglican churches can find fresh expressions in which to life out their faith.

The new churches may not resemble the old, cathedral-based models, they insist, but those churches will be authentic and biblical. They believe tired old American churches can find fresh expressions, as well.

For additional information visit their website at www.acpi.org.uk.

Ash Wednesday at the rail station.

Updated. The Rev. Lane Hensley of the Church of the Transfiguration in Palos Park, Illinois came out in the early morning to the commuter rail station and distributed ashes to commuters on their way to work. Other congregations did the same at other Chicagoland commuter rail stations, and there was ecumenical effort in the business district of St. Louis.

Father Hensley said he wanted to bring the Gospel to where people actually live and work. More images and the rest of the story may be found at Episcopal Cafe here.

Brandon's story

This story from Wyoming talks about how one person with a heart for evangelism made a difference in the life of his congregation and his friends. It is also a story about how a congregation can encourage a person with a gift for evangelism to thrive in a helpful and healthy way. It is also the story of a ten-year old named Brandon.

From the e-newsletter of the Diocese of Wyoming, the Rev. Kathy Robinson shares the story of Cheryl Duel's son Brandon. Cherly is the senior warden of the Church of our Savior, Hartville, Wyoming:

Evangelism happens everyday and all around us...we just need to listen for the stories. This is a wonderful story about a ten year old boy and his story that came to me from his mother, Cheryl Duel....

From Cheryl: My ten year old son Brandon attended our annual convention again this year. He went for the first time with me last year to Jackson Hole and had a wonderful time with the other youth who were there. He is an easy going young man, makes friends easily, and is comfortable in almost any situation. So, I was not surprised when he readily agreed to participate in the World Café conversations, at different tables than I was seated. We had just been told about the Mustard Seed gift and all the tables had rather lively conversations about what they could do.

We finished this activity and Brandon came to find me. I asked how his experience was and he replied, “Mom, I am full of the evangelistic spirit. I had some great ideas and I am ready to do them when we get home.” I was pleasantly surprised by his enthusiasm, but wondered if he would follow through on his plans. He knows that not many of his friends are church goers and decided to do something about it. We came home from Rock Springs and he immediately began having conversations with his friends about their belief in God, if they had been baptized, and so forth. He found out quite a bit and we would visit about his talks when I got home from work. He made his plans entirely on his own, and surprised me when he implemented them. He had three friends spend the night for his birthday this last week on Saturday night. They watched movies and played video games, all the things young boys do, as well as stayed up late, so I really didn’t give it too much thought the next morning as I readied myself for church. It was a little after 8 and I was having a cup of coffee before heading out the door, when Brandon , who had just been awake a few minutes, roused all his buddies and said, “Come on guys, we don’t want to be late for church.” They all got up, got ready, and piled in the van to go. I was totally shocked. I really thought they would come up with some excuse not to go, but they all went willingly and cheerfully. They all sat in one pew in front of me, had their bulletins and got all their pages marked to begin. Brandon introduced them all at the beginning of the service and they participated with full hearts throughout the service. Afterward, at our coffee hour, they all told different members of the church that they would be back. I told them if they wanted to come, all they have to do is call and I will be glad to give them a ride.

His friends continue to come to church, one has been there on a weekly basis, the others about every other week, but they are coming and listening. Small steps to great rewards. Brandon was thrilled that his plan worked, and I marvel at his evangelistic spirit. Brandon’s efforts reminded me of our baptismal covenant, “ I will with God’s help”, because I know God was guiding Brandon every step of the way, and for that I am truly thankful.

I am a closet Christian

One of our assumptions among the members of the Evangelism Commission is that Christians will never reach full maturity in their faith, and never begin to experience the fullness of being a follower of Jesus, until they find a way to articulate their faith.

Ada Calhoun writes in on her blog as Slate.com about her journey to becoming Christian, and her journey to being able to admit that she is Christian.

She says "I am a closet Christian. At least, I was until now. Because in my circle, nothing is more embarrassing than being religious."

It was Sunday morning in my scruffy Brooklyn, N.Y., neighborhood, and I was wearing a dress. Walking to the subway, I ran into a friend heading home from yoga class. She wore sweats and carried her mat over her shoulder. "Where are you going so early all dressed up?" she asked, chuckling. "To church?" We shared a laugh at the absurdity of a liberal New Yorker heading off to worship.

The real joke? I totally was.

Inside the church, it's cool and quiet. I read the Collect of the day in the Book of Common Prayer, which urges us: "While we are placed among 
things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall
 endure." My recent layoff no longer seems like the end of the world. I take Communion and exchange the peace and listen to the sermon. As I'm walking back up the aisle, I feel reoriented and calmer, the indignities of the week shift into perspective.

These moments are not only sacred; they are secret. Outside, on the steps of the downtown Manhattan church, I think I see someone familiar coming down the sidewalk, and I bolt in the other direction.

Why am I so paranoid? I'm not cheating on my husband, committing crimes or doing drugs. But those are battles my cosmopolitan, progressive friends would understand. Many of them had to come out -- as gay, as alcoholics, as artists in places where art was not valued. To them, my situation is far more sinister: I am the bane of their youth, the boogeyman of their politics, the very thing they left their small towns to escape. I am a Christian.

No doubt Ada is not alone. Many of us are closet Christians. How do we "tell what we have seen and heard" if we lock ourselves away in closets?

Read the rest of her story here.

H/T to Episcopal Cafe.

Getting ready for Christmas visitors

Most congregations will have to dust off the back—or the front!—pews on Christmas Eve. Churches find that a lot of people show up for what is both a major feast of the church and a major cultural holiday. The Christmas story reminds us that God is revealed to strangers and welcomes the outsider. How we prepare for Christmas at the doors of the church is every bit as important as what we prepare in the chancel.

There are many reasons that people come to Christmas liturgies: some prefer to come to church at Christmas and Easter; others come as a kind of “family reunion” gathering as a family in the church they took part in when the kids were younger and before they went their separate ways. Some folks are coming because they remember another church. Of course, some are coming for deeper reasons that they may or may not be conscious of. The major Christmas liturgies are a time of welcome and it is a time when the church is both ministering to the core congregation and to the larger community.

Don’t forget to prepare for visitors as carefully as we prepare our music, our flowers and greens and our liturgies. It is tempting to think that these special liturgies are for “us” and so end up treating visitors as outside observers or, worse, as interlopers. If there is ever a time when our liturgy is both a celebration of the community faith and a spiritual ministry to the community, Christmas Eve is it!

Here are some more or less random suggestions for extending hospitality to everyone on Christmas Eve. These are lessons that can be applied any time.

• Everyone is a participant. In both our spoken communications and our printed notices be careful not to reinforce notions of those who “belong” or who are "insiders" and those who “don’t belong,” “we haven’t seen in a long time” or as "outsiders." We all are the recipients of God's welcome of strangers to the manger. Any hint that someone is perceived as an outsider is the same as saying, "No room in the inn!"
• Avoid asking people to identify themselves publicly as visitors. For every one person who likes that kind of attention, there are ten who do not.
• Repeat after me: “Merry Christmas. We are glad to see you.” Full stop. Avoid inadvertently shaming a person who “only” comes to church on Christmas and Easter. If the person in question brings it up, just smile (or laugh) and repeat the above line. If the worshipper is a person who was once very active in church and is now much less so, appreciate their presence now.
• Don't assume that anyone knows anything! We long-timers may crack wise about “Episcopal aerobics” (you know, ‘stand, sit, kneel…’) and take pride in the hand-eye coordination it takes to juggle a Prayer Book, Hymnal and Bulletin, but for everyone else it can be an intimidating. Newcomers to our tradition or people who have not been to church for a while can be self-conscious about proper 'church-etiquette'. This is a good time to print as much of the liturgy as you reasonably can in one place.
  
• Celebrate the church's faith without apology or hesitation. The Christmas Eve liturgy is the great rehearsal of the incarnation. All those who come want to be part of a living community's drama of welcoming Jesus. In doing so, they hope to discover again — or for the first time — who God is and who Jesus is — "up close and personal." Don't try to play to the audience. This is a glorious night full of God's splendor, mystery, and presence. Sing, pray, rejoice in all the ways your community is able. Deep joy and genuine excitement are contagious and appealing. Skip anything that is phony or contrived.
• Encourage church members to show hospitality through attentiveness and warmth to those taking seats near them — making sure each person has a hymnal, a service bulletin, enough room, or a friendly word of guidance about where to turn in the hymnal. It is also a good idea to remind long-timers that they can gently help newcomers by sharing a hymnal or prayer book. If you see someone fumbling through a book trying to finding a page, try gently offering to exchange your prayer book for theirs. Ushers and greeters are important, but what will make a lasting and loving impression is the demonstration of grace and caring by the people in the pews who share the journey.
• Orient ushers and greeters and make sure they are “on duty” and “on station” throughout the whole liturgy. Everyone may focus on the celebrant, preacher and choir but the first person a newcomer or visitor interacts with in your church is the usher and greeter. They should be focused on welcoming a newcomer, orienting them to the church and helping answer any questions. They should know where the rest rooms are, where to hang coats, be ready to pass along an activity bag for children, and invite them to coffee hour or hospitality after the service. Nothing sends a message of “you don’t belong and I don’t care” when an usher is chatting with members with their back to the door or who disappear after the first hymn.
• Be ready to help parents with children who are not regular church-goers feel comfortable. Many parents have unrealistic notions of how children "ought" to behave in church. Many parents assume that churches are intolerant of children and fear that any little peep will attract disapproval. Proving them wrong would a pleasant and welcome surprise. If your church has activity bags or special bulletins for young children--or maybe a group can create small "gift" bags to give to parents with things that help children stay both occupied and engaged during the liturgy--make sure your ushers and greeters offer them to the parents and children as they come in. Don't wait for them to ask! If you have a nursery or a play area, make sure it is staffed and that there is a way for parents to still take part in the service maybe with Christmas books, coloring, etc. Long-timer parents with kids can assist visiting parents and their kids by helping them relax and enjoy the service.
• Update your newcomers materials and have them ready.
• Be sure all know how they are to receive Holy Communion. A simply worded notice in the bulletin or a brief explanatory word just before people partake will be a generous act of hospitality.
• Love all the people just because they are there for this time, this holy night. Forget about wondering and worrying about whether or not they will come back.
• Do leave breadcrumbs along the path so that if people want to come again, they know how and when to return. The Christmas Eve bulletin can be a great vehicle to describe in a brief, attractive way the unique ministry of your congregation and communicate when you routinely worship, how to contact the church office or clergy. Have materials ready for people to take home about your parish. Bulletin notices or a special insert with worship times welcomes participation and sends the right signals.

H/T to Daniel Benedict of General Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church whose work on this topic was adapted for this post.