Contents:
1. A comparison of CitC to the forming church in Acts.
2. Written desires and acknowledgements of what committing to CitC might mean.
3. Paper form to be completed on Commitment Sunday.
SECTION 1
A Comparison of CitC to the forming church in Acts.
We realize that we aren’t the first group of people that are figuring out what it means to be church. The story of Acts is about a rag tag group of people with lots of opinions, lots of conflict, sketchy details on how this is supposed to work left behind by a guy who got the ball rolling, but then had to head out on a cloud. Now, of course, we know that a paraclete was left behind, but the whispers of the spirit doesn’t transfer well into bylaws. And as these folks were figuring it out they hit a few bumps along the way as they tried to figure out a system to feed the poor, include the marginalized, and keep the parts of the culture they loved without making all the other boys cut of parts of their “culture” they were really attached to.
And maybe, just maybe, we can go through our parallel challenges without having to see each other killed (Stephen/James) or killing each other (Annias & Saphira). Maybe we won’t be complicit at the stoning of another and then need a blinding light and a good talking to by Jesus (S/Paul), to figure out our path. And heaven forbid some in our community will have to eat meat they think is nasty (Peter) to figure out that God loves all of us. (But on a personal note, given all the shipwrecks in the book of Acts, I think I am avoiding cruise ships until this is over.)
SECTION 2
Written desires and acknowledgements of what committing to CitC might mean
Church in the Cliff is in a time of transition. We are remembering, celebrating and learning from the stories of our past and we are living into the stories of our future. The Sunday after Easter will be a congregation-led service that will offer an opportunity for those of us connected to CitC to make statements about our intentions to be church together and to express the myriad ways we express what being church means to us.
It is desired that:
• People commit to the church or choose not to commit to the church or choose to abstain from making a decision and do so of their own free will.
• Those committed to the church will be committing to support the church as they able with their presence, their finances, and their service.
• Those who are not yet ready to commit to the church community are welcome to participate in the life of the community to the extent they are comfortable.
• As we go through this time of transition, those committed to the community will be the steering voices of the community and voting voices of the community when votes are needed.
• Continuous opportunities to commit to this church community are available.
We acknowledge:
• Those committing to the church are not committing to a vision, they are committing to forming the vision and being part of the work to bring about CitC’s collective image of the realm of God.
• Committing to this church and this community is not committing to a belief statement, a denomination, or a creed. Whatever our common tie is, it has not proven to be a one of these.
• Committing to this church and this community involves a commitment to each other and acknowledging the dignity of each person.
• Choosing to attend this church and/or participate in community life does not require a commitment to this church community. Visitors and sojourners are always welcome.
• There are at least as many ideas of what church should be like as there are participants in our church.
• CitC has become the church home and community for many of us who have not felt comfortable anywhere else.
SECTION 3
Paper form to be completed on Commitment Sunday
Name:
_ I am committing to Church in the Cliff as I am able by attending, by giving and by serving through this time of transition.
_ At this time, I am not ready to commit to Church in the Cliff.
_ I am so new that I don’t know what is going on, but I didn’t want to be the only one to not have a piece of paper to turn in.
(optional) I would like to share a statement about my commitment: (In an acknowledgement of transparency, these comments will be read by the Transition Team in their next meeting. These meetings are open for others to attend.)
This a draft. We're putting this up for comments and feedback so that we can craft something that represents a shared vision.
ReplyDeleteBear in mind that the goal is to have a commitment around building a shared vision of the church. This is not that vision, but more of a meta-vision about how we're going to move forward. We want things to remain pretty open so that there is space for discovery. We also want to honor different levels of commitment as valid.
"I am so new that I don’t know what is going on, but I didn’t want to be the only one to not have a piece of paper to turn in."
ReplyDeleteOh goodness. I actually really love that bit. It affirms a place that people might be, and offers a bit of humor in what is proving to be a bit of a tiring and trying time.
I affirm the first section of bullet points entitled “it is desired that” (although I think it would be better stated in the active tense: “The transition team desires that . . .” I think that the bullet point section entitled “we acknowledge” either:
ReplyDeleteA) Needs to be removed entirely. I think that the guidance in the first section, “it is desired that,” is sufficient. Why not take the statements people make during the service and then as a transition team develop a collective understanding out of everyone's voices. Some of these points work well, but I think they could be stronger/amended in some helpful ways. For the purposes of voting – I can understand why you want a more stable, identified body, but I am not sure that indicating such on a piece of paper is at this time the most helpful way to accomplish that. Why not continue to announce that we will vote on matters important to the community at Sunday mornings at 10am, if you want to have a voice in decision making, you need to come at that time.
B) If the transition team decides to keep the bullet points, I would make amendments in the following ways:
For some people the idea of having a belief statement, denomination, or creed has been a positive and not a negative experience. While I understand that the point of this statement is to say that these things are not necessary for commitment to CitC, I feel like the sentence arrangement states negatively what would better be stated positively, what is it that we are as a congregation and can loosely say we affirm? Possible rewording: CitC is an ecumenical community (or a community of diverse religious and philosophical views) that is open to all who wish to be part of a spiritual journey together, regardless of their religious or non-religious views. I do not think that such a statement speaks for the congregation, but rather articulates a reality that already exists within the congregation. Having reformulated the statement, I would still add that I think that this kind of statement is problematic, because I think there are some beliefs that we as a congregation would not affirm as part of our community such as someone saying violent, homophobic, racist, or sexist statements during Sunday morning conversations or behaving in those ways towards the larger group. That is why waiting until we have input from the group would be helpful. Then we could state in a positive way what the community affirms.
Furthermore, bullet point four in the “We acknowledge” section seems better stated in the “it is desired that” section. In order to fully participate in community life in terms of voting, formal commitment is required, however the inability to commit does not preclude anyone from attending services, social events, and educational activities. I like the spirit of welcoming those who are not sure yet of their commitment. I simply don’t want the statements to undermine each other. The transition team wants congregation participants to commit, but we don’t want to pressure anyone. This idea could be better said in a statement that reads (something approximating): “Everyone may not feel comfortable making a formal commitment to CitC now or even into the future. Visitors and sojourners are always welcome and encouraged to participate in the life of the community. Formal commitment is necessary for basic church governance, but does not preclude your participation in other ways.”
These are just my thoughts as they are at this moment.
I affirm the Transition Team for working so diligently to craft this document and appreciate much of what it has to say. Thank you for also engaging the community’s input as we move forward together.
From Ron Durham.
ReplyDeleteFor Commitment Sunday:
In planning the commitment Ballot / Questionnaire / Information Gathering Forum should we include the words "Jesus" and or "Christiona" in reference to our CitC faith community?
In asking about Service Commitment, how about asking the people who fill it out to list the service(s) they are currently doing and /or definitely plan to do for CitC, such as making coffe, bringing food for before the 11 AM service, taking care of the offering, and doing the music, etc.
Ask them to list the service(s) they are currently doing and/or definiteyly plan to do for our greater community, such as preparing and serving dinner for the poor and homeless at Oak Lawn United Methodist Church on Sundays and preparing and servig breakfast for the poor and homeless at Cathedral of Hope on Saturdays, etc.
Transition Team:
ReplyDeleteLooking at Ron's piece - Could we get together at 10am and begin working on these more practical items?
For instance, I would like to be part of worship planning.
I think continuing the 10am time would be helpful, particularly for those of us who can't make it in the middle of the week. I think we should meet at 10am even if the Transition Team has other things they need us to talk about.
Thanks to everyone for their hard work.