1001 New Worshiping Communities and Vital Congregations conference

Last week I had the privilege of attending the 1001 New Worshiping Communities/Vital Congregations national conference in Kansas City.  I haven’t had the opportunity to attend this national conference before. It made sense to me to attend as I was the organizing pastor of a new church and am serving on our Presbytery’s Committee on Congregational Vitality which oversees 1001 New Worshiping Communities.

In 2012 the Presbyterian Church (USA) committed itself to creating 1001 New Worshiping Communities in ten years. The web site of 1001 New Worshiping Communities shares the vision of this initiative. https://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/1001-2/

The highlight of the conference for me was a plenary session led by Rev. Dr. Gregory Ellison and a plenary session led by Rev. Becca Stevens.

Dr. Ellison is co-founder of Fearless Dialogues, an organization that specializes in creating unique spaces where unlikely partners can gather to have heartfelt dialogue about difficult subjects. His presentation was especially relevant given the racial challenges of the United States.  A simple blog can’t capture the emotional intensity of the experience.  He called the presentation a laboratory of discovery. It was a heart-felt conversation where all of us had the opportunity to talk deeply to another person. Dr. Ellision talked about seeing, hearing, and creating spaces for change. “If you can’t see the humanity of the person in front of you,” he said, “you cannot change.” He shared five fears that stifle conversation—the fear of the unknown, of strangers, of appearing ignorant, of plopping and of oppressive systems.  His presentation helped me, yet again, recognize my own privilege and appreciate how African Americans have felt invisible in American culture. The presentation ended with each of us paired with another person. We were asked to look at each other for an extended period of time and then share what we saw. I’ll remember the experience for a long time.

I wish that his books had been for sale at the conference as I would have snatched them up immediately.

Rev. Beccas Stevens’ presentation the next day was just as moving. She shared her story of creating Thistle Farms, a place that welcomes women with housing, medical care, therapy and education for two years. Many of the women who come to Thistle Farms were trafficked. Rev. Stevens shared her own story of abuse and how that ultimately inspired her to create Thistle Farms.

She shared over and over the importance of bringing our whole selves into our ministry. She shared how everyone has the opportunity to be the host of God’s story and not the hero of the story. We already have a hero who is the host for our own story.  She encouraged everyone to create rituals for justice in our congregations.  We closed by anointing each other with the oils from her farm. This anointing was more than sharing a few drops. It was lavish and extravagant dipping of parts of our bodies into these oils. I’m still carrying the smell with me.

The workshops didn’t touch me as deeply as these two presentations. I would have liked a workshop for Presbytery committees wanting to start more 1001 worshiping communities.

I enjoyed learning more about the Vital Congregations initiative within the PC(USA). The initiative has identified seven marks of vitality. They are: 1) Lifelong discipleship formation; 2) Intentional authentic evangelism; 3) Outward incarnational focus; 4) Empowering servant leadership; 5) Spirit-inspired worship; 6) Caring relationships; 7) Ecclesial health.

Vital Congregations has done a pilot project with 15 Presbyteries and is looking to start another project with an additional 15 Presbyteries.

The web site for Vital Congregations is worth a look. https://www.presbyterianmission.org/resource/vital-congregations-revitalization-initiative/

Kansas City holds a special place in my heart as I lived there for three summers and a schoolyear. The seeds to my own call to ministry were planted in that experience. I drove to my old neighborhood to see the school and church that I attended and the facility where we lived.

I also took a night to attend Wednesday night programming at Church of the Resurrection. I’ve attended their Leadership Institute for more years than I can remember. I enjoyed talking to some folks who attend the church and being inspired by their ministry.

Three full days of intense learnings!