Emerging Spirit @ The United Church of Canada Emerging Spirit @ The United Church of Canada

A few weeks ago I attended a meeting with Rick Jackson, President and Co-Director of the Center for Courage and Renewal on Bainbridge Island, Washington. The meeting was to explore possibilities for cooperation between the Center and whatever becomes of Emerging Spirit following the General Council next August.

The Center for Courage and Renewal is based upon and facilitates the approach of Parker Palmer and is widely known for their programs Circles of Trust and Courage to Teach/Lead.

One of the most powerful impressions of the day was how closely the ethical orientation of the Center (and Parker Palmer) echoes the approach underlying WonderCafe. We too seek to create a safe place where the concerns weighing upon heart/soul can be acknowledged, heard and explored.

The biggest challenge we faced when we began WonderCafe was not technical but spiritual. Within the church - especially among staff - there was much anxiety about how the conversations would be moderated and controlled. The rationale given for the need to control was typically Canadian - we wouldn't want anyone to think poorly of us or to think we stood for something not approved. From a corporate, institutional perspective I understand the concern. Indeed, it remains the chief reason that no other religious or quasi-religious group in the world has attempted something of the scale of WonderCafe.

As the months roll by though I think the deeper reason is that woven into church culture is the desire to "set ‘em straight." We love the role, often self-designated, of being the ones who really see how things are or should be. And we find it so hard to let go of that tendency to fix people.

Jack Shaver, an old friend and mentor, used the phrase "the helping hand strikes again". We'll help you whether you want it or not; we'll compel you to share your feelings or thoughts - "share or die" - because we know it will be good for you in the end. We'll get outraged for you about something we think you might (or should) be upset about.

We can continue the pattern and comfort ourselves with the self-description of being one of the few prophetic voices left; or, we might return to the more humble and ancient practice of giving testimony to the grace and God we know.

When we can do that with authenticity and integrity, conversations may again rise and relationships grow.

The story of the Center for Courage and Renewal contains some amazing tales of personal transformation.

If nothing else, I hope that Emerging Spirit provides at least some people and congregations the excuse to have conversations about what attitudes and practices we need to jettison and which we need to embrace. Much more important and fundamental than simply taking a body count Sunday morning.