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

At various times in its life a congregation needs to pause and take stock both of its current living and its calling towards future ministry.

What are the criteria that should be used?

One classic model that serves many congregations well is that of The Five Marks of the Church.

Here is a brief reminder of each of the marks of the church along with some open questions to initiate conversation.

Kerygma - proclamation of the Gospel. Kerygma is translated in the New Testament as "proclaiming", "announcing", "preaching". Eugene Peterson's contemporary translation of the Bible is called "The Message" - the Kerygma. One of the marks of the church is that it has a unique message that is surprisingly good news - gospel. When one of our people is asked to tell the Message that is at the heart of the congregation's life what is the response that we hope will come spontaneously? What message do we expect that the congregation's life together announces to the neighbourhood? the city? the wider church? And what forms should the Message as proclaimed by our Congregation take?

Didache - training in the Way of Christ. Didache is variously translated as "teaching" (in Latin "doctrine" meaning teachings and "doctor" meaning teacher), "formation" and "training". Training seems to capture the quality of learning the Way of Christ as a kind of apprenticeship rather than simply acquiring a body of knowledge. This training begins when we enter the life of the church and does not cease at any age. What do you envision when you think of a congregation that exemplifies a people who are being trained in Christ's Way? Given this vision, what are the priorities for us at this time?

Koinonia - community in Christ. Koinonia translates into words like "community", "fellowship" and "participation". It is the root word for "coin" - as in coinage as the common currency. What habits and practices do you hope will be common place in this community of disciples of Jesus?  In what direction are we called to lead this congregation in terms of its communal life - its koinonia?

Diakonia - serving Christ. Diakonia is the root word for our terms "deacon" and "deaconness". In the world of the New Testament it referred to the role of a slave or, more politely, a servant (in Latin the word slave is "minister" and slavery is "ministry"). This mark exhibits the ways in which the church - as a slave of Christ - is keeping Jesus' new commandment: "that you love one another as I have loved you" (this after Jesus washes feet). Diakonia is also informed by the parable of the sheep and the goats in which Jesus teaches that he is present incognito in the most unexpected of strangers. What next steps come to mind when you vision our growth as a congregation that serves Christ by serving neighbour and stranger?

Liturgia - worship of God. Liturgia literally means "a work of the people". In the Roman world aqueducts were liturgical structures - public works. The early church called its worship a liturgy because it realized that it gathered not on its own behalf but on behalf of the society to which it belonged and the world that it inhabited. It named Sunday the Lord's Day (often calling it the Eighth Day of Creation) as a reminder that all of its worship is the praise and response of a people whose life together is rooted in the news of the Resurrection. When you dream of worship that is inspired - that is filled with the energy of the Holy Spirit - what elements are present? Which of these might we be particularly called to nurture at our congregation over the next few years?

Ed Searcy is pastor with University Hill Congregation in Vancouver (www.uhill.net).

This material was originally prepared for the Session of University Hill Congregation in Vancouver.