Clarifying the
Vision
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Small Group Ministry (Adult RE) I also will be working to create the “ecclesia en ecclesia” model, which simply means the church within a church reality or covenant groups. We have a few now like woman’s circle… But I envision many, many more for example a men’s circle, a singles circle, a partners circle, a youth circle, and young adult circle. These are private support groups within the church. I went to my first covenant group meeting this week with local ministers and there I realized how important intimacy in ministry is. We need this kind of support. These covenant groups will not only make our existing members stronger but it will positively impact those who come to our church. Fred Muir told me it was this very thing that created significant growth at Annapolis. He’s been there 25 years. They didn’t grow for 15 years!!! They have 650 members. They began to grow only 7 years ago when they (1) decided to grow and (2) created covenant support groups in their ministry. Look for that in the coming months… Planning for the Future Lastly, if all of this is done and we are as active, internally and externally, as I expect us to be, we will not have room in this place. That’s a fact… What will happen to our sacred space? I come here by myself sometimes with that question... I walk inside and outside and wonder what this powerful ministry could look like in — five years—ten years… What do I see? I see that this entire building having to be dedicated to Religious Education and fellowship. That this entire building we are in now will someday be where our children learn what it means to be a Unitarian Universalist. Maybe even a school… I look at the fireplace and see an entrance on both sides (fireplace still intact) which takes you to a new sanctuary that can seat the many, many members we have who come to Davies for spiritual growth, intimacy, love and compassion in human relations. I see the windows in this building that allow us to see the trees reminding us of our interrelatedness with all thing—WE ARE NATURE…. As I look around in this sanctuary, I see that we’ve taken time to make sure we have used our resources wisely and responsibly and as a result our space is peaceful, delicate, and modest with images and décor that represents many of the world’s religions and cultures. This tells people who come without a word being said that we are a place for ALL SOULS! I look out the window and see the beautiful gardens taken care of by our master gardeners who put tender loving care in their work. The outside is as much a work of art as the inside. One compliments the other… In the garden area I see people walking and meditating or praying, some are reading on a beautiful spring day. And around the corner from there, our children are playing in an area made just for them… The sounds of their happy voices are sweet as honey. Back inside, our large choir that is known in the JPD and UUA for their music, in fact they’ve cut their own CD, they are preparing for the service… There are string and brass and percussion instruments as well… I hear a newcomer say, “Man, this is like going to a concert every Sunday. I come here just for the music.” I chuckle thinking “I guess he doesn’t like my sermons.” Now I’m out in the community talking to members of other segregated churches in Prince George’s County & Charles County. And I hear them say, as I walk away from them…“How do they do it? How can so many people who think differently, look differently, act differently—how do they come together so easily?” And someone responds with wisdom—“They have a lot of love in that church. I’m not sure what they believe but I do know they care about people. I’ve seen their work and it is good work indeed.” My friends, I see all of these things, not because I don’t love what we are already because I do, rather I see this growth and change happening as a natural expression of what occurs when you are a healthy, vibrant, and alive ministry. People will talk about you, people will come check you out and you will have internal and external growth at all levels, that you can’t even control because your ministry is vibrant, transparent (it shows itself to the community openly) and active in changing lives! And you can’t help but become a rock in a weary land for so many; you can’t help, in this bruised and hurting world, to become balm in Gilead; you can’t stop the church from becoming a lily in the valley for so many; you can’t stop the church from becoming a beacon of light unto the nations when it is a ministry of love and acceptance… And this is a model our world desperately needs. Embrace our 3-fold vision-- for in its words are the seeds of greatness that shall spring forth our hoped for reality. Let us accept the challenge that comes with our vision. We are named for a man who was a dreamer, who believed in growth, A Powell Davies. Let us not venerate him or his legacy, instead, we must heed the direction of his vision. A vision that felt Unitarian Universalism had something to share! As was said in our responsive reading this morning: “Great leaders are honored, not by adulation, but by sharing their insights and values” with others… Let us then press onward toward our mark and manifest our greatness. This is our call. Shall we accept it? There is an old theistic Christian hymn that speaks to me in this moment… “I the Lord of sea and sky, I have heard my people cry. I have wept for love of them whom shall I send? (AND A VOICE CRIES OUT) Here I am, Lord. Is it I Lord? I have heard you calling in the night. I will go Lord, if you lead me. I will hold your people in my heart!” My friends, we have so much work to do. And our world calls out to us and asks will you go, will you serve, will you hold the people in your heart? Amen. |
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Copyright by Rev. John T. Crestwell. All rights reserved. Please contact him for permission to use. |
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