Monthly Archives: January 2010

Day 9: discernment, bishops committee, rosie thomas and sunshine!

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Today we looked at COTA’s offer of mutual discernment which is available to all who are connected with COTA. Jordan, the community architect, ran us through what this is and how it works. It’s not therapy, but instead an opportunity for people to join a small group of purpose and listen to God and to others when they are considering a key decision in their lives, or looking for some meaning. The group is not about giving advice, but more about presenting an opportunity to delve into questions at a deeper level, and to have the benefit of others listening in and helping in that digging and listening process.

I was intrigued and impressed by this because it seems to be something that COTA has seen is needed and so is offering as a service to other people. There is no comeback to COTA; there is no monetary benefit; this is all about helping people to develop and help themselves. This is about building relationships and encouraging people to take time over decisions. It takes a big commitment as the group meets monthly and one person shares their question each month while others comment upon it. So … if there are as few as 6 in the group the commitment would be for 8 months as there are introductory sessions as well.

It’s very tempting to think about using something like this at home when the gathering or community has got bigger; but I htink it is  ore important to take the principle and ask ‘what service can we as a community provide for others we come into contact with?’ It could be somehting like mutual discernment, or it could be something else.

Following this discussion, I led Vespers before joining the COTA Bishops committee. This is the group that is responsible and answerable to the bishop for how COTA runs. It was a good lively meeting as the group discussed their responsibilities and how they work. This is a good group that works together well and has fun as they do it. In the two meetings I have been to I have also been struck by their honesty to each other. This is really necessary for successful leadership, but honesty of this level within decision making bodies I have known within the UK can be rare. Maybe this is a UK – USA thing!?

The evening was a surprise. We thought we were doign Pub Theology but we got our dates wrong. Pub theology will be tomorrow night. Tonight was ‘From Michigan not Mars’ with Rosie Thomas in the Abbey. This was quite a cool night. I loved seeing the abbey used in this way, and it was packed. Rosie was interesting and spoke and sang well. The film was quite an intimate following of her outlook. There was an emotional silence when she was speaking about what she cared for and what brought her fulfilmet – bringing joy to others. Some celebs talk crap, but I think Rosie was being genuine.

The big thing for today though was tht the sun came out again. Today I have taken photos of Fremont in the sun. I like Fremont anyway, but in the sun it looks so much brighter. Most of the pics are repeats, but repeats in sunshine!

still learning

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Today is the start of Thursday in Seattle, although I have just spoken to Sarah and the children as they are coming home from a day at school and work and now looking forward to Friday! I dont think I will ever get used to the 8 hour thing, and it is frustrating as I’d like to talk to Sarah alone, but it’s just not possible.

Yesterday I joined Karen at the Olympia Diocese clergy day, which was a pretty long day. Bishop Greg Rickel calls these meetings 4/6 times a year and each meeting is repeated, one in the north and the other in the south of the diocese as the area is quite large. It was interesting to see how the diocese is working and what is on its agenda. The morning was taken up by looking at Clause IV, the clergy discipline measure which the CofE has had on its agenda recently. I can’t pretendit was exhilarating stuff, but it was interesting to be part of the day. There was also a great passion to get involved in Haiti and helping there when the time is right. The diocese has been sending teams to New Orleans to help with the rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina, which the press have allowed us to forget about! Sadly the same will happen wit Haiti, but it looks like this diocese will continue to support there long after the TV cameras and press photographers have gone.

After the 45 min drive back to Seattle I wandered around Fremont again looking for Far east Handicrafts in search of a singing bowl. I have been looking for one of these for a while with my thinking being to sue these as an aid to worship in a similar way to bells being used in high churches. I was intrigued to see that singing bowls are used in a similar way withing COTA and they have bought them from the same shop.

I got to the shop and met Kirk. After chatting a little about the bowls I found one with the note I liked, but Kirk did not think the bowl sang for long enough so we went to the back of the shop to find a bowl that had the note I was looking for and sang longer. I ended up paying a few dollars less. The amazing thing about this place, though, is how it supports people in the areas of Nepal in which they work. First they only import what the people naturally make (e.g. they don’t get Buddhist making nativity scenes) and they fund 2 schools and a mobile cataract surgery that ‘brings sight to the blind’ in remote ares of the country. This is paid fro from profits and donations. So … as well as finding my singing bowl (or, ;-), did it find me) I have become connected to these brilliant projects.

At the end of the day we ate at Ivar’s Salmon House which I was told was a must while in Seattle. We had the most amazing salmon meal and I wasn’t disappointed.

Today I will spend more time with the Lutheran seminarians learning about the COTA rule of life and tonight we are catching up with Jon Myers again in pub theology, which sounds great to me.I hope we can get some good conversations going.

I’m continuing to reflect on my time here and experiencing more and more what Christianity COTA tyle looks like. A 24/7 Christianity means that these people like to spend time together. It is not just a church meeting or Sunday mentality. Lines between spirituality and normal everyday life are hazy, which means it is hard to work out what is happening, but I believe that is how it should be. I am really looking forward today to hearing more about the rule of life that COTA endeavors to follow, as I think this will go a long way in helping me to understand how things look and why they look as they do.

As I look down the long tunnel of COTA the mist is starting to rise a little for me … but only a little. I discover more things and learn more things, which in its own way brings more questions as well.

worth more than …

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Tuesday has been another full day at the Abbey and associated things.

I started the day meeting with Chris from COTA and Pete, a local Episcopalian priest, from Seattle. He wanted to meet tot alk about fresh expressions and how he is attempting to reach into his community. I hope to be able to visit his church on my last Sunday to share something about what I do in Rochester.

I returned to the Abbey for lunch before we visited the Mosaic Coffee Bar. This is run buy the local Nazarene church and is a resource for the community to show love. I loved the chalkboard pricelsit shown in the photo which asks for donations rather than charging for drinks. The thinking behind this is that a price list can exclude people. having a donation operation means that the rich really can help the poorer by paying extra for teir drinks, and that the poorer do not have to stay outside just because they cannot afford to buy a drink.

After Mosaic we met with Jon Myers and Jen Grabarczyk who are birthing a new style of church in Seattle. Jon was moving in to the neighbourhood yesterday and today. They are setting up the Beacon Hill Church. Jon and Jen have no real idea of what this may look like, but they are following the prompting of God and seeing what happens. They were really cool people! It was interesting to hear how they thought they should start.

Following this I caught up with Scott and Sue over some sushi before we headed downtown to the Lo-Fi Club which each Tuesday hold a breakdancing and rapping night. It was brilliant to be able to watch this community at work; how they welcomed and interacted with each other and then start to consider what church may look like with these people in this setting at this time. It was a great time and one immediate observation for me was the love and respect shown within the community to each other. Each known person was welcomed with a hug. People helped each othet to stretch before dancing. There was a lot of dignity and respect shown this evening. I took the Flip Video rather than my camera but it was quite dark so I will need to work on the clips before I can post them here.

WE left at 1am and I am now falling asleep!

gauging and guardian

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It’s been a good day with COTA today.
It’s been Martin Luther King day, which we reflected in our prayers at the start and the end of the day, but for most of us that have been in the group together we have learnt a lot about the origins of COTA and how it works and so on.

Today I have been particularly excited by some of Karen’s comments. My mind map is getting bigger and bigger with thoughts and questions which ill be a nightmare to print off when I get home, but hey I’ll come to that problem when I get to it.

Some of the things that have been exciting to hear from Karen today and that I need to think more about:
‘my role is to guage the spiritual temperature of the community’
‘I am the guardian and overseer of how we celebrate word and sacrament within COTA’
‘As a community we are asking what does it look like to live as a ‘priesthood of all believers’

Those comments encourage and excite me. Certainly with members of our fledgling community I have spoekn of myself in terms of guardian of the community. I guess I have thought that relationship was more to the people of the community but can see a lot of sense in that guardianship, because of who I am, actually being about ensuring we engage with and celebrate both word and sacrament. That it not to say I am the only person that can do stuff – but that it my role to ensure we maintain integrity as far as the sacraments and looking at scripture go.

I need to reflect on whether a failing of mine in the past few months may have been in my reluctance to take a lead withing the group as far as Eucharist and what we cover in worship goes. I have been quite laid back because I want to welcome peoples contributions. COTA, and Karen in particular, still are able to do that while Karen still has a firm leadership role within it; but a role that still encourages participation and creativity within worship. It’s not an autocratic leadership role which is what we all wish to avoid!

The idea of gauging the spiritual temperature has also challenged me. As  Karen spoke the words it ws as if something clicked into place in my mind. I think a problem of leadership within Fresh Expressions may be that we worry too much about styles of leadership and become over sensitive so that we can miss the obvious. Gauging the spiritual temperature and then seeking to put things in place as a response to that holds with it quite a strategic outlook. OI think I need to give this some more thought – as ever what I write here are intial thoughts and actions – I am thinking aloud so please do feel free to add your thoughts!

COTA has a number of people fulfilling different roles. 3 people are paid but the big majority are volunteers. One of those volunteers has become the iconographer for COTA. The picture is one of her creations which I find stunning!

my first Sunday

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I have ‘done’ my first Sunday in Seattle.
It’s Monday and I am writing this in a gap I have found as some students that are with us are taken on a tour of Fremont.

On Sunday morning we went over to Urban Life Church which is a new church set up in the Colombia City neighbourhood of Seattle. This church meets monthly in the Colombia City Theatre led by Buzz Matthews. As Buzz preached it was clear to see his passion for the area, but also to be able to see his frustration and confusion. Not many people were there, which is always downheartening, and he shared how it is tough being called to an area and yet not a lot seemingly happening. I chatted with Buzz afterwards and was struck by his faith of determination. This guy has a good ministry … he is in a tough area and yet is getting ‘out there’ with his wife and trying to connect with the people of the area.

The evening saw my first experience of a COTA Eucharist. This is a weekly event at 5.00pm every Sunday. The liturgy really helped me in my worship and the music and songs we sang had powerful lyrics. There were a lot of people, some took communion and some did not, but all were included and able to partake in the worship. After Jordan’s sermon there was time for people to respond via a number of stations around the abbey – again some chose to sit where they were and reflect on the suffering in Haiti while others sat in front of icons or lit candles. I grabbed some of the atmosphere in photos (which will be in the in the flickr album), but I did not want to take too many and risk distracting worshipers from a powerful encounter with God. I enjoyed this first authentic worship with the COTA community.

It has raised questions for me … such as not only how did this all start, but what skills are needed to maintain and keep this going? How does Karen release and enable others that are around her which orchestrate the things that happen? I also wonder how this is all planned with people that are already very busy in their lives as we all are in western society? It’s good to have questions and I know I am here long enough to be able to explore some of them. It seems though, that as questions are answered more raise in my mind. I wonder if I can organise a few interview type times with people to look at some of these questions?

After the service we did pub theology where I spoke about Fresh Expressions and what I am doing in Rochester. The audience had some good questions, as well as some honest concerns, and it was really good to be aprt of this gathering. People said kind things afterwards and I hope that the simplness of my presentation showed that we can all be involved in new ways of being church – and that we are all learning and journeying together. Before I spoke someone said ‘you are the expert’ …. but that isn’t true. In Fresh Expressions, or Emerging Church or whatever language we choose, none of us are experts as none of us have been around. My response was ‘I can talk well about where I have been … but I don’t have a clue where I am going!’

I enjoyed my first Sunday and look forward to interacting with some Lutheran Seminary students which are with us for the rest of this week to learn about emerging church and COTA. I’m going to sit in on some of the sessions and earn as well!

climbing the mountain

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Saturday … a great day.
I got up early and had a morning stroll around Fremont with my camera. I love taking photos when the place is just waking up … the mist was rolling up the lake and slowly embracing the footfalls of the bridge. It was good to watch.

I had an early breakfast in Roxy’s Diner …. very large with a bottom-less cup of coffee which I already know is something i am going to miss when I leave here. I managed to grab a quick chat with Tom on the mobile to wish him happy birthday and then also managed a longer chat with everyone over skype, which is an amazing tool for times such as these, and probably better quality than the paid for call I made earlier in the day.

I then went on a hike in The Cascades with Matt and Phil from COTA, two excellent guys who gave up their Saturdayto give me an experience I won’t forget in a while. We walked a couple of miles but ascended 1100 feet to Rattlesnake Ledge and were rewarded with some stunning views which I have uploaded in the flickr album. You need to scroll down the bottom to see the newer photos. The pic here is the view from the top of Rattlesnake Ledge. Following that experienced a nbit more American culture … FatBurger and Krispy Kreme

It has been a great day and in a bout 30 minutes Karen will pick me up and we are going to meet some Canadian visitors and have dinner with them. Tomorrow will be quite a packed day … but that’s tomorrows blog innit!

Slowly

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This weeks Photo Friday entry for slowly.
The capsule slowly revolves around the wheel as we marvel at the sights of the city of London

Happy Birthday Tom

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Today Tom is 16.
Where has the time gone?
It seems only yesterday that we sat in the delivery suite together
that I held you for the first time
(now you’d crush me!!!)
Today it’s difficult to be here.
Today I’d like to be at home.
Hope you’ve had a great day Tom.

exploring the acceptance

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I had a day free until the evening yesterday and so decided to hop on a bus and go ‘downtown’. Inspired by Stephen Fry on a program I forget the name of last year and his love of Pike Place Market I was determined to make a visit there to start with. I loved it and ending up wandering for hours, taking photos, having lunch which was my first try of Clam Chowder (wonderful!!). I even managed to have a coffee in the original first ever Starbucks.

I loved the market because of its calm bustle and diversity. I ended up taking quite a lot of photos which are all posted on my Flikr site. The creativity and diversity of the market in some ways sum up what Seattle seems to be about – a city that likes to be creative and encourage creativity in others.

For me, it was exciting to see such a colourful array of stalls and wares sprawling into one another. Artist, tradespeople, sellers, buyers all interacting together in a lovely mutual respect. Young and old together supporting and encouraging each other. The atmosphere of the place is hard to describe; but there is something ‘of the spirit’ around the attitude of this place. There is something about the vibe and the decor that clearly adds to this atmosphere. There is also something about the attitude of the stall holders. They are happy and seem to accept that some people come to buy, and others come with cameras maybe to buy but primarily because it is a bit of a tourist draw. (Yesterday I went to take photos and wander, while next time I will be going to purchase gifts to take home).

That acceptance is, it strikes me, something that has been lost by some in established, or inherited, church. There is a primary reason for the market (to make money) and there is a primary reason for the church (although I am not sure what that might be) and yet people interact with both the market and the church for a variety of reasons. They come because they are drawn, but are not necessarily there for the same reasons we are, and may not be anything like the primary reason above.

That acceptance of the market needs somehow to be embraced by church. A church where all can come and go, be accepted, explore, discover, ask, challenge and interact without expectation is something I want to be involved with.

First reflections

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I’ve been with COTA for 24 hours and slowly getting to see how things work. Initial personal thoughtsare that this is a community that is passionate about life and like to enjoy celebrating. Karen mentioned something like COTA having a reputation in the diocese of being a church that likes to party. I think that is a fantastic reputation to have.

After a tour around Fremont yesterday I met up with Jordan who is the Community Architect. Jordan’s role ensure that everything runs smoothly and that people are kept informed and things happen when they should happen. This obviously releases Karen to continue being the visionary within the community. Jordan’s role is obviously key and he seems to love what he does. I like the language of architect too as it seems to sum up the skill needed in this role.

After our chat over some fantastic coffee (how many times will I say that while I am here?!) I attended the COTA Bishops Committee. This is the decision making body of COTA that refers directly to the bishop, rather than having a PCC which a parish church would have. This is a meeting that allows COTA to consider it’s relationship to the rest of the church and the area. It’s got me thinking about out gathering in Gillingham, and wondering what we do to explore our relationship with the wider church. I don’t think it is too early to start to consider that question.

I ended the day in the pub!  (some of you will say ‘no change there then!!) Earlier in the day Jordan welcomed me via facebook and carried a link to the blog for COTA people to know a little about me. Within a very short pace of time April messaged me to invite me to a gathering they were having in a The Park Pub that evening to celebrate her getting a job. That’s pretty good welcoming … it was a great evening and a pub of wonderful beers – the porter I was drinking was an amazing dark ale! People in Seattle definitely take both their coffee and beer very seriously!

It was great to be able to simply chat with people from COTA in a good relaxed atmosphere over a beer. I’m here for just under 3 weeks now … and I hope I get the chance to sup coffee or beer with lots of other COTA people.

For those interested I’m uploading my seattle pics on Flickr here as and when I get a chance