So What is This All About?
Our
recent Parish Life Trip to the Pacific Northwest and Alaska was incredible in so
many ways; not the least of which was the opportunity it afforded all
twenty-three of us to pray, play, eat and working together. The early Church
used the Greek word Koinonia to express the idea of fellowship that comes
from “having something in common” – an association clearly, and yet for the
Church this came from our “sharing” of Communion. Koinonia was a
fundamental part of our trip together, for we were more than simply a group of
individuals, we were an expression of fellowship that comes from a bond in our
lives—the Communion we share and serve. In looking through the great many
pictures we all took, it is so difficult to pick just one. There is one event,
however, that is extra special. Our itinerary took us to Glacier Bay on a
Sunday and as such, I had arranged with the ship for our group to be able to
celebrate Eucharist together. Although I had traveled to Glacier Bay over two
dozen times as an employee of the cruise line, this was the first time I had the
opportunity to experience the grandeur of that land as the setting for
Communion. Sailing toward the face of Reid Glacier, our group shared something
familiar and yet so special and unique. And this is the moment I will perhaps
treasure the most when the relationships we share helped to transform a
beautiful moment into nothing short of inspiration! At St. John’s, we have many
exquisite windows that tell stories, yet the large clear windows in that lounge
on the ship helped to tell the incredible story of what God continues to do in
creation! There are no doubt, countless other stories that each of our
sojourners could share from heli-hiking on a glacier, to bicycling down a
mountain pass, to experiencing sheer beauty by air as well as by sea, to
incredible wildlife, to new friends. It was all part of our koinonia
which, when I pause to think about it, could so clearly be seen in our informal
gatherings. So many times on our trip, a serendipitous meeting in one of the
public areas quickly grew into a small party—sharing our recent experiences,
sharing ideas, sharing life. The church even earned $500 through Holland
America’s chrity group incentive program. I certainly hope St. John’s will take
advantage of more opportunities for this kind of extended koinonia in the
years to come!
Equally inspiring for me, but for different reasons, was a particular sculpture I came across the second day of our trip. With jet lag from the three hour time difference, I found myself awake early enough to enjoy a morning run in one of my favorite places in the Northwest, Stanley Park. On the way to the park from our hotel, I came across a temporary sculpture exhibit that immediately caught my attention. As soon as I saw it, I was transfixed. Sure its size was impressive as was the different materials used, but it was the subject that I couldn’t get over. Here, before me was a glass and steel model clearly of a church that was inverted so it was standing on the apex of the steeple. “That’s it!” I thought. This structure was to me, the very symbol of our journey, our koinonia for this next year: “Turning the church on its head!” In this piece by American artist, Dennis Oppenheim, the church is not destroyed by being inverted but there are a lot of elements that are stripped away to reveal the core structure of the building. With our strategic development planning process, our visioning program now getting underway, we are, in many ways, attempting to do what is symbolized by Oppenheim’s art—getting to the core of our structure, perhaps clearing the way for something new to be built, and definitely clarifying who we are. In the process, what may appear like “standing the church on its head” will be the conversation, ideas, and prayer that we will share. By grounding the process in our once-a-month Community Gathering Sundays, we not only afford everyone the opportunity to participate and share in the process, we do all of that in the context of having worshipped together, shared a meal and talking together. Praying, playing, eating, and working–koinonia at its finest!
Since our return from Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, I have become even more convinced that St. John’s has a calling to undertake this work together now. To some, we may, indeed, be turning the church on its head, and yet I have already come to see how that can be an incredibly powerful symbol of hope; and hope is something our greater community needs desperately. It’s already working! As I make my visits to homes, hospitals, and retirement centers, there’s a sense of excitement and energy from people about what they have heard and read for the year ahead with our visioning program and the strategic development planning process. There is great hope in what St. John’s can become! Come be a part of it and participate, share in our koinonia, our hope, and the vision we can build together for our future!
Darren Elin+