Intentional Communities

So the interesting thing about being able to offer words to the blog environment for Emerging Spirit is the opportunity to let the mind sort of go and find space to share. Of course, that means that there is a certain amount of tension: 1) Am I writing for the sake of writing (likely a neurotic/boundary issue)? 2) Is what am I writing of any use? Is there anybody out there (perhaps a self-doubt opportunity to explore humility)? Regardless of the inner monologue, I thought I would offer a musing that occurred recently during a lovely meal at the Toad in the Hole Pub and Eatery in Winnipeg, which included Chicken Curry, Fish and Chips, Bangers and Mash, Chicken Portfolio, and various mixes of ales, stout and such.

Osborne Village

One of the interesting trends that seems to be occurring within the emerging church movement/shift/opportunities/possibilities is the desire/longing/hope/pining for community: but not just “hey, how you doin’” Sundays … but intentional and (warning church-speak) authentic community. So what does that mean? What does it look like? And, here’s where the pub event comes in – I have no idea! I do know that there are sporadic occurrences of men and women, families and friends, choosing to form collectives that walk somewhere between a commune, a co-op and a some-other-word for a collection of people who are looking for something more. The difference, say with the secular movement of the ‘60s, is that these groups are coming together often within an urban environment with a named faith-based reality to remain engaged in the world, but not a part of it!

So, back in the embrace of the Toad in Hole, my friend shares his idea, dream, thought about such a community. We are both entering our last year within the United Church (UCC) training for future accountable leadership and his sharing has wee bells going off – a reminder of something I too have thought of, ruminated upon. There are people right here in Winnipeg, who are considering such a venture based on the Catholic Worker Movement. And, as with all things, it does not seem that this idea is new. There were the Beguines & Beghards in the middle ages and various ascetic orders (definitely NOT a Christian specific experience) that one can trace back all the way to the Essenes (contemporaries of Jesus’ own ministry) and further back. So the longing thing is not new, not even the challenges …

So, I will intentionally avoid wrestling with my own place in there (easy to do in the blogosphere) and pose the question/challenge: What is the role of the church (UCC in my/our context) to help nurture this historical and apparently currently vibrant need? I suspect that this one question is in fact a domino to many more, but … and yes there is always a but … is it, actually, the right question? Does the question reinforce a co-dependency upon the institution to make space for a longing that seems not only constant, but most certainly not bound to a Christian context? If we are waiting for the INSTITUTION to do what it is that may very well be a CALL for some, are we putting that root vegetable before the equine? One of the whispering … and in some quarters, the shouting … is that we need to return to the grassroots … to enable people (individuals & groups) to be the church. The struggle, the challenge is how does the institution let go of the paternalism to trust that the Spirit is moving in a human world that so very desperately wants it silenced? How do we have faith and courage to take a step that moves us away from our historical place at the centre of Canadian power to the margins where God is often experienced unfettered and acts as a subversive mirror to those of privilege? How, simply, do we let go and let God?