I (Richard Manley-Tannis aka me) began blogging with the United Church of Canada (UCCan) during the Emerging Spirit Programme in 2008. Though I approach the world through a Christian lens, I celebrate that all human truths fail to fully appreciate a universe & reality that cannot confine the Holy. In A Deacon’s Musing, I meander & ruminates, reflect & challenge. Hopefully some of it makes sense & I invite you to ask questions, push me to clarify & listen with intention!
I have journeyed journeyed with alternatives to the Canadian adjudicative judicial system & continues to endeavour to merge my practical conflict resolution & organisational development experience with appropriate theological & academic explorations. As well, I really appreciates the nuances of organisational & systems analysis. In such pursuits, I utilise such tools as Appreciative Inquiry & the Enneagram. In 2014, I began my PhD with The Taos Institute & Tilburg University. In this next journey of learning, which ended in 2020 with my graduation in the Netherlands, the completed project was an academic exploration of shifting the UCCan’s narrative from one of deficit and fear to one of abundance, mission and hope. The project ends with a practical application (i.e. workshops) to assist congregations live out the findings of the dissertation.
Since 2018, I have had honour to fill the role as Principal of St. Andrew’s College in Saskatoon, SK, Canada. In this capacity I am excited to be part of a team that is engaged in nurturing and preparing leadership in the church through the explicit lens of justice!
Now I am wide-eyed-open to where Creator is next inviting me …
So, are you happy?
Well? Does the word happy convey you to memories of smiling or are you trying to figure out exactly what that means and, in turn, if it actually means anything in your life? Apparently, if you are a religious person, with all of the nuances that word conveys, you might actually be happy, you might actually be able to process what that means in your life.
Living in Fear
It’s true – this is the place in which we live, breathe, love, cry and die … or so the Shadowed World purports. A world where it’s me against you, us against them, where he who yells loudest wins the precedent, where she who wields the largest weapon gains the right to become sovereign – for a day, a week, forever …
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.
Vulnerability #1
My personal experience in small groups, whether as a participant or someone in leadership, has been transformative. My background has moulded me to be resistant to trust, to engage with others. I suspect that this is connected with a sense of vulnerability and the need, in turn, to ensure that I remain in control. The need for control, however, is not so much connected with the need to direct others, as much as it is to ensure that I remain in the ‘driver’s seat.’
Bytes to Bits
I was recently at the Annual Gathering of the Conference of Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario. And, as is the wont of our collective gatherings, there was lots of theological reflection, Polity & Process! One very exciting item has been reconsidering the length of the Conference's name - we sure have a propensity for words ... okay, so I am digressing ...
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