TREC Response: Lessons from the Episcopal Service Corps

I’ve gone back and forth on whether I wanted in on this Ready 5 Blogforce. I did force myself through the report. I enjoyed the introduction; and the shout out to Acts 8 & the Episcopal Service Corps made my day. But by page 7 my eyes glazed over. The following resolutions felt like they were written in vague terms that I assumed had a hidden meaning. I wondered if I had somehow missed the “secret church language” course at confirmation. After reading Crusty Old Dean’s report I realized that I wasn’t missing anything, the resolutions were just that vague.

Sitting on this for the past couple of days, watching as insights from across the blogosphere have poured in I’ve found myself asking:

What is the link between the goals and ideals that were so beautifully articulated in the introduction and the practical day to day restructuring we will be doing in the coming years?

While I’m still lost on the technical side of things I’d like to offer some thoughts from my experience with St. Hilda’s House and the Lawrence House Service Corps.

11)      Everyone* is needed in the conversation. 

              One of the best parts of the Episcopal Service Corps (ESC) is you never know who you are going to be living with. ESC interns are functionally forced into diversity as you quickly learn how different people are when you live together. More importantly you learn the value of every voice. The people who’ve taught me the most are often the ones I’d set out to avoid, but couldn’t.

         For us to grow we will need to seek and listen to the voices that have been silenced in our communities. Because listening is uncomfortable we may want to look at structural systems that facilitate the Spirit pushing us out of our comfort zone.

         I’ve seen that push working within my experiences with racial injustice. As a white kid from Kansas race wasn’t even on my radar when I joined the ESC. Through my work in a New Haven Soup Kitchen I began to develop an academic awareness that there were “issues” out there to be addressed. Then at Lawrence House one of my housemates invited me to share her pain. All of sudden race wasn’t a political or social issue to be theorized about. I’ve come to watch the news through the light of my friend, whom I love, and who is hearing over and over again that she shouldn’t exist. Through her I’ve come to see the Gospel  anew as we traveled from Western MA to join Millions March in NYC, stopped traffic with the students at Mount Holyoke College, and born witness to the God given strength of people who refuse to be silenced. It is her voice, along with others, that is teaching me to hear God more clearly.

22)      Intersections, Intersections, Intersections: EVERYTHING Connects

A pattern I’ve noticed in the church is one of division. Activities are divided by gender, age, and topic. Missions are often hyper-focused on one aspect. But when you live within a community of people who all do social justice work intersectionality becomes far less of a theory and more of a daily exchange.

The populations we serve overlap ALL THE TIME. Threads of homelessness, mental illness, addiction, incarceration, and hunger weave a tapestry of suffering that we often tug at uselessly. If we as a church keep pulling at one thread hoping it will be “THE” thread to make the stifling fabric disintegrate, we’ll be pulling for a quite a while.

In community we have to let things coexist. We dwell at the intersections, living with and working beside people who are often isolated, pushed to one service or another. As we focus on our specific tasks of our worksites we constantly look for ways we can interface with each other. Even when our work doesn’t coincide through conversation we are able to pull back and see the larger picture, taking note of change even when it feels microscopic.

3)      Check-in’s: The Beauty of Shared Meals
                I cannot begin to put words on the value of sharing a meal with other people. The simple act of listening, of caring about their good and bad days changes ones’ perception of the world. The more I share with my housemates the more I feel the resolutions we are seeking won’t come from “magic pill” legislation or perfectly worded theories but from heartfelt conversations and sharing each other’s lives.
                 So many of the ills we battle through our work are rooted in distance. Those with oney cannot comprehend what it is like to go without, those who've never dealt with the mental health system have no idea what it is like to be dehumanized when you are most vulnerable and those from different races and political background can exist in their own segregated worlds.
                 Yet at the table this falls away. No longer are we able to isolate the identities we don't understand. With the breaking of break the breaking of bodies becomes something more than an abstract crime; it is a direct attack on the heart of who we are. Bound by the food we share and the revelations casually revealed as the salt is passed we are transformed within ourselves and among each other. This transformation is so powerful that through it we carry an enhanced awareness of God's vitality in each person out to the rest of the world.

44)      No Topic Is Off Limits

My worksite this year is campus ministry for the Five Colleges. On an average day this means I set up a table, cover it with a rainbow flag, a sign that says (W)Holy Queer, ask a question and wait to see who shows up.

What I’ve learned from this is that young adults are craving real conversation. They want to talk about the queer dynamics of a heterosexual mixed-race couple and explore what the incarnation means for trans bodies that are so often labeled “monstrous”. They come to me, with deep, meaningful spiritual reflections that they’ve been told don’t belong at church.

The worst part is their fear is justified. While I am blessed with an amazing community that is willing to delve into the depths of depression, engaging animatedly about what a holy relationship looks like, and love me when I am told my gender is invalid; many people don’t have that. I’ve had several painful encounters in the Episcopal Church where my zeal to allow God into the darkest parts of my life has been met with a wall and a reminder that “churches don’t look like that”.

If we are to live into the resurrected Christ we need to accept that God is dwelling in the topics that are not “church appropriate”.  We need to be open to the spontaneous conversations which challenge us, and to embrace the topics which scare us.

Overall I am excited and hopeful for the future of the church. While the TREC report didn’t live up to the expectations, the responses have. The thoughtful conversations I’ve watched unfold through this blogforce scramble, the fire I see burning in my housemates and the permission to question that is bubbling up are all brimming with potential.

Almighty God, in whom all things are one, as we draw closer to the remembrance of your nativity may we remember that you who merged heaven and earth in the person of Christ are the same God who will be present with your church, no matter what it looks like. Give us ears to hear your love, and lips to proclaim your praise. May we find joy in your timeless future, even as we embrace the grief of change. Amen.

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*) Despite the best of intentions there is a big asterisk on participation in ESC programs due to economic concerns. Interns live on personal stipends of around $150/mo. Without support from families or savings interns who come from lower socio-economic situations either don’t have access to ESC programs or need to work on top of full-time positions at worksites and the demands of intentional community.  Correcting this discrepancy of economic privilege should be a part of the ongoing conversation on how formal systems can facilitate active ministry.