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Newsletter # 21 CANADIAN RURAL CHURCH NETWORK
INDEX for 21st Newsletter of CRCN
RURAL ISSUES ● Circle-M (Centre for Rural Community Leadership and Ministry) ● Myth of Limitless Water in Canada ● The Elephant in our Midst
RURAL MINISTRY (Life and Faith) ● Rural Clergy: Balancing Professional and Domestic Life ● In the Country-side - where relationships matter
WORSHIP RESOURCES ● Wisdom Feeds Hope ● The Joy of Smallness - Scripture Stories
INTERNATIONAL ● Prayer Letter - Uniting Church of Australia ● Future of Rural and Small Town Ministries (USA)
RURAL ISSUES
Circle-M (The Centre for Rural Community Leadership and Ministry)
(The following letter of support has been written by Catherine Christie, Chairperson of the Canadian Rural Church Network, to encourage financial support of Circle-M from the Rural Alberta Development Fund)
On behalf of the Executive of the Canadian Rural Church Network, I am writing to express our solid support and endorsement for the development of the Centre for Rural Community Leadership and Ministry (Circle-M). We see it as a valuable resource for healthy communities throughout western Canada, and an agency supportive of our work.
Our membership consists of people across the country who are involved in Church ministry in rural areas, both clergy and lay people. Most leaders in rural churches also take leadership positions in rural communities.
Therefore, we would see Circle-M as offering us many resources and opportunities, such as the following: Circle-M, through their connections with the Saskatoon Theological Union, will be offering courses specifically geared to rural ministry, leadership and community development. When new clergy come into rural communities, Circle-M is planning a system of "Mentoring", which will help those affected. Our members would benefit from being able to access resources which will be housed in a Circle-M library. Circle-M is also going to be a research centre, for instance, planning to research 'effective practices' of rural ministry and leadership. These are some of the ways, as I read the Circle-M literature, that I see CRCN members would be able to access valuable resources. These resources will be publicized through a newsletter and website. There is no other institution doing work like this in Canada.
CRCN has a website through which we share stories and information to our members. We see that we will be able to cooperate with Circle-M, publicizing their programs and research through our website, and being in turn a resource for Circle-M.
Myth of Limitless Water in Canada
Most still believe the centuries-old myth of complete water abundance, and are struggling with the change in our Canadian water situation.
In one lifetime, a single generation, we have gone from being a country that was internationally proud of the fact we could drink out of virtually any sparkling stream, river or lake, to a country genuinely and justifiably concerned about water quality and quantity now and in the future.
"We must learn how to take water management more seriously and give it greater value or we will limit our ability to grow economically." (Bob Sanford, UN Director of Water for Life, Canada)
This is a vital issue for all who live close to the land.
The Elephant in Our Midst
When, I wonder, might Canadians give themselves opportunity to elect a woman or an aboriginal person as head-of-state? Are there lessons to be learned by giving attention to the Presidential race of our neighbours to the south?
I still remember the media's deafening silence when Elijah Harper, holding his eagle feather, prayed his way through the termination hour for the Meech Lake Accord. Few would acknowledge the bold statement he was making. Few will acknowledge the important issues he was raising.
Whichever person ultimately resides in the White House, Barack Obama has made the people of the USA give attention to the racial divisions that exist in his country. Because the possibility exists that a black person could become President, black and white voters can no longer ignore major issues and major resentments. Obama's vision is to help folks move beyond the present malaise.
White Canadians speak proudly about our multicultural achievements, but we carry so many contradictions within us. If only life was static and we could maintain our separate solitudes and live in our variety of ghettos ... But our times are not static. Relationships keep evolving. The results can be constructive or destructive!
Our Churches and Governments can make all the apologies they feel compelled to make, but seldom do their actions touch us as individuals. It is easy to remain aloof "from those who would be different".
How sad. My association with people of various ethnic and religious traditions has enriched my life, and has helped me better appreciate my own traditions.
Whether it was meeting with Samaritans or non-believers or those who were outcaste, Jesus gave each his attention. He talked with them as adults and invited those around to face up to the issues that otherwise caused resentment and division.
If we are trying to live Christ-like lives, can we do any less?
(Written by Joyce Sasse, March 08)
RURAL MINISTRY (Life and Faith)
Rural Clergy: Balancing Professional and Domestic Life - a Discussion Paper (Part 4 of 4 papers summarizing Muriel Mellow's book "Rural Clergy: Professional Demands and Personal Lives")
In this fourth and final article based on my book, Defining Work: Gender Professional Work and the Case of Rural Clergy (2007, McGill-Queen's University Press), I examine how rural clergy manage the relationship between professional and private life and different challenges for women and men in this regard. Clergy had much to say about this; I can only touch on some of the points covered in my book.
The overlap between professional and personal lives for clergy is intriguing from a sociological perspective because most workplaces assume a separation of these spheres. As expected, most clergy interviewed maintained offices in the manse or their home and church and manse phone numbers were often the same. However, several individuals pointed out that some other rural workers experienced a similar overlap. For example, plumbers, nurses, and school secretaries may receive work-related phone calls at their homes or be asked professional questions when out with their families.
Many struggled with the challenge of making time for family and personal relationships given the unpredictability of professional demands and the need to work on evenings or weekends when others were free. Some individuals developed creative ways of dealing with this dilemma. One clergy couple negotiated a number of "no-excuse Sundays" with their pastoral charge, which they could take-off to spend weekends away with their school-age children. Another decided to occasionally take her children out of school for a day in order to have some time together.
A few female clergy criticized a time management technique that they had been taught in seminary as a way to preserve personal time. In this method, each day was divided into three blocks, with any two being used for professional work and the third being reserved for personal tasks. The problem was that such blocks were not equally substitutable for family members who had schedules where only evenings or weekends were free. One interviewee kept demands in check by counting any evening meetings as time and a half--since they were more "costly" in terms of taking her away from family, especially from her children at bedtime--and she had established a limit with the pastoral charge as to how many evening hours that she would work per month.
Sociological discussions of balancing work and family time usually focus on parents with children in their care. For clergy, however, the issue also clearly affects those who are single without children and couples who have children living away from home. This is because so much work occurs on or around holidays, making it difficult for single clergy to leave to visit their parents or siblings and for couples who have adult children arriving to visit. This was especially a problem for women who had entered ministry later in life; they still felt obligated to host family holiday gatherings and their adult children were not as accustomed to the rhythms of manse life as were children who had grown up with clergy parents.
There were several differences in the challenges described by male and female clergy in managing the intersection of professional and personal demands. Both women and men spoke of struggling to protect family space and time; however, women voiced these concerns somewhat more often. At the same time, women also seemed to receive more explicit support from congregations for their decisions to limit work commitments due to family demands than did men. But this was a double-edged sword; these same women were concerned that they would be seen as less competent professionals when they did so. Finally, some women, but no men, felt that they were judged by community members on how well they did their housework. While work-family balance is an issue faced by women in other professions, the problem of being judged on housekeeping is perhaps unique to women in rural ministry. The homes of urban female professionals are less likely to be on public display and if needed, they may relatively easily hire a cleaner. One female clergy pointed out that hiring a cleaner in a rural setting entailed the added challenge of finding someone unconnected to the congregation.
The interface between public and private life is also apparent in the involvement of spouses or other family members in congregational life. Traditionally, male clergy have benefited from the volunteer work done by their wives. I was interested in whether study participants described gender differences in the participation of their spouses and how this affected them. Eighteen of the twenty male clergy and thirteen of the twenty female clergy who I interviewed were married. Among these, seventeen men and ten women had spouses who were involved to some extent in congregational activities. Clergy seemed to describe different styles of involvement for husbands and wives. Husbands were more likely to be involved in ad hoc ways, such as helping with special events or providing physical labour for a specific project. In contrast, wives were more likely to have on-going commitments such as teaching in Sunday School, sitting on the worship committee or singing in the choir. This comparison suggests that male clergy benefit in different and possibly greater ways than female clergy from the volunteer labour of their spouses.
Theologically, ministry is seen as a vocation-a concept that implies the seamless integration of professional and personal life. This series of articles, however, has taken a sociological approach to ask about the practical dilemmas which arise in achieving this integration and how these are intertwined with gender and place. In the past, this integration was facilitated by the unpaid work of wives; today, men and particularly women are less likely to have an unpaid spouse who can help to offset family and congregational obligations. The visibility of rural life makes it difficult to establish boundaries as a way to limit, and thus manage, this integration. Finally, this presumed seamlessness creates dilemmas in accounting for the work of ministry to congregations; earlier articles examined how this made some work demands invisible, potentially leading to overwork and stress. I hope my discussion of how the work of ministry is defined by and defines the lives of male and female clergy has given you food for thought.
In The Country-Side: where relationships matter
While driving north and west of Winnipeg towards my husband's settlement pastoral charge in Gilbert Plains Manitoba and having been born and raised in the suburbs of New Jersey, just a few miles outside of New York City, I knew I was experiencing something akin to "culture shock" as we turned round the bend of the highway towards our new home town village of six hundred.
That June day in 1979 was the beginning of fifteen years in rural Manitoba. The rolling landscape, the curling bonspiels and hockey tournaments, the coffee shop, and the people are memories I still carry deep within me today. It was there I learned much of what I believe is most precious about the church. There in that rural context I learned about community and the importance of caring for one's neighbour. There, as I was shown the abandoned homesteads where folk once lived and farmed, those stories helped to nurture a greater appreciation for tradition and local context. There a parishioner's invitation for lunch evolved into an all day visit and instilled a new insight concerning hospitality and the human commitments that comprise pastoral relationships. These rural persons showed me that relationships matter, and for that I continue to be both humbled and grateful.
Meanwhile, from the limited vantage point working at the office of the General Council, I hear rumblings. I am hearing about church closures, aging members in our faith communities, dying small towns, and burnt out ministers. A sense of loss is apparent everywhere. What to do? How can we address these challenges?
Over the years I have witnessed how rural folk have led the way in addressing difficult issues. Arising from pressing need and clarity of purpose, diverse rural networks helped to show the way forward. From women's ordination to healthcare, our rural leaders have been the pioneers. It is my hope that this same pioneering resourcefulness will be nurtured in all the regions of the church, and that all the church can become more open to hearing and learning from those who appear to be living on the edge.
(Michelle Hogman is a staff resource to the United Church's capital assistance program that provides loans and grants to support low-income pastoral charges. Two print resources, Greening the Church (on reducing energy use) and Godspace (church buildings) are recent products of Michelle's area of work. Michelle Hogman is program coordinator for Congregations and Community Development in the new CECM Unit (Congregational, Educational, and Community Ministries).
WORSHIP RESOURCES
Wisdom Feeds Hope
(We cannot talk about "Hope" without talking about the "Wisdom" that accompanies that Hope. It may be the wisdom gleaned from the elders, from the writings, from the learned ones --- all are God-given sources.)
By the end of the service I was too choked to speak. The women of Guyana had exposed the depth of their souls when they prepared the 2008 World Day of Prayer Service which they shared with the rest of the world.
For these women, who dwell on the north-eastern edge of South America, life is unbelievably hard. Each day they face poverty, abuse, violence and the threat of becoming HIV-positive. Their men emigrate in hope of finding work, but they are exploited. There is no money to send home, and their families have to survive without their support and protection.
As they explained their plight in the liturgy of the worship service, through scripture and prayer, they kept pleading for "Wisdom". Their theme: "God's wisdom provides new understanding."
Even when things seem utterly hopeless, they ask us to join them in praying - "We seek Wisdom in our lives. We search for that place of understanding. We look at our world and see only Wisdom's absence."
In spite of the evils that surround them, they believe it is "wisdom" that will eventually guide them out of their present despair.
They remember Job's painful struggles, and how his reverence for God helped him see life in a new context. And the Psalmist used the Wisdom writings of old to speak about how God is the source of all Wisdom.
"May we listen to your message", they pray, "Rely on your wisdom, and become instruments to transform our society into what you will it to be."
The closing prayer thanks God for creating Wisdom, for recognizing her value, and for filling everything created with her. "To fear the Lord is Wisdom at her fullest ... She sends knowledge and new understanding like rain and increases the honour of those who receive her."
While they recognize and name the plight of their current suffering, which will not end over-night, their belief is that the Wisdom of God will ultimately instruct them so they can become empowered peace-makers.
Our hearts are touched by their honesty and their readiness to carry on in the name of God's Chosen One.
(Written by Joyce Sasse in March /08)
The Joy of Smallness
When Dr. Cam Harder spoke to a Rural Clergy Conference on "The Joy of Smallness" he based his thoughts on the following scripture stories -
ELIJAH (I Kings 19)
● The prophet Elijah tells us that most of his congregation had gone over to the church of Baal down the street. Elijah was feeling really depressed - all alone. He figured it was all over, so he went out into the wilderness to die. But he didn't die. There was just enough food, enough water. God was there, with Elijah, sustaining his life. Unfortunately, Elijah couldn't tell that God was there because he was looking for big signs, signs of power and success - earthquakes, wind, fire - because our God is a big God - Right? - And if he comes to us he should come in a big way.
● But when Elijah finally settled down and listened he discovered that God really was there with him, speaking in a still, small voice. First God told Elijah that he wasn't alone. God was there and when God is anywhere, with anyone, great things can happen. And secondly, there were other believers. 7000 in fact - many more than Elijah realized. If he would just stop hiding in the wilderness and get out there, he'd meet them.
● Sometimes our small congregations think a lot like Elijah. We can sink into a quiet depression. Maybe we hope for a great sign of God's presence but usually we don't really expect one. We hunker down and turn inward, our eyes focused on ourselves. We don't see the community around us that needs us. We don't see the people that would support us if we were only willing to look outward, trust God and get engaged in real ministry with our community.
GIDEON (Judges 7)
● Gideon was one of Israel's judges - leaders before the time of the kings. The Midianite army was camped on Israel's doorstep. Gideon figured the only way to fend it off was to raised a huge army. So he recruited 32,000 men to drive the' Midianites away. But God tells Gideon "The troops with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand. Israel would only take the credit away from me, saying, 'My own hand has delivered me.' Now therefore proclaim this in the hearing of the troops, 'Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home.' Thus Gideon sifted them out; Twenty-two thousand returned, and ten thousand remained. Then the Lord said to Gideon, 'The troops are still too many; take them down to the water and I will sift them out for you there. When I say 'This one shall go with you', he shall go with you; and when I say, 'This one shall not go with you', he shall not go." So he brought the troops down to the water; and the Lord said to Gideon, "all those who lap the water with their tongues, as a dog laps, you shall put to one side; all those who kneel down to drink, putting their hands to their mouths, you shall put to the other side." The number of those that lapped was three hundred; but all the rest of the troops knelt down to drink water. Then the Lord said to Gideon, "With the three hundred that lapped I will deliver you, and give the Midianites into your hand. Let all the others go to their homes."
● You know what happened then. Those three hundred alert, risk-taking men walked into the Midianite camp at night with nothing in their hands but a trumpet, a torch and a clay jar covering the light. They spread out through the camp, then pulled the jar off the light and blew the trumpets. The Midianites, thinking Israelites were attacking at night, jumped up and fought, but not being able to see in the dark, fought each other. And then the Lord put fear in their hearts and they ran.
● The methods that Gideon and the three hundred used were unorthodox of course. They had to be. They couldn't use the methods that a large army would use. They took a big gamble. It took courage. But it worked and Israel was saved from the Midianites.
● Israel's only hope in a hostile world was to depend on God. If they started to believe that their hope was in their army, they were doomed.... God insists on smallness, so that their only hope will be in God...
● God insists on smallness and weakness because we humans have a strong desire to be little gods, independent, strong, in control. We can forget that God is the source of our life and that we need each other.
MUSTARD SEED & YEAST (Matthew 13)
● Yeast and seeds. That's what our small congregations are. Not dying patient in a palliative care ward. Not the fossilized bones of once-mammoth congregations. They are God's yeast growing new life in their communities. They are God's seed saved from an old harvest, offered to their community as the start of a new crop.
● Congregations that focus their efforts on survival instead of their mission turn inward. They become self-centred ... and in the process turn away from God.
(Harder's presentation was made in February 2008)
INTERNATIONAL
Prayer Letter from Uniting Church of Australia
You show me the path of life. (Psalms 16:11) The psalmist demonstrates a clear understanding that life itself comes from God. To be shown the path means more that having a map to follow, or even hearing a word of guidance, it means that everything begins with total reliance on God. It is in his presence that total joy is experienced. So our first requirement is not to live right but to accept a full and personal relationship with God. God is the one who protects, the one who makes me glad and who is all that I need in life in order to find fulfilment. Do you have worries in the night, God is the one to whom you need to attend, not to seeking a solution to what ever is worrying you. Do you need guidance for a decision in your life, ask God for directions. Do you want to achieve great things for God? Let him decide what those things will be. In other words if you want a life that is fulfilled, let God be the only one you are trying to please. What pleases him most is for us to rely on him: As we do so, peace and joy will fill our lives and all we need will be at hand by his grace.
Prayer: To you alone do I lift my voice today Lord God for there is no other God like you. In you alone will I find the comfort and strength that I need; and by you alone will I gather the strength and courage to take a further step on my journey. No one but you knows all my doubts and fears and yet no one but you can see me past my present troubles and on into the new horizon that you are even yet preparing for me. Like the psalmist I pray,"In you alone have I put my trust, never let me go". Amen (Psalm 62:5-6)
(Prayers and other information about the Uniting Church of Australia can be found at www.sa.uca.org.au)
Future of Rural and Small Town Ministries (USA)
(Sandra LaBlanc, Director of Rural and Small Town Ministry, updates us on happenings in her ECLA programs.)
We hosted a "Future of Rural and Small
Town Ministry" meeting In Chicago that included 40 people: mission
directors, bishops, synod staff, church-wide staff and rural and small town
people. It's been 8 1/2 years since I've been in this call, and I've seen a
great many changes happen in rural and small town ministry during that time.
Might I add, the changes have been positive, especially in terms of mind-set
from a theology of scarcity to more of a theology of abundance. From this
meeting, eight central issues regarding rural and small town ministry
surfaced. From that, four task forces were formed that will provide
recommendations for action within 4-6 months on these topics. The topics
are: immigrant experience/multi-cultural ministries, ministry in context:
tension between stability and change, shared ministry best practices, and
leadership development.
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