Are We Even Making A Difference?
Ever since I left congregational ministry to take on my role at the Centre for Lifelong Learning - and honestly, even as I discerned whether I would say YES to the invitation to serve in this new way, there has been something inside that has questioned my place in the world.
As I reflect on it, that niggling has always been around. Challenging me on my purpose, my effectiveness - ultimately on whether how I was spending my time mattered amidst the tossing and turning of this world around us. I don’t know if this has been true for you too.
I mean, am I doing life well enough if I spend my weeks writing content and sending it into the ether like this one?
…or planning whether we will have chicken skewers or fancy cheeses at the reception that follows one of our events?
…the list goes on.
Should I have stayed in the pastorate? Although, I could be looking back on congregational ministry with rose-tinted glasses - if memory serves, there was many a meeting of a Church Court that sparked an existential crisis within as I’d wonder - is this what I spent all that time at Knox College studying for?
I guess then it is human to wonder if any of this stuff that we do matters… when the world is burning! (cue Australian 80s band, Midnight Oil! - can I get a witness Gen X?!)
Then I came across this TED talk by Amie McNee, author of the recent book, We Need Your Art: Stop Messing Around and Make Something. *Sorry the TED talk YouTube thumbnail uses more casual language which sometimes feels right.
I love this quote Amie shares:
“Making art gives you agency in a world where we have little control. Creativity is our power to enact change. Artists bring order to the chaos.”
That rings of ‘God’Work - the bringing of order out of chaos and being playful.
I appreciate that she seeks to be generous in her description of what ‘making art’ might look like. This isn’t just a call to the professional artists in the room - the ones who can colour in the lines and make the ordinary sublime.
I sense that anyone who is in service to others is an artist of sorts as they creatively use the materials at their disposal - whether it be crafting words together to make a point, or offering a pastoral word amid troubling circumstances, or simply embodying love and concern by how they subtlety move their bodies to mirror another, or clearly are listening so well that someone feels heard… feels that time has stopped and that they matter.
That’s a work of art!
And you, Ministry Leaders, do just that.
You make art.
And that might make all the difference - maybe not to the world as a whole but your part of it, sure. So make art… and have fun doing it.
Which then reminded me of what a couple of my colleagues at Knox College are working on that encourages us to play… so needed today. The Rev. Dr. Sarah Travis and Dr. Laura Alary are co-authoring a book with the working title, The Body at Play: Trauma and the Promise of Playful Worship.
An obvious ‘play’ on words as it invites ‘The Body’ - the Church to play as its Creative Creator does so often. I hope it sticks but then that’s up to the publishers.
Here’s a couple of articles that expand on their work:
Sarah Travis on Worship, Playfulness, and Trauma
Drawing from her own experiences, including the loss of her young son and her ministry in a declining congregation, Travis shows how activities like storytelling with objects, tactile engagement, and creative liturgies foster connection, transformation, and post-traumatic growth.
The Body at Play: Trauma and the Promise of Playful Worship
With sensitivity to introverted and hesitant participants, the authors emphasize the body’s role in healing and envision playful worship as a transformative spiritual practice that revives community and deepens faith.
When the world feels so heavy, a playful response can be healing. I look forward to learning more from their efforts.
Finally, HOPE.
“Hope is often misunderstood. People tend to think that it is simply passive wishful thinking: I hope something will happen but I’m not going to do anything about it. This is indeed the opposite of real hope, which requires action and engagement.”
So says, Dr. Jane Goodall* in The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times co-authored with Douglas Abrams.
I had just finished this book (LOVED IT! Who doesn’t love Jane Goodall!!) as I watched the TED talk by Amie and it got me to wondering again… hope, real hope, requires action and engagement.
Remembering Dr. Jane Goodall*
I write these sometimes weeks in advance. Such was the case of this one - so it was with sadness and surprise that the world learned that Dr. Jane Goodall passed away on October 1. I’d encourage you to take a moment to reflect on her legacy here.May we continue to nurture the embers of hope that she fanned her whole life long.
But it also requires inspiration, in my opinion. So we need to do something, make something, take action and get involved… stay creative and playful… and be inspired.
I’ve exhausted myself!
Probably you too.
Early in the new year, I’m “hoping” (see what I did there!) to host a webinar on HOPE… especially for the helpers - like you, Ministry Leaders.
Because it is hard out there. Maybe more so than ever before. Maybe not, our ancestors may have something to say about that notion. But as people wired for caring and carrying the stuff of others… we are certainly getting a workout.
So take a moment to celebrate the difference you make each day. The people in your life who make it all worth while. And nourish yourself knowing that the God of Hope, the Creative Genesis, and Impish Spirit of the Universe, holds you close as you face each and every day.