The Sanctification of All

Clergy Conference
Diocese of Georgia
September 28 – 30, 2014

We are to be transformed, consecrated, made sacred to his creative purpose; and so fulfill the meaning of our life.         Evelyn Underhill

 

Follow up resources

The Sanctification of All: Taking Responsibility for Your Spiritual Life - Packet for use with partcipants 

The Sanctification of All: Parish Educational Design - Ideas about how to use the process in the parish

Coaching for use in your parish 
For those that participated in the clergy retreat Michelle and Bob will provide a limited amount of coaching on the use of Sanctification of All without charge. The coaching will be by e-mail. You mat take advantage of that between now and October 21. After the 21st if you want coaching you'll be charge a fee. Contact us if interested - Michelle Heyne - Bob Gallagher

Related Quickening Resources

You may recall that as part of the work with the Shape of the Parish model we noted several programs that could be use to "quicken" the parish. Which is to say, processes that can help develop a critical mass of people with a sense of responsibility for their spiritual life; people with an "owned" spiritual practice, a rule of life.

 

1) The Sanctification of All - Offered initially several times until 25% of the Sunday attendees have established their own rule of life grounded in a process of exploration and choices.
2) Anglican Spiritual Practices Course -  Offered on a schedule that picks up people within 4 months of becoming somewhat regular in attendance.  Here is Michelle Heyne's education design - "Teaching Spiritual Practice: Experiential Approach to Christian Formation and Parish Development."  For use with In Your Holy Spirit: Traditional Spiritual Practices in Today's Christian Life
3) Eucharistic Practices - Offered in the liturgical space after the Sunday Eucharist 3 times/year. Available on this page as "Eucharistic Practices: Notes for Facilitators"
4) Foundations Course - Offered in modules every year. Related PDF 

 

These processes can have the desired impact only if used properly. Offer the program even if only a few people are participating at the time. The focus is on developing a strong Apostolic center over time and providing ways for those in experimenting or progressing phases to move forward. A few engage a program in the fall, a few more in the winter, we do that year after year and within 5 years we have a stronger center. Attempts to do it quickly usually fail and come off as driven and controlling. 

 

Barriers
We also noted that these will only have the desired impact if there are not other barriers in the parish, for example:
-A Sunday morning experience that is rushed, busy, hectic or one that is flat and dull.
-A high level conflict
-A rector (vicar, priest-in-charge) that puts off too many members by emotional distance or excess closeness, too much controlling behavior or too little assertiveness in leadership, and/or simply a lack of competence in the spiritual life.
 

Evaluation Notes
We received about 20 completed forms and a number of comments by those needing to leave after the morning session. The written evaluations were 85% high end satisfaction and 15% low end. Mostly 5s and 6s on a six point scale. This was on both scales - usefulness in yoiur own spiritual life and understanding how to use this in the parish.

Here's what we heard

  • The total process was useful for most people. Allowed us to do what we would do with lay members.
  • For some the initial interview process was rather significant in naming issues they wanted to address, for self awareness.
  • Many found the Shape of the Parish model very helpful, very practical, especially the impact of developing a critical mass of people engaging responsibility for their spiritual life.
  • The quickening discussion was useful
  • Several already had plans for using the processes in relation to mid week liturgies.
  • Several found the Renewal - Apostolate work in Monday afternoon important. One person had a hard time understanding it.
  • Several liked the connection made about the relationship between clergy spiritual health and that of the baptized.
  • Some clergy came exhausted and really needed time to sleep and rest.

 

Comments and our response
  • One person said she heard a few clergy unhappy about having to do the interviews themselves. Our hope is that no one would consider attempting to conduct this kind of program with other people if they had not gone through it themselves. 
  • There was one person that thought the Monday work should have been specially crafted for clergy. Our view is that it is at the heart of Anglican tradition to see an essentially common life of spiritual practice for clergy and laity.
  • We heard second hand about a few clergy that were unhappy being asked to participate in a workshop style program, especially one that involved them in looking at their own spiritual life. We found ourselves wondering if they had not read the advance web page (see below) on the retreat or had read it but somehow thought it made sense to come participate in a program that wasn't what they wanted and then to complain about it. We also questioned if our description was adequate for those clergy to understand what would happen at the retreat or was available soon enough. 

The schedule 
We heard a number of comments about the schedule. Based on those comments we'd suggest that the diocese consider a schedule along these lines --Sunday eve begin with light entry into theme, work Monday morning, afternoon 1-3. Time with bishop till 4. Off till short EP at 5:30. Work Tuesday am, end with lunch. This might certainly be a better fit with a workshop like clergy conference. It might be best for the energy and flow of the conference to begin with the program and hold the Bishop's time with the clergy until later. That session may involve necessary administrative matters and some difficult issues. That may not be the best starting place.
It may be wise to have a special registration process if the program is going to be workshop in nature. A program that requires active participation from everyone, possibly including participation from start to finish, may be best served by asking clergy to intentionally sign up for it.

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Advance information and resources - Material provided prior to the retreat

Outcomes we seek

1. A process you can use in the parish to increase the number of people with an intentional spiritual discipline and an increased sense of responsibility for their spiritual life. This can also have the effect of grounding the entire parish more deeply.  It's a process of moving from interviews about spiritual life, to a group conversation about the interviews, to an opportunity to reflect on and revise your spiritual discipline. 

2. An opportunity to reflect on and make needed changes to your own spiritual discipline while using an abbreviated form of the process in #1

3. A better grasp of the dynamics of change in the parish church.

 

The Learning Process

The clergy use the same process that can be used in the parish. We will interview one another about our spiritual life. We will reflect on that. We will examine and as needed revise our current spiritual discipline.

The "feel" of Monday's work is a that of a participatory spiritual retreat. You are really attending to your spiritual life. It is about you!  That shifts on Tuesday as we focus on how to use it in the parish.

On Tuesday we will reflect on the experience we've gone through on Monday and look at ways to use it in the parish. That will included noting variations. Pastoral theology and intervention theory models will be presented.

 

Shaping the Parish

We’ll spend a very brief time testing interest in a “graduate” program for those that have done CDI.  For information on Shaping the Parish

 

Advance Readings

If possible, please read the following as background for your time together.

The Process of Change - Thoughts on the process of change in a parish church.

Shape of the Parish Model   A two page summary of the model offered in Fill All Things: The Spiritual Dynamics of the Parish Church, Robert Gallagher

Power from the center pervades the whole    And an insert used as background

 

 

The Episcopal Way - Our roots are in the Celtic and Benedictine traditions of spiritual life — the common prayer of communities, day by day, week by week, shaping belief and action. In the 16th century, that tradition expressed itself in Thomas Cranmer'sBook of Common Prayer.
Episcopal Ethos - Anglicanism has a culture, an ethos. In his short tract, The Anglican Way, James Fenhagen emphasized three elements: comprehensiveness, personal holiness, and holy worldliness.
Spiritual Practice - We live our lives with family and friends, in the workplace and as citizens of cities and nations. It is in the routines of those places and circumstances that we serve one another. It is there that we can be "instruments of the divine compassion."
Spiritual Maps - A map offers a system of spiritual life rather than a list of assorted practices. A useful system will provide a balance of nurture and stretching. It will include our inner life and our outer life. In such a system our inclinations and gifts are supported and allowed to flourish and the less developed parts of us are drawn out and developed.

 

 

 

 

Follow up

After the conference we will post material at this location for your use in the parish. It will include: 1) Material to use with parishioners and 2) Material for leaders of the process

 

Workshop Leaders

Bob Gallagher and Michelle Heyne - About Bob & Michelle