Congregational Development - Means of Grace, Hope of Glory

And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and they were continually in the temple blessing God. (Luke 24: 52-53)

The Order of the Ascension has taken on a small effort to offer members of their parishes a pathway into a deeper Christian life by associating themselves with one of the church’s religious orders. Maybe you’d like to be part of that effort.

I’d suggest three reasons to join us and a few ideas about how to do that.

The renewal of the parish

It’s pretty basic organizational psychology and ascetical theology—"power from the center pervades the whole.”[i] The holiness and love of the Apostolic at the center of parish life is what makes a parish a true parish. It creates a kind of synergy in the parish system.

The true center of any parish consists of those most given to that mixture of consistent prayer, love and service. Those that live in the Rule of the Church. The center isn’t the rector and the vestry (that’s an institutional center whose ministry of oversight is made worthy when half of them are of the spiritual center of the community).

To have several people in the parish community who become associates of a religious order adds to and nurtures the parish’s apostolic center.

The renewal of a person’s inner life

There are some people in your parish who would find themselves strengthened by participation as an associate. You can probably guess who some of them are—those you could speak with directly, “I’ve been wondering if you might find it spiritually beneficial to do this.”

There are also some who would value such a connection, but you don’t know who they are—those might be reached by making the offer with a few website/Facebook postings and making use of examples of the religious life in a few sermons and teaching sessions.

The renewal of the whole church

Historically these communities of love, prayer and service have often been central to the renewal of the church. We saw it during the restoration of the religious orders in the late 19^th century. There’s was “a life which overflowed into activity, not an activity supported by a life.”[ii] It was from the life of love and prayer in these communities that service flowed into the world and the church. They worked with the poor and desperate, those most impacted by plagues and hunger, with orphans and prostitutes. They partnered with the priests of the slum parishes. Their love and prayer overflowed into activity. And that life of sacrifice and compassion kindled a flame in much of the church. Over the past 100 years they have served as centers of liturgical and spiritual renewal. The church’s life of common prayer, urban witness and ascetical wisdom has continued to be fed by the religious orders and their associates. In these days many parishes have been drawn by the Spirit to say, on-line, Morning and/or Evening Prayer each day. The religious orders have played a significant role in why the Daily Office is still a strong part of the church's life. While we know that for some this use of the Office has been a temporary filler of a program; other clergy and laity have experienced it as the work of the Ascended Christ abiding with his beloved Church.

Offering this life of love, prayer and service to the people of your parish

It is a Eucharistic offering not a marketing campaign

Offer the possibility gently, with humility. Communicate in a manner that is respectful, timely, direct, and complete.

And think in terms of our Eucharistic life—take, bless, break, share. My primary point here is this --the bread and wine must be laid upon the altar; those bringing it to the altar must let go; and once upon the altar the mystery of Christ’s sacrificial love for the church is made incarnate. So, it is with what we offer to the people of the parish—be straight forward, thorough, and humble.

And timely. For some of our people this time of the virus has been used by the Holy Spirit to generate a longing for a deeper relationship with God and the Church.

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Below you’ll find some resources from Sister Michelle Heyne, OA --you might want to use in this effort.

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[i] In Pastoral Theology: A Reorientation Martin Thornton presented his understanding of the parish church as the Body of Christ, “the complete Body in microcosm,” and his Remnant Concept, “in which power from the center pervades the whole.”

[ii] A. M. Allchin, “The Theology of the Religious Life: An Anglican Approach”, S.L.G. Press, 1971

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Here are a few ideas of what you might take on. We invite you to use your imagination and commitment to engage work appropriate for you and your situation.

1) Invite people to consider becoming an Associate using your websites, Facebook site, e-newsletters, and so on.

2) Invite a few people personally

3) Provide a backdrop of ascetical thought that engages people in the possibility—sermons, written reflections, blogs.

4) Include in parish intercessions each week -- a) prayers for one of the church's religious orders b) for the religious orders represented in your parish.

Implementation Guidance: Following are a few initial thoughts.

Building internal commitment

You want to do this in a way that helps the individuals who enter into discernment to end up with a high level of internal commitment to whatever decisions they make—associate with an order or that this pathway doesn’t fit them at this time. You might use Intervention Theory as a resource in your own thinking.

For the person to arrive at a strong internal commitment they need to have real choices. So, among the several actions you take you may want to include material on the associate groups of several orders. You don’t want to overwhelm them with choices. That will paralyze some people. Put forward material of 5 or 6 groups. You might also provide a link to a larger list so they can explore more widely if they wish.

Having choices also involves them experiencing that you are first concerned with their inner life and the overall spiritual life of the parish. But that needs to arise from the work of the Holy Spirit in them. Your role is to offer information and options in a manner that is timely, adequately thorough, direct, and respectful.

Broad and long term

Think about the nurturing of possible associates in broad terms (associates with any Order is good) and long term (think 18 months rather than 2 months).

Narrow and focused

You’re not trying to provide a theological justification for religious orders nor are you trying to present a history lesson. You want to look for stories that touch the heart. Ministries of the sisters or brothers. Stories of life in community.

C.S. Lewis had an idea that it helped to focus your attention by picking one theologian or spiritual master and let that be your reading for a year or two.

Those of us in OA who are intuitive may be inclined to go broad, to look at many different religious communities. But the power of this is when some of your people begin to get caught up in the story of the Sisters of Saint Margaret or the Community of St. John Baptist.

Pick to no more than three or four religious orders. We'd love it if OA is one of them. But limit your reading, preaching and teaching. Get a book on each. Find material on the web about them. And seek the stories. Take note of the personalities that capture your attention.

You might focus on a few personalities. The stories of Sister Kate. For those in the Order of the Ascension you might think of Scott and me. We're the two longest members. I was there in 1982-83 as we were being formed and Brother Scott came soon after. We each had inner-city parishes. Find out our stories. Ask each of us how we came up against our bishops. How that felt? What happened? Ask each of us about moments that seem dangerous to us. What touched our heart? Ask each of us about what we did to develop an inner-city parish. Or talk with Brother Lowell about his work at St. Paul's. What touched his heart as he entered a troubled parish? Or interview Sister Michelle. What's it like being the superior of an order of mostly clergy when you are a lay woman? What drew you to the Order? What touched your heart?

Or if you're not of OA, you might write or call another order and interview someone.

Deeper

A place to begin may be “Becoming an Associate of a Religious Order”. It's a good place to start. It provides options. And it’s few enough to not overwhelm.

But you will also want to press deeper into the life and work of these orders.

Think about using one of the blog postings below every 2 or 3 weeks. Space them out. Maybe introduce some of them with your own thoughts. As you go along you might find yourself writing something that adds another dimension.

Think about how to add into a few sermons illustrations from the history and stories of some orders. Maybe just a few paragraphs. Not every week but frequently.

For example, here’s where my head goes with next Sunday's Pentecost propers

that the Lord would put his spirit on them!

And

there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.

We often think about these passages in terms of vocations such as medicine and teaching, education and social work, grocery shoppers and ETMs. Or laity, deacon, priest, bishop. There is also within the church religious orders—sisters and brothers. And those communities play a certain role with the church’s life and the divine economy. Etc. etc.

The oldest monastic community in the Anglican communion is SSJE. ........ 1866. The brothers in Massachusetts are famous as spiritual guides and their houses as places of spiritual retreat. Etc etc.

In the U.S. one of the oldest women’s religious orders founded in 1865 is the Community of St Mary. See more resources at bottom of this page. Ten Decades of Praise by Sr. Mary Hillary, CSM
Harriet Starr Cannon by Morgan Dix. Other Historical Documents and Resources for CSM from Project Canterbury

You get the idea.

Weave a story from that tradition once a month or so. Not too much but enough that people begin to recognize names and stories. Look for ways to revisit communities. If I tied in St. Marys next week I’d look for a time close to September 9, the Feast of Constance and her Companions, to deepen the story. Maybe August 30 - “Then Jesus told his disciples, 'If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it' "

Also see the icon on the Martyrs of Memphis

Some existing resources:

Religious Communities – on the OA web site, an overview

Associates of the Order of the Ascension – On the OA site, includes the rule for Associates

Associates of the Order of the Ascension – On the “Means of Grace, Hope of Glory” blog

Becoming an Associate of a Religious Order – Five associate groups are listed

Religious Orders Recognized by the Episcopal Church – national church website

Religious Orders – Anglicans On-Line list

Related pieces: These might be more useful for your reflection and selected people than sharing widely.

Spiritual Vitality and Authenticity

Religious Communities in the Parish

Doing Parish Development during the Virus: Power form the center pervades the whole