Conflict: Side Trips

It's difficult to manage a parish conflict when too many people are taking side trips.

Side trips are flights from the actual situation in front of us. They are called into play in high level conflict when our anxiety has the best of us. Instead of staying with the very difficult work at hand we flee into illusions where we truly know the "truth" about what's happening and have more control. It helps us feel better. Like a tranquilizer.

Here are three examples. I'll offer related examples from a non-parish conflict many of us are now familiar with--General Theological Seminary.

Fortune telling

Broad sweeping statements are made of the parish's bright new figure or impending decline. It's resurrection. It's death. The parish will stronger for this. The parish will never recover from this.

The fact is we don't know what will happen. Well, we do, but not in the sense of being able to predict such outcomes. We know that many will develop an investment in being "right." We know that many will have a very hard time managing their moods and emotions. We know that some will try to damage the reputation and life of their opponents. We know that as people pull further apart they will lose an awareness of the pain they cause others. 

There's a reason why the church has been skeptical of fortune tellers, tarot cards and palm readings. We don't get to know the future. We don't have that kind of control. And when we enter the illusion that we do have such control we stop being responsible human beings. 

[At GTS - There are a number of fortune tellers. Many predict the closing of the 200 year old institution. It's a reasonable guess. But that's all it is. I have no idea what will happen to GTS. I had had no idea what would happen to the parishes I’ve worked with over the years that were in serious conflict. Years later I look back--some fell apart, others renewed.]

Ignore the fortune tellers. They are a distraction. Set aside the fortune teller within you, dip your hand in the font, make the sign, recall who you are and the life that is yours--"Sealed as Christ's own forever." -- "An inquiring and discerning heart, the courage to will and to persevere..."

False equivalences about behavior and power

The rector is shocked that the bishop is asking her to dial back her language in the pulpit, to get help managing her emotions, and to reverse some of the steps she took to get the conflict under control.  "And he's really not asking anything of the lay leaders who are behaving so badly!!"

The false equivalency is usually two fold. The "bad" behavior of the one side is seen as equal to the "bad" behavior of the other side. And, both sides are presented as having equal power. This last doesn't hold up to much (any) thought, but it's assumed. 

Employers have considerably more power than workers. They can fire you. [In the GTS situation the Dean and Board have the power to fire the faculty, deprive them of their housing, and leave them without health coverage.] In the parish the rector can assault you from the pulpit (usually not by name but we know who you are), make comments about excommunication, and use religious language to suggest how sinful you are. I recall that in one of my first conflict consultations back in the 70's the rector tried to win my support by letting me know how racist the vestry was (somewhat true). He knew that I had been involved in the civil rights movement and hoped I was stupid enough to fall for the ploy. Some have played "the church isn't a democracy" card and other's begin the vestry meeting with the book of canon law on the table next to a Prayer Book. We do so like to be right and if not right, winning will do. 

"All have gone astray." That's my observation and wisdom about what happens in high level conflict. Actually it's ‎Isaiah's. There are no innocent parties. However, those with the greater power in have the most moral responsibility. So, it's up to rector's, seminary deans, and boards of directors to be the first to stop bringing gasoline to the fire. One difficulty with that "truth" is that leaders come to the fight with as much spiritual maturity and emotional intelligence as they have at the moment. In a serious conflict it takes a lot of each to play a constructive role.

Sometime in the early 1970's Loren Mead wrote his unpublished “Myths and Norms in Parish Life: A Guide to Parish Pathology.” It was very funny. He described the piece this way: “comic, but…has since caused grown men and women to beat breasts, tear hair, and weep publicly.” He wrote this about power in parishes - "Power and control are very, very bad. Exception 1: It is okay to exert control through round-about indirect, or manipulative ways. Exception 2: It is okay to exert control by withdrawing (money, self, etc.) since that makes others feel guilty and is really much more effective. Exception 3: It is okay to exert control if you say it’s the Holy Spirit and not you doing it."

All is well

This isn't Julian's "All is well" but our flight into wanting it to be over when in fact it's not over. Some parish leaders will assess a level 5 conflict as level 2 because they can't stand the reality. Some will tell the congregation that "we are back on track" when in fact it's continuing to get worse. 

[At GTS we recently saw the Board issue a statement suggesting that the faculty was going back to work. Within days the faculty issued a "clarification." Apparently it's not over.]

When people have entered into high level conflict the emotions involved don't disappear even if a compromise is reached or the parties are separated in some manner.  Any compromise is fragile and can easily collapse if the emotions are reactivated. Early in my work in the Diocese of Connecticut (many moons ago) we had a bitter, destructive conflict in a parish. The decision in the Bishop's Office was to work out a way for the parties to separate. The priest received a nice package and moved onto another parish. A few of the most hostile vestry members were asked to leave the parish as part of the agreement. Years later we discovered that some of the rector's adversaries were sending letters to his new parish attempting to undermine him. The rector had also kept himself connected to people in the parish who were fighting a kind of guerrilla war that was really a continuation of the old battle.

 rag+

Conflict: Win-Lose

Conflict at any level rises out of a competition. Two groups or two individuals each wanting something that is in competition with the needs or wants of the other. This is true at all levels of conflict whether we just have a problem to solve or we face an intractable situation.

The danger for the parish system is that this competition becomes a win-lose struggle.

Here in Seattle

I live in Seattle. Here in the land of tolerance we seem to be rather good at taking situations that lend themselves to happy compromises, or even win-wins, and moving things rapidly into a win-lose position. Two examples.

Indigenous Peoples Day vs Columbus Day (Italian Heritage Day)

City Council acted to place Indigenous Peoples Day on the same day as Columbus Day. Native Americans and some on the left were happy. The Italian community and others on the left were not happy.

Kshama Sawant, the socialist member of city council, who my friends would expect me to side with1, said “Columbus did not embark on a simple voyage of exploration—it was always intended as a voyage of conquest and ultimately colonization” and "This resolution is about more than just a name change, it is about educating ourselves and our children about taking a stand against racism and discrimination" and about Columbus "the man who “played such a pivotal role in the worst genocide humankind has ever known.” 

Ralph Fascitelli president of the Seattle-based gun-control advocacy organization Washington Cease Fire, says the council needlessly offended Italian Americans. “We empathize with the death and destruction of the Native Americans.” And "The problem is that the mayor and the City Council couldn't arbitrate and find an equitable solution so that Columbus Day, which is essentially Italian Heritage Day, wasn't thrown under the bus." A group is forming to fight the change and take action against members of city council in the next election.

The Seattle Times said, "Replacing one observance with the other is not “reconciliation,” but an attempt at attitude control through legislation." Neither day is an official city holiday with free curbside parking. Even so the uproar is loud. 

Sometimes humor helps -- The Cobert Report on Columbus Day Under Attack. Sometimes it doesn't. Lightness always helps.

And cars vs bikes

Next to my favorite Starbucks is a new, mostly unused, bike rack. It sits where two parking spaces for cars once were. Along the street there are also several bike racks located on the sidewalk. The one pits bicycles against automobiles. The other allows for both. 

In cities and in parishes 

In these situations those on the losing side end up resentful. It's a resentment not just based on having lost. There is an extra layer of hurt because it was possible for both sides to have what they wanted. But one of the parties wanted to win and see the other side lose. It's not simply losing. It is losing with insult added. One party walks away feeling injured. 

What that means is that the fight will continue.

I'm not saying there are never times when there must be winners and losers. Justice may require it on occasion. And sometimes the resources are limited and can't accommodate both parties. There are times when these fights seem silly. How many parishes have fought over disposable cups vs. ceramic cups for coffee hour? Is the resulting ill will really in proportion with what is at stake?

When we allow a conflict to move into a win-lose struggle people will have more limited contact, language will get exaggerated, personal attacks will increase, the shade of gray will disappear. And it might get worse--it can move into intentionally hurtful actions as the parties lose a sense of the pain their actions are causing. And that can move into doing serious damage to one another's reputation and well being.

Sometimes we can be so right that we are wrong.

 rag+

1 Sawant helped bring the $15 minimum wage to Seattle.

Conflict

The parish conflict has moved to level 4 or 5. There have been blow ups and people are moving among the standard options -- terminate ("I have to get out of this place," withdraw (emotionally, physically - "It's just too painful"), fantasize ("can't we just go back to the way it was?").

Lines have been drawn. Positions stated and misunderstood by the opponents. Informal contact reduced, maybe non existent. Outside parties are being drawn into the fight--Bishop's, parishioners, maybe even the newspaper [At the General Theological Seminary - students, alumni, PB, Episcopal Cafe, the New York Times]

Within months people leave, reputations suffer, the financial situation worsens, attendance declines, potential members step away. Maybe we try mediators or arbitrators. Even, lawyers!!  

Some stay emotionally focused on how what they have done is right and how the opponents are wrong. A few find themselves aware of the long term damage that's about to take place. All have moments of thinking about the miserable months, and possibly years, ahead in which their time and energy will be tied up in this struggle. And then there are the confused and confusing voices -- "just sit down and talk," "can't we all get along," "what did they think would happen if they behaved this way." The sentimental, the cynical, the victims, the passive, the outraged all get on stage.

Is there anything that can be done?

The need is to quickly ratchet down the conflict level. As it stands now the cost is too high and the dynamics too unmanageable. If that can be done the range of options for conflict management will increase. It still may not have the desired result. We don't get to have all that much control when conflict is this severe. The issue before us is more --"Is there anything we can do at this stage?"

1. A clear, meaningful gesture 

Restore a practice that has symbolic important for your opponent. Remove a sanction that you inflicted upon your opponent. You don't have to apologize or explain. Public statements are likely to be self serving -- "see how open and humble we are." Don't call a press conference. Don't appoint the priest associate, not even a bishop, to "listen" to the all the anxious and fearful people.

[At GTS -- Faculty - go to chapel today and tomorrow. Just join in the common life to that extent. Dean - restore the old chapel schedule beginning Monday. Board president - tell the dean to do it!  Or do something else that is an action, a changed behavior, not just another statement]

2. Take a stance of humble assertiveness.

The task is to move emotionally and mentally into a new stance. You are trying to maintain perspective; that's not easy to do when you are angry, hurt, resentful and feel under attack. The situation requires both a willingness to assert your position with its legitimate claims and insights and at the same time consider the impact of your words and actions on the opponent in light of the Gospel and the long term well being of the people touched by the conflict.

It may help to seek guidance as you try to access your capacity for empathetic firmness. You need to consider the likely impact of your statements on your opponents. That may be difficult (impossible) for you to do on your own. Have the person you are looking to for guidance review actions, statements, sermons, and e-mails you are considering. If you can bring yourself to do this you may at least stop bringing gasoline to the fire.

3. Offer a new proposal 

Ignore the last offensive proposal of the opposition and the excessive demands of your own last proposal. Do something like what was done in the Cuban Missile Crisis. Ignore some of what the opponent offered. Don't respond to that because you know it will be unproductive. Move to a position that might have a chance of being received. 

[At GTS -- The Board says - "Yes let's meet. Here is the team we have appointed." The Faculty responds -"We are glad to meet with the team." Or reverse the order of taking initiative. The best possible action would be for the offers to cross in e-mail messages.]

But what if it doesn't work?

Then you are back to the mediators, arbitrators and attorneys. 

The reality of conflict is that we don't get to control it. We may be able to manage it to some degree if we have the needed mix of wisdom, humility, and competence. Maybe. 

The psalmist offers perspective (78)

38	But he was so merciful that he forgave their sins and did not destroy them; *     many times he held back his anger     and did not permit his wrath to be roused.
39	For he remembered that they were but flesh, *     a breath that goes forth and does not return.

We're human. We share in sin and human limitation. We often get it wrong. God is merciful.

rag+ 

Also on conflict

Ways of dealing with conflict

The Three Movements of the Spiritual Life: Part Two - From Hostility to Hospitality

Conflict Management Workshop 2015

Saint Paul’s, Seattle: the search process #3

Five ways to improve your parish’s transition process

        (Note: this is really about all of us not just St. Paul’s)

1. Finish the old business

There are always issues that have been avoided or left hanging. It is a moral and priestly obligation for the outgoing rector to finish the work. If she doesn’t do that it falls to the interim.  One rector faced into moving a long-term employee out of his position and the apartment that came with it. It was emotionally very difficult for him. He had been avoiding it for a few years. He decided it was simply wrong to leave it to the new rector.

The most important business to complete is to act for reconciliation among members in a significant state of alienation from one another.

I’m aware of a situation going on right now in a parish where the interim and some lay leaders are planning on letting an estranged situation wait until the new rector arrives. The situation has gone on for several years. The outgoing rector took a few steps that made space for healing but didn’t complete the work. The parties on one side are clearly open to moving on while those on the other seem resistive or conflicted (this second group also have considerable power in the parish).

It is not responsible oversight to leave such things for a new rector to face without making an attempt to bring healing into the situation.

2. Seek as much ownership as possible among the congregation and vestry.

All too often search committees fold in on themselves. Maybe it’s about wanting to be in control, maybe it’s just feeling overwhelmed. In many cases it’s a lack of competence—few members have training or experience with these things.

The new rector will have to work closely with the vestry and lead a congregation that doesn’t know her. The search committee can provide humble leadership by focusing less on their own opinions and preferences and more on shaping things so the vestry and a critical mass of the congregation, especially those of Apostolic faith and practice, has a sense of ownership in the decisions being made. We want the new rector to arrive out of a process that: a) has appropriately involved the vestry and whole congregation in assessing the parish’s life, b) with a sense that this is really a free choice not rising from habit or pressure, not reactive, and c) has high commitment and is likely to hold well over time and under pressure.   The Intervention Theory may be useful in understanding how this works. 

         PDF on the Intervention Theory

3. Do some parish development work

The transition period may not be a prime time for renewal but it is more than a time of running in place. It’s useful to pick one or two developmental initiatives to work on.  If the Daily Office teams have withered—renew them before the new rector arrives. If people have stopped coming to coffee hour—do something to draw people again.

4.  Use survey feedback methods not just surveys

Too often we make up surveys based on our desire to know if the candidates agree with us about some issue. Other times we use survey’s that are more professional in construction but offer little or no insight into the spiritual dynamics of the parish. So we learn about the sense of satisfaction and energy in the parish without being helped to understand if the parish is grounded in an Anglican way of being Christian or whether members are longing for a deeper spiritual life or if the rhythm among stability, conversion and obedience is healthy. In themselves surveys offer few definitive answers about these matters of spiritual life. But they can seek and provide information that those with training in pastoral and ascetical theology can use in guiding leaders to better discern the state of the parish.

So, one issue is the survey itself—what information it seeks and what it overlooks.

The other important consideration is the impact of the information on parish leaders and members. That’s where the survey-feedback method comes in.

When we ask people for their thoughts and feelings most people find their attention sharpened. They are interested and often prepared to act on what they learn.

Survey feedback is a method that allows a parish to make use of the energy generated in the process of gathering and analyzing information. It includes timely, well structure feedback meetings in which all those who completed a survey get to see the results, have a conversation, and act on what they hear. In fact the most effective process is to arrange it so only those willing to be at the meeting and listen to others get to do the survey.

In a transition process we would provide several such meetings and limit the action taken rising from the meetings. Actions coming out of the meetings might be tasks that can be completed before the new rector arrives. In that way we don’t undercut the desire and need to have another survey feedback process that we do along with our new priest.

        PDF on Survey-Feedback

5. Be appreciative and honest

Those working in the field of organization development and organizational psychology have known for 70 years that the best way to improve organizations is to start with an appreciative stance. What are the strengths? What are the opportunities before the parish? Work with those things. Build upon and expand the strengths.

That only becomes a problem when we ignore the weaknesses that can kill us. Some parishes have used appreciative process in just that way.

We don’t want the parish profile to offer a list of 100 things to fix so we can be perfect. We do want to know is this parish basically healthy, static, or in decline. We do want to know the two or three big challenges we face, including areas of parish life that have been consistently weak. It is spiritually and emotionally healthy to acknowledge the truth.   A PDF on the parish life cycle

rag+

Worship that swept us off our feet
Worship that swept us off our feet
So what’s transferable?
Small issues with large consequence
Instinctual and intuitive leadership
The role of the bishop and the diocese 

The Search Process
Saint Paul’s, Seattle: the search process #1

Saint Paul’s, Seattle: the search process #2

Saint Paul’s, Seattle: the search process #3

 A List of All Postings

Saint Paul's Parish Profile - posted in early October 2014 

Saint Paul’s, Seattle: the search process #2

What needs to be faced?

That’s a question for every parish—what needs to be faced?

It may be about things that are out of whack. Those are the things that the visitor notices even if the parish has grown accustomed to it. Like the integrated parish where week after week all the African Americans sat on the right side and the whites on the left. Or the priest that had a large glass of water sitting on the altar. Or the parish that had 1000 seats and 20 members scattered among all those seats. Or the parish that gave first time visitors a large basket of gifts. Or the priest that insisted on using his iPad instead of a Prayer Book when presiding at the Eucharist.

There are reasons for the behaviors, those involved can offer a rationalization, but many/most people will find something “off” in the behavior. These are all things that can be addressed especially if people have a sense of lightness and even humor.

While a parish may want to address the out of whack matters over time there are usually more significant matters that need to be faced. Some are obvious to most parish leaders. They are the kind of things that the leaders of most parishes could easily name about their own situation.

There are other significant matters that we only see if we are wearing the correct lens. People trained in fields such as organization development and psychology, ascetical and pastoral theology may see what others miss.[i]

More significant matters

These are parish practices that probably made sense when initiated.  They solved some real problem or they allowed the parish to act on an opportunity. But as we look ahead we see the potential for trouble.  When these practices were especially related to the departing rector they become the concern of the transition process.

Here are my hunches on three matters that Saint Paul’s will need to face.

Having enough time and energy from the new rector

Melissa Skelton had the vigor and skill to be a very effective rector of the parish while only being part time. It’s not just that she could pull it off—she thrived on it. She was energized by her additional work as a diocesan staff person and a consultant/trainer.  The parish faces the reality that few clergy can work that way.

My sense is that the practice developed in part because she loved the mix of work. It was also a way for the parish to make its budget. A friend of mine carried his parish financially for many years. He only began to deal with the issue as retirement came closer and he grew concerned about the impact on his pension and the difficulty the parish would face in getting a new rector.

Saint Paul’s needs enough time and energy from the rector to maintain the life that has emerged and been developed. With an average Sunday attendance pressing toward 300 and a vibrant life as an urban parish the probable need is for a full time rector and additional clergy and lay staffing.

Of course it’s possible that the new rector would come with abundant energy and ability to earn additional income from other sources. But it’s useful to remember that Melissa would not have agreed to first come to Saint Paul’s if the position hadn’t been full time. 

The parish may need to deal with the conventional mental models of many clergy who will begin with the assumption that in addition to the need for a full time rector, there’s also a need for a full time office staff plus additional clergy staffing. The second conventional model that may create difficulty is the number of clergy that have bought into a mind-set that assumes a relatively moderate workload. Saint Paul’s will need to take care around this. Some priests will be so excited about the possibility of being the rector at this parish that they will avoid being clear that if selected they have an intention to reduce the number of Sunday liturgies and would rearrange the budget to provide for a full time office staff even at the cost of needed additional ministry staffing.

Living the threefold pattern of prayer

Yesterday I joined small groups of parishioners for Morning Prayer at 7:30 and Evening Prayer at 5:30. For me it’s a grounding of my life in an ancient rhythm and larger communion. It’s also an act of service as the few pray on behalf of the many.

Saint Paul’s has a long-term commitment to the fullness of Prayer Book Spirituality. It’s also been called the Threefold Rule of Prayer—Mass, Daily Office, and personal devotions. The Book of Common Prayer is 80% about the Eucharist and Office. It assumes personal devotions that are grounded in common prayer. There’s a page on the parish web site on the pattern.   

         Here’s a PDF with more on the threefold rule.

The significance of the pattern, and its shaping power in relationship to a parish’s spiritual health, is dependent on an understanding of the less obvious spiritual dynamics of the Episcopal parish church. It takes a bit of systems based pastoral theology to get it.  Martin Thornton wrote of the Office as being the “continual beat or pulse” of the Body of Christ.[ii] 

A sign of its importance at St. Paul’s is that when Melissa arrived in the parish the pattern was in place. Lay people said a public Office most mornings and evenings. She acted to strengthen the Office by instituting a system of teams that shared responsibility for saying Evening Prayer on a certain day each week. She also regularized the customary and schedule to allow for broader participation by the whole parish.

A systems view of the role of the Office in parish life may be useful. 

“The active relationship among Eucharist/Daily Office/Personal Devotions can be seen in how the Office is deepened and enriched by a person’s personal devotions, how all three influence one another, and how the Office and personal devotions are focused and completed in the Eucharist. It's common for parish leaders to think about improving something by focusing on the thing itself. So, if we want to improve the parish's celebration of the Eucharist we might train those assisting at the altar to carry themselves with more grace and dignity, to hold their hands folded in front of the belly, and so on. Also, we might train the congregation for its participation. Both are worth doing and are likely to result in improvement. What we often miss is how dramatically our Eucharistic celebration is improved when a critical mass or even a core of those gathered has said the Office, in some form, that week and engaged in a way of personal devotions that nurtures and possibly stretches them.

What we bring to the Eucharist has a great impact on what happens in the Eucharist. This is a systems view of what takes place in the Eucharist and of the process of liturgical renewal. Thornton notes the same reality, “Eucharist – Office – private prayer forms one whole balanced organic life,” and “private prayer is absolutely dependent on the Office and the Eucharist.”[iii] 

There’s been a decline in the number of times the Office is offered, the number of people attending each week, and the size and diversity of the officiant teams.  The attendance numbers have gone down while the parish almost tripled in size. However the base is still in place. The parish has maintained the core elements that had stabilized the Office—customary, focus on Evening Prayer, a standard time, and the use of officiant teams.[iv]

Other areas of parish life degraded as attention was given to membership growth, liturgical space renovation, and working out an authentic way to engage the arts and serve the homeless. After the first few years attention shifted to these critical issues and away from developing basic Christian proficiency for participation in Eucharistic worship, living the threefold pattern, and Anglican spirituality. It’s an understandable process. As leaders focus on some things other matters are given less attention. Leaders will need to reengage the neglected areas so the health of the parish is maintained.

Full Integration of the more evangelical and many newer members

I’ve been attending Mass at Saint Paul’s since December. I’ve been attending and serving in other parishes for the past few years. When I’m at the 7:30 Eucharist it’s mostly people I remember from years ago. But when I attend any of the other masses what I notice is that most of those present have come during my time away. It’s wonderfully disturbing. The rhythms of liturgy are as I remember but the people I do them with are mostly unfamiliar to me. Lovely!

Saint Paul’s has attracted a large number of younger members. Many if them come from an evangelical tradition. They bring new energy. It’s an energy filled with sincerity and commitment. In some ways it’s a useful balance to what can come off as a kind of Christian agnosticism among many Episcopalians.

But how fully incorporated are all these new people? Do they “get” the Anglo Catholic thing? Do they appreciate the Anglican ethos? Has the Bishop confirmed them?

Kate Rickard told her story on the parish’s web site.

In her short story I hear a great deal of incorporation.  Listen to this --

Since attending St. Paul’s, I’ve encountered a mysterious, loving and incarnate God who is real to me in the faces of my neighbors and the wine and bread of Eucharist. The Anglo-Catholic tradition has opened me to new ways of seeing our world that are “sacramental;” the world is infused with the holy and all life is sacred. I also feel freed up to be in relationship with others in a way that is mutually transformative and honoring to Christ. 

 

That sounds like she “gets it” – right?

A bit further into her story she writes this --

I found that when I let go of worrying about understanding and perfecting my role with all the Anglo-Catholic bows, genuflections, smells and bells, I began to experience the heart of the liturgy. And I started to enjoy myself! I realized that the physical movements of bowing and genuflecting along with chanting and pausing for silence pull my entire being into an experience of God’s presence.

That’s as good an understanding as I’ve ever heard – “I started to enjoy myself!”

            Here’s Kate’s story    

There’s a gift that those that have been hesitating about being confirmed could give the new rector – present yourself for confirmation.  Inclusion is a two party action. The community needs to welcome and accept the new person; the new person needs to include themselves in the new community.[v]

And here’s what parish leaders can do to be more completely accepting – directly invite those not confirmed to be confirmed.  Not insisting. Not pressuring. But going to the person and saying, “It would be a joy if I could present you for confirmation. Will you consider allowing me to do that?”

What are the significant matters in your parish?

What are the significant matters in your parish? Those things that will fall to the new priest because we were legitimately focused on other matters or we don’t see them or we avoided them?

rag+

---

[i] For an overview of these fields of learning go to -   http://www.congregationaldevelopment.com/history-of-parish-development

[ii] Thornton had an image for the interdependence of the threefold pattern – The Eucharist as the “living heart of the Body of Christ.” The Office as “Its continual beat or pulse.”  Personal devotions as the “circulation of the blood which gives life and strength to its several members.” Many clergy don’t understand the dynamics of the ascetical system. They focus on the Sunday Eucharist while failing to grasp the role the other elements play on parish spirituality. 

[iii] Fill All Things: The Spiritual Dynamics of the Parish Church, Robert A. Gallagher, Ascension Press, 2008, p 56

[iv] For a picture of the arrangement in the first two years see Fill All Things: The Spiritual Dynamics of the Parish Church, especially pages 176 – 177.

[v] There’s more to it, of course. A competency oriented Foundations Course that was so much a part of Mother Melissa’s first years has been less in use recently. A foundations course is a substantial educational and training program that is repeated over the years and is used to incorporate people into the parish and the spirituality of the Episcopal Church. Also see Fill All Things: The Dynamics of Spirituality in the Parish Church, Robert A. Gallagher, Ascension Press, 2008. Especially pages 87, 183 – 187.  PDF on Foundations Course

Worship that swept us off our feet
Worship that swept us off our feet
So what’s transferable?
Small issues with large consequence
Instinctual and intuitive leadership
The role of the bishop and the diocese

The Search Process
Saint Paul’s, Seattle: the search process #1

Saint Paul’s, Seattle: the search process #2

Saint Paul’s, Seattle: the search process #3

 A List of All Postings

Saint Paul's Parish Profile - posted in early October 2014