• recognize where we are as a congregation,
• visualize where we want to be, and
• analyze whether we can get there from here.

Many times, the answer is that we need to change to go wherever God is leading us.

In his blog, Bruce Reyes-Chow, moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) posted a link to a video that addresses the pervasive need for change and the reasons why the pressures to change are so strong these days. I had seen it before but never in the context of change in the church,  or the presbytery.

Palm Sunday is this week. There’s a point during Holy Week where the crowd switches from crying out Palm Sunday Hosannas to yelling Maundy Thursday jeers to “Crucify!” The change in the crowd is a response to religious and socioeconomic pressure. That makes it real change but it doesn’t make it good change.

Watch the video. Think about the pressure on your presbytery… your church…your life…  Can we change to meet those pressures? Can the outcome be good?

Adele Hensley, Resource Center Coordinator
Presbytery of Chicago

The group included staff people, work group moderators, Presbytery Council members and elected leaders of the Presbytery of Chicago. We watched the film, Everyday Creativity, by DeWitt Jones, a freelance photographer who has done a lot of work for National Geographic.

Afterwards, Bob Reynolds invited us to share phrases we’d heard in the film that might help us deal with fear, change, and the identity of the POC.  DeWitt Jones packs a number of meaningful phrases into one short film, including: 

• Change your perspective.
• There’s always more than one right answer.
• Reframe problems into opportunities.
• Don’t be afraid to make mistakes.
• Train your technique.

Our group buzzed with ideas triggered by the film. Carlene Hyrams said she had thought we were in a “wilderness period” but now she thinks she was wrong. She said we know how to handle a wildernesss. She asked “What if this is a famine?” She continued (I didn’t take notes, so this is a paraphrase), That would explain what’s so frightening. We don’t know how to handle a famine. She said we need to sow during the famine.

Bob Hutchins said if something (like our building) is the symbol of our fear, why not get out now and go to where our perspective can change? It was a night to think large.

It was also a night to think about what small means. Barbara Bundick said maybe this is a time  for cultivating a Zen garden.

We left full of ideas with more to say.

That brings us to this blog.

In his trip to the River Tweed, Jones made every effort to set up shots where he thought something would happen next. He anticipated change and  raced to meet it.

This is as near as I come to racing to meet change. The conversation is not over, nor is the community closed. If you remember things from another perspective or if you see some different right answers, please comment.  If you think blogging here might suit you, let me know. This could become a Presbytery of Chicago multi-blogger blog, where the content could change frequently and the bloggers could stay fresh.

Web sites can be more than one kind of tool (transformation–another right answer!), let’s see how this changes the conversation.

Adele Hensley, Resource Center Coordinator
Presbytery of Chicago