In the stillness of February, with sheets of ice still clinging to the pavement and snow as resolute as rocks, a group of clergy and congregational leaders met in Madison, Wisconsin to dream of summer. With red-rimmed noses and frosted fingers, we gathered around the fire at Parker and Sharon Palmer’s house to plan this year’s Habits of the Heart for Healthy Congregations retreat and learning conference on August 11-14, 2014. Among the gathered was Rev. Scott Anderson, a man who knows well the tensions of ministry. He also knows well how to transform those tensions into opportunities for life-giving relationships. Click the video below to hear his story:
Anderson, who serves as the Executive Director for the Wisconsin Council of Churches, faced one of the most polarizing times in his state’s history when in 2011 Wisconsin’s newly elected governor proposed controversial legislation. Protests that were organized around the state capital soon spilled into congregations and family homes. Religious leaders wondered how they could be an alternative witness to these painful divisions.
The idea for a Season of Civility was born. Anderson rallied over 400 clergy and congregational leaders across the state to come together with the purpose of starting a new kind of conversation. Using the habits of the heart from Parker Palmer’s Healing the Heart of Democracy, along with the Action Circles Guide created by the Center for Courage & Renewal, facilitators Barb Hummel and Wint Boyd trained faith leaders on how to create spaces in their congregations for difference to thrive and community to flourish. While the work was hard, it also proved to be transformative in congregations where open and honest dialogue was rare. Reflecting on the ripple effects of the work on in February, Anderson shared, “One of my takeaways is that this is about forming relationships, not necessarily about solving the conflicts that exist.” He added, “In a sense those are larger than any of us.”
Interested in learning how to embrace the tensions of ministry in your congregation or faith community? Explore our annual Habits of the Heart for Healthy Congregations summer retreat and learning conference on August 11-14, 2014. This year we’ll focus on the theme “Embracing the Tensions of Ministry.” Early bird registration ends May 1st.
The post Embracing the Tensions of Ministry appeared first on Center for Courage & Renewal.
