Anabaptism is unique among all ecclesial frames for reference derived from the Reformation in many ways, one of which involves its Catholic roots and specifically Benedictine roots. Unlike Luther the Augustinian, Calvin the lawyer, or Zwingli the Christian humanist, the Anabaptist tradition arose largely in the soil of the Benedictine tradition. This is seen most clearly in the influence of Michael Sattler over the Radical Reformation. The earliest Anabaptist confession, The Schletheim Confession, is widely accepted as deriving directly from the thought of Sattler, and its fundamental affirmations are clearly Benedictine in origination.

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RedOracle: Postmodern hospitality

This leads me to think about hospitality…how are we, as individual followers of Christ and together as a community of believers, hospitable to others? Recently, I attended a “consultation” on interchurch relations put together by MC USA. The purpose was to get together to discuss how we, as Mennonites, can be and have been hospitable to other Anabaptist brothers and sisters. To be honest this meeting was annoying to me because we were, as one brave sole stated, seeking to make a simple thing complicated. Why do we need to get a room full of leaders together to talk about something that seemingly should flow out of us quite naturally? And yet, I am glad that MC USA sees the extending of hospitality as a priority.

So what exactly is hospitality? What does it look like? Is it merely about giving to an other or is it also about receiving? After spending a month traveling in Spain and Morocco my ideas of hospitality and my role in it have changed…

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Thin Space Learning from the Celtic Saints:  a day long learning/sharing experience hosted by Mustard Seed Associates and the Mustard Seed House.

• When? June 7
• Where? Mustard Seed House, Seattle WA

Register online

The rediscovery of Celtic Christianity has been a delightful revelation for many followers of Christ in recent years. Many Christians are intrigued by this rich tradition and by the men and women who led it. They were described as God intoxicated people who lived with an intense sense of the presence of God. All of life and all of creation were embraced by the triune God whom they believed walked with them throughout life’s journey. 

The invigorating prayers and traditions of this movement continue to inspire people today. Come and learn from the Celtic saints and see how this wonderful Christian tradition can enrich and empower your prayer life and your spiritual observances. This day long seminar will explore the lives of Patrick, Columba, Brigit and Brendan and the rich understanding of prayer that each of these Christian leaders brought to their faith.

Discover new ways to connect your prayer walk to your everyday life as you explore the many examples of prayer that under girded the lives of these dynamic ancient followers of Jesus. Discover a deeper understanding of prayer as you learn to write Celtic prayers based on your own life situation. 

Schedule for the Day:

• 9:00 Welcome & morning prayer
• 9:30 Learning from Patrick – the all encompassing presence of Christ
• 10:30 Break
• 11:00 Learning from Columba – rhythms for life
• Lunch
• 1:00 Learning from Brigid & Brendan – journey into hospitality
• 2:30 – 4:00 Writing prayers for the journey
• 4:00 Sharing.
• 4:30 Closing and afternoon prayer

Register online

The gathering featured Alt. Worship pioneer Jonny Baker. He is a sort of a non-official bishop of the emerging church in the UK and beyond. Jonny facilitated part of the conversation about tinkering with spirituality, read about it on his blog. I’ve been following his ministry and creative input since the mid 90′s and it was good to meet him finally. We had very good conversations about the expression of the emerging church in UK, the view of the american version of emerging/emergent (hot topic these days, see Jonny’s comments about the topic on his blog).

The group of around 33 people involve mostly in young adults, student ministry was divided into groups to discuss 3 main topics – Social Justice, Intentional Community and Spiritual Formation. While I was personally interested in the intentional community group, I was asked to participate in the Faith Formation discussion.

These are some of the insights I took with me from that conversation:

Mentorship

• uncomfortable with the power dynamic inherent in the word
• it shouldn’t be a question of heirarchy of authority, mentoring is a gift
• spiritual direction has become too professionalized

Community

• intentional communities give the space to put into practice what we say we believe, and that is living out the kingdom of God
• young people have neither nuclear families nor viable village-models, our extended families have become professionalized and that make can make severing our ties with our parents more stark and traumatic.
• why can’ there be a tertiary order – communities you don’t have to live in but places you can hang out, like catholic workers

Authenticity

• what is conversion? what is evangelism? it ought to be about finding one’s own faith and seeing the divine in each life but can we do that without tinges of imperialism, colonialism, and triumphalism?
• if the gospel is going to be truly transformative and liberative it’s got to be connected to the reality of life – we can’t predict what will be on the other side of it.
• is a strengthened church the inevitable result or just our desired result? Are we serving God or ourselves?
• we cannot let established organization have the last word – we have to also be working outside the system.
• evangelizing ought to include our own limitations and understanding, and our limitations in living out the gospel.
• this intention to convert others contains a certain violence.
• are we really trying to transform our church, or are we trying to fill our church?

Authority

• we should be thinking about authority beyond hierarchy
• we can find the info line but what we need is meaning and relationship
• young adults respond to age, experience, and wisdom; it’s authority which they distrust.
• our fears about the blind leading the blind, where does authority actually reside?
• authority is relational, church is not repository of information and/or truth
• thinking of leadership this way de-links the notion of church from physical buildings and dioceses

Beside the great conversations, the food at the retreat center was unbelievable – see menu.