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San
Bernardino members reach out, reach in for understanding
BY PAT McCAUGHAN
Parish
leaders all know the frustration of being sidetracked at such places as Mt.
Obstacle, No-More-Money Marsh, Exclusivity Highway, Only-Your-Way River
—dead-ends along the way to effecting positive congregational growth and
change.
But not St. John’s, San
Bernardino, not after the 130-year-old parish became one of the first
graduates of the diocesan Kaleidoscope project, a congregational development
program introduced in January.
Now, armed with new goals,
a new understanding of itself and its circumstances, St. John’s has already
arrived at Cross Cultural Communication Creek; at the Road Less Traveled,
and is well on its way to St. Diversity—throughways to constructive change,
says team member Mike LeMay, who decided to have some fun with Kaleidoscope
concepts.
He hoped his Game of
(Church) Life, when previewed at a Nov. 2 parish workshop, will help
communicate the sobering differences between opting in—or out—of
Kaleidoscope, an experience team members characterize as life-altering.
“Eric Law changed the lives
of every person in this room,” said Evelyn Shackford. “When I started it, I
had just returned to church. Kaleidoscope focused my thoughts about the
Episcopal Church, it helped me remember the reasons you attend church, for
fellowship, trying not to be judgmental, being more empathetic.”
Law, who developed the
Kaleidoscope program, is diocesan missioner for congregational development.
He successfully introduced the project to 10 congregations during the
spring. It involved, he said, “a five-session program designed to help
churches understand and plan for constructive change in order to live more
fully into our baptismal covenant to strive for justice and peace among all
people and respect the dignity of every human being,”
“This training program does that by enhancing a congregation’s ability to
appreciate and celebrate differences as a part of God’s plan for creation.
We also believe that this enhanced ability will enable our congregations to
grow into even more faithful and healthy communities,” said Law.
Its effects are immediately
apparent at this Wednesday evening team meeting, where members use a
cross-cultural communications process developed by Law called “mutual
invitation,” which has, in itself, transformed them.
“Through it, I got the
understanding that people need to be invited to participate,” says Mary
Martin, St. John’s rector.
Ann Blades, senior warden
and also a team member, agreed. “I learned I was not as respectful of other
people’s way of communicating as I’d thought. Kaleidoscope taught me to be
silent. Just because people don’t speak up doesn’t mean they don’t have
something to say. Now, I always say, ‘Can we hear from . . .’ and I realize
that other people’s opinions are just as valuable as mine.”
“In some cultures, people
will not speak unless invited,” added Martin. “Sometimes, it can be hard to
let people process things in their own ways.”
The communications snafus aren’t always solely cross-cultural, as the group
learned.
“One of the first tasks we
were asked to complete was to survey the congregation,” recalled Carolyn
Blades, a team member and Ann’s daughter. “It took a lot of work, struggle,
courage to realize what was going on in our congregation. We were very
surprised by the answers.
“I don’t think we really
had any idea going into Kaleidoscope what it would be like,” she said. “If
you really do what the Kaleidoscope project is asking you to do, you delve,
you look underneath pews to see what’s going on down there. Sometimes, I
wonder if the facilitators knew what Kaleidoscope would do when they turned
it loose in congregations.”
Once ‘turned loose’ at St.
John’s, the survey revealed three major areas of concern: a need for
appreciation and acknowledgment of lay ministries; more effective
communication; more young members.
Armed with the concerns,
the team went to work to transform them into an action plan, and goals,
which became:
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by June, 2003, 90 percent
of the members will be recognized for their ministries and gifts
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by December, 2002, all
leaders of parish programs and ministries will complete a
leadership/communications workshop detailing Kaleidoscope theory
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by June 2003, there will
be an increase of 20 percent in Sunday attendance with growth targeted to
youth and families with young children.
With an active membership
of 90, the parish has experienced a drop in attendance. Its predominantly
Anglo congregation is located in the heart of an African American and
immigrant Hispanic community. Its particular circumstances made it ripe for
Kaleidoscope.
“We’ve lost people for a
number of reasons,” says rector Mary Martin. “Some to deaths, some
relocated. Some are reaching the stage of life where they are losing
control. They are seeing the church barreling down the tracks, too. Part of
understanding cultural things is to understand the people who have been
here, who have given 50 years of their lives to this church, that we need to
take care of them as well as to welcome change.”
Other team members include:
Cheri Albarea; John Peterson and Basil Smith, who said that sometimes the
efforts of diocesan facilitator Lilline Dugan were essential in keeping them
on task. Often, the fun was fraught with challenge.
“Kaleidoscope took a lot of courage,” says Linda Pederson, a diaconal
aspirant. “I remember one of the meetings where there was a lot of tension.
It was a little bit hard for everyone to be honest or to accept what was
given out,” she said as heads bobbed in assent around the table. “I learned
from that. I am much more aware of accepting what I’m presented for what it
is and then dealing with it.”
Says Carolyn Blades. “Once
we had the concerns out in the open for a while, we said, ‘That’s the worst
we could come up with?’ There’s no major split in the church.”
Dugan, secretary to Bishop
Suffragan Chester L. Talton, said St. John’s team members “embraced the work
out of a sincere desire to bring more health through diversity and a spirit
of inclusion to their beloved parish.”
The Kaleidoscope process
deepened her personal faith journey, said Dugan. “I was able to see distrust
change to trust among the team members and myself,” she recalled. “I saw
tremendous change in the St. John members. As the material was embraced, I
witnessed a polite interest change into a serious commitment to promote this
valuable work beyond St. John’s.”
Now, say St. John’s team
members, the mission statement is permanently affixed to the wall of their
meeting room. So are the team’s goals and action plan. The first phase of
their action plan began immediately after the last training session. The
final phase and evaluation is to be completed one year after completing the
training course, in June 2003.
Bishop Diocesan Jon Bruno
has set his own goals for Kaleidoscope: aiming for 80 percent of the
diocese’s 147 congregations to receive the training within five years. Two
sessions are to be offered in 2003 including a bilingual Spanish session;
four sessions in 2004. Currently, all Cathedral Center staff members are
receiving the training.
Invitations for the next
session have been extended to 20 congregations. The first 10 that reply will
be accepted. Meanwhile, the results are trickling in from the previous
training. Additional networking will happen at Diocesan Convention, Dec.
6-7, and at the Martin Luther King Day event, Jan. 20, 2003.
“The process is passed on,” says Law. “Team members who feel ‘called’ by the
transforming experience of the work are invited to join the training team in
2004 and share with newcomers the skills, tools and enthusiasm.”
Kaleidoscope’s benefit to churches will depend upon the amount of effort,
diligence and sense of commitment with which team members approach and
proceed through the material, says Dugan.
St. John’s is already
reaping those benefits, say team members.
“When we complete our goals, we will have a stronger foundation, we’ll be
more cohesive,” said Ann Blades.
“If the workshops go as
planned,” says Linda Pederson, “there will be a doorway opened for people to
see alternatives.”
The Nov. 2 workshop is one
of two planned, adds LeMay, a professor and associate dean at Cal State San
Bernardino. “The workshops are a first step with the congregation to
introduce to them the ideas of change, to help them get into a comfort zone
instead of being stuck in a fear zone. Then, we’ll move down the line,” he
said.
Enthusiasm swells. The
temptation to dream bigger and more audacious dreams is contagious.
“We recently hosted a dance
for young people in Deanery 7 here,” says Mary Martin. “It fits in with our
third goal, to target young people. So does starting a ministry at Cal State
San Bernardino.”
“And once we get this goal,
we can start a youth choir,” adds Mike LeMay.
“And we can become consultants to other congregations who are trying the
same thing,” offers Basil Smith.
“We can always tinker with
our goals,” says Martin.
The team agrees, adding that though they may be among the first Kaleidoscope
graduates, their work is really only just beginning.
“We all signed a contract
for Kaleidoscope for six months, which expired six months ago,” says Carolyn
Blades. “It wound up being a contract for life. I don’t think there will
ever be an ending to the Kaleidoscope movement at St. John’s. We will make
new goals, measure new goals based on what answers we get, and we’ll have
new conversations |
Click picture to enlarge
John Peterson, front center, makes a point at Kaledoscope training session
at St. John’s, San Bernardino, to fellow team members Ann Blades (right
front) and, at back, Carolyn Blades,
Michael Le May and
Evelyn Shackford.
PHOTO: MARY MARTIN
Click picture to enlarge
Map of pitfalls awaiting parishes, including “Exclusivity Expressway” and
“Nomoremoney Marsh,” is parishioner John LeMay’s lighthearted take on
serious lessons learned in Kaleidoscope training at St. John’s Church, San
Bernardino |
