The Rev. Aaron Twait

Faithful Innovation Green Shoots at Christ Church, Red Wing

Community Stories
Christ Church Christ Church

On Sunday evenings at 5pm, spiritually curious neighbors from a local housing complex join members of Christ Church, Red Wing in the parish hall to engage with Scripture in a very 21st century way.  After a brief introduction to set the scene, the group watches The Chosen, the historical drama series based on the life and ministry of Jesus.  Following the episode, the group reflects on what we’ve watched and discuss what Jesus’ message means for our lives today – and how we might identify with those who encounter Him.  Then we catch up on each other’s lives over a hot meal.

One of the participants recently said to me, “I thought the value would be in watching the show. But really it’s in the conversations and the food.”  I couldn’t agree more.  You can stream The Chosen for free – anyone can watch it from their living room.  But the Spirit is moving here to knit this community together around Jesus, and I’ve been in awe watching the group grow, both in numbers and in the quality of our discussion as our ability to be vulnerable has grown. Entering into the stories of Scripture and talking about them over food?  Discipleship doesn’t get much more authentic.

Christ Church, Red Wing is also tracking parishioners' activity towards their 2025 goals with attractive charts in the church entryway: 

  • This week I invited _______ people to participate in a ministry, worship, or other event at Christ Church.
  • This week I had ________ conversations about faith outside the church facility.
  • This week I served _______ members of our community. 

Christ Church, Red Wing participated in the first Faithful Innovation process in Minnesota in 2022. Their team engaged in simple experiments including inviting neighbors and visitors to write prayers on strips of cloth that were hung on a chicken wire structure next to a fire pit on the church's front lawn. The Faithful Innovation process grounded the Christ Church team in simple spiritual practices involving listening to God, other church members, and their neighbors. They became more comfortable talking about God, and wondering together what the Holy Spirit might be up to in the lives of their neighbors. It has been so exciting to see the green shoots coming from the seeds that were planted a few years ago.

Please contact Canon Blair Pogue at blair.p@episcopalmn.org if you would like to learn
more about the Faithful Innovation process or have a team of at least three church
members who would like to participate. 

All it takes is one faithful step to start a New Christian Community. Check out Nancy Dyson's Faith + Lead Pivot Podcast interview on the next faithful step here.