Faithful Innovation? . . . What's That All About?

On Saturday, January 7, teams from four Metro area congregations—Holy Trinity, St. Paul, Saint Christopher's, Roseville, St. David's, Minnetonka, and Trinity, Anoka—met in the ECMN Gathering Space.

Below, find an article from Diane Curley, a team member from St. David's in Minnetonka, in which she shares with her congregation more about what Faithful Innovation is, how it works, and why it matters.

The teams in this process join the five congregations participating in the Southern process and the four congregations in the Northern process.

FAITHFUL INNOVATION? ……… WHAT’S THAT ALL ABOUT?

Indeed, that’s a very good question, and it is being addressed by our very own MN diocese, right here, right now. Church as we have known it say 50, or even 20 years ago, no longer exists. Church attendance is way down across all denominations, people are not seeking spirituality in traditional organized religious constructs, and “unchurched” people far outnumber church-going folk in America. In the wise words of Bob Dylan, the times they are a-changin . . . Indeed! 

In response to these trends, the Episcopal Diocese of MN is on the forefront, with a most important journey ahead called Faithful Innovation. We at St. David’s are blessed to be able to participate in this program. During this journey we will ask ourselves and one another some very important questions and partake in organized practices aimed at exploring this issue. We will be encouraged to be curious with questions like: Where is God in our life, our church, our neighborhood, our world? What is God up to and where? We will be invited to participate in three practices along this journey. First, we will dwell in scripture; then, we will have the opportunity to share spiritual stories with one another; and finally, we will physically walk through our neighborhoods, and St. David’s neighborhood, listening and noticing what is around us. When we find God in all these different places, working in peoples’ lives (and we will), we can experiment with ways to join up with what God is already doing.

From Rev. Blair Pogue, Cannon for Vitality and Innovation: “We know from scripture that God is a God who heals, who brings people into relationship across lines of difference, who forgives, who brings new life, and who sees the people and places we sometimes fail to see. It will be exciting to learn more about what God is up to all around us, and to watch what happens when we participate in God’s life and the life of our neighbors more fully.”

Each week of January we will feature, in the weekly bulletin email, one of the three practices that will make up the Faithful Innovation journey. After that we will begin the practices.

We are excited to take this journey with you.

--Diane Curley, St. David’s Parishioner, Vestry Member, Faithful Innovation Committee Member

If you or your faith community is interested in learning more about or participating in a Faithful Innovation process, please email the Rev. Canon Blair Pogue. She would love to visit your church and tell members of your faith community more about it.