A Place at the Table?
by The Rev. Lisa G. Fischbeck
I sat at the table with the four of them. They were optimistic, smart, creative and educated. And they wanted to help provide housing for the homeless. They had contacted me to see if The Episcopal Church of the Advocate (Chapel Hill, NC) might be open to the possibility of allowing a cluster of "tiny houses" to be built our land. They had creative ideas for funding, design, and development. They had thought through many dimensions of the project, but were open to questions and ideas, open to making adjustments. In other words, they were open to collaboration. I sat at another table, this time with two university administrators who had gone by our church site on a Saturday bike ride and spotted at an old barn located on our property. The Advocate had acquired it when we bought our land, but over the years, it was deteriorating to the point of becoming a liability. But it was perfect for the program these men had in mind. They were looking for old barns throughout the county that could, with the owner's permission and outside funding, be taken apart, board by board. High school students would be brought on field trips to learn local history and construction processes. Weathered old boards would be offered to local artists. Beams and rafters would be salvaged for adaptive re-use, made into furniture or sold to local builders for use in new construction. Though they had ideas and a well-developed plan, they were open to questions and other ideas. They, too, were open to collaboration. We live in a time of innovation and collaboration. People, institutions and organizations are coming together to create systems and businesses that improve our environment, our democratic processes, and the lives of the poor in our communities and in our world. Much of this work comes under the umbrella of "social entrepreneurship". It includes a business plan that would allow for some profit, but not a lot; the motivations more for societal gain than for material gain. Projects are designed to be "scalable," to be adjusted and applied in a variety of settings. Sometimes these efforts include local governments, sometime they emerge despite local governments. Often, they happen without the church.
More people are acting for good Christ transforms culture with or without the Church. Concurrent with a decline in institutional church attendance, there is an increase in the number of people who are choosing a simpler life, eschewing greed and acquisition, finding ways to work with others and help others, within their own community and beyond. The "Buy Local" movement is part of it; adaptive re-use of structures and support for the arts are, too. Social media allows for grassroots fundraising and investment in small businesses near and far. Certainly not a prevailing trend, but increasingly, individuals, organizations, and institutions are doing good and philanthropic work in the world. Those outside of faith traditions are finding ways to honor the dignity of others, to bring about social justice and societal change, what Jews call "the repair of the world." While often local and small scale, this change is not just happening with a handful of optimistic young adults like those who came to speak with me about tiny houses for the homeless and barn wood for local use.
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Sacred Strategies is about eight synagogues that reached out and helped people connect to Jewish life in a new way -- congregations that had gone from commonplace to extraordinary. Over a period of two years, researchers Aron, Cohen, Hoffman, and Kelman interviewed 175 synagogue leaders and a selection of congregants (ranging from intensely committed to largely inactive). They found these congregations shared six traits: sacred purpose, holistic ethos, participatory culture, meaningful engagement, innovation disposition, and reflective leadership and governance. They write for synagogue leaders eager to transform their congregations, federations and foundations interested in encouraging and supporting this transformation, and researchers in congregational studies who will want to explore further. Buy the book » |
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Ideas that Impact: Social Entrepreneurship
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Three Insights from David Bornstein How does a vision for change come to life in transformed lives? Social entrepreneurship author David Bornstein has spent his career writing in answer to that question. He studies organizations and individuals who effectively mobilize change in their communities and around the world, and his work is critical for Christian leaders, who have been in the life-changing business for a couple of millennia already.
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The Journey of Social Enterprise by Becca Stevens
Being a leader sometimes means feeling unsure of the path, says the leader of Thistle Farms and the Magdalene community, two Christian institutions that are helping women recover from prostitution.
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The Wetlands where Church and Social Ventures Meet by Mike Baughman
The head of a Dallas coffeehouse/church urges the church to reclaim its role as an agent of social change, joining with social entrepreneurs to give new life to the world.
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Make Time for Your Own Renewal
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Planting & Harvesting Seeds of True Self:
A Circle of Trust® retreat for women and men of faith
April 18-20, 2016 | Lake Louise Christian Community | Boyne Falls, MI
Our souls want to experience a connection with one another and creation, and to develop the habits that will sustain our passions without wearing us out. Our souls crave opportunities to pause, reflect, and re-discover who we are, not who the world proclaims that we are. There is a desire to be seen and to see what is true and real for us, beyond role or position. Our souls long to engage in a community that listens to and affirms the stories of our lives. We long to know that the work we do and the way we live is planting seeds toward a hopeful, world-changing harvest. This three-day retreat is designed to help you imagine what it would mean for you to inhabit your life and work fully as your best self, and will use the Circle of Trust® model developed by Parker Palmer and the Center for Courage & Renewal. This is an intergenerational retreat for women and men of faith who desire to step out of the rigors and routines of daily life and into a time of renewal and restoration for their soul -- a time to name and claim their soul stories.
This retreat will be facilitated by the managing director of Alban at Duke Divinity School, Nathan Kirkpatrick, and the program development director at Lake Louise Christian Community, Sarah Moore Hescheles.
Learn more and register »
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