Giles Fraser on General Synod of the Church of England:
Picture the scene. The summer meeting at the University of York is focused on a large modernist theatre surrounded by a lake. The lake is full of geese who cover the whole place in distinctive pellets of poo. The theatre is often baking hot, encouraging the gathered Anglicans to dress informally, which is often an excuse for shorts, milky white legs and sandals. Body odour can be a bit of an issue too.Where I live in south Louisiana, the weather in the summer is so often hot that folks here dress informally in their shorts more often, so, while the legs may not be more shapely, they are not so white.
Then there is all the code language. You have to use the word "mission" a lot (a word so general it has come to be all but meaningless)That Giles mentions the all-but-meaninglessness of the word "mission" makes me feel not quite so crazy for tuning out whenever I hear the word used by people in reference to church plans and policies.
As an inheritor of DNA so white I practically glow in the dark and burn more than tan, I feel the tug of empathy for these folks as they swelter ... but ... deodorant and showers ARE still available to them ... and maybe they would engage in talking about the actual purpose of Church if they spent more time actually walking in the shoes/sandals of ordinary people in need than in discussing "mission" in the abstract as code for how do we justify our endless need for more funds and worshipers ... more doing, less marketing -- the only way to redeem the position of the mission from the eye rolling fringes of irrelevance.
ReplyDeleteBecause of their short summers and infrequent hot weather, my English friends often joke about their white legs on the few occasions when they break out the shorts. Giles' column contains much that is quotable, but the white legs resonated with me. Even with my fair complexion, I tan a little in the summer, though I try to stay out of the sun as much as possible because I am allergic to sunscreen.
DeleteThe Church of England surely has to move along in their shorts and sandals toward equality for women and LGTB persons.
I'm afraid my eyes glaze over at talk of marketing the church, too. I may be wrong, but there it is.
"Mission." Such a nice way of saying "We really want to do something, but we don't want to be too specific about what, because someone will expect us to take care of it. And besides, if we don't have goals, how can we accomplish anything? But if we do have goals, someone will expect us to achieve them, else what are we doing?"
ReplyDelete"So let's just talk about 'mission,' and we won't sound so self-centered."
Exactly, Rmj. You articulate well the reason why I can't get my head around the concept when church people mention "mission". I'm inside the church, and I can't believe people outside the church are any clearer about the meaning, so I wonder if it's at all helpful in evangelism.
DeleteI don't object to "mission".
ReplyDeleteWhat I object to is the fact that commercial businesses understand it and put it into operation - but the church doesn't.
James, exactly. Which is why when I hear churchspeak about mission, I tend to tune out. Where are the results of mission for me to see so I can know what it is?
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