Transforming Saint Andrew's (April 2003 issue of Saint Andrew's Net)

April 2003

Transforming Saint Andrew’s
SHAPING Formation is the way God manifests to us, and is also the way we make ourselves known to God.

In light of last year’s congregational surveys, and in harmony with Bishop Jon Bruno’s vision for the Diocese as a whole, the Bishop’s Committee recently identified formation as the primary 2003 focus for Saint Andrew’s. But what is formation? And how can we achieve it, both as individuals and as a community?

The word “formation” itself suggests both a definite shape or pattern—think of a rock formation—and an active, infinite process of forming. In both senses, formation is the way God makes himself known to us, and the way we make ourselves known to him. The author of the first chapter of Genesis reminds us that, before God intervenes, all is “without form and void,” and that in some essential, if mysterious, way it is through our human form that God is revealed. Then too, we are all familiar with Isaiah’s image of God as the potter and us as the clay. Like the story of creation, this image recalls that clay is, after all, crude matter; damp dirt that gains beauty, meaning and purpose only as it is shaped into a cup, a vase, or a bowl. Sculptors themselves often discover that the form clay takes is not imposed on it from without but rather is found within it. That crude, damp dirt also participates in its own formation. The result is what even Job was able to appreciate as “an intricate unity.” It is this intricate unity that we seek—and find—in the process of formation.

Form, understood as ritual or liturgy, is one of the distinguishing features of the Episcopal Church; the danger, though, is that form will become nothing but pattern—that it will cease to become and just stand still, at which point it begins to die. If Saint Andrew’s is to go forward and find its right formation, we will need to do so actively and together. How can this happen? Shortly after Easter, we will begin forming small groups that will meet once a month, for study and prayer. Each group will concentrate on a different aspect of formation. The Bishop’s Committee has identified these aspects as follows:

1. Bible and Theology: the formal texts and interpretive systems that unify us and strengthen our faith.

2. Corporate Worship and Sacramental Theology: the rituals and forms of worship we share every Sunday and holy day.

3. Spiritual Development and Prayer: patterns and practices of individual formation that bring each of us closer to God and to ourselves as God knows and means us to be.

4. Fellowship Traditions and Seasonal Celebration: living liturgically though shared customs and symbols. From Advent wreaths to agapé meals and palm crosses, these traditions help to create a Christian home for ourselves and others.

5. Stewardship: material care for the church and the nurturing of habitual commitment to it, not just at pledge time but all year through.

6. Healing and Recovery: Recreating wholeness in the body and spirit of both individuals and the church. The preconditions of healing and recovery are truth and trust, which stand alongside “Formation” as among the goals that Bishop Bruno has set for the diocese as a whole. (The others, for the record, are “Abundance,” “Commitment,” “Values,” and “Service.”) Sharing experiences in which truth is spoken and love confirmed builds the foundation of intimacy and trust necessary for healing to happen. Once it does, health expands in an ever-widening circle from the person to the group to the church and at last to the world.

Which aspect of formation speaks to you? Forms for signing up to be a part of any one of these groups are available in the Narthex, and monthly meeting times will be arranged to fit all schedules. Remember that your commitment to a formation group will help to mold our church, and each of us, into a living cup that can both receive and pour God’s love through Christ. It is hoped that every member of Saint Andrew’s will participate in this process of formation and transformation, recognizing herself or himself as an integral part of the living structure of our church, its “intricate unity.”