“Were not our hearts burning within us?” (Luke 24:32) How many of our congregations have asked themselves that question? This was the burning question (pun intended) that was put to the group at the Emmaus Project in May 2010. The national church’s initiative (spurred on by the Long Range Planning Committee of Assembly Council) called together Presbyterians from across the country to voice their concerns about the future of the church and brainstorm how our dwindling denomination might shout again, “It is true! The Lord has risen” (24:34). When the conference ended, how many presbyteries and their representatives “got up and returned at once” (24:33) to share the amazing story they discovered there?
Hamilton presbytery sent five clergy and three elders who came together to explore issues of relevance and integrity, and came away energized and excited. This is not new you say, every conference does this, but there was a fundamental difference. They came back to Hamilton and “told what had happened on the way” (24:35) and were motivated to share their story. Much has happened since that weekend in May.
They shared their story at presbytery to a lukewarm response. After all, presbytery hadn’t been there and “were startled and frightened, thinking they had seen a ghost” (24:37), the Ghost of PCC Past. There were clandestine meetings of the Emmaus team, as it was called, in homes and restaurants, plotting how they might keep the excitement building in the midst of the uncertainty that had confronted them.
The innocently named “Day of Discernment” brought together the entire presbytery for a day of looking at where they had been and where they are now, in an effort to build a foundation for what we might become. Churches were clustered in small groups geographically to establish long – forgotten camaraderie. Dialogue was hesitant and stilted at first but as the morning progressed, an air of excitement was evident.
From April 1 – 3, the elder’s team, which had previously focused on issues of elder training and networking, hosted a retreat at Crieff Hills Retreat and Conference Centre entitled, Open Your Eyes and Look at the Fields.
This was attended by 78 enthusiastic clergy and elders who committed to looking at next steps. The speakers were Barb and Marty Moellengraaf who talked about what Emmaus could mean to us as congregations; Harry Klassen who talked about equipping our spiritual leaders with their responsibilities in the wake of Emmaus; and Dr. John Bowen, the director of evangelism at Wycliffe College who spoke on reaching out to our local communities, what it means to share the gospel, why the very thought scares us and why it shouldn’t. There was unanimous consent for more and a follow up day was planned for June.
June 15th arrived and so did 84 teaching and ruling elders to Chedoke, Hamilton. Surprisingly there were more participants who had not attended the retreat at Crieff but had heard about it and wanted to be part of it. Group discussions were lively and the resounding questions were not, “How can we keep our churches open?” but, “How can we reach our communities with the gospel message in a relevant way?”
The presbytery has since instituted a Futures Visioning Task Force to explore the future of churches within its bounds. Conversations between clusters of churches, along with leadership from the Task Force have begun, focusing on fresh ideas on how to share ministry. Instead of a sense of competition there is a welcome breath of cooperation. One of our churches has opened its doors as the new home to Almanarah Presbyterian Church for this region.
Future events have been planned which include a one – day workshop in November with Rev. Beth Fellinger on Mission – Shaped Ministry; a day of celebration to share what is being done in the wake of the Emmaus Project with our moderator, Rev. Dr. Rick Horst in February 2012; and a two – day conference featuring Diana Butler Bass in 2012.
Presbytery meetings have a whole new feel, one of shared expectations and excitement. There is an energizing sense that we are on the brink of something that will help us fulfill our mandate to “Go and make disciples of all nations.” And it is a very good feeling, indeed
