Feedback from our Community Check In
Advent is a time of waiting, of preparation, of making ourselves ready. And part of that preparation is reflecting on how we might be out of alignment: how we might be called to reconsider our familiar ways, how we might be called into greater integrity?
So it’s in that spirit that we’re seeking and internalizing some feedback about our emerging life as the Episcopal Mission In Sunnyside. We launched less than three months ago, and we want to know… What’s resonating? What feels right? What might we try out to stretch and grow? How are you feeling called to show up in these times—and how can we join with you in that, and show up together?
We had a wonderful in-person conversation about this on November 16, in which we engaged in a practice of “noticing.” Noticing is neither offering an opinion or making a judgment: it’s a way of sharing our individual experience candidly while inviting a variety of perspectives.
Here are some of the things that people are noticing…
I notice tears in my eyes when kids come up to the altar
I notice that can be hard to pay attention with kids in the room
I notice that we’re not in rows
I notice that I feel more connected to communion, happening in the circle, on the level, where I can see other people’s faces
I notice that some of the awkward moments feel most holy
I notice that we honor queer and trans life
I notice that I was was very emotional during Ali’s reflection
I notice that the music is unique
I notice that the humming at the prayers of the people is very powerful for me…and that the drone helps me feel confident
I notice that Fr. Carl’s preamble makes me feel welcome…
I notice that the “wonderings” bring me into the scripture readings in a powerful way (even when no one says anything)
I notice that the wonderings make me aware of the (unknown) things other people are carrying
I notice that I’m sometimes surprised it’s almost over
I notice that, as a Reformed Jew, I’m fascinated by the Gospels!
I notice that you don’t need to come “on time”
Both in the in-person meeting and in the short survey at this link, some tensions in our practice are emerging.
For some, it is deeply moving to have children involved and engaged creatively in the service AND it can be noisy and distracting to have children in the sanctuary.
The circle feels intimate and cozy AND it can be hard to hear.
The community feels vulnerable and tender AND we don’t want to become insular.
There’s deep appreciation for the ways we are trying to bring together a “heart” orientation and a social justice orientation AND we’re still figuring out the right tone for talk about politics.
Here are some of the steps we’re taking based on this feedback:
The Launch/Leadership Team is discussing how we can engage more practices of welcome that invite new people into the circle, and for that welcome to come not only from me, but from the community.
Ali and I have reached out to some sound tech folks who might have creative suggestions about how to amplify voices in ways that preserve the intimacy of the space. We’ll begin experimenting with that this Sunday.
I want to be more reflective and intentional about the way I bring our current political reality into our shared reflection. A few weeks ago I made a snarky comment about Charlie Kirk; a community member wrote that it felt dissonant with the spirit they had come to expect on Sundays—and might signal to people with diverse political views that they are not welcome. “Yes, we should speak out against injustice but the mention seemed more like digging in our heels/ feeding dogma of self righteousness and not aligned with usual themes of bridging divides and contributing to understanding and love.”
I think this feedback is pretty spot on. I remember that comment: I was feeling insecure that my reflection wasn’t “relevant” enough, and I ad libbed a cheap shot. I want for our shared reflection to be a time of truth-telling, imagination, and opening to greater compassion, and I want to do better: to learn from that moment in the pursuit of greater integrity with the Gospel, which insists on God’s hunger for justice—and which punctures our self-regard and dissolves our divisions in the overflowing love of God.
Please take a few minutes to offer some of your thoughts. We want to grow together, to find greater integrity—and healing, and liberation—together.
