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Next Church Gathering Day 3

The day began with a service of communion, led by McCormick alumni, might I add. YES I GOT TO GO TO SCHOOL WITH THESE WOMEN. Tweets were slow, respectful of the quiet and profound service.

@goffashley THIS IS WHAT I LOVE. #liturgy
@chris_corner Love God, Love Others, Do Stuff! We are The Body!
@ELSchemper Worship this AM beautiful mix of Presby/Reformed strengths: ordered, biblical, thoughtful, old, innovative, participatory
@awkukla From the remnants of that which bound us, new expressions of life, freedom, and grace are awakened.
@revfelipe “This is the table where we member ourselves” I’d totally worship here
@pulpit Liturgy questions: how is God opening ur eyes? Where r u experiencing God’s mercy? How about Gods [sic] grace?

And a professional pointer from a graduate of one of those other seminaries…

@mnewgale Apparently other seminaries aren’t teaching people not to ‘moon the congregation of the butt Jesus’ [sic] @CTSeminary J
@kimunc03 All are welcome at the #nextchurch2015 table! (Except those who are gluten free.) I'll plan to bring it next time y'all!


Ecumenical entertainment, naturally:
@ELSchemper Not a criticism, just an observation: Lutherans would have had us thorugh communion by now #efficient

Some folks left Wednesday morning and missed out on this.
@plocher Sad to be leaving early & missing worship & the final hours of #nextchurch2015. It’s been a fantastic few days of imagination & renewal!

And the love…
@billhabicht We had great speakers, but the best part of NEXT was the babies. Babies and new life always win.
@jodicraiglow Looking through the line of communers at #nextchurch2015 morning worship, I realize just how many people God has given me to love. (This from a person who had to go get her car out of the impound lot in the middle of the night!)

The staff kept having to work on that pesky livestream, too.
@flyballer ‪Guess it's just as well #nextchurch2015 live stream not working. I need to get other stuff done but hate to miss it.
@kate_taber maybe at the next Next we'll figure out livestream! miss you Presbys! off to toast you all from a rooftop in Jerusalem!

We moved on to the IGNITE presentations on race, concierge ministry, collaborative youth ministry
@fjinxshep Prophet, priest, pastor, poet: 4 ways to approach race (or any concern)
‪@TimRyanHughes ‪Drinking from the Bruce Reyes Chow fire hose!
‪@jodicraiglow ‪"I am being called into the exact place where I am living."
‪@jlreiff I'm a parent and a neighbor who just happens to be a pastor. - Tara
‪@ELSchemper ‪Presbyteries need to make sure they are open to the gifts at large TEs can bring. Some are some aren't
@Raveler1 The wombs of our community - education, transportation, healthcare. @miheekimkort Being at-large and freedom of connections. Do whatever you can to be the pastor. ‪@taraMdiva
‪@JamesSledge ‪"Who will you call?" Collaborative youth ministry or other ministry.
‏‪@LandonWhitsitt "Who will you call?" Ghostbusters, obviously.
@dearjohn84 Would love to know if there are other city/presbytery youth collectives out there doing what Tapestry and WUFPC are doing. 
‏‪@PastorEmilyH When you go back home, "Who will you call" to start collaborative efforts with other congregations?

And a concern about expanding our circle of care and concern…
‏‪@faith_ecology How do we integrate animal&plant flourishing in tapestry" A church is only as healthy as the community around it."

Great conversation by the last keynote, with many very excited about the implications, while others struggled with what they believed to be blatant paternalism.

‪@Raveler1 ‪This presentation is triggering "toxic charity" connections. it's good to help, but isn't it better to partner with local organizations and people?
‏‪@theleannem Talk about a microaggression... ‪#AfricanProverb?
@bookkats ‪@Raveler1@jasaface I like naming what we see. Citing the strengths and then addressing the probs
@erincounihan ‪George Srour: The church is getting lapped by secular orgs doing the work church had started. And they're doing it better.
‪@ajc123 ‪Is building schools the point...or sustaining education for all, partnering with God's work, & avoiding savior complex.
‏‪@revmamd Secular org's are often supported by religious folks. Does church really have 2 "do better" if we're a sent people? Legit ?
‏‪@miheekimkort Beware the nonprofit industrial complex. It perpetuates oppressive economic systems.
‪@jasaface ‪Time to talk toxic charity.
‪@beccamessman ‪I love that NEXT is reaching beyond the usual suspects in leadership and challenging church to think about results
‪@erincounihan ‪Meghan Gage-Finn asking the question everyone was thinking: How is this serving not selfserving white hero stuff? THANK YOU!

As for the concrete things people will bring home with them…

‏‪@taraMdiva Taking home: some steps towards reconciling with wounds and wounders + organizing community ministry 4fun!
‪@Raveler1 ‪What am I taking away? Hope that this really is the thinnest point - and that the awakening to come will pull us together
‪@dearjohn84 ‪@PastorEmilyH@BriBenzinger @ggbolt16 @bendfp wow! great connections & conversation on collab YM during the break! Thanks!
‪@Rob_Mus ‪And "Stand as you are able" vs. "Stand, if you are able"  Better yet: Show, don't tell: a warm gesture can speak volumes
‪@jlreiff ‪There are more than teaching and ruling elders here! #educatorsarechangeagentstoo
‪@empobycho ‪Take Away: to go out speaking truth in love.


The closing worship was moving; even as the crowd had thinned, the spirit was strong!
‪@amackey12 ‪I love being Presbyterian but watching us stand  still & clap during gospel songs cracks me up everytime. #frozenchosen
‪@jodicraiglow ‪Oh, my lands. A group of Presbies maintained 2/4 beat clapping for an entire song. #soproud
‪@PastorHallie ‪We wrote what holds us back. Used those papers to form a fence, and tore it down. And now, it flies!

We had important questions, of course.
@NEXTpcusa MT @jodicraiglow: Does @FourthChicago know how many donutholes #nextchurch2015 has eaten? / @revmamd alone has eaten at least eleventy-nine.
‪@jodicraiglow ‪God has been almost embarrassingly generous to the PCUSA;  any response other than gratitude would be foolish. -Tom Are
‏‪@jbonewald 'A lack of hope shows an inability to live in gratitude' - gonna have to ponder that for awhile
‪@kathleenhenrion ‪"Sometimes you just have to go with the Christians you've got."
‪@awkukla ‪We should not aspire to be a better church by getting better people.  We do not love someone because they are virtuous. TAre
‏‪@juanjsarmiento "Nothing kills the church so fast as trading the Christians we know for those we prefer" Rev Tom Are
‪@ScottClark01 ‪Do we belong to one another or are we just a collection of individuals?  Tom Are preaching
‪@Raveler1 ‪When I equate freedom with unencumbered choice, I am not free - but alone

For laughs, of course:
‏‪@RevJohnRussell I feel so marginalized by Tom Are's full head of hair. And yes, I will keep tweeting about it throughout the sermon.
‪@SarahDianne1230 ‪#nextchurch2015‪, it's been a blast! Now going to find an introvert corner in the airport to process all that I've seen and heard.

And some disagreement:
‪@LandonWhitsitt ‪No, I'm sorry: SBNR is not today's "Me and Jesus." We know too much about SBNRs to say that. That's an unfair claim.
‪@LandonWhitsitt ‪@lmcheifetz‪ Dunno, but he ignores that both Mill and SBNR is a response/reaction to tyranny.
‪@LandonWhitsitt ‪But, other than all that, I really liked Tom's thoughts on loneliness and friendship. I'd just have taken road to get there.


Thanks for a great event, #nextchurch2015 ! See you in 2016!

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