This is a summary of the material I presented at the meeting called Reaching Out: Identity and Expression at Pilgrim UCC on August 15, 2010, the 2^nd in a series of conversations by C&E.

}  Identity and Expression: there are two concerns we addressed in this portion of the conversation

◦      Identity: who are we as Pilgrims, and what is the nature and purpose of this institution?  What is our mission?

◦      Expression: What do we do that illuminates and manifests our identity in a powerful and compelling manner?

}  Mission Statement: All mission statements have some common elements.  Here are those elements and the ways that we address them in our mission.

◦      Who are we?

}  Members of Pilgrim

}  Friends of Pilgrim

◦      Who are our constituents, who do we serve?

}  God, Jesus, [spiritual realm]

}  Our members, our neighbors, Creation [material realm]

◦      What do we do?

}  Worship, education, outreach programs…

The thing is, any church is going to say pretty much the same things.  The statement is so broad as to be all things to all people.  Indeed there are some features that are common not only to churches but to any community of faith regardless of the religious tradition.

}  Common features of communities of faith

◦      Identity: Fellowship, community, belonging

◦      Mission: Outreach, social justice ministries

◦      Transformation: Personal spiritual growth and renewal

}  What is unique about Pilgrim?

◦      What will happen to us if we get very specific about our unique identity?

}  Have a greater sense of cohesion and purpose

}  Let others who are looking for the same qualities discover us.

}  Lose current members who want something different.

This last point is very important. If we are very clear about who we are we will be letting people who don’t resonate well know that they won’t be comfortable at Pilgrim.  Some of those people could be current members.  Do we really want to be specific?

◦      How do we discover and articulate our own unique expression of who we are as a “people of God?”  We talk to each other about what Pilgrim is for us and what we what it to continue to be.

}  A place to start the conversation:  I want to stress that this is my personal vision for Pilgrim and that I offer it here only to start the conversation.  I find it helps to have something to bounce off of.

◦      “God is Still Speaking:” a home and a voice for Progressive Christianity.

There are many versions or schools of Christian thought.  Most familiar to us are charismatics or evangelicals or fundamentalists.  I think we may have been a voice for Liberal Christianity in the past but now I think we are an example of Progressive Christianity.  An articulation of what this means is at www.tcpc.org. 

◦      “No matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here:” We are radically diverse and inclusive.

This means not simply that we tolerate those who are different from us but that we see diversity as a positive value so we welcome those who are different from us because we know that their presence in the community will be enriching to us.

◦      Next Steps – Reconciliation: We are actively engaged in building relationships of mutual accountability.

Throughout the history of Christendom, the Church has engaged in programs to enhance the public welfare.  The Church in America has addressed concerns about education by building schools and colleges.  It has addressed concerns about public health by starting hospitals.  Mostly these days the schools and hospitals are separate and even for-profit institutions.

While concerns about education and healthcare have certainly not been erased, there is a new issue arising in America culture.  How do we live together in harmony and mutual benefit when we are so diverse?  There is a longing for personal connection displayed by the popularity of social networking sites, but when we get together in person we often have trouble being civil as displayed by the partisan nature of electoral politics.

At Pilgrim we have explored through the activities of the Next Steps: Reconciliation Initiatives ways to be with others in respectful and mutually accountable ways around issues which divide us and cause discord.  We have engaged in supportive civil discourse about which hymnals we prefer and our views about declaring ourselves Open and Affirming.  We are doing the hard work of learning how to be mutually accountable in an environment of radical diversity informed by progressive political philosophy in a Christian context and idiom.

This is who Pilgrim is to me.  I invite your comments.