Key Themes from Collectively Empowering Chat
An important theme was the importance of listening to the needs of the community before acting. Several participants were inspired by the Bayview Mission’s approach of spending two years listening to the community before launching any programs. This was framed as honoring the “lived experience” of the people being served and treating them as partners and experts in their own lives.
Many attendees were encouraged by stories of ministries that started small and grew into significant, impactful efforts. This idea provided a sense of hope and a practical model for congregations, suggesting that profound change doesn’t require massive initial resources, but rather a faithful start.
The concept of unity was a powerful thread throughout the conversation. Participants celebrated the idea that in service, there should be no division between the helpers and the helped. The sign “There is no Them, there is only US” was quoted and praised multiple times. This theme also extended to collaboration between parishes, deaneries, and with other faith traditions.
The discussion reframed power not as authority, but as humble service to one another, following the model of Christ. Participants connected this to their baptismal vows and the diaconal (service-oriented) mission of the church. In the part discussing General Convention, the distinction between being “deputies not delegates”—serving the whole body rather than just one’s own interests—was also highlighted as a form of collective empowerment.
The conversation also touched on the personal experience of “God’s liberating power.” For some, this meant letting go of personal expectations. For others, it was about finding opportunities to live out their faith beyond the church walls, viewing all of life as a ministry and being Christ’s body in the world.
Group Scriptural Study (especially Lectio Divina): While scripture can be studied alone, practices like group Lectio Divina are explicitly collaborative. The group reads a passage, and each person shares the word or phrase that stood out to them. The goal is not to debate but to collectively listen for what God is saying to the community through the combined insights of its members.
The Agape Feast (or Lovefeast): This practice revives the love meals of the early church, which were full, communal meals that expressed fellowship, unity, and mutual care. They are distinct from the sacrament of Communion but share its spirit of sacred community.
For a deeper understanding of how you matter to God, take 5 min a day (20 if you are already accustomed to 5!) and make yourself available to God in prayer. You can do this sitting or moving, and you can add a scriptural element to it if you want. The goal is to listen for God and be open to whatever arises. A practice like this helps remind us that we aren’t loved by God or matter to God because of what we DO, but because we are God’s own beloved creation.
Along with this practice of listening, you can also practice communicating to others that they matter. This can be as simple as complimenting or thanking someone, listening to them deeply and making time for them, or the more demanding practice of working to change systems of oppression alongside others. Before our next chapter in this 5 part series, try conveying to others that they matter. This can be in your home, in your workplace, in your school, or in your neighborhood. You can decide how best to let others know they matter.
How does your sense of connection to God and others change as you engage in these two practices? How would our diocese be different if these practices were more prevalent among us?
