You
may have noticed St. Andrew’s clergy, parishioners, and staff walking around
recently with a book called Canoeing the
Mountains: Christian Leadership in
Uncharted Territory. Written by a
Presbyterian minister and seminary administrator with 27 years of parish
leadership experience, Canoeing the
Mountains challenges church leaders to develop new and different strategies
from what worked years ago when churches were full and Sunday mornings were
sacrosanct. The author compares the
experience of Lewis and Clark—who were completely unequipped to tackle the
Rocky Mountains and yet somehow managed to find a way through—with the
situation of the Church today, where leaders tend to keep trying old strategies
in this new and unfamiliar territory.
Our
staff and vestry have begun reading and discussing Canoeing the Mountains. On May 11, three clergy and three
parishioners from St. Andrew’s attended a diocesan conference led by the
author, Tod Bolsinger. Two of those
parishioners, newcomer Dawn Edquist and longtimer Al Roby, have graciously
agreed to facilitate a summertime discussion of Canoeing the Mountains, which comes complete with a study
guide. The study will be held between
services in the Parish Hall from 9:15 to 10:15 from June 16 through July 28,
with a break on July 7.
In
many ways, this book and the conversations it generates pick up on some of the
work we began a year and a half ago with our Being and Becoming discussions.
Now as then, I would love to have everyone who is interested take part
in this crucial conversation so that we can learn and think and grow and pray
together. Canoeing the Mountains is available on amazon.com for about
$16. I am happy to buy the book for you
if that would be helpful; just let me know.
I hope you will join us on those Sunday mornings in June and July!
- Anne+
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