Today I stepped back into familiar and for me, comfortable territory for the first time in a very very very long time ... I've long felt my calling in ministry has been to the prophetic side of the church.
My library shelves groan under the weight of prophetic writings, and I've often reflected here on issues of economics, poverty, hunger and social inequity ... my sojourn as the Homelessness Coordinator for the City of Brandon six years ago was simultaneously rewarding and frustrating ... but out of that time, I found a voice to bring concerns from the margins to the centre of the Church and the life of the community ...
I count many amazing and astounding people from agencies like Brandon's Samaritan House Ministries through to Winnipeg Harvest and now Flesherton's Food Banks as friends that I continue to cherish and keep in touch with ... but lately that prophetic voice fell to nothing more than a whisper ...
Other concerns had broken in and pushed it to the sidelines ... my focus has been so much on the issues facing my family in the last four years, the Coffee Shop, and countless other issues ... I still visited the prophetic territory, but I haven't preached from it ...
Over the days since Christmas, I have had too many conversations with people who openly asked me if I still felt my calling was in the day to day life of serving a pastoral charge ... I couldn't honestly answer the question with a yes or a no ...
Then, I have found myself immersed in articles, studies and books focused on the issues of poverty, income inequity, food security, homelessness, precarious employment and the multitude of issues that face us as a society, and fuel the fear and distrust that marks far too much of our social interactions ... I searched for hopeful AND CURRENT voices in the Church beyond my usual culprits of Wallis, Brueggemann and the few that speak with prophetic resonance ... alas, the search has largely been in vain ...
This weekend as I sat down to write my reflection, I found the prophetic whisper growing in volume and intensity until, as I penned the words I spoke this morning, they spoke strongly, passionately and emphatically from the prophetic territory I had so long avoided ...
This morning, as I offered my sermon (posted over at: http://fleshertonunited.blogspot.ca/) it felt right and it felt good and it felt familiar ... I've avoided the prophetic for a number of reasons and as 2015 begins to unfold I feel called to go back to that territory and drink deeply from the wells that lie there ... It is time to reclaim my prophetic voice once and for all ... and perhaps with it, will come the voices of my puppet friends that Sharon United in Langley beat out of me in 2000 ... and perhaps the answer to my discernment will be revealed as well ...
I know I am called to ministry ... maybe redefining the role of the Church in public dialogue about social, political and economic issues is part of what I've been overlooking ... I'll leave the journey in the hands of the Spirit and see where she leads ...
