Notes from the Annual General Meeting, Pacific Region

Many thanks to Marian Garnett for submitting this summary of Pacific Region's Annual Meeting. 

Report on Education part of the 2022 Pacific Mountain Region AGM  

The theme for the 2022 Regional AGM was “Rooted and Grounded in Love.  Here are a few ‘snapshots’ of the presentations given at the AGM by Jeff Chu, keynote speaker, who was trying to help city folk to understand agricultural basics which many of us, in the 1st Century Country Church live with daily.  Jesus lived in a society based on gardening/agriculture.  

Jeff spoke on the theme of “Rooted & Grounded in Love”. Jeff works on a farm & produces an Evolving Faith Podcast. He came to remind us that we are loved, that we need to tell the truth in love. Feelings & emotions are complicated, but we need to not diminish God’s Power.  We can confront & name things that produce pain & suffering for ourselves or the world – things that keep us from feeling God’s love. He notes that the word Demon is Greek, that which divides.  Nothing can separate us from God’s love.  

St. Augustine, an African church father came to understand God’s love as he looked at the world/creation.  Know & appreciate it, your beloved-ness, as an individual & a community.  The church is an embodiment of God’s love for the world. There is a difference between intellectual knowing & feeling God’s love.  Dualism separates the thoughts from the heart.  

Jeff spoke of the importance of pondering the soils of our own history – both literal and metaphorical.  Love is restorative – healing begins with naming.  He asked: “What does the church need to repent of?” – Racism, homophobia, transphobia, paternalism.  For the Chinese (Jeff’s background) white is the colour of mourning.  Those who benefit from silence want to hide abuse.  Those who have been hurt benefit from truth-telling.  The theology of the compost pile shows that Calvin was wrong about worms, thinking them virtually worthless in the order of creation.  Darwin challenged conventional ideas of worms.  In the compost & in fields, worms are God’s plough, essential to the development of good soil.  Things move from death to redemption.  Worms work with microbes, etc. to produce new soil from old.  It is like the Eucharist – not just “one & done”.  We keep adding things, and turning, various forces act and produce transformation.  The past is never only past - soil is with us.  It is important to honour old stories. We are human.  We make errors then strive to be better - repentance.  

Jeff asks: “Where are there congregations that are “Affirming”, but not truly welcoming?”  Institutional composting needs individual composting, too.  Listening & translation are important.  It is important to be safe with different views – to remain in relationship & to walk in love.  

Jesus meets people where they are & loves them for who they are. He invites each of us to become the next best version of themselves, just as gardeners are constantly revising their gardens.  

Silence may be enforced on those seen as “less than” and this suppresses voices.  Voluntary silence can be powerful.  The question is “Who is God calling you to be?  What do you want to be in the world?” Benedict didn’t fit in Rome.  He met a monk, became a hermit, then a spiritual leader.  Other monks tried to poison him. He founded other monasteries, created a ”Rule of Life” which is aspirational – values to live out, a reminder of goodness to pursue, an expression of hope, which serves as a reminder of what one may become.   

Christian theology is about relationships, interdependence.  We can make choices. How do we receive God’s love? There are practical ways to be open to receive God’s love.  Let God love you.  Acknowledge the miraculous things that happen in your body – you breathe, feel pain, receive God’s love through other people, nap, take a walk, you pause, slow down to see beauty/hope.  

There is concern for youth ministry, particularly for youth who don’t feel loved/love.  Youth ministry takes a skill set, particularly with social media, about what it means to be cool.  Keep showing up.  Engage young people where they are.  Unpack theology.  Listen!  What is the feeling behind the statement – unpack – use patience, which gardeners learn/know.  

Pay attention to relationships between I & We – Faith came from a culture.  Jesus healed individuals & restored them to the community.  Regarding Affirming: God loves diversity & change!  

A Lament is an act of trust & faith – based on a conviction as to what should have been.  Confessing comes from knowing what should have been.  God has written into creation: try again – the present holds the seeds of the future, just as the tomatillo, which appears to be a husk, holds seeds, another chance to try to get it right. Jeff spoke of planting Daikon radishes late in the season, getting seedheads rather than root, eating some seed pods & having the radishes sprout up & grow the following spring.    

Jeff showed us a quilt in progress, a metaphor for the church – it keeps warm, tells stories, the old made new again – resurrection.  The church is already & not yet.  Still, we hope & dream, use holy imagination – generous, hospitable, seeking blessings for others – like good gardeners.  To cultivate hope: care for others, want a better world for children, remember the cyclical nature of history (and gardening).  

About reconciliation:  Make connections.  Ask.  Reconciliation cannot be forced.  See people as having worth.  Cultivate real friendships.   

How do we learn to deeply listen?  “Tell me more.”  Don’t assume you know the answer.  Be patient. Sit with difference. Discomfort is not danger.  Use healing circle rules – don’t argue but reflect back.  

How do we do all this & be mindful of theological diversity?  Be “Rooted & Grounded in Love.”  Be curious rather than threatened by a different perspective.   

Submitted by Marian Garnett – CSUC Regional Council Rep