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Edited Draft Only
Imagineering New Ways of Being Church
Angela Ann Zukowski, MHSH, D.Min.
NPCD – NCEA Convention
April 6, 2010
Introduction:
Many of you are familiar with or have read John Kotter’s fable entitled Our Iceberg Is Melting. It is a fable about a penguin colony in Antarctica. A group of beautiful emperor penguins lives as they have for many years. Then, one curious bird discovers a potentially devastating problem threatening their home – and pretty much no one listens to him. It’s a story that can be enjoyed by anyone, but it is invaluable for us who see what is happening in the present context of our Church and world.
As far back as any of the penguins can remember this iceberg was their home. They are happy and content. Fred, one of the penguins, is unusually curious and observant. As other penguins go about their normal lives, he explores, reading the signs of the times. He soon observes a startling fact that, underneath their perceived solid grounding, their iceberg is melting. Fred convinces Alice, one of the Penguin Council members to go below the surface to observe with him the fissures and other clear symptoms of deterioration caused by the melting.
The story continues to unfold as both Fred and Alice attempt to convince the others of their situation. However, to no immediate avail. Some refuse to accept the reality. Others, not wanting to panic the community, feel they should keep silent. Still others think it can simply be ignored and it will disappear. Finally, others think they should just get out. Sound familiar?
Some of the Council want to form a committee to study the situation for awhile. Why hurry? Alice convinces the Council that they are beyond forming a committee. They need to bring everyone together to search for a solution. After much deliberation, they face their new reality that calls for a new way of contemplating their stationary life to one that will become nomadic.
The flurry of inter-penguin conversations and one sparked by an outsider – a seagull – warrant the penguin Council to take the plunge if they are to survive into the future. While not all the penguins are on board, a few are selected as scouts to take the risk. It takes a lot of courage to plunge into unfamiliar and dangerous waters without the surety of a well-defined compass. They even may be eaten by sea lions eagerly waiting to devour them.
Realizing the penguins are constantly at risk of losing their courage, Alice relentlessly feeds the momentum for change. Once the new iceberg – their new home - is discovered, they quickly come to realize that there is no “perfect iceberg.” In order to survive and thrive they need to be always ready to change – to adapt.[i]
Spiraling Down Conversations
What can we, as catechetical leaders, learn from Kotter’s fable? First, we know that we are immersed in spiraling down conversations both within the Church and emblazoned through copious mass media messages. Spiraling down conversations are resigned ways of speaking that exclude possibilities.[ii] They’re based on the fear that we will be stopped in our tracks and fall short in the race, and they are wholly reactive to circumstances, circumstances that appear to be wrong, problematic, and in need of fixing. “Focusing”, states Zanders, “on the abstraction of scarcity, downward spiral talk creates an unassailable story about the limits to what is possible, and tells us compellingly how things are going from bad to worse.” The more attention you shine on a particular subject, the more evidence of it will grow.
Daily, we see and hear audio, video and text messages that may hamper our inner ability to consider an “imagineering” alternative amidst the seismic shifts emerging around us. We cannot and do not ignore what we see and experience. The expanding accounts of sexual abuse; diocesan offices, Catholic schools and parishes merging and closing; growing dissatisfaction with those within the Church (no matter which end of the continuum on which they stand); a growing lack of confidence and trust; unhappiness and disappointment – and countless other factors any one of you may add to the list – become the unspoken and spoken proclamations that the Church appears to be spiraling down and melting.
Imagineering in Applied Pastoral Research
I am a practitioner. I am engaged in applied pastoral research. I often speak of the mission of The Institute for Pastoral Initiatives, as one of innovation and “Imagineering”! It is a way of being for us to invite dialogue around pastoral catechetical issues and wonder:
- What is going on here?
- How can we imagine, re-imagine alternative practical solutions that can make a difference?
- How can we manage a solution that can rally our communities of faith to think in “Imagineering ways” – ways that yeast life not death?
- How can these solutions be evoked in a cost-effective manner so that neither the Imagineering process nor the desired outcome is held hostage to the perennial queries:
- How much does it cost?
- Who is in charge?
- What is in it for me?
- Or, who is committed – or ultimately responsible for maintaining it once the primary funding runs out?
Don’t get me wrong here! These are all very valuable and informative questions, but these are the questions that often stop the creative, or Imagineering process before it has a chance to get on the Imagineering stage.
As we strive to read and interpret the signs of the times for catechesis, how can we advance with positive, proactive dispositions when many around us continue to articulate the demise of the religious context? We do not ignore the spiraling down reality surrounding us. Our head is not in the sand, or in the clouds. Nor will we allow ourselves to be held captive to spiraling down conversations from which there is no way out.
Moments of Grace and Possibility
Everyday, the opportunity for bringing about change stands before us no matter how small. Everyday brings us opportunities to raise important questions, speak to higher values, and surface unresolved conflicts (Heifetz). Everyday, we are given moments of grace to actualize the power that resides within each one of us, if we would just have the courage to believe! Everyday, we have the chance to make a difference in the lives of the people that surround us in our catechetical ministries. And everyday, we must decide whether to put our contribution out there, or keep it to ourselves in order to avoid upsetting anyone, losing our ministry position, finding ourselves outside the mainstream, or simply to get through one more day of service.
In Leadership on the Line, Heifetz reminds us that “to lead is to live dangerously” because, when leadership counts, when you lead people through difficult times or change, you challenge what people hold dear – their daily habits, methodologies, loyalties, and ways of thinking – with nothing more to offer perhaps than a possibility.[iii]
Each one of us may be able to identify a moment when a challenge has been set before us and whether we were able to call forth the courage to embrace the challenge or crisis with hope and confidence.
A few examples from my own catechetical ministry experience may help focus what I am addressing here. In the early 1970s, in the ancient times, as my young 19- and 20- year-old UD students would say, I thought I was headed for Latin America. For six years, my religious community, Mission Helpers of the Sacred Heart, prepared me for a Venezuelan mission. In 1971 I was sent to Dayton, Ohio! I was assured this was only for one year! My ministry was adult faith and catechetical formation in the 75+ parishes and 20+ Catholic schools in our rural northern archdiocese.
Several months into my “so-called first and only year,” I was invited to experiment with a new media reality that was taking root – Cable TV. My first inclination was to have nothing to do with this new media context – I was on my way to Venezuela! However, several friends thought this Cable “thing” was an exciting new adventure and that I should tease out its possibilities – if only for experimentation for awhile! Thus began my Catholic communications ministry within the Church, and I never did get to Venezuela! (Yet, another Caribbean story to be told in the future!)
Within a year, we had Cable TV series on Sacramental and Catechist Formation, and within three years, we reached into 40 communities in Ohio. When I initially approached the Communications Office of the USCCB and UNDA (National Catholic Association for Radio and TV) concerning our blossoming ministry, I was assured there was no need or future in Cable TV. I even received negative input from some of my own archdiocesan colleagues, but it was Cardinal Bernardin who encouraged us to go forward. Everyone else told me why it would not work and that I was wasting my time.
When the Catholic Telecommunications Network of America (CTNA) became a reality on the Catholic scene in the 80s, we explored and designed a variety of new programming initiatives for the Church. We struggled with the pioneering innovation of CTNA which was often hampered by a deluge of unimaginative barriers. When CTNA was about to fold, I submitted a proposal that the NCEA and NCCL should lay claim to the golden gem that promised unimaginable opportunities for distance learning and bridging barriers of time and distance for a more collaborative way of being Church. We all lost when CTNA closed its doors! I believe it was not that the money ran out but that imagination had stagnated and the questions I posed earlier in my talk prevented forward movement.
In the 1990s, in collaboration with the NCEA, we sponsored the New Frontiers for Catholic Schools and the New Frontiers for Religious Education Initiatives. The former was an attempt to encourage Catholic Schools to design integrated-technology plans to enhance the quality of learning throughout the curriculum and the latter was to encourage the application of media-education literacy throughout our catechetical ministry.
The New Frontiers for Catholic Schools initiative was cutting edge, eventually contributing to conversations that established the ISTE Guidelines for Designing Technology Plans in schools across the country. The New Frontiers for Religious Education initiative had a great start with over 36 parishes/dioceses taking part. But we ran out of interested parties among religious educators (dioceses) who believed in, or understand the value for thinking about integrating media into the catechetical curriculum/experience. “It was a nice additive if we have time, but we do not have time, personnel or funds to entertain the concept,” they said.
By the late 90s, we saw the first major signs that a digital wave (we didn’t call it that then) was taking shape with the potential to create a radically “new culture” that would transform the world as we then knew it! Whoever would have thought that wireless cell phones would be the norm, video conferencing, webcasting, iPads, Blogging, Twittering, Facebook, gigabites, terrabites and nano-seconds and more would be woven into the tapestry of social networking, resulting in instant connectivity with one another.
Time and space would take on new meaning – not to speak of a new language/glossary of meaning - it would all become borderless and instant to the touch! It was science fiction just over 10 or 15 years ago! This silently emerging reality was not within most catechetical leader’s radar – the iceberg was not melting for many. However, I continue to come across those who participated in the New Frontiers initiatives, and I’m thrilled to hear how far they have implemented their New Frontiers experience into their Catholic School or diocesan catechetical plans even until today!
Based upon all of these experiences, the challenge from Brother Raymond Fitz, then President of the University of Dayton (mid 90s), to apply our past experiential insights with the emerging Internet world (then World Wide Web), was our next moment for Imagineering. After two-and-a-half years of research and pioneering courage by a few regional diocesan catechetical leaders, we launched the Virtual Learning Community for Faith Formation.
We did this amidst many voices telling us that it would not work or that there was no future for investing in distance learning, particularly for ministry within the Church. They told us, “There is only one way! It is the tried-and-true traditional way!” We gambled, and we broke through the barrier with Imagineering! We celebrated our 10th anniversary during our Annual VLCFF Diocesan Partners Convocation (February 3-4, 2010). Our partners have inspired a robust catechetical, adult faith and leadership formation initiative that is yeasting every day!
These days, our team is focusing on yet another Imagineering initiative for establishing a potential Virtual Conference Center to complement traditional conferences, such as this one. Fundamentally, our goal is to construct inclusive accessibility to conferences without having to be physically present. Time, distance, lifestyle, specialized interest areas, language and economy will continue to confront the Church’s ministry in the 21st century. It is not going to go away but will only be amplified! If, by any chance, the Catholic Church discovers herself in a Diaspora situation or context, the virtual cultural context may be able to nurture a pristine sense of communio and solidarity in changing times.
Avenues of radical Imagineering which necessitate our attention are: engaging young adults in the leadership of the Church; an educated/well-informed laity; re-imagining new way(s) of being Church in a post-modern era, particularly in light of the shifting Catholic school contexts; creating a culture of dialogue; navigating through and becoming skilled in the digital culture; proactive engagement with diversity; managing a Diaspora Church; and becoming more conscious of nurturing the gifts of the Holy Spirit in our ministerial lives. These need to be included in our Imagineering planning conversations!
Insights Concerning Disruptive Innovation
In his book, Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns, Clayton Christensen speaks about sustaining innovation and disruptive innovation. Sustaining innovation is innovation that describes the pace of improvement delivered to customers (parishioners) by introducing new and improved products (learning opportunities) or services over time. Companies (parishes/dioceses) may typically improve their products (service opportunities) at a much faster pace than customers (parish) may need. These are programs that have been identified as being good and successful, and they continue to build on them; thus, they are sustaining innovations.
Disruptive innovation, and perhaps within the Church we would prefer not to use disruptive – maybe Imagineering fits what we are discussing here! But from time to time, things get shaken up when a different type of innovation emerges – a disruptive innovation. “It is not a break through improvement,” [iv] states Christensen, as in a sustaining innovation. Instead of sustaining the traditional improvement trajectory in the established plan, it disrupts that trajectory bringing to the market (local Church/parish) a product or service that actually is not as good (or perceived as good) as what companies (the Church) historically had been using. Because it is perceived as “not as good,” the existing customers (leaders) cannot or will not use it.
But by making the product affordable and simple to use, the disruptive innovation benefits people who had been unable to avail themselves to the original service (product) offered to them. It simply is different all the way around but it is meeting a new need within a new context – if even the need is not immediately recognizable by the primary organizing agency or entity (Church). One factor that makes it so hard for the incumbent leader to pursue a disruptive innovation is that the way it is defined is antithetical to the sorts of improvements that are required or understood to succeed in our traditional way of being Church, or for engaging in catechesis or ministry in general.
Now, depending on how you interpret certain Church documents, one could possibly see the “seeds” for encouraging disruptive innovation (Imagineering). The General Directory for Catechesis states: “The Church, in transmitting the faith, does not have a particular method or any single method. Rather, she discerns contemporary methods in the light of the pedagogy of God...hence, a variety of methods is a sign of life and richness.”[v] Redemptoris Missio and Aetatis Novae states: "It is not enough to use the media simply to spread the Christian message and the Church's authentic teaching. It is also necessary to integrate that message into the ‘new culture’ created by modern communications...with new languages, new techniques and a new psychology."[vi]
Seismic Times of the Church
That we are living in seismic times of the Church may be an understatement. As catechetical leaders, we are called to be women and men of courage in these seismic times. We need fresh hearts, or moist hearts[vii] as Sr. Jose Hobday would say, to identify, explore and evaluate the circumstances that surround our lives both within the Church and our culture. We need fresh or moist hearts to energize our imaginations for defining new pathways to navigate forward without losing spiritual equilibrium.
To have “heart,” or as Heifetz prefers, “a sacred heart,” is to fan into flame the moral and spiritual courage needed to face the present and future challenges that lie ahead of us. I believe we have not yet really begun to enter the most serious seismic period in the Catholic Church’s contemporary history, and for this we will need “courage” and to cultivate a profound sense of faith and courage in the minds and hearts of all those to whom we catechize and minister.
In Stories of the Courage to Teach, Parker Palmer speaks to the significance of the teacher’s (for us, catechist’s) heart and energy as an authentic subject of conversation. “Simply put,” he states, “we can’t dictate heart, we can’t legislate genuine caring, and we can’t hand out a teacher’s (catechist’s) manual that scripts vitality. But even if we can’t inject teachers (catechists) with passion or jolt their hearts with electroshocks of enthusiasm, the good news is that most teachers (catechists) come to the profession with ample supplies of idealism, passion, and commitment. If we learn to protect this essential resource and support teachers (catechists) who want to reclaim and sustain their vocational integrity, we’re making progress.”[viii]
This is what I am discovering with our Forum for Young Catechetical Leaders at the University of Dayton. They come to each session with “ample supplies of idealism, passion, and commitment.” It is our mission to help focus and navigate their disposition – their Imagineering capacity - for a “new way of being Church” in the 21st century.
Vocation as a Catechist
I believe that our students are drawn into the catechetical field for reasons of the heart. They heed the call to catechize for reasons of ideals and virtue that they often articulate as having been lacking in their own faith formation. It is a profound experience to be able to connect with young women and men, conveying our own passion for the catechetical ministry of the Church, as we hope to inspire a love for Jesus and the People of God (the Church) by communicating the faith.
These young women and men believe they are called to catechize because they want to share the Good News, particularly their personal encounters with Jesus. They want to see those they catechize open up and sense the passion they feel for who Jesus is for them. The wellspring of motivation and energy for many of our FORUM students is their belief that catechizing is more than a fill-in job or a volunteer ministry. They speak about catechizing as a “vocation” to which they are summoned because they have something worthy and important to contribute to proclaiming the Good News.
It is important to keep in mind that vocation is not only what we do but about whom we. Evelyn and James Whitehead put it this way: “Vocation is a gradual revelation – of me to myself by God…It is who we are, trying to happen.”[ix] Our callings have to do with the kind of person we are called to be, the quality of our personhood, the values and attitudes we embody, the integrity and authenticity of our lives. From this vantage point, vocation is less about the particular things we do and more about the spirit with which we do them (Neafsey). “Character is not what you do,” writes James Hillman, “it’s the way you do it.”[x]
Motivation and Energy
We all may remember our initial spark of enthusiasm or energy for engaging in ministry. The context of the Church was quite different, promising possibilities beyond our imagination to be contributing to the expanding spirit of the Second Vatican Council. The current times may dampen for some, if not all, our initial motivation and energy. Yet, motivation is the catalyzing ingredient for every successful innovation. Unless catechists and catechetical leaders are motivated, they will reject the rigor of any new Imagineering task and abandon it before achieving success.
The depletion of the catechetical leader’s (or catechist’s) heart and energy has dire consequences for our ministry. What can be done? Perhaps we need to create the time and space within our lives to reconnect and exercise the Spirit’s gift of courage – bestowed upon us in our Baptism and Confirmation – a gift that we recalled during this week’s Easter celebration. But what is courage for us in the face of seismic factors impacting our communities of faith? How can we call it forth?
First, courage is a gift of the Spirit. It is an inner-essence like love, creativity, and energy. Although we cannot buy it online, it is one of the most valuable possessions we can possess. Yet, of all the gifts of the Holy Spirit, it may be the one that is most underappreciated in us today. Courage helps us live lives of authentic faith. Indeed, without courage, faith comes close to being impossible. Without courage, we could never learn from our mistakes. At the moment you realize courage, you become fully identified with it. This connection reinforces your courage.
Eleanor Roosevelt said: “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.” There are some who feel that the word courage can only be used to describe a person with a heroic uniqueness, not an average person living an ordinary life. One student has said: “For me, courage is light in utter darkness, a journey from loneliness to solitude and, once again, to laughter. Courage is listening to your heart, trusting in your resilience to bounce back, and not being afraid to start over when necessary.” Roosevelt’s and the student’s insights find ground in the Scriptures: “Be strong and of good courage, and act. Do not be afraid or dismayed; for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you” (1 Chron 28:20).
Sister Elizabeth Kenney said: “It’s better to be a lion for a day than a sheep all your life!” It is the internal challenge that makes us struggle and resolve to seek and do new things. The reservoir is inside, waiting to be filled. Courage is tied to willingness to risk. The penguins were finally willing to take the leap, to plunge into the unknown with courage and confidence, and it made all the difference. We face different levels of risk each day of our lives.
There are two types of courage. In the first, there is no choice and you have to be courageous, such as in a crisis. The second type of courage may be desiring something or having a dream to pursue. Then you have to overcome inertia, motivating yourself to come out of your comfort zone. This is the courage needed for nurturing an Imagineering spirit for exploring and defining new ways of being Church![xi] Courage is the finest virtue, the heart and spirit of life.
Technical Fix or Adaptive Challenge
How we face and imagine the Church’s future is imperative for those in service with the Church – particularly as catechetical leaders. In Leadership on the Line, Heifetz addresses how leaders in an organization (for us, the Church) might address the perils we see around us. He speaks about technical fixes and adaptive challenges. “Every day,” Heifetz says, “people have problems for which they do, in fact, have the necessary know-how and procedures. We call these technical problems with a technical fix. But there is a whole host of problems that are not amenable to authoritative expertise or standard operating procedures. They cannot be solved by someone who provides answers from on high. We call these adaptive challenges because they require experiments, new discoveries, and adjustments from numerous places in the organization or community. Without learning new ways – changing attitudes, values, and behaviors – people cannot make the adaptive leap necessary to thrive in the new environment.”[xii]
We can move into our future with a disposition of addressing the technical problem with a technical fix, or addressing the problem or issue as an adaptive challenge. “As we promote a new sense of resourcefulness to move forward,” Heifetz states, “it takes an extraordinary level of presence, time, and artful communication, but it may also take more time and trust than you may have.” Yet, if we want to spiral up and move forward, we need to take the time and call forth courage!
Our courage and creativity can seep away daily when we feel we have been beaten up, or silenced (Heifetz). Heifetz indicates that, in our struggle to try to protect ourselves, we may surrender those qualities that are the essence of being alive – like innocence, curiosity, and compassion.[xiii] To avoid getting hurt too badly, it is easy to turn innocence into cynicism, curiosity into arrogance, and compassion into callousness. He says, “No one looks in a mirror and sees a cynical, arrogant, and callous self-image. We dress up these defenses, give them principled and virtuous names. Cynicism is called realism, arrogance masquerades as authoritative knowledge, and callousness becomes the thick skin of wisdom and experience” (Heifetz). These are the characteristics when individuals “lose heart.” Cynicism, arrogance, and callousness may be the safest ways to live, but they also suffocate the very aliveness we strive to protect (Heifetz).
Church history accounts for many women and men who have embraced courage against the most difficult odds. They realized what adaptive challenges were required within their religious, political or social cultural context. Their open hearts, generous spirits and creative imaginations made a difference. And not without a lot of suffering and sacrifice grounded in courage! They paid the price for their Imagineering!
Today is no different. The Church needs women and men who have “heart” to cultivate their imaginations to make a difference for tomorrow. Each one of us possesses the creative potential in some form or fashion to nurture a “sacred heart.” We need to believe it to see it. We need to allow ourselves to play with our ideas and explore new portals for meeting the emerging needs of the Church.
In The Art Spirit, Robert Henri writes, “There are moments in our lives, there are moments in a day, when we seem to see beyond the usual – become clairvoyant. We reach then into reality. Such are the moments of our greatest happiness. Such are the moments of our greatest wisdom. It is in the nature of all people to have these experiences; but in our time and under the conditions of our lives, it is only a rare few who are able to continue in the experience and find expression for it.
“….Yet we live in the memory of those songs which in moments of intellectual inadvertence have been possible to us. They are the pinnacles of our experience, and it is the desire to express these intimate sensations, this song from within, which motivates the masters of all art.”[xiv]
Our catechetical ministry is an art! As artists, we also need to have the courage to listen again to “the song within us” which motivates and encourages us to go forward in the face of unexpected trials in life.
Discovering and affirming our courage awakens an inner energy that animates us to explore and dream new possibilities for ourselves and those with whom we minister and serve. By fusing courage with our innate energy, we can enhance our ability to act from our hearts. When confronted with a choice; we can consciously call on courage as a guiding force. And by understanding how others have used this forgotten virtue, we can gather energy to meet challenging experiences, expand our perceptions, and enrich our lives and ministries.
Small acts often require great courage. Consider how you have recently called forth courage to face a ministerial reality. What factors released your courage? Practicing calling forth courage in your life begins to foster a belief in your own inner resources. Small courageous acts accumulate like drops of rain in a puddle to create your vast reservoir of courage. The mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, conquer fear, and withstand difficulty can transform each moment in life’s journey.
Carol S. Pearson writes in The Hero Within, “Most of us are slaves of the stories we unconsciously tell ourselves about our lives. Freedom begins the moment we become conscious of the plot line we are living and, with this insight, recognize that we can step into another story altogether.” Our experiences of life quite literally are defined by our assumptions. We alone are responsible for the design of our lives. The choices we make in the face of the challenges before us become our roadmap.
By honing the specific behaviors of courage, we can transcend personal, societal and ecclesial barriers to succeed in whatever we choose. In writing about courage in Tapestry of the Gods, Michael Robbins writes, “When one takes heart, one realizes that the imperishable life force sustains all and can never be exhausted; thus courage is born.”
Courage is required to challenge the negatives in our daily lives. Courage is a vital energy that shields ours heart and spirit and enables us to take risks to overcome obstacles. Fred and Alice, our penguins, had to assume some risk if they were ever to leave their melting iceberg! You risk the possibility that others will not agree with your actions. You may risk being called names.
Yet, risk-taking can be exciting and rewarding. It is a necessary part of growth and evolution. You can only follow your dreams if you take risks. Susan B. Anthony said: “Cautious, careful people, always casting about to preserve their reputations...can never affect a reform.” If we play it safe and say “no” to calls and challenges in our lives, we also open ourselves up to emotional and spiritual risks. Neafsey says, “There is no shortage of depressed and empty and bitter people who harbor regrets about “the road not taken” earlier in life, who wish they had done things differently. If they had it to do over again, they might wish they had given their heart more of a voice in important choices in love and work.”[xv] When you fail to tackle a challenge, your decision may be fueled by questions such as: Am I smart enough? Am I strong enough? Am I prepared? What will people think?
Witnesses of Courage
Rosa Parks had the courage to stand up for justice. This African-American woman boarded a bus to ride home from work on December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama. With one word she helped launch the civil rights movement. Or, consider the parade of ordinary women and men who were courageous in extraordinary moments of their lives: Dorothy Day, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, Sr. Dorothy Stang, Archbishop Oscar Romero, Jean Donovan, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Maximilian Kolbe, Harriet Tubman, Caesar Chavez, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Francis of Assisi and more!
St. Teresa of Avila states that courage is the prerequisite for a person seeking to grow in holiness. “I assert,” she wrote, “that an imperfect human being needs more courage to pursue the way of perfection than suddenly to become a martyr.”[xvi] Courage lights a “fire in the belly.”Our witnesses above demonstrate that courage transforms ordinary people into prophets who stand up for what is right and defend their convictions, even when they must swim against the tide.
In Summer Meditations, Vaclav Havel, shares a series of spontaneous comments concerning his leadership of the Czech Republic in stressful times. Caught in the vortex of instant political and social change, he discovered himself leading a country engaged in rapid evolution. For Havel, the changing times called for moral leadership, moral courage to face the unknown. When individuals around him queried his approach for believing in what seemed impossible, he stated: “So anyone who claims that I am a dreamer who expects to transform hell into heaven is wrong. I have few illusions. But I feel a responsibility to work towards the things I consider good and right. I don’t know whether I’ll be able to change certain things for the better, or not at all. Both outcomes are possible. There is only one thing I will not concede: that it might be meaningless to strive in a good cause.” And he continues, “There is no reason to think that this struggle is a lost cause. The only lost cause is one we give up before we enter the struggle.”[xvii]
In Conclusion
I close with the inspiring words of John Paul II in his Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte. In these seismic times of the Church, we should never look back, never lack courage. He wrote:
“Now we must look ahead, we must ‘put out into the deep,’ trusting in Christ's words: Duc in altum! What we have done this year cannot justify a sense of complacency, and still less should it lead us to relax our commitment. On the contrary, the experiences we have had should inspire in us new energy, and impel us to invest in concrete initiatives the enthusiasm which we have felt. Jesus himself warns us: ‘No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God’ (Lk 9:62). In the cause of the Kingdom there is no time for looking back, even less for settling into laziness. Much awaits us, and for this reason we must set about drawing up an effective post-Jubilee pastoral plan“(#15).[xviii]
I want to affirm John Paul II’s vision that “we need a post-Jubilee pastoral plan” that enables us to spiral up, investing Imagineering (if not disrupting innovation) in the cause of the Kingdom. There are many portals of entry for Imagineering a plan. In my current MOMENTUM column I speak to one basic approach available to all of us here.[xix]
Re-member we are Easter and Pentecost People! We embrace Jesus’ words: “Be not afraid!” We believe that the Spirit he promised to send is with us! Transformed by the “power of his resurrection” and inflamed with the presence of the Spirit, our faith and conviction encourages us prophetically to actualize the gifts of the Holy Spirit without fear! Be not afraid! I am with you! If we desire to turn the tides of spiraling down conversations, or, dispositions, we need to embrace an Imagineering spirit for new ways of being Church in the 21st century! “Be not afraid!”
[i] Kotter, John. Our Iceberg is Melting. St. Martin’s Press, 2005
[ii] Zander, Rosamund, Zander, Benjamin. The Art of Possibilities. Harvard Business School Press. . 2000. Pp. 108-09
[iii] Heifetz, Ronald. Leadership on the Line. Harvard Business Press. P.2
[iv] Christensen, Clayton. Disrupting Class. McGraw Hill. 2008. Pp 45-48
[v] General Directory for Catechesis. Vatican City. 1998. Art. 148.
[vi] Aetatis Novae. Arr. 11; Redemptoris Missio #37
[vii] Sr. Jose Hobday used to talk about the Native American’s concept of a moist heart vs. a dried up, crackly heart. A heart that was flowing with energy and life vs one that was lifeless – dead!
[viii] Palmer, Parker. Stories of the Courage to Teach. XXXVI
[ix] Whitehead, Evelyn and James. Seasons of Strength: New Visions of Adult Christian Maturing. Doubleday & company. 1984. P. 10.
[x] Hillman, James. The Soul’s Code: In Search of Character and Calling. Random House. 1996. P. 252
[xi] The term ‘new way of being Church’ was first introduced to me with my work with the FABS-BISCOM in Asia. Throughout the 90’s until today we find this term evoked for the Catholic Church’s presence in Asia.
[xii] Ibid. Heifetz. Pp 13-14
[xiii] Ibid. Heifetz
[xiv] Henri, Robert. The Art Spirit. J.P. Lippincott Company. 1923. P. 42
[xv] Neafesy, John. A Sacred Voice is Calling. Orbis Books. 2006. P. 168
[xvi]Pieper, Joseph. The Four Cardinal Virtues. Notre Dame Press. 1966. P. 137
[xvii] Havel. Vaclav. Summer Meditations.
[xviii] Pope John Paul II. Apostolic Letter novo Millennio Ineunte. 2000. Articles #6 and 15
[xix] Zukowski, Angela Ann. Navigating the Digital Culture as a DRE: Inch by Inch. April 2010. Eight inches: (1) Studying the National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers and Students; (2) Implement Computer or Digital Ministry Teams; (3) Design a short and long range digital (communications) plan for the parish; (4)Re-design our Catechist Teacher Formation Programs; (5) Integrating an e-mentoring program to support catechists in their lesson designs and plans; (6) Re-thinking How We Engage in Life Long Learning; (7)Integrating Media Education Literacy into the Catechetical Curriculum; and, (8) Keep Technology Distractions at Bay. |
