Metanoia

I bought some books off of Amazon.com to be used as giveways for our retreat. But, if you know me, and you know how much I love to read, so, when the box of books showed up I just had to sneak a peek into a couple that I haven't read yet. This quote comes from a book entitled "From Nomads to Pilgrims", by Diana Butler Bass. It is a collection of essays from people who are involved in little communities like ours, striving to 'do church' the way the early disciples did. I was so taken by what she said in her introduction:

"The stories that follow are stories of metanoia, of individual and congregational change, of people on pilgrimage. The pastors who share these stories will be the first to say that their congregations are not perfect, and they, as leaders, are not perfect, either. They often struggled and were surprised by the Spirit along with their congregations as the communities changed through practice. Indeed, in their stories, they share their metanoias.

From these pastors and the people they served, we learned that two practices are foundational to pilgrim communities: discernment and hospitality. Having FIRST learned to listen and welcome, congregations THEN embarked on the unique practices which God had called them."

Have we learned to listen and welcome? If so, then perhaps it is indeed time to consider what practices will drive our little community.