In year-ending fashion, we are reviewing the top eight posts of the year.

This and yesterday’s post ran one day after another.  Again, another video metaphor for where I think we are going… 

Friday, 11 July, 2008
COMMUNION: CODA

(This is a follow-up to yesterday’s postings.)
   The musical episode of Scrubs starts out like this: a patient has a brain aneurism and hears everything like she is in a musical. In the end, a risky operation is required.  She starts with the very same concerns as yesterday’s Rent group.

    “Communion” is found in the response of the doctors who make a commitment that “You’re gonna be ok, that’s what’s gonna happen.”  It’s not that you will be better or fixed (althoug h that is intended), but that you’ll be ok because of the promise that “right here beside you, we won’t let you slip away, (you can) plan for tomorrow.”
    This is not a polly-anna commitment, but a deep declaration that we must make as church to each other.  In Youth Ministry 3.0, Marko explains this communion relationship with these markers (and in parenthesis, I’ve added my own take.)
  * Small (as in you and me and those surrounding this hospital bed)
  * Slow (we can afford to be patient, we know healing takes time and effort),
  * Simple (as looking you in the eyes and promising our selves to each other)
  * Fluid (plan for tomorrow, conditions might change but the meaning of why we are together will only deepen)
  * Present (right here beside you and that is where we’ll stay . . . In this clip from Shall We Dance, Susan Sarandon describes that as being “witnesses.”)
  * Jesus-y (For us, as Catholics, this is living out our understanding of Eucharist.)
    In his book, Marko will describe YM 3.0 as involving communion and being missional.  Recently, there was a conference on lay ministry held in Rome.  The theme was: “Collaborators in the Lord’s Vineyard: Called to Communion, Called to Mission”
     Friends, we “get” the future of youth ministry . . .  living it out . . now, that’s totally a different matter!