A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to be part of a group that met and talked with Dan Mosley who teaches at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, and who also serves as the senior coach for the Indiana Clergy Peer Group program, a Lilly Endowment clergy excellence project. In his book, Living With Loss, Dan speaks about dealing with loss and how new life and spiritual gain can only be recognized by working through loss and arriving at what lies beyond it. Dan says, “If something is alive, it is changing. And if something is changing, something is dying. I have discovered that loss is a gift that opens up the future in ways nothing else can. It is the way new life is possible.” (Living With Loss, pg. 14). Consistent with this theme, Dan recommended reading Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes by William Bridges. Bridges says that life consists of endings and beginning but, until you address endings, it is difficult to experience new beginnings.
Our group talked about the importance of endings and beginnings in the context of the congregational transformation process. Learning to let go of the past is a major challenge for many congregations who want to experience a new beginning. The statement that “we have never done it that way before” is rooted not only in doing the familiar but also in hanging on to the past. Congregational development specialists, in helping and supporting congregations to affirm their past, suggest doing history timelines, acknowledging sacred places and times, and lifting up the saints. These are important building blocks for the future but may not be enough to work through the grief of the loss. Mosely and Bridges say that it is just as important to name and acknowledge the loss of the past and to create some indigenous rituals to address this loss.
Our conversation with Dan and the two readings caused me to reflect on these questions – How do we learn and practice to let go of the past? How do we learn to value, own, and acknowledge endings as well as beginnings as a part of the natural life cycle, for ourselves and for our churches?
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