Lent 2007 - Reflections A.    Story - In the early weeks of 2007 I issued an invitation to all officers in the Canada and Bermuda Territory to participate in a Lenten Digital Community. The name itself implies the function of the group:
•    Lenten: the group would come together during Lent, from the First Sunday to Easter Sunday
•    Digital: officers in this Territory cover 4 ½ time zones. The only way I could envision its facilitation was through the internet, permitting good access to each other.
•    Community: there are different forms of community, and this group was to be formed around the preaching task. Thus I knew it would more than likely be Corps officers, although not limited to them.

This community was designed to learn from the preaching of the same texts during the season of Lent. Lent has its own disciplines of self-denial, and preaching too has its disciplines. It was my hope that a small group of officers would agree to preach from the same texts in Luke’s Gospel, post their sermon after preaching it, offer feedback to others in the group, and ideally create a small study group in their corps which would also focus its learning on the same texts. My hope was to discover how learning is integrated when preaching and small groups work with the same texts.

The idea for this proposal was presented to Major Floyd Tidd, in the Corps Ministries Department at THQ. It was my intent simply to inform him of my hopes for orchestrating this, but he kindly offered resources in his Department to assist. Darlene Stoops, from the Corps Ministries Dept, proved to be a key resource by setting up a web site through TSA’s link with “Netfirms.com.” An attractive page was created, along with links to participating members, resources, sermon postings and comments. Darlene’s contribution to the Community was invaluable.

Soon after the general invitation was issued, responses returned. Eventually six corps and their officers agreed to participate:
•    Capt Heather Fudge - Bridgetown, Maritimes Division
•    Capt Bonita Hebert - l’Outaouais, Quebec
•    Majors Alan and Colleen Price - Meadowlands, Great Lakes
•    Capts Jennifer and Rick Robins, Powell River, British Columbia
•    Kristian and Lesley Simms, Glace Bay, Maritimes
•    Lisa and Paul Trickett - Bridgewater, Maritimes
•    One cell group at a corps in Winnipeg used the group studies on their own
We agreed that the francophone officer would have access to the resources, but would receive feedback from a bilingual officer in her corps. Three corps were located in the Maritime Division, one in Quebec, one in the Great Lakes Division, and the sixth in British Columbia. I live in Manitoba, the geographical centre of North America. Together we covered four time zones!

As part of the Community, Major Bruce Power created a “text to sermon” each week. His insightful comments on Luke’s Gospel helped the participants to read with the larger literary and theological context in view. In addition he began making connections to issues in our context where the sermon could potentially connect. Major Brenda Smith contributed “Worship Ideas” for helping to visualize sights and sounds of the final two days of Jesus’ life [such as the sound of coins falling on a table], but strategically used through the period of Lent. She also posted “Prayers” - both responsive and unison - that could be used in different ways during the worship. I created background information and questions for small group studies based on the Lukan texts. The worship resources were posted at the beginning of Lent, thus were accessible for the whole period. Bruce and I posted our resources a little more than one week prior to the Sunday in question. Each week I submitted a commentary to the group on our progress, and outlined who should offer feedback to whom for that week. I also offered feedback to their sermons, individually some weeks and to the group as a whole at other times. Darlene kept everything in motion.

There were a few weeks when participants were not able to post their sermons. Maritime storms prevented some, while illness was a factor for others. For the most part the group was able to keep up with the commitment. They knew that when the experience had concluded I would seek their feedback regarding the whole experience, and their learning from it. The reflections that follow seek to honour their responses.

B.    Reflections

Lent: It seemed clear that the participants deepened their own understanding of Lent through this experience. One remarked on the way it helped to “consistently hear God’s voice through Luke throughout this Lenten period,” and several spoke of it as the “journey of our Lord” because of the texts used. This in itself is noteworthy because of the way Luke and Acts make used of the imagery of journey.

Some participants picked up on Lent’s disciplines by connecting it with the Partners in Mission emphasis. In one corps each person was given a child’s sock with the tag, “sock it away for self-denial” or “partners in mission.” Another corps set up a “40 Day Lenten Calendar” with various exercises to do during the period, such as fasting.

While there was some resistance to the concept of Lent, most corps seem to have appreciated the emphasis. I noted in the sermons that preachers often kept the meaning of Lent before their people. Others communicated Lent’s meaning in pastoral conversations and letters to corps members. For the most part the Lenten emphasis was appreciated by the various corps.

The cell group in Winnipeg normally uses lectionary texts, and each person prepares. The prepared questions during Lent provided “a good change of pace, but proved to be somewhat of an easy way out, as group members did not do any personal preparation during this period.”

Worship and Preaching: Participants appreciated this experiment for its insights into preaching. Many were surprised by the way the same texts in Luke could evoke such different sermons, yet still have a common thread. One said, “I saw firsthand the various homiletical approaches that can be implemented for the same text - amazing!” Another said, “It was very evident that we were all preaching to a unique congregation with different needs and how we developed the passage into a sermon reflected that.”

The resources offered proved helpful. Both the “text to sermon” and “small study group” resources played a role in helping one participant “to think about the text and apply it in a contemporary context,” as well as giving “a broad overview of the setting and context of the assigned passage.” One felt that maybe there was “too much information to work into my sermon,” while another felt they “helped us to remain focused.” The worship resources, especially the prayers, were used in one setting “because they helped to best express some of the thoughts we wanted to share.” Another officer “used the visual focus each week and the story seemed to come alive. The congregation could hear the sound of the money being counted, the sound of the whip….”

The hope of connecting the sermon with a small group in the corps was supported, but lack of time made this difficult to achieve. The one officer who did achieve it “held a small group each week and we reflected upon the past Sunday’s sermon. During this time we were able to discuss what was brought out in the sermon and also take the discussion a little bit further….The group found it very helpful to share their own reflections about what the sermon meant to them as well as ask further questions and seek clarification on certain issues.” Another officer gave a copy of the sermon each week to about 8 people, who then offered feedback more informally.

The feedback offered by participants through the web site was appreciated. For some it was valued because that feedback was “objective and constructive.” For another “it opened my eyes to other perspectives,” and for another it “sometimes helped me to overcome my own doubts wondering if what I said was effective, and also allowed room for me to think further into what I had said.”

Digital Communication: While this was a first attempt at this kind of thing for most of us, participants valued the on-line experience. The website for one was “user friendly,” and for another “easy to use and to understand.” Because there was personal knowledge of most participants one “could even visualize them as they were preaching it,” but another person “actually got a chance to meet some new people” through the venture.

As it turned out, each of the participants knew me personally, so that may have been a factor in our on-line work. One of the recommendations suggested the possibility of “specific time set up for the whole community to enter a chat room to speak in real time about what they are experiencing.”

This attempt to create a Lenten Digital Community has been personally gratifying. As noted, the lack of lead time made the formation of small groups difficult, thus the goal of integrating preaching with small group learning was achieved by just one officer. The discipline of working with the same texts, resources, and feedback from participants, has however helped to achieve important goals in their own right. A community has been formed within the Territory based on the reading of the same biblical texts. There is room for further developments in such a community.

by Major Ray Harris