So, we had our concluding Eucharist tonight. In place of a formal sermon each group was asked to appoint a representative to speak on behalf of the group about "what DOCC has meant to us". Yeah, it was exactly as thrilling as you might expect. Please let it not be lost upon you that there were thirteen groups, so even if everyone was very succinct you could expect a 26 minute "sermon", which would then be followed by summary remarks from the Dean of the Cathedral. They were not all succinct. I swear one guy went on for at least ten minutes about his personal growth through this program.
Time and place, buddy. Time and place.
I offered to compose our group statement, based on what was said in our final round table discussion immediately preceding the Eucharist, so long as I DID NOT have to present. They thought this was a great offer and quickly agreed. We went round robin and I took notes, then mashed together a brief paragraph. They loved the text, by the way; they felt it managed to touch on something said by each of the eleven people in the group. When I read it to my group moments before our prep time was up, they turned on me and declared I HAD to be the presenter. Bastards!
So in front of the 150 people--including most of my co-workers, the Canon Precentor, and Dean--gathered in the Chapel of St. Joseph of Arimethea to celebrate the risen Lord, in the ringing tones that ensure every person in the room will hear each and every syllable, this is what I stood up and said on behalf of DOCC Group 7 (2008):
I offered to compose our group statement, based on what was said in our final round table discussion immediately preceding the Eucharist, so long as I DID NOT have to present. They thought this was a great offer and quickly agreed. We went round robin and I took notes, then mashed together a brief paragraph. They loved the text, by the way; they felt it managed to touch on something said by each of the eleven people in the group. When I read it to my group moments before our prep time was up, they turned on me and declared I HAD to be the presenter. Bastards!
So in front of the 150 people--including most of my co-workers, the Canon Precentor, and Dean--gathered in the Chapel of St. Joseph of Arimethea to celebrate the risen Lord, in the ringing tones that ensure every person in the room will hear each and every syllable, this is what I stood up and said on behalf of DOCC Group 7 (2008):
Disciples of Christ in Community was a healing surprise where we found a revealing way of looking at love and an opportunity for God to pour out love upon us. We dreaded the small group, but there we discovered the flesh that knits together the dry bones of lecture. We are now quicker to listen and slower to judge as we get back on track. We give thanks for the discipline of commitment which gave us time to build shared experiences and, thereby, community.
There was laughter and shock and then more laughter. Among those who've listened to me bitch about DOCC since January, there is some concern that "dry bones-ing" the Dean's lectures might undermine my job security. On the other hand, when he got up to make his remarks ours was the only one of the group statements that he directly referenced and, in fact, he said that we got it right. So there.
Still, I may come looking for a handout or a shoulder to cry on if I get pink-slipped in the morning.
5 comments:
Goo--I dearly love your writing style. You won't be too upset when you discover I've gotten rich by publishing your works, will you?
I'm pretty certain you only get rich in publishing if you include exploitative photos of scantily clad young people, but you're welcome to try.
I have Oyster's baby pictures. Is only a diaper considered scantily clad?
And I should print this page as proof of permission in court later when you sue me for stealing your creative writing, right?
I love how you are talking about the disciples of christian community (or whatever it is, sorry, I can't push the back button to read it again else I'll lose my stuff here, not that it's all that amazing, but still) and then you call them bastards...
They are who they are, Nor.
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