The canoe and the church.
Sounds like the title of a child's book? The Canoe and the Church? Some of the photos on my Facebook page have been of canoes and me canoeing.
These pictures were posted to show my pleasure in participating in a canoe team - in spite of the moments while practicing that I think to myself "Argh.... why am I doing this!!!!".
Of course, my time in and around canoes - limited though it has been - is not without reflection on the beauty of the metaphor of the Church as a ship or boat, and of Jesus' time on or near the water and our life on board.
There is something beautiful, I think I've already called it Benedictine, about the spirituality of paddling on a team. But now that The Episcopal Church is having it's grand synod in Anneheim, the General Convention is making me wonder if the metaphor of six people rowing in complete unison is perfect or flawed.
Yes, in a sense our unity, our oneness, our being one voice is beauty, and symbolizes the prayer of Christ, 'that we all may be one'.
However, what of the times when we paddle out of sync? Then we fail to be 'productive' - something over valued in my estimation. Maybe the church, like canoe teams, needs times when we can all jump out of the boat and forget about making it move faster and farther - just taking time to play around and cool off in the peaceful ocean's undulations. That reminds me of Catherine of Siena, who talks about the pacific abyss, the peaceful depths of God's love. Is it that we are on a linear trajectory as a church, a boat moving to a particular distant harbor? Or is it really that the boat is always where it needs to be when it is in the middle of God's sea, whether paddling or swimming?
Musings that come with denominational angst.
