{"id":6829,"date":"2023-12-10T10:30:54","date_gmt":"2023-12-10T15:30:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nakonhakaucc.ca\/fr\/?p=6829"},"modified":"2024-01-08T14:00:49","modified_gmt":"2024-01-08T19:00:49","slug":"reflexions-du-mer-transformer-les-ministeres-pour-repondre-aux-besoins-spirituels-bilingual","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nakonhakaucc.ca\/fr\/2023\/12\/10\/reflexions-du-mer-transformer-les-ministeres-pour-repondre-aux-besoins-spirituels-bilingual\/","title":{"rendered":"R\u00e9flexions du MER : Transformer les minist\u00e8res pour r\u00e9pondre aux besoins spirituels (bilingual)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bas\u00e9 sur les lectures d’Isa\u00efe (ch 40, v 1 \u00e0 11) et de Marc (ch 1, v 1 \u00e0 8)<\/em><\/p>\n

Pr\u00e9parez le chemin pour le Seigneur\u2026 \u00c0 chaque ann\u00e9e on a l\u2019occasion d\u2019entendre Jean crier dans le d\u00e9sert\u2026 pr\u00e9parez le chemin! Rendez les sentiers droits! Et \u00c9sa\u00efe qui nous parle d\u2019abaisser les montagnes et de lever les vall\u00e9es pour rendre le chemin plus facile d\u2019acc\u00e8s. Dans chacune des quatre \u00e9vangiles\u2026 dans les livres des proph\u00e8tes\u2026 Pr\u00e9parez-vous! C\u2019est tellement commun qu\u2019on risque perdre le sens de cette pr\u00e9paration qui nous incombe. Et parfois, nous l\u2019entrem\u00ealons avec les pr\u00e9parations de No\u00ebl\u2026 la pr\u00e9paration d\u2019une f\u00eate et un temps de cong\u00e9, mais dans le temps de l\u2019arriv\u00e9e du Christ, ces choses n\u2019\u00e9taient pas une r\u00e9alit\u00e9\u2026 mais la pr\u00e9paration existait quand m\u00eame.<\/p>\n

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So what\u2019s the big deal? Why are we called to prepare so much and do we even know how? John tells us to repent\u2026 to seek forgiveness, to embark on a new way of being\u2026 that\u2019s what forgiveness means in scripture\u2026 to reorient ourselves down a new path. So it\u2019s no wonder that John the Baptizer is talking about making the path straight\u2026 all of this relates to the path between us and God. How we can make it easier for humanity and God to be better connected<\/p>\n

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As your Regional Executive Minister, there are many different ways that I serve you and the 450 communities of faith across my three regions. But everything that I do is in support of the communities of faith. And recently, the United Church of Canada has adopted a national strategic plan that emphasizes growth as its primary goal.<\/p>\n

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I know that for some of you, this is going to sound crazy. You might be wondering what they\u2019re drinking down there in Toronto. Don\u2019t they see the decline of churches? Don\u2019t they understand that we\u2019re closing churches at the same rate we were opening them in the 1960s? How can they talk about growth! Have they fallen off their rocker?!<\/p>\n

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Quand l\u2019\u00c9glise Unie du Canada a adopt\u00e9 son plan strat\u00e9gique l\u2019ann\u00e9e derni\u00e8re avec l\u2019objectif principale de la croissance, elle a surpris plusieurs d\u2019avoir pris cette d\u00e9cision dans le contexte du d\u00e9clin des \u00e9glises et la s\u00e9cularisation de la soci\u00e9t\u00e9. Mais il y a plusieurs raisons pour cette r\u00e9orientation vers la croissance. Mais celle qui me motive le plus c\u2019est une esp\u00e9rance\u2026 une foi que Dieu n\u2019a pas perdu l\u2019utilit\u00e9 de son \u00c9glise\u2026 que la voix particuli\u00e8re de l\u2019\u00c9glise Unie a une valeur dans le futur du Qu\u00e9bec et du Canada\u2026 dans le futur des Laurentides.<\/p>\n

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Mais la lumi\u00e8re de cette esp\u00e9rance est faible. Nous sommes \u00e9puis\u00e9s d\u2019avoir tout fait pour maintenir nos \u00e9glises et nos paroisses dans des circonstances p\u00e9nibles\u2026 une population vieillissante et des ressources diminu\u00e9s. Comment croire qu\u2019il y a un avenir dans ce contexte?<\/p>\n

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Dieu n\u2019a pas termin\u00e9 son travail. Et nous non plus. God is not done with us yet. We still have some work to do in preparing the way of the Lord.<\/p>\n

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Our churches are sometimes stuck in a model of doing things that worked in the 1950s and 60s, but doesn\u2019t work for us now. We used to open our doors and people would simply show up\u2026 out of societal obligation or because they felt the call of the Holy Spirit in our churches. But that context has changed. The generation of people who went to church is largely still going to church, but the subsequent ones don\u2019t see why they should. And most of our churches are doing the same thing as they did sixty years ago and wondering why they aren\u2019t getting the same results.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We didn\u2019t make the paths straighter. We didn\u2019t lower the mountains and fill the valleys. We\u2019ve stayed rooted in the ways that we\u2019ve grown accustomed to. Now\u2026 I know that the collective of ministries in the Laurentians has actually shaken things up. You\u2019ve created models to help you continue to do ministry in changing times. You\u2019ve pushed yourselves to think creatively and it\u2019s been inspiring to watch over the last decade how you\u2019ve managed to do this. You\u2019ve worked hard to make it easier to handle the stresses of being church, but now, I\u2019m asking you to consider taking some additional bold steps. I\u2019m asking you to become evangelists.<\/p>\n

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I know\u2026 I know\u2026 a cold chill just went up your spine. We don\u2019t like to use the word \u2018evangelism\u2019 in our church. We think of the terrible ways that forced conversion was imposed on others, how some in the Christian family claim that our souls are in danger of perishing in eternal fire if we don\u2019t accept Jesus as our personal Saviour. We obviously don\u2019t want to be like that. I personally think that God doesn\u2019t need us to have a perfect understanding of how to believe in order to be loved. We just need to work at it.<\/p>\n

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Quand moi, je parle d\u2019\u00e9vang\u00e9lisme, je parle d\u2019une invitation \u00e0 la population qui cherche d\u00e9sesp\u00e9r\u00e9ment une place pour se sentir aim\u00e9 et inclus. Une place o\u00f9 ils pourront sentir la pr\u00e9sence divine et comprendre qu\u2019ils ne sont pas seuls\u2026 il y a une famille qui les aimeront sur terre et un esprit divin qui les tiens dans ses bras. Une invitation \u00e0 toutes les personnes qui entourent nos \u00e9glises mais ne savent pas qu\u2019il y a, l\u00e0, une place de transformation et de validation et d\u2019approfondissement.<\/p>\n

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Depuis quelques ann\u00e9es, l\u2019\u00c9glise Unie a fait des sondages et de groupes de recherche parmi la population qui ne va pas \u00e0 l\u2019\u00c9glise. Dans le sondage des qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois il y a quelques ann\u00e9es, nous avons appris \u00e0 quel point les adultes de 18 \u00e0 34 ans ont une soif spirituelle profonde. Qu\u2019ils n\u2019ont pas le bagage de l\u2019\u00c9glise qu\u2019avait leurs parents et leurs grands-parents. Ils cherchent une \u00c9glise qui est moderne, ouverte d\u2019esprit\u2026 une place o\u00f9 ils peuvent explorer des questions sans se faire dire \u00e0 quoi croire\u2026 mais dans un contexte chr\u00e9tien.<\/p>\n

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Alors s\u2019ils sont si ouverts que \u00e7a\u2026 pourquoi est-ce qu\u2019ils ne viennent pas d\u2019abord?<\/p>\n

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The spiritual hunger that is expressed in poll after poll, the pandemic of isolation that people were feeling long before the COVID pandemic, the arrival of immigrants who come with their faith and searching for a spiritual home\u2026 why are these folks not banging down our doors to be part of our churches? There are thousands and thousands of them! And yet they won\u2019t come!<\/p>\n

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Some of you will tell me that Sunday shopping is the problem. Others will say that sports are often scheduled on a Sunday. Still others will say that secularization has killed our churches.<\/p>\n

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But ultimately, people are not coming because we are not meeting their needs. Because they don\u2019t know or see the value of what they get when they affiliate themselves with a church. We have done a poor job as a church at answering the evolving needs of the world around us. We have not made the paths straight, nor raised the valleys, nor flattened the mountains. The path we\u2019ve prepared for people is longer and more arduous than ever.<\/p>\n

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On a rendu l\u2019id\u00e9e m\u00eame de l\u2019\u00c9glise tellement \u00e9tranger que dans nos recherches, les jeunes qui ne sont jamais venu \u00e0 l\u2019\u00c9glise de leurs vies ont exprim\u00e9 que l\u2019une des grandes raisons de ne pas franchir la porte est une peur qu\u2019il ne sauront pas comment se comporter. Debout, assis, \u00e0 genou\u2026 ils ont peur de ne pas connaitre les mots qu\u2019ils doivent dire au moment venu\u2026 ils ont peur de se faire jug\u00e9.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mais ce n\u2019est pas uniquement une question de marketing\u2026 malgr\u00e9 qu\u2019il y a dans \u00e7a une partie du probl\u00e8me\u2026 c\u2019est aussi une question de l\u2019offre. Si quelqu\u2019un se dit d\u2019avoir une faim spirituelle, est que ce que nous offrons le dimanche r\u00e9pond bien \u00e0 ce besoin? Imaginez avec moi la derni\u00e8re fois que vous avez vraiment senti la pr\u00e9sence divine un dimanche matin\u2026 j\u2019esp\u00e8re que \u00e7a ne fait pas trop longtemps\u2026 mais des fois ce que nous faisons le dimanche matin est tr\u00e8s intellectuelle et pas trop spirituelle. Nous, on connais bien le chemin avec ces montagnes et ses vall\u00e9es\u2026 m\u00eame que parfois on voyage sur ces routes tr\u00e8s vite \u00e0 force de les conna\u00eetre si bien. Mais pour quelqu\u2019un qui cherche un cercle de soutien, un moment de paix divin, une source de transformation personnelle\u2026 est-ce que nous offrons quelque chose \u00e0 laquelle la personne qui ne connait pas l\u2019\u00c9glise pourra aller chercher ce qu\u2019ils leurs faut?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If we are truly going to meet the needs of people, we need to start thinking more like they do. On Sunday mornings, yes, but also beyond Sunday mornings. What does a small group discussion look like if you\u2019re trying to meet the needs of someone who is lonely? How do you create a sacred space or moment so that the Holy Spirit can do its work with the spiritually hungry? It\u2019s actually about how you intentionally build community with your neighbours\u2026 and how you invite them to have their needs met.<\/p>\n

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We are so caught in the cycle of figuring out how the church\u2019s needs will be met that we forget to meet the needs of those around us. We\u2019ve made the road so difficult to travel that people have used other ways to get to their destination. I believe, with all my heart, that if we start to meet the spiritual and social needs of the world around us, our church\u2019s needs will get figured out in the long run. But we need to start with that fundamental shift in our thinking. Of looking outward, of meeting the needs that we are best equipped to meet. Of building community.<\/p>\n

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There are a few mountains to flatten and a couple of valleys to fill in order for us to make the paths easier for those people who desperately need to see the divine presence in their lives\u2026 and who need a church who is willing to help them feel it.<\/p>\n

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I invite you, in the remaining weeks of this Advent season, to put yourself in the stranger\u2019s shoes and to think about how you might transform your ministry into one that meets their spiritual needs. And then, with humility and love, invite them to experience God\u2019s presence in the community of faith that you have shaped with God\u2019s help.<\/p>\n

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