Universal Call

I sat, listening, while clergy colleagues discussed the strengths and challenges of the contemporary Church. There was a general understanding in the room that each pastor present shared a passion for the present and future of the Church of Jesus Christ. The strengths were grouped around people and their potential...even sometimes their actions. The people of the Church fuel its programs, projects, mission and ministry, after all.

Hours passed as the clergy in attendance celebrated the contributions made by faithful men and women. The stories were uplifting. Many of the contributions were miraculous. The morning passed rather swiftly.

After lunch, the topic shifted from the Church's strengths to its challenges. Amid the general negativity around congregational program and planning came a comment that commanded the attention of every present pastor. A young(ish) woman, who had recently graduated from seminary and had only a few years ago begun serving her first church, lamented the fact that she has to fight the church that she serves in order to get the members to accept their universal calling.

There was a general acknowledgement in the room. There was a shared understanding. Pastors have to fight the churches that they serve over the theology of universal calling.

Perhaps folks are more familiar and more comfortable with the Reformation notion of "The Priesthood of all Believers." This is the notion that claims that every person who accepts Christ Jesus is empowered, equipped and enabled to represent Christ in ministry and service. Every believer is priest.

Universal calling goes deeper. Universal calling is the idea that every person, by virtue of being saved in the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ Jesus, is equipped, enabled, called and sent to represent Christ's grace in the world. Calling is a product of our salvation. It is not restricted to those who will be educated, earn titles, be professionals, make money or suffer the indignities of being clergy in the post-modern age.

By afternoon's end, there was almost unanimous agreement around the room. The great challenge of the post-modern church is its refusal to embrace universal calling. Theologically, universal calling is a foundation of the progressive church. Practically, the future of the Church lies in the ministries and missions of men and women in our churches.

Clergy have contributed to the reluctance of the church to accept its universal call. Instead of serving as networkers of the natural gifts and talents of the congregation, and instead of seeing the clergy role as better equipping the persons who portray the gifts for ministry, clergy have become experts in doing all facets of congregational ministry. Instead of calling congregations to accountability for utilizing their own gifts and accepting their own calling, too many of us have done all the work for our churches. In so doing, we rob the men and women of the church of their natural, universal calling.

The church is reluctant now to acknowledge that each is called to ministry and service. For far too long, the work has been done for the men and women of the church by clergy who seek to please, or who seek to demonstrate their professional status, or to be Messiah. The toll taken by doing so has been destructive to the person-in-ministry. Worse, it has usurped from the good men and women of the church their own empowerment, sense of calling, and accountability for doing the work of ministry and mission.

Shiloh focuses on universal calling. We say, and I sincerely hope that we believe, that each of us is called, equipped, empowered and sent. The power of God's Holy Spirit rests equally upon and within each of us. While the great challenge of the church might be its refusal to accept and practice universal calling, Shiloh is attempting to make manifest a community of called and empowered agents of Christ Jesus. The work is both daunting and exciting. Come and join us!

See You Sunday!   

Shiloh and the Dayton Deaf Community

It is mainly due to the career paths chosen by Casey Robinson and Karyn Sleppy that Shiloh has revived an old relationship with Dayton's deaf community. Years ago, no one is certain quite when, the deaf community of Dayton used to hold community events at Shiloh Church. Now, thanks to a few of our members, that relationship has been renewed.

Most active Shiloh folk can tell you that Shiloh has been providing American Sign Language Interpretation at its 10:30 a.m. service for nearly a year now. Shiloh has also provided interpretation at many of its public events over the past several months. It did so at its annual Christmas musical, where we saw a number of deaf community members in attendance.

Shiloh will continue to provide ASL interpretation at its 10:30 service as long as the congregation has available the talents of Casey and Karyn and others.

Shiloh not only provides interpretation at its worship services and public events. The congregation has also opened its doors to the activities of the Dayton deaf community. On Saturday night, May 19, members of the Dayton deaf community will gather at Shiloh Church for a game night. The event is sponsored by the Sinclair Community College ASL Club, which Casey Robinson serves as president. For roughly four hours, members of the deaf and hearing-impaired community will have fun, playing group, board and interpersonal games. The event is called "Silent Night," and also serves as an opportunity for Sinclair students to interact with members of the deaf community. I personally attended a portion of the previous "Silent Night" event at Shiloh and thoroughly enjoyed the occasion.

The second Dayton deaf community event that will be hosted by Shiloh this Spring is the "Silent Auction." Scheduled for Friday night, June 1, the Sinclair ASL Club will hold its major annual fundraiser here at Shiloh Church. The "Silent Auction" involves both live and written-bid auctions for donated items, including Dragon and Reds tickets, a Kindle Fire, spa treatments, gift cards for hundreds of businesses and local restaurants, gardening items, and assorted baskets from Sinclair groups.

In preparation for anyone who might be interested in attending the Silent Auction, or any event of the Sinclair Community College ASL Club, or for those who have an interest in expanding your knowledge of ASL, Casey Robinson will be offering an introductory session here at Shiloh Church. The session is scheduled for Sunday, May 27, in the Large Conference Room, starting at 12:00 noon. Pizza will be served. Cost for the event is $5.00 per person, and will be used to offset the cost of pizza. If funds are left over, they will be contributed to the Next Steps chancel renovation project. 

Join the Sinclair Community College ASL Club at Shiloh Church for any of its activities. Hopefully, Shiloh can become a meeting place for the Dayton deaf and hearing-impaired community. Thanks Karyn, Casey, and others for renewing this old relationship.

See You Sunday!

Why the Chancel Renovation?

Last week's Shiloh Insider gave rise to an interesting comment. The question is the impetus of this week's blog. "Why is the chancel renovation project being done?" a reader asked.

The majority of the project's motivation lies in its connection to the wider Shiloh Church facility plan.

More than five years ago now, as a result of the all-congregation vote to remain in its current facility, Shiloh determined that it had to either move or upgrade its current facility. Staying here and doing nothing was not a reasonable option. Therefore, the congregation took a full year in establishing a $3.7 million facility plan. It included a new main entrance, an elevator, upgrade of restrooms, refurbishing of all gathering areas, replacement of boilers and windows, and significant upgrades to the worship space.

Much of the overall plan has been achieved. Shiloh has already replaced its ancient, non-efficient boilers with new, much more efficient ones. The congregation replaced its old windows with new, more efficient ones. These two projects have saved the congregation quite literally tens of thousands of dollars per year, and have significantly reduced the congregation's carbon footprint. Shiloh has already remodeled the Christian Education wing, mainly due to the ministry of The Kid's Institute, and has redone the Omega Hall.

The chancel renovation project belongs to the phase of renovation that encompasses Shiloh's worship space. It is a necessary "next step." A large portion of the sanctuary upgrade is the placement of a new lighting system, one that utilizes current LED technologies instead of the old incandescent system. Projections tell us that our sanctuary lighting will use in excess of 40x less electricity than with the present system. Currently, the old Colortran system fails to provide any usable lighting to what had been the choir loft. Since Shiloh plans to replace the entire lighting system, it makes sense to configure the chancel appropriately before the lighting is replaced.

The chancel renovation is also taking place in order to accommodate the new organ console. As most know, Shiloh applied for and was awarded a grant of $141,000 to replace its old organ console with a new digital system. Part of that upgrade allows the organ to move throughout the chancel space. In order to utilize that improvement, and in order to place the chancel choir back on the chancel (along with bells and puppets), it was necessary to expand the chancel.

On a more practical level, the chancel renovation was necessitated by the condition of the carpet in the front of the sanctuary. Every time the chairs in the front are moved, the carpet is snagged and tears. The chairs are entering into considerable disrepair because of the movement. The expansion of the chancel will, we hope, greatly reduce the necessity of moving the sanctuary chairs. There are additional media-related reasons for expansion of the chancel, but I do not pretend to understand them thoroughly enough to explain them.

The congregation will raise more than the anticipated $25,000 that the project will cost. Direct contributions, fundraising events, and special events have been very successful. Combine the level of giving with the idea that doing the project with volunteer labor, saving Shiloh Church an estimated $50,000, and the chancel renovation is a great starting point for ongoing sanctuary renovation.

It is an ideal "Next Step."

Thank you for all your support and assistance.

See You Sunday!