The Minnesotans are Coming! The Minnesotans are Coming!

Well, they actually have already come, and gone. One of the blessings of being an ECF Fellow for 2015 is the opportunity that it affords Southside Abbey to grow with other communities that will come visit us as part of the Innovative Leadership Rounds Program. Our time with the Minnesotans was a pilot of that program, graciously put together by Missioner Steve Mullaney and the Episcopal Church in Minnesota.

Nine Minnesotans descended upon Chattanooga's Southside late Thursday evening. I don't know what any of us thought would happen, but I can share what did happen. Somewhere along the way the Holy Spirit showed up for each one of us.

While it certainly helps that Steve brought a fantastic group of faithful followers of Jesus with him, I know that this special weekend is one that I will treasure for a long time to come, as it continues to feed me days later.

This time together was an opportunity to learn from one another. We at Southside Abbey were able to share with our new friends what we are doing, while at the same time seeing Southside Abbey's mission and ministry through fresh eyes.

During our time together: We ate, we prayed, we shared our hopes for the trip, we slept, we went on a “reality bus tour” of Chattanooga's Southside, we ate, we met immigrants and those experiencing homelessness, we shared Christ's table with them at H♥ART Gallery, we ate, we jubilee-ified (now a word) a laundromat – providing quarters, pizza, soap, and hope, we were part of house blessing of a man who had lived on the streets for more than a dozen years, we ate, we worshiped in “traditional” Episcopal ways, we worshiped in “non-traditional” Episcopal ways, we shared stories, we talked, we processed, we ate, we wrote a compline liturgy together (which still requires some editing and permissions, but will soon be up on Southside Abbey's website under the “Open Source” tab), we sang, we prayerfully walked the neighborhood, and we said “see you later.”

Most importantly, during our time together we got to know one another and ourselves, deeply. Our community was formed so strongly that tears were shed when we said goodbye. It felt like camp before cell phones or video games if that makes any sense at all.

One of my favorite phrases to come out of the weekend was uttered by Southside Abbey's Claire LePage. Claire, along with her brother Graham (who happens to be Southside Abbey's lay missioner), grew up in Kenya. As such, she got to see a lot of “mission trips” from the point of view of those who stay behind after the mission trip is over. Claire reminisced that: “the weekend offered everything that a mission trip is supposed to do, but rarely ever does. It built real relationships that will last and we all learned from one another.”

I'm excited to share here a small part of the collaborations that the Innovative Leadership Rounds will bring. The Tennesseans invade Minnesota in the fall...

This post was originally published on the Episcopal Church Foundation's Vital Practices Vital Posts blog on June 10, 2015. It has been reprinted here with permission.