A Short Week on the Cape

This year Bishop's Convocation was on Cape Cod, Hyannis to be exact.  And what a lovely area for Bishop's Convo.  Even when we were inside for the majority of the time, it was great to arrive a bit early to explore the town and spend Tuesday afternoon outside (at a bar of course) enjoying the gorgeous fall weather.

The keynote speaker was Nadia Bolz-Weber, the founding pastor of House for All Sinner and Saints, an emergent Lutheran congregation in Denver.  Nadia is a very engaging speaker and spend the majority of the time of the first time set aside for her to speak talking about herself and how she came to be an ELCA pastor with sleeves of tattoos, multiple piercings and swears about as much as I do.  She then talked some about the Millennial Generation (people my age and younger) and why they aren't coming to worship.  None of that was really all that new for me, especially as someone born on the cusp of that generation.

However she then showed slides of things that House does throughout the year that help engage people in worship. Some of these I'm most definitely stealing.  They made an icon out of Christmas ads people received in the mail.  A series of pictures from the earthquake in Haiti were used for the Stations of the Cross.  A bake sale on Reformation Day called the "Sale of Indulgences."  An Alleluia banner created every year on Transfiguration Sunday is physically buried in the ground for Lent and comes up at Easter moldy and bug eaten.  On Maundy Thrusday everyone is encouraged to bring 30 pieces of silver which are dropped into a bowl at the end of worship and donated to an organization that represents people who have been betrayed.  On All Saints Day people bring in pictures of people in their lives who are dead and use those pictures for icons for the day.  Operation Turkey Sandwish were turkey sandwiches, stuffing muffin and pumpkin bars are given to people who have to work on Thanksgiving with a note that says something like "It sucks that you have to work on Thanksgiving, but we give thanks for all you do and wish you a great Thanksgiving."

And probably my favorite of all: a stewardship t-shirt that on the front says "This shit ain't free" and on the back: "So you better tithe, Bitches!"

These are just the ideas I remember.  I love the creativeness in worship, that it doesn't have to be a straight follow the rubric.  That people can use art and media in worship to help deepen the experience.  That the bible stories are brought to life by putting them in modern terms and doing service in God's name.

Overall I had a great time at the Cape, and as always I love hanging out with my fellow pastors and rostered leaders in New England Synod and I know my sermon for tomorrow is highly influenced by this week...now if only I get a chance to preach it because even though it is only October in Connecticut, we are breaking all sorts of records with about 4 inches of snow already fallen.