Who We Are Called to Be
In times of great upheaval with multiple concerns coming at us from various directions, it’s important to remember who we are and who we’re called to be. If we can be clear in our identity and calling, it can help us know what to do in chaotic situations. We can’t do everything, so we can do what we do well, and rely on others to be themselves and do the work they’re called to do.
During the tumultuous first months of 2020, as your Conference Minister, I’ve relied on what I see as the Central Pacific Conference’s “identity and calling statement.” When I came to the conference, I was told we didn’t have a Mission Statement. However, as I’ve listened to my lay and ordained colleagues in ministry, I have found we do have an identity and a calling.
This is what I say to myself, when I wonder what lane the CPC should be in at any given moment:
We are the United Church of Christ in southern Washington, Oregon, and southern Idaho, called to:
Foster Stronger Connections
Nurture Spiritual Growth
Amplify our Prophetic Voice, and
Be an Antiracist Conference
The first part of that statement (our identity) may seem obvious, but for me it’s important to say out loud. We are the United Church of Christ, which means we are part of the story of Christianity. We are followers of Jesus who is the “sole head of the church” (as the Preamble to the UCC Constitution says). When I join with interfaith leaders in public gatherings, I do so as a member of the Christian faith with all the good history and bad history that comes with that. I also do so as a member of a predominately white church that has tried to be on the forefront of God’s justice work (claiming many firsts in that arena), and who has sometimes been slow to seek justice (as when we waited until 2013 to renounce the Doctrine of Discovery).
Being UCC also means I am a particular kind of Protestant Christian. I reminded us of that when I said we didn’t need to be together physically to take Communion as our Roman Catholic or Lutheran siblings might. There are lots of ways being UCC means we are part of a particular story, and speak and act within a particular religious framework. For me, it’s helpful to remember that fact when I’m trying to decide what lane I should be in as Conference Minister of the Central Pacific Conference of the United Church of Christ.
As the Central Pacific Conference (as opposed to, for example, the Southern New England Conference), we are also the UCC in a particular place. That means when we live out our call, we do so in a particular geography with particular neighbors. Our actions cannot and should not be the same as the actions of our siblings, sisters, and brothers in the Midwest or New England. The connections we foster will be different here than they would be in those places. The voice we raise for justice will have a different cry than it would have in those places. The needs for spiritual nurture and antiracist action in the Central Pacific are particular needs that people from this part of the United States have.
Unlike our identity statement — which is something I observed and not words that were given to me — our call statement is the Mission Priorities the conference set for itself and wrote into my job description. The first three priorities came out of the Starling Project. The fourth priority came out of a discussion of the CPC Board in February, when they realized we could not live into our 2015 commitment to be an antiracist conference unless it was a Mission Priority. In all of the collective work we do as CPC staff, in Ministry Teams, in committees, and on the Board, we look to these priorities to help us figure out what we can and should do. When we don’t have the capacity to do everything (and no one does), we let these Mission Priorities drive what we let go of.
As you know, I’m a big believer that we can do more together than we can apart. That also includes the work we do with those beyond the CPC UCC. We do better work when we partner with others, and we all do better when we each know which part of the work belongs to us. Knowing our identity and our calling helps us see where our work ends and another’s begins, so none of us is doing more or less than we’re called to, and all of us can get to the finish line together.
Thank you for being the United Church of Christ in southern Washington, Oregon, and southern Idaho. Thank you for fostering stronger connections, nurturing spiritual growth, amplifying our prophetic voice, and being an antiracist conference. I’m grateful to be with you, living what it means to be the CPC UCC in this time and for this place.
Blessings,
Tyler
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