new church life: september/october 2016
while offering insights about where we fall short and
where we need to advance.
Insights
Perhaps one of the more striking insights for me was
Mr. Rose’s rejection of the notion that his charisma
led to the success of the church at Sunrise Chapel.
Knowing him and his magnetism, it seemed to me that
those qualities must have been key ingredients to his
success. However, as he points out, he did not have this
same level of success in Colchester nor in the Carmel
Church, lending to his theory that the systems and
structures we work in are as important – if not more
important – than the specific skills and talents of the people working within
them.
Mr. Rose also urges us to move from the question of, “Are these people
New Church?” to “How can we serve these people?” He explains that he was
trained at a time when church was to offer “worship, instruction and New
Church social life.”
This has been evolving with time (thankfully), and now he casts a vision of
a church that offers the following: worship, learning (from personal study and
sharing since not all learning comes from an instructor), pastoral care (done
by laity as well as clergy), community, spiritual growth and service to others.
Broad Experiences
While reading Mr. Rose’s book, I often found myself impressed by the breadth
and depth of his experiences, as well as his tremendous impact. For instance,
many readers may be surprised to learn that he began many of the camps still
present in our church culture today: British Academy Summer School, Maple
and Laurel. Also, of all the bishops who have ever led the General Church, he
knew all but one! How many people can say that?
Creativity
As an artist I found the thread about his creative work delightful. (Mr. Rose,
who is an artist, painted a lovely watercolor of Sunrise Chapel, featured on
the book’s cover.) While reading, I found myself musing on the importance
of cultivating creative outlets, in addition to the pastorate, for preventing
burnout.
Shortcomings
I found only one shortcoming to this rich narrative of one man’s journey as a
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