Thursday February 25, 2010

insight on small groups

by Tim Scorer

I met Doris Kizinna, author of Go Deep , at Café Deux Soleils on Commercial Drive in Vancouver; a perfect location for talking about small group spiritual practices in youth ministry. As she opened up for me the cultural specifics of the youth ministry that is the central calling of her life, I had no trouble imagining this spacious funky eating spot as a meeting location for one of those groups. I'm of a generation that is way more likely to be calling adults together for a specific two-hour session on a clearly presented topic in a well-organized room in the church; Doris is all about calling youth and young adults to a pub sometime early evening where in the hubbub they will find the topic of conversation on a page on each table. Welcome to Theology on Tap. Tonight's topic: Why Organized Religion Matters to Me. Change tables when you feel ready!

We both happen to attend a church where the preaching is so captivating and the sense of community so alive that young adults are much in evidence. So an ideal small group meeting time is right after church in one of the many cafes or restaurants within easy walking distance of the church. Doris underscores for me how this extension of the worship experience is essential for these young adults in the ordinary and sacred rhythm of their week. Here's a place where they can discover the place where the sermon touches their hearts and souls in a community of common concern and generational specifics. And for young adults who choose to bypass the Sunday morning worship service, there's still this sacrament of a meal with like-minded friends hungry to make meaning with their good lives.

This theme of choice pops up a lot in the conversation. I noticed it particularly when we were talking about a model of communal spiritual practice that is familiar to both of us from our years of leadership at Naramata Centre in the Okanagan valley of British Columbia. Imagine a hall or sanctuary – some kind of large covered space – where leaders have set up a number of “stations” of spiritual practice and exploration. There is an awed silence as young people move into the space and embark on a journey of spiritual deepening in community. They move through the silence of deep connectedness and choose from opportunities that engage the senses, call out the creative, invite the reflective, and teach the holy. Doris' book is a gold mine of resources for just this kind of spacious spiritual exploration.

Each life yearns for connection and wholeness. However, we cannot judge people by the degree to which they seek these things; there is no “right” way to God. Ideally, youth leaders nudge people onto their own path of yearning and faith by teaching them how to encounter, engage, and manifest their connection with the Holy One.

~ From Go Deep, page 55.

Our conversation wandered into some specifics that caught my imagination. One practice from the book that I like is that of holding a vigil for people who have just been involved in a service project. A quiet room has been found and people are sitting around a candle placed on a central table. A prayer opens the vigil reflection, followed by stories from the service experience just completed. The conversation is framed by questions: Where today did you see suffering? Where did you see God's presence in the midst of suffering? After all have shared, people come forward and light a tea light for someone they encountered. The vigil continues with silent prayer for as long as people wish.

In our conversation and through the pages of the book I began to catch a sense of the consciousness that a facilitator with a small group of young people would take to their group life. It would be a matter of always looking for opportunities to bring a spiritual perspective to things that are happening in the life of the group: “Let's take a moment in silence to think about this person...I'm lighting a candle here to help us focus on the sacredness of this time...As we come to the closing of our circle conversation, let's pause and in silence open our hearts to feel our gratitude for all that has happened...Here in the vibrancy of this city intersection with all its bustle and noise, let's stop and name to one another how Spirit is present.” Practice of this kind breeds a consciousness toward life and community. What a gift this book is in supporting the desire for that deeper consciousness.
 

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insight on spirit-centred leadership

by Tim Scorer

My conversation with Doris Kizinna, author of Go Deep, continued into the qualities and skills of leadership that enliven small groups and any other kind of activity that brings leader and young people together. By the time we had finished I had a list of six important aspects of spirit-centred leadership in youth ministry:

1. Before you encourage youth to have a spiritual practice for themselves, make sure you also have one about which you are intentional and articulate. The reality is that if you live with this kind of spiritual awareness, it will show in your living and in your conversations about things that matter. It will also bring integrity to your spirit-centred relationship.
    
2. When you move into facilitating a spirit-centred youth ministry, you will find yourself opening up a whole area of programming that goes way beyond pizza and movie nights. Those things are important too, but they fit within this broader concern for lives that are grounded and attuned to the sacred in all things. You are working toward creating a culture of spiritual grounding that becomes the norm, not the exception.
    
3. As a spirit-centred youth leader you, too, need to be fed in the same way that you are providing nourishment for the young people. Where will that come from? It's not enough to say that you have a spiritual practice that supports you; you need the same kind of accompaniment that you are offering. This might come through a relationship with a spiritual director or through a mentor in your own congregation or another faith community. Mentoring might be as simple as having someone call you once a month to take you out for lunch and reflective conversation. If you are wondering about how to interpret this mentoring responsibility, you might just say, “It's the kind of relationship where someone asks you, ‘How's your spirit doing?’”
   

   Ministry with youth casts us into the thick of the real world. Youth leaders are called to respond to real people and their needs: people who spill and cry, freak out or laugh hysterically; people who need things for their physical and spiritual comfort, survival, and growth; people who make mistakes, or who stun you with their brilliance and presence; people who seek, doubt, question, and proclaim their truth. So many complex needs and roles to fill. I cherish this simple response: an open heart, loving God; open hands, loving people.

   ~ From Go Deep, pages 33-34
   
   
4. a) What you are about is serious business full of fun. Does your congregation respect this ministry?
   Asking for what you need is a spiritual practice, as well as a survival strategy. And what you need might be a space for the youth to call their own, or human support that you as a leader can count on. You have a right to ask for it. The response of the congregation will be an indication of their commitment to youth ministry and their respect for your leadership – the most challenging leadership task in the whole congregation.
   
   b) You might not be the youth leader; you might be a leader in ministry who has the opportunity to support and accompany a youth leader. Here are the questions for you:
   
   • Does the youth leader have the support they really need? How do you know?
   • Does that person always have to ask for what they need or is the congregation being active in finding out the needs and responding assertively?
   • What are the helpful ways that you can support the youth leader in being spiritually grounded in their leadership?
   • Is the youth leader's job a reasonable one? Does it have a clear job description, realistic hours, and compensation and benefits that are equitable in relation to the other staff salaries?
   • Are you being active in helping the members of the congregation do more than feel thankful that the youth are being led by “someone”? That is, are you intentionally creating a culture of respect for youth ministry?
   • Do you walk with the youth leader when they have to deal with tricky situations concerning the interface between the young people and the older, more established members of the congregation? The issues are numerous and varied - allowing skateboarding in the church parking lot to having coffee at church on Sunday morning. Whatever they are, is the youth leader supported in having them addressed?
5. It takes courage to lead and accompany youth in the way they need. That courage enables you as youth leader to open the kind of space these young people need for exploration of themselves personally and in relationship with others. It also takes courage to offer the youth what the world and the rest of the culture cannot give them. This is an amazing responsibility and privilege! Youth leaders often find themselves introducing young human beings to that aspect of life which gives meaning and perspective to everything else. It's a ministry of establishing sacred foundations for young, impressionable, and creative lives.
   

   You're it, God. I have sought – now it's your turn. Catch me. Show me in real ways that you are ever seeking me, even when I don't feel it. Help me feel it the moment I open my eyes. Help me feel your strong God-arms holding me. Help me to know I am always found. Amen.

~ A prayer from Go Deep, page 254.
 

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insight on spiritual practice

by Ellen Turnbull

Lois Huey-Heck, who normally writes on spiritual practice, is away practicing her own spirituality in Mexico and Guatemala. Her writing returns in the next issue of insight in May. Wood Lake Publishing will be releasing Lois’ new book, Going Beyond Words: 12 Practices for Spiritual Unfolding, in Fall 2010. Stay tuned for details.

Meanwhile, I offer two short practices taken from Go Deep by Doris Kizinna. The practices were written with a youth group focus but are completely suitable for individual practice. Just read through the practices first and follow the suggestions at your own pace in your own way.

MOVEMENT PRACTICE (page 161 of Go Deep)

This practice can be used as a group practice or as a station at a spiritual practices experience. If using as a station, have the instructions laid out for people to refer to. If using in a group practice lead people through the practice verbally.

Take off your shoes and socks if you wish.
Stand with your feet firmly grounded. Notice your connection to the earth.
Hold your hands in prayer position in front of your heart. Breathe deeply into this position.
Raise your hands above your head, palms facing outward, reaching to the heavens. Breathe deeply into this position.
Bring your hands down to your sides, breathing deeply into the position.
Repeat the cycle as many times as you wish: prayer position, heavenward position, and arms at sides position, breathing deeply into each position.
Notice how the body feels in each pose.
Breathe in and savour your body movements.
End the practice with a prayer of gratitude for your ability to move your body, however that is, and for the freedom you feel in movement.

LIGHT A CANDLE (page 184 of Go Deep)

This practice can be set up as a station during a spiritual practices experience or as a permanent part of your youth room sacred space. (Ed. note: You could set up a sacred space in a corner of your home.)

You may already have a tea light stand. If not, create your own tea light holder by setting out a tray and filling it with sand. Place your stand or tray on a table beside a basket of tea lights, a lighted Christ candle, and a taper candle to light the tea lights with. Have the following instructions available.

Light a candle for someone who needs a prayer

The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. ~ John 1: 4, 5

Focus on someone you know who is struggling in a dark place who needs your prayers.

Say their name aloud to yourself and light a candle for them.

Offer God words for them.

Pray that light will overcome darkness in their life.

Your prayers on their behalf will make a difference.
 

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insight on authors - Doris Kizinna

by Ellen Turnbull

Doris Kizinna is the author of Go Deep: Spiritual Practices for Youth Ministry.

From the age of 15, when she attended her first youth retreat, Doris has been involved with youth ministry, either as a participant or as a leader. She is currently the United Church’s British Columbia conference minister for youth, young adults, and their leaders. She’s a writer who also loves to cook and make art. Watch Doris' story >>.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Doris at Wood Lake Publishing last autumn. I was curious to know what she liked best about her involvement with youth, and I wasn’t surprised with her answer, as I found Doris to model openness and adventurousness herself. Watch her answer >>

Doris was wearing a beautiful multi-coloured beaded necklace from Guatemala, where she supports an artisans fair-trade cooperative by bringing jewellery to Canada to sell (the staff at the Wood Lake office is eagerly awaiting her return visit so we can buy more beautiful pieces). Doris regularly takes groups of youth, young adults, and occasionally older adults to Guatemala. I asked Doris about the trips and the different responses she found with the various age groups. Watch her answer >>

Go Deep is a resource for both youth leaders and the youth/young adults that they minister to. I wondered if Doris had any advice about how best to use the resource. Watch her answer >>

Doris is a vibrant, open, and sensitive woman and I can imagine her having instant rapport with most youth and young adults. These attributes permeate the suggestions and practices in Go Deep. The reader is guided and encouraged to develop their own leadership capacity and use that to create a welcoming and spiritual place for the youth in their ministry.

Thank you Doris.
 

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