emergent in Seattle

The last outward voyage of my sabbatical pilgrimage is concluded, as I am back from my "in residence" time with "emerging" Church of the Apostles in Seattle. I feel that the labyrinth-path is turning homeward once again. Homeward, towards resuming my life of public ministry, hopefully bearing in my hands the "clews" of threads which lead to something like insight for the voyage yet to come.

In Seattle I stayed with a hospitable couple in their early 50's, their age constituting "elderhood" in Karen Ward's decidedly young adult congregation. Ned and Jeanette have a room with bath on the first floor of their more vertical than horizontal new townhouse built in the midst of older wood-frame homes in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood. Fremont is old white blue-collar Northwest first gone counter-cultural, now nouveau-riche and yuppie. Think SE PDX meets Oregon Country Fair with some Pearl District thrown in plus a waterfront. The whole Silicon Valley post-modern empire continues in Seattle as Google and Adobe have both moved in.

I tried to live as a pilgrim there, staying on foot (easy, as everything including a well-stocked Episcopal bookstore are within walking distance). I wanted to get to know this neighborhood in which Karen's bold experiment in liturgical-sacramental-monastic Emerging Church has taken root.

There are many things to learn about post-modern culture as incarnated in our own midst. There are great risks, as the rags and vestiges of established church hold no refuge for us now. In the somewhat-underground press, the Seattle equivalents of The Mercury and Willamette Week had random statements of hostility directed at "the imaginary god" of establishment religion. This God is characterized as oppressive and a projection of those who wish to cramp the freedom and expression of others. On the other hand, the culture and those who participate in it are so removed from the central "Christian story" that there is a curiosity evident from many, especially if a community shows itself to a) not be lame or espouse scary politics b) be open and conversant with contemporary life, and c) be passionate and genuine about the faith-life it is living and is willing to welcome others into their midst.

I walked, enjoyed Fremont which describes itself modestly as "the center of the universe" whose motto is "de libertas quirkum"--"the right to be wierd." I talked with people--street folks, barristas, shopkeeps, people who responded with surprise and pleasure when I asked them "Are you well?"

I feel my journey into monasticism and into Emerging is beginning to make sense and even to integrate the Celtic understanding. To be a pilgrim in the world...to not pretend to have the answers...to listen deeply, to others, to one's own questions and pain, and to God who speaks so softly...to not attempt to be anything more than human.

One conversation took place in an uber-cool basement coffee shop called "Stickman". After discussing the theology of Johnny Cash with the barrista who was playing his Dark Stranger remix I settled into an upholstered church pew. A very young couple entered, the young man flame-haired as Ron Weasley and his friend quiet and dark. They ordered and edged over my way self-consciously. Addressing me respectfully as "sir", they asked if they could share my seating as "we are big pew fans." I shoved over saying "Of course" and as they settled in with lattes and laptops they politely asked if I was a regular and if not then why was I in town. I told them that I was in residence with Church of the Apostles which met in the Fremont Abbey up the hill, a cool postmodern-traditional church. I took my leave after the conversation ran its clear course and commended to them the pew.

Church of the Apostles' Eucharist is Saturday at 5. The liturgy was to be a "Blues Eucharist", and the ponytailed-wildman Lutheran pastor and bass guitarist was warming up with some good riffs and wails. I looked up from the couch-conversation I was having and smiled. There was the flaming red hair of the young coffee-shop pew fan and his dark-haired friend. I walked over and said, "The irony is that here there's not a pew in sight." They grinned and said what I had said about the church sounded "pretty good." They stayed for the whole service.

By God's mercy, we have a place in this emerging world. It will be a good place, if we walk our path with humility, faith, and trust, loving the people who are placed in our path by the good God.