The Examen

St. Ignatius taught his followers in the Society of Jesus to pray, study, praise, and serve. One of the exercises of prayer that framed different portions of each day was (is) the examen. It is a simple discipline of looking at the events of one's life and meditating upon how God has been present to us and how we have been present to God. The purpose of this exercise is to train disciples to open themselves up to the Divine in ever increasing ways, day by day.

In the aftermath of the New York Conference UCC Annual Meeting at Silver Bay on Lake George the ways in which God was present have been coming to me. I wish I could say that I was consciously "doing" the examen, but that would not be honest. Rather it seems as though the examen has been "doing" me.

Many people work very hard to plan, coordinate, and guide the annual meeting. Geoffrey Black is primarily responsible for this. He works with the planning committee all year in preparation for the four day meeting. His administrative assistant Antoinette Montgomery also works very hard at this. Sometimes Regional Staff have specific responsibilities. Marian Shearer also served on the planning committee. The Executive Council and various committees have official responsibilities. Carol Giordano presents the budget and always presents it at a hearing.

Most of what Regional Conference Minister's do is unofficial. 90% of our part of the meeting is unscripted, around the edges. We spend much of our time talking with pastors and church leaders about all sorts of things.

The young pastor who just left a part time pastorate to deal with some increased family resposibilities came up to me and began to talk. She was worried about the church she had just left. And so, we talked about this...for about an hour. She came up to me during a 15 minute break and we talked nearly until the next break in the meeting.

It was great to catch up with the pastor with whom I used to be in regular contact. We sat and talked about his church, about Barak Obama and Trinity UCC, about our lives. I've always enjoyed his intellect and his insightful, somewhat off-center sense of humor.

Pastors looking to move to another church, leaders wondering about whom God is calling to be their next pastor, delegates wondering about what's happening next and where, sharing casual conversation around the dinner table, leading workshops, taking part in the plenary business session, and finding inspiration in the worship and the preaching. All of these things are part of the meeting.

I'm particularly grateful for the wonderful moment when the Commission on the Global Church honored the Clinton Heights Community Church with an award as a Global Mission Church. The list of programs, commitments of money and persons to mission wowed the delegates gathered in the auditorium. The church and their Interim Pastor, Nathan Wright, were shaking with the surprise of this honor. It was quite a moment.

And for me, I was very grateful for the ministry of the youth to me. During the Communion Service planned and led by the youth on Saturday night, three teenagers gave examples of their experiences of God. One boy declared his love of water saying that when he swims or boats he hears God in the sound of the water. And, immediately I was transported to hearing the water lapping up against a stone wall under the dock at my grandparents' lakeside cottage in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. I could hear the gurgling of forest brooks and the crash of ocean waves. Through it all I hear the voice of God promising peace and eternal presence.

This is not an evaluation of the meeting. There were wonderful "things" that happened. There were some things about which I would not write home. Despite the ebbs and flows of the meeting, I experienced God's presence. And, that is enough and I am glad.

How was God present for you this weekend? How is God present for you today?

Blessings,

Rick Cowles