WEYBURN (Qu’A) — With apologies to W.P. Kinsella and his well-known story Shoeless Joe, better known as Field of Dreams, trying something new in a parish can be scary. It may be outside of your individual or collective wheelhouse (area of strength). It may be a new kind of activity for the parish community. It might FAIL! And then what will people think?!
When Jesus sent the disciples out (Luke 10), He knew this was a possibility. He even gave them instructions on what to do if they came to a village that disdained them — shake the dust off your feet. But he also knew they would succeed — healing people and doing acts of power in His name. He also sent them in pairs so that they could discuss what happened wherever they were, improve their strategies for spreading Jesus’ teachings and encourage each other in the face of disappointments.
So, if Jesus isn’t worried about the potential for failure, we shouldn’t worry about what other people might think. With the confidence of His faith that we will ultimately succeed, we should also embrace possibilities.
Here are three stories from the Diocese of Qu’Appelle that started from a place that some might call failure, but that carried within them the seeds of God’s success.
Camp Harding director Kate Berringer is always looking for new ways to use the Camp Harding venue. This is important for both the growth and deepening of faith in our communities, but also in fulfillment of our contractual obligation to Cypress Hills Park. This requires us to use the camp a minimum number of days each summer, for activities consistent with our mandate for teaching.
Part way through summer of 2023, Kate came up with the idea for a women’s craft camp weekend. Women would come together to do personal and collective crafting in God’s “cathedral,” the magnificent tree canopy of the camp. The weekend would include prayer and other expressions of faith and liturgy. The September long weekend was proposed, and word went out. There were several expressions of interest, but in the end no one registered. A disappointment to say the least … .
But people gathered to discuss what might have contributed to the “failure,” and worked out a plan for summer 2024.
And whaddya know? The 2024 women’s craft camp had nine participants, plus one who had to cancel at the last minute. All participants evaluated the camp as useful and faith-filled and plan to return next year, together with others who were disappointed they couldn’t make it this year.
It would have been easy to say “we tried, we failed, let’s forget about it,” but that would have missed out on the enrichment and renewal experienced in Year Two, and likely to continue in years to come!
Jenny Williams of Immanuel Parish in Regina has taken a leadership role in Vacation Bible School (VBS) at Immanuel for the last few years. VBS is held during the school year on professional development days and other days where kids are out of school, but the parents are usually still working. At its outset, only 13 registered.
Those with children or who have watched recent TV ads about “natural negotiators” know that registration can be higher than actual attendance. That also meant that participant numbers could be quite low, despite advertising and the securing of resources and other adults to run the program.
Was it worth the effort? Jenny and the rest of the team decided it was, and continued to run it as the months and years went on. Now, they regularly get 25 to 30 registrants, and the kids are excited to come! One family of non-Christian children even told their parents that they DIDN’T want to go to another days-off care program because they like Immanuel’s so much!
Meeting a need, and sharing the good news of Jesus Christ? THAT’S a success that could easily have been left in the ditch of “lots of hopes derailed by temporary setbacks.”
And finally, my own case. When I arrived in Weyburn I was talking to the congregation of All Saints about the season of creation, which ended on Oct. 4 (Feast of St. Francis), or the closest Sunday. The Feast of St. Francis is a common occasion for the blessing of animals.
After only a little discussion, the community was quite excited at the idea of re-instituting such an event, which had previously been held at All Saints. Posters were made and distributed — not just in Weyburn, but in surrounding communities, in churches and veterinary offices. Announcements were made on TV and radio. All that was needed was to wait for the animals to arrive!
Three animals came. All from All Saints Parish, including my own dog, which I had brought down from Regina. One as a picture rather than live — which may have been just as well, given that we had two dogs, and the third was a cat.
Were the congregation and I disappointed? Sure. But we are looking forward to next year. We have a poster. We have a relationship with the Humane Society. We will start advertising a bit sooner. And most importantly, we have faith.
Because that was really what brought Shoeless Joe and the other players and all the visitors to the empty baseball field in rural Iowa. Faith.
Faith that God can take failures and stumbling starts and make them great!
Faith that the stone that the builders rejected may become the cornerstone of a new ministry.
Faith that together with God we can build it, and eventually, they will come.
