Slowing Down - Slow Church

On a group I'm on there's a discussion forum about the phenomenon of people recognizing a need in our society to slow down. Sloooooow doooooowwwwwwn. It began with Slow Food, a protest against the opening of a McDonald's restaurant in Piazza di Spagna in Rome and has since found expression in such things as Slow Leadership, Slow Travel, Slow Shopping, and Slow Design. The discussion group asks why not Slow Church? The point behind the question to me seems to be, Do we need to slow down? How? How does the Church model slowing down in such an immediate culture, how do we examine priorities and encourages others to do the same?

Someone posted to the forum who is reading a book called The Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell and read about an experiment. Seminarians were asked to prepare a short extemporaneous talk about a Biblical theme and then asked to walk across to another building to present it. Some were given the story of the Good Samaritan, others something else. Previously a questionnaire was handed out asking about participant's motives/goals in entering seminary. On their way to the building they all ran across a man slumped in an alley, head down, eyes closed, coughing and groaning - the question, who would stop and help? Would it be the ones who just read the story of the Good Samaritan? Those who came to seminary because they wanted to help people? Actually, the best predictor of whether they gave help was their immediate context. If the researcher said, "Oh, you're late. They were expecting you a few minutes ago. We'd better get moving" they were less likely to help than when he said, "It will be a few minutes before they’re ready for you, but you might as well head over now."

Here is a reply I posted:

Wow. Thanks for sharing. I have ADD and one of the ways it affects me is that I perceive time differently. I've been aware of this for several years and have ways to compensate. However, despite my best efforts there are still times when I am running late or feel like I am running late, so this is something good to have read and to reflect on. Could there be times times (or have there been times) when I'm so anxious and stressed about getting somewhere on time that I have failed to see God at work in my midst and opportunities for ministry?

Even if we think we are running late like the students thought they were, or even if we're getting messages from our culture that we don't have enough time we need to go, go, go... that might be the best time to pause, take a breath, slow down, and look around us. I'm reminded of the gospel a couple weeks ago about not worrying and being present in the day. Will our world fall apart if we are 5 minutes late for our next thing if the time was well spent (say providing pastoral care) in the time block previous? Maybe it's a lesson not to have things back to back in our calendars, but allow some breathing space, wiggle room, time to slow down. Time to care for someone in need that we might stumble across.

Recently, I've been wrestling with our Wednesday night lectionary class. Do we keep going in the summer or take a break? One of my parishioners is leading it, I'm not, but I've been attending. I have been convinced by arguments I've heard in the past that we need to be doing formation year-round, that our Christianity doesn't go on summer break, does taking a break send a message that study isn't important, etc.

However, I realized that as someone new to the area that there is a Wednesday night program in the park during the summer I'd like to attend to continue getting to know people and to be a presence in the community. Also a good use of my time. How could I do both? And maybe others would like to attend as well. Being a small church people are traveling and that has an impact on attendance. What good is a class if nobody is in town to attend it? So last night we decided to cut back to the first and third Wednesdays of the month during the summer. It seemed a good balance - not give up study completely, but give folks time off too. Now I see that maybe it's important how we frame things. Maybe it's not that we're tired of study and need a break, so much as we value time with family and friends, time in the community, and are embracing some sabbath time, the opportunities for rest that more people seem to have available to them in the summer time.