From the General Presbyter
Enter the Dinosaur
I love to watch archaeologists at work, but I get really impatient when I see them slowly brushing off unearthed bones with a paintbrush. I want to yell at the screen: “Hurry up and free the dinosaur!”
Our Strategic Planning progress is much like this. Though it is tempting to simply set goals and objectives, post them, and then do the same thing we have always done, these Cabinet members are excavators. The identified priorities (see our website) are more than aspirations. They represent how we want to live, work and relate in the Presbytery of Baltimore.
For example, take our value of healthy clergy. It’s not enough to throw therapy and Bible verses at them. The questions become, what are the systems that create overwhelming clergy stress and how do systems in the Presbytery contribute to that stress? Or, what does true inclusivity look like? It is more than persons or color, youth and LGBTQ folks on the screen. How do our practices, attitudes or norms discourage diversity? Enter the dinosaur. By looking at our past and present, we gain knowledge into what works and what needs to go, shift or be reimagined.
This will not take forever. I know some are waiting for “the answer.” As Habakkuk says, “wait for it!” The Cabinet is working diligently to start lining up tangible next steps. One big one is, “who needs to be at the table?” Who knows…it might be you!
– Jackie