The School of Ecclesial Life is for leaders of smaller, newer (or retooling), neighborhood & parish-style churches. It’s a 12-month mutually encouraging and learning cohort-based journey that will help you: 1) clarify and articulate your deepest values; 2) enrich your communal life by exploring and adopting shared practices; and 3) thoroughly re-examine your neighborhoods in order to love them better. SEL is currently free of cost to all participants!
The world is changing, and that change is accelerating. “Business as usual” is a slow and certain death. We have a strong hunch that the Church’s new clothes will be fashioned principally on the margins, among the collective of newer, smaller, less risk-averse, neighborhood-centric churches & faith communities with flexible DNA. We know it’s not uncommon for churches of this type to feel unseen and under-supported in their work. This is precisely why we launched SEL. Our hope is that it will serve as an accelerant for the transformation of the Western church as we 1) support / pastor leaders of nascent, alternative faith communities; 2) put them in collaborative, learning communities of like-minded peers; 3) and provide them with the resources needed to thrive and implement their learning.
School of Ecclesial Life
The first half of SEL guides each participating group through a deep exploration of values, practices and mission
at the individual and team level. The second half facilitates a broad implementation of the learnings and
outcomes into neighborhood life and mission. Over the course of our time together we have three 2.5 day,
in-person retreats: one at the beginning, one toward the middle, and one at the end. Between retreats we have
regularly scheduled 1-hour online meetings..
For each cohort, we accept 4-6 entities / plants. David Nixon, the founding director of Sustainable Faith and
founding pastor of Vineyard Central, an urban neighborhood church, is currently the lead mentor for the participating
groups.
What Does the SEL Cohort Look Like?
- Three 2-day, in-person gatherings and an immersive neighborhood experience
- A monthly, online peer group with a pastor/mentor to facilitate learning, embody practices, and identify the localized invitations of the Spirit.
- Reading and reflection, assignments, presentations, and shared practices.
At the end of the cohort, SEL alumni will have the opportunity to continue their journey as part of a growing spiritual community that commit to a shared rule of life with fellow sojourners across the country.
What do we mean by church in the neighborhood or parish?
Neighborhood is an identifiable, walkable, human-sized, place that’s “large enough to live a lot of life, [yet] small enough to be a known character in the story of the place” (Sparks et al., The New Parish 2014).
Parish is what emerges when the church (a community of followers of Jesus) moves from living above or apart from place to having a faithful presence in a neighborhood.
The church as parish in a defined neighborhood certainly receives the tangible benefits of their shared life in God, but they also seek the commonwealth of all who live there, paying special attention to the most vulnerable and oppressed.
Is This a Good Fit?
- You long for a more embodied faith among a highly local community who gather around a table rather than sit in pews or rows of chairs.
- You have a small or burgeoning community of Jesus followers who live in proximity and want to do this with you.
- You desire the peace (shalom) and well-being of your own neighborhood.
- You see yourself as a (covert) pastor of your neighborhood.
- You feel like you have the bandwidth, focus, and energy to commit to the journey.
- You feel somewhat isolated, lonely, discouraged, and under-supported in your work.
- You feel called to a larger geographic area and a neighborhood feels too small.
- You lead (or want) a traditional, commuter church.
- You’ve been wounded by the church and feel bitterness towards her.
- You don’t see why neighborhood matters.
- You’re often overwhelmed with your current responsibilities or have significant financial, marital, relational, or health stressors.
- You already have a good network of support and have commitments to it.
How do parish leaders participate? Interested parish leaders are asked to submit a one- page Letter of Intent by Friday, December 13, 2024, describing: 1) how the SEL journey might be helpful and transformative to you in this season; 2) the nature and stage of your community; 3) what in our description of SEL resonates with your own desire for a eucharistic table community in your neighborhood, and; 4) what challenges you think might need to be addressed.
Participation is largely based on a faith community’s willingness, readiness, and capacity to innovate, risk, and reimagine church as a transformational community sharing life together to embody Christ’s love in their neighborhoods. Additionally, participants’ overall well-being (financial, relational, spiritual, physical) will be assessed to ensure they have the bandwidth and margin to commit to this investment of time, energy, and funding. Currently, SEL is backed by a grant covering the tuition costs of the learning community, totaling $2,500 per participant. Participants will be responsible for their travel and lodging expenses. An additional Equity Scholarship is available for people with marginalized identities and those in need (limited to 25% of registrants). Participants who have more than enough resources to cover their costs are encouraged to donate to support increased access to our program through the Equity Scholarship.
Interested? Any parish leader interested in learning more and possibly submitting a one-page Letter of Intent, can schedule a 15-minute information session with the director or simply email their Letter to sel@sustainablefaith.com.