God's Vision

A deanery in the Episcopal Church is a collection of parishes that meat together with a priest leader called the dean. Most deaneries are little more than a group of competitive clergy protecting their turf and gathering only to brag about what is happening in their parish. My deanery in South Carolina has seven congregations, and we are working to create mutual ministry and mission. Cooperation is our plan and serving Christ together our purpose. That made me think about the lack of cooperation I see in so many places, in fact at times in me.

I grew up as an intense competitor. Card games in my family were not fun. My wife avoided games and me with every once of her being. I am much better in my old age, and cooperation and coordination are now admirable goals. Family life, work environments, churches, neighborhoods and other ways people interact would be so much better if we could live that cooperative spirit. Psychologists and counselors find the holiday season particularly busy because being with families causes so much stress. The group we should be most willing to be cooperative with is among the most challenging. One of my favorite poems is Mending Walls by Robert Frost and particularly his questioning what walls keep in and what walls keep out and how he is not sure it is such a good thing. Cooperation means connecting not separating, it means joining not giving up on, it means investing not selling out. Loneliness is dead when we cooperate.