dis • cern • ment

(dĭ-sûrn'mənt), n. – perceiving what God is up to and what we are to do in response.

Since December, the Presbyterian Church in Needham has had a Discernment Committee, which has been posing the three questions of discernment about the life of our church:

·        Where is God?

·      What is God doing?

·        In light of what God is doing, what should we be doing?

The Discernment Committee has six members: Reen Gibb, Elliott Hipp, Betty MacIver, Carol Patey, Doug Robinson and Jim Schultz. We have met three times. Each time we have gone to someone’s home to “test-drive” a spiritual “practice”.

·        In December we tried “Testimony” – telling each other stories of how God has worked in our lives.

·        In January we tried “Reflection” – talking together about a document of the church (in this case, the Apostles’ Creed), picking it apart and trying to understand it.

·        In February we tried “Worship” – the combining of song, prayer and scripture to come closer to God.

We have also spent time reflecting on these “practices” and paying special attention to the third question: “what should we be doing”.

Although there are no final answers, some things are clear: that this has been a powerful experience; that we have felt God’s presence, and God’s invitation/ permission to ask searching questions and hazard unconventional answers; that this is the direction of new life; that our experience needs to be shared throughout the congregation and beyond.

The next step is to invite others to participate in Discernment. We have broken into smaller groups to host Discernment meetings in our homes, hoping that a large portion of ouWe invite you to consider being a part of this movement of the Spirit. Here’s what you can expect at the initial gatheringr church family and interested friends will be able to come to one of these meetings. If the response is sufficient, we will continue to schedule meetings so that all can participate.

·        a comfortable atmosphere, friendly people, refreshments or a meal

·        an invitation to try “Testimony” – each person will talk for a few minutes about God’s activity in his or her life

·        no pressure – it’s ok to just listen, if that is what feels right; hosts will “go first”, so everyone can see “how it’s done”

·        some discussion and reflection on the experience

·        most likely, a powerful sense of God’s presence, and through that a stronger connection to fellow members of our church

Afterwards, we do not know what will happen. But we should be open to the Spirit’s movement, to gathering again, to digging deeper and discerning more. Please see the information on the back of this sheet. We hope you will join in.

Discernment meetings will be scheduled beginning the week of March 19. If this is something you would like to try, please email Elliott.