Transformed by Shared Ministry

Sermon | April 11, 2021 |Rev. Julie Lombard

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In seminary, I live part-time with another student. Rev. Janet Parsons, today serves the Gloucester UU Church. When we were roomies, we were a great support to one another, it was more than a good landlord & renter relationship- it was a shared ministry. Not because we are now both ordained ministers, because we both grew from that collaborative arrangement.  

It started while we were in our final year of our Masters of Divinity studies at Andover Newton Theological School. An amazing friendship grew out of our coming together where once we were strangers. We have reaped the fruits of that labor for many years. We were somewhat an odd couple, not of the same generation. What we shared was an appreciation for a common purpose.  

I want to talk about shared ministries because they have what it takes to transform lives. Transformation is our worship theme in April. A few weeks ago, we had a Root Service about the topic of Redemption that featured Janine, Harry, and Sonja’s perspectives. That service was a good example of shared ministry.  

Rev. Ed Lynn, the minister emeritus where I once served, soft pitched a Root Service to me. He nicely arranged most of it before handing it over to me to lead. He knew how it offers a sermon of many voices and perspectives. He also knew I would have no idea about who to reach out to – so, he asked three individuals to speak about a topic. They did, it was amazing, and I learned another great way to do shared ministry.  

Today, I bring you my own story of transformation that grew out of shared ministry, but before I do- I want to check in with a few experts on the topic.    

First, some wisdom from Interdependence: Renewing Congregational Polity by The 1997 Commission on Appraisal of the Unitarian Universalist Association.  

Section nine is titled ‘Religious Leadership” and there you can find another sub-title called ‘Shared Ministries’. There are two things that are important to lift up from this source:  

• One key aspect of Unitarian Universalism is our belief that ministry of the congregation does not belong exclusively to ordained clergy, but to everyone. In Our Professional Ministry: Structure, Support and Renewal, the Commission’s 1992 study, Neil Shadle stated, ‘Ministry is the vocation of every person of faith, [and] Unitarian Universalism, as a democratic faith affirms the ‘priesthood of all believers’; we are all ministers, whether or not we choose to be professional religious leaders,’ ^{1Commission on Appraisal, Our Professional Ministry: Structure, Support, and Renewal (Boston: Unitarian Universalist Association, 1992), p.5.}

This belief in the ‘priesthood of all believers’ is central to who we are. Good relationships between colleagues in a multi-staff setting provide a model of collaboration and trust. With those elements, we help congregations articulate a vision of shared ministry across professional and lay lines. ²Commission on Appraisal, Our Professional Ministry: Structure, Support, and Renewal (Boston: Unitarian Universalist Association, 1997), p.107.

• To strengthen our religious leadership, many need to be instituted in both our thought process and systems. We need to embrace the understanding that as a “community of autonomous congregations” we are deeply connected through all levels of religious leadership and cannot work or live in isolation. Our future existence may not depend on learning to operate as a community of autonomous congregations; unless we apply this belief to our structure of religious leadership, we will all be diminished.” ³Ibid, p.117.

I find the line: ‘we are deeply connected through all levels of religious leadership and cannot work or live in isolation’ so ironic. This was written long before we could imagine a pandemic that would force us into isolation and online to worship. This author may have never lived Midland’s isolationistic lifestyle.  

What the source is saying is that we are strongest when we collaborate and work together. It reached back to the 1992 Commission on Appraisal in sharing this truth. Why I am pointing this out? Because this concept of Shared Ministry is old news, nearly 30 years old.  

You have experienced shared ministry here. Every time you experience what Barbara read earlier- the everyday neighborliness, person-to-person caring, and helping that is characteristic of people here. We see a need and respond with transportation, meals, visits, and phone calls. Small group ministries here are formed for mutual education, spiritual growth, and support. Examples include parenting groups, and dialogue groups, but this can also be found in our committee work, in our Sunday School classroom, or in a UUA Common Read discussion.  

Shared Ministry happens here! It is also found in our wider community- recently I attended a community gathering with a colleague. It was an African tradition – their way to celebrate Easter.  

At the celebration, I was given a large sum of money – a pile of cash. I, in turn, gave it to my colleague’s church as an Easter Offering. I wanted the money to go back into the Black community where it would most likely serve marginalized people. Later, I learned that the sum turned out to be $150 dollars. I had no idea it was that much, I didn’t count it before giving it away. This is an example of shared ministry and it touched all those involved deeply- especially the neighbors who need our love and abundance.  

For the second expert on Shared Ministry, I turn to the sermon titled “Who Will Go For Us?” – a sermon delivered by the Rev. Marcel Duhamel at the occasion of my ordination.    

I’ll go directly to where Marcel said, “Unitarian Universalism is a radically unique expression of faith. It is probably true that a great many UUs do not think of themselves as Protestants. But historically we are undeniably deeply indebted to the Reformation. That is history and a simple fact. To deny it is to be guilty of reconstructionism. I think most UUs could affirm and embrace Martin Luther’s thesis of the “Priesthood of All Believers’, and it was our own James Luther Adams who wrote of the “Prophethood of All Believers.” And so, our ministry in our Chosen Faith is a shared endeavor. Life itself calls us all to ministry. Some of us are fortunate enough to devote our full-time energies to the enterprise and make it our livelihood; others do something else most of the time. But it is the work we do in relationship with one another that yields the results that ripen and bear fruit in our congregations, in our districts, and in our international movement.”  

I had another experience I’d like to share with you. I was attending the UUA Regional Workshop titled “Growing Shared Ministries: Adventures in Being Together”. I was there with a team of five. One parishioner drove 5 hours to join us there and then the next day to attend my ordination. She was a very dedicated lay leader. Not that you have to measure up to her to be a great leader, but she certainly shined brightly.  

Here are the gems I took away from that workshop: first, a quote I saw that was not credited to any one person: “Collaboration is not about gluing together existing egos. It’s about the ideas that never existed until after everyone entered the room.”  

I learned that there are three dimensions of Shared Ministry; among professional staff teams, among two or more congregations, and between religious professionals and lay leaders. Let us consider RANK and I mean relating rank to relative status in shared ministry.  

Arnold Mindell said “The more rank you have, the less aware you are of how it affects others negatively.” If too much rank can cause ignorance, then not enough can cause resentment. Beloved communities depend on their awareness of rank.  

There are four kinds of rank; social, institutional, psychological, and spiritual. Social rank is race, class, gender, age, language, and such. Institutional rank refers to role, reputation, experience, and seniority. Psychological rank is your emotional stability. Spiritual rank is your ability to not be attached to rank, having a clear sense of purpose, a non-anxious presence, and deep compassion for all people.  

After rank, covenants are key components of a shared ministry. They help us to determine what we need from each other, how we will communicate and evaluate our collaborative work. Ultimately, they are a promise to learn together, whatever the outcome. This covenant process reflects our alignment and shows:  

1. that our shared ministry is clearly defined through roles and responsibilities,  
2. that we share the same purpose,  
3. and that we are on the same page.  

This alignment builds trust – we acknowledge the difference that makes a difference, create opportunities for shared leadership, bring to the metaphorical table a genuine curiosity, and a willingness to step up, or step back when the time comes.  

The closing quote from that gathering was by Comedian, Amy Poehler, “As you navigate through the rest of your life, be open to collaboration… find a group of people who challenge and inspire you, spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life.”    

Ok, since I have shared my collection of wisdom sources on the subject of shared ministry, here’s a story from my personal experience. I was a lay-leader sent by my church to attend a Regional Governance and Spirituality Workshop. It was 2007, I went as part of a team of two from a church that had also almost 300 members. My roommate was not my fellow parishioner instead I roomed with a woman from the Bangor UU Church.  

Meeting my roommate there changed my life. It was a small exchange of words, but to me, she unlocked the prison gate that held me back. She freed me from the abuse I had experienced throughout my life. I never knew if I would see her again and tell her how she impacted my life. But in March of 2016, I saw her, again, nine years later. It gave me the opportunity to say ‘thank you’ to her.  

I told her my journey of transformation from lay-leader to minister. How important our connection at that first gathering was to me. Back then, she told me that I didn’t deserve the abuse I had received. Her gift was to reveal to me my own inherent worth and dignity. We come together expecting to learn whatever the title of the workshop is about, but the more meaningful lessons come from being together where we pour out our hearts to one another.  

Let us rejoice in our being together. May we embrace the many shared ministries here that have the ability to transform us. Whether it be two churches joining their Our Whole Lives class together, or a delegation of four members celebrating Trans Day of Visibility in a gathering in an Odessa church, or it is attending an African cultural Easter event in Midland with a colleague.  

Shared Ministry can be the holiest of moments when we share our stories in the safety of the intimate setting found in a small group ministry setting. If you have experienced it, most likely you have been transformed by these experiences.

Beloved spiritual siblings, I have been navigating this life all while being open to this kind of collaboration. I have found a group of people to challenge and inspire me. I spend a lot of time with them, and they have changed my life. Thank you for being that beloved community and accompanying me on this crazy, wild journey we call shared ministry.  

Blessed be. Amen.