On Saturday the Spirit moved in what to many people is a strange way–over the internet.
After PC(USA)’s General Assembly last week many people felt disheartened and frustrated. There were three big issues although two of them feel very connected, and you can find full information about them in other places. For a quick summary look here. Particularly, the resignation of the Vice Moderator struck a cord.
I’m plugged in with a lot of Presbyterians on Twitter, many of them are church leaders (both lay and ordained). Twitter people started using the hashtag #dreamPCUSA based on what those in the United Methodist Church were already doing #dreamUMC.
It became apparent that people needed a space to dream together. We had done a lot of lamenting over the week of GA, and it was time to hope and dream that things didn’t have to stay the way they were or the way they felt like at GA.
I started the Twitter account @WeDreamPCUSA together with my new friend Angie Rines, a youth minister in NJ. She set up the Facebook page shortly after that. Together we crafted a simple mission based on what we were hearing people longing for:
“We are here to be a space for people to dream together in community and to know they are not alone in their dreaming.” -@WeDreamPCUSA Mission
We connected with the leaders of @DreamUMC who were very encouraging and helpful. Saturday evening we held our first prayer meetup on Twitter, and it was wonderful. I struggled with how to structure things because I was moderating, but it was still wonderful. We gathered from across the country to pray and uplift each other.
I wanted to cry when the prayer meetup was over. I couldn’t believe at how the Spirit was moving, and how the Spirit was using me! I had been on a panel explaining the virtues of social media at GA, and on Saturday I was using social media for a new ministry! It’s crazy!
Even though I’m currently the one tweeting under @WeDreamPCUSA it’s not mine. I do have dreams for what @WeDreamPCUSA can be. I spend a lot of time supporting individual churches, and GA was a wake up call for me. It helped me see how the larger denomination does effect individual churches and areas of the country. It helped me see the strength of our denomination coming together.
Dreams do weird things to us. They break us open. Scary dreams might point to something that is wrong in our lives or a problem we’re having. Happy dreams might energize you to make them come to reality. The thing I like best about dreams, though, is talking to other people about them, trying to figure them out, and seeing if there are deeper meanings behind the things in the dream. Some dreams are just crazy and maybe don’t mean anything, but they’re still fun to discuss.
My dream for @WeDreamPCUSA is that it will be a place for all those things. It will be a place to talk about our fears, our problems, our emotions, our energizers, our craziness, and our faith. It will be a place to pray. It will be a place for relationships to grow.
I have more specific dreams like the PC(USA) becoming completely open, affirming, uplifting, supportive, etc. for our LGBTQQITS and ally siblings. Right now I am filled with hope because that dream is being shared and echoed throughout Twitter.
But it’s not about me. @WeDreamPCUSA is really a movement of the Spirit being felt in many places. We’re dreaming ecumenically. The most important thing, though, is that we’re fired up. Our imaginations have been sparked. The fires of Pentecost are popping up everywhere.
That’s exciting. It’s so exciting. Are you excited?
