By The Rev. Blair Pogue

The people of St. Matthew's are hungering for depth, and our leadership desires to stay the course. We think God is continuing to call us to go deeper spiritually, and that doing so involves a change in orientation, behavior, and character that comes through regular engagement with spiritual practices and our neighbors. These practices include those that are part of St. Matthew's Way of Jesus: story, prayer, simplicity, discernment, reconciliation, hospitality, generosity, and gratitude.

Journey Inward:
Some of the resources at St. Matthew's to help us go deeper inward include:

• Sunday morning and evening and Wednesday noon Eucharists
• Four book groups studying Brian McLaren's, We Make the Road by Walking
• Weekly Faith Forum (all ages), Sunday Book Group, Godly Play (Pre-K - 1st Grade), "God's Story, Our Story" Workshops (Grades 2-5), Echo the Story (Grades 6-8) and Journey to Adulthood offerings
• Saturday morning Centering Prayer Group
• Occasional classes focused on a spiritual practice or topic like reconciliation, exploring the Christian faith through novels, or the spirituality of aging.
• Men's and Women's retreats

In the days ahead I want to see if the people of St. Matthew's are interested in Way of Jesus groups where people from similar vocations and professions (teachers and social workers, information technology specialists, health care professionals, professors, stay at home parents, etc.) can dwell in scripture and share the ways God is challenging and encouraging them and support one another as they serve as God bearers in the work place, volunteer organizations, neighborhoods, and homes.

I am also working with parishioner Shannon Livingston-Harris to develop a Discernment Ministry in which anyone who wants to explore an important issue or question in their life (should I change professions? Should I marry X? How should I handle a challenging person at work?) would be able to do so in the company of at least two trained discerners, who will sit with them for up to two hours, enveloped in prayer and silence, to help them find clarity.

Journey Outward:
Many of the most important ministries of the people of St. Matthew's happen Monday - Saturday. Just ask your pew mates what they do during the day, both paid and volunteer work, and you will be inspired! If we were able to map the way God is using the people of our congregation in the classrooms, boardrooms, homeless shelters, hospitals, and neighborhoods of St. Matthew's, the map would be impressive. You are teaching and mentoring the next generation, helping people move out of poverty through education and job training, engaging in thoughtful urban planning that will impact numerous lives, providing jobs, addressing people's physical, emotional, and spiritual needs, and loving your neighbors.

In the days ahead, it will be important to continue to learn what others in our congregation are doing so we can work together, network, and use our collective gifts, expertise, and social capital to help others. It is also important for us to help one another name where God is at work in our personal and professional lives, encourage one another, and hold each other accountable in life-giving ways. St. Matthew's "Journey Inward" offerings (sermons, classes, gatherings for discernment, reflection, and prayer) are intentionally designed to support the Journey Outward.

Journeying Outward as a Congregation:

• The Blue House
• Project Home
• Loaves and Fishes
• High Commitment Discernment Team Pilgrimages (includes opportunities for preparation, engagement, and reflection)

Collectively, we continue to come alongside neighbors in need locally and globally, while also continually asking "how can we go deeper relationally?" in these ministries, and "is this what God is calling us to do based on our communal gifts and 'pockets of energy'?"

To help us learn more about what God is up to in the Cities and aid our discernment, the High Commitment Discernment Team is arranging a handful of pilgrimages this Fall and Spring, including trips to the St. Paul Promise Neighborhood and the North Side Achievement Zone in Minneapolis. These trips, as well as our current social justice ministries, have been and will continue to be deepened by continuing education opportunities including "Spiritual Listening" sessions with City House, and Faith Forum offerings on everything from infant mortality in Minnesota to sessions on race and reconciliation.

St. Matthew's staff and leadership is focused on helping us all journey inward and outward, and supporting these important journeys with opportunities to pray together, learn, and reflect. May God challenge, encourage, and transform us so we can more deeply understand God's love for us and participate in God's healing, reconciling work in our neighborhoods and world.