going again

I'm flying out of Bradley Airport (my own personal airport!) tomorrow at 11:10 am to got to Chicago to help lead a Making A Difference Workshop (those of us involved call it MAD).

I wish I could figure out how many workshops I've helped lead over the last (what is it?) 25 years or so. But I can't. A lot, I know.

It is one of the things that convinces me that who I 'be' is who I am meant to 'be'. I love doing it. It never gets old. And 'the workshop works', as we leaders remind ourselves over and again--in spite of our limitations.

It is a workshop about ontology--the study of 'being'...as opposed to 'doing' or 'having'. It is for people in ministry--it doesn't matter which kind (ordained, lay, tangential) so long as the participant thinks of what they do as 'ministry'. I think everyone in this Chicago workshop (25 last I heard) is a Christian. There is a richness that is added when we have folks of other faiths involved--but, never mind, all will be well.

Most of the participants will be Roman Catholic, since it was put together by a Maryknoll priest. The Mastery Foundation 'delivers' the workshop, but people on the ground have to put it together. So, the folks who put it together usually determine who's in it.

All three of the leaders are Episcopalians, oddly enough. That's seldom true. Ann, the Executive Director of the Foundation, is an Episcopal lay person. I'm an Episcopal priest and Shane, the newest leader, is both an Episcopal priest and a member of a monastic order. Luckily, Episcopalians understand Roman Catholics better than most of them understand themselves. There was some concern that Shane--woman, a priest and a monastic--might confuse some of the RC's. I personally think the women RC's will be fascinated with her and the men will 'get her' because she's a monastic.

It should be great fun. What is the most fun is to see the 'transformation' occur for the participants. MAD uses centering prayer and 'transformational technology' in equal doses. It simply runs together at some point.

Watching people find 'transformation' in their lives in ministry is about as good as it gets because you know that, because they're in 'ministry', their transformation is going to touch hundreds of people and rub off in many ways.

How great is that?