Think Glocally.

The past couple of days have been wonderful and interesting. Yesterday started the second part of my trips focusing on my FTE Fellowship project. I left San Francisco in the morning and arrived in Chicago in the afternoon. Once I checked into my hotel room, I hopped on the Blue Line to meet a fellow FTE Fellow, Jennifer. Jennifer, her friend, and I dined at a Puerto Rican restaurant called Borinquen where I ate my first jibarito (meat between pieces of fried plantains). The discussion over dinner was amazing. Jennifer and I talked about the similarity of our projects, and Jennifer's friend had phenomenal input on speaking of embodied experience and "languages" learned by our bodies. The conversation continued at Jennifer's apartment over dessert. It was an incredible conversation and such a sacred space. As Jennifer's friend stated, she didn't believe in accidents. Last night's conversation reminded me of words as symbols, and that such symbols have different definitions in different contexts.

Today I visited the Churchwide Office of the ELCA. I spoke with Sunitha Mortha, director of the ELCA Global Formation Program. We spoke about issues of identity as well. We spoke at length about the nebulous concept of "Lutheran identity," and how that is a highly contextual notion. What could be considered Lutheran in one location may not be considered as Lutheran in another location. We spoke a lot about shifting ideas in theological education, and paradigm shifts in not only theological education, but in ministry.

Sunitha is currently working on "Glocal Mission Gatherings," which are taking place all over the United States throughout 2010 and 2011 (click on the link to find out more about these gatherings on Facebook; the ELCA link is here). These gatherings are asking vital questions, such as "What is mission?" and "Who is the neighbor?" particularly in a world of migration and immigration. We talked about the changing world of mission work; missionary work does not have to be an exotic notion of colonizing a far-away land, but mission can happen in the pews, immediately outside the walls of the church. She is working to create spaces where people can share their feelings, thoughts, and ideas concerning ideas of modern mission. Trinity Lutheran Seminary is going to be the first seminary to host a Glocal Gathering. I think speaking of Glocal Mission is vital for future church leaders; when she told me that there was a seminary participating, I was excited that a ministry experience was being brought to future church leaders. I think Glocal experiences should not be limited to a cross-cultural requirement, but that mission work should be integral to theological education.

We also spoke on issues of diversity and responsibility. How can the church become more diverse? We talked about the continuing paradigm shifts in ministry, but we also talked about coming from a tradition of reformation. The church, in light of recent economic problems, is being forced to reform. We also talked about Martin Luther; what would happen if he walked into a present-day ELCA church? What would he say? 

Meeting Sunitha and having the opportunity to speak with her was such an incredible experience which parleyed to last night's discussion with Jennifer and Jennifer's friend. This experience continues to be an incredible experience and blessing.