What's YOUR faithful response to God's defining moment?

Make no mistake, EVERY moment can be God's defining moment ... but there are moments we become more aware of that possibility. They are usually moments where our foundations are shaken, where the things that make us feel secure are stripped away, where we realize how much we really cannot make it on our own, and how much we really need each other ... and God.

The world will call these moments of crisis, moments of fear. But for us, Christ's Church, they are moments of opportunity. They are moments of chaos and uncomfortability where if we respond out of faith and not out of fear, we can let God use us to tranform the world.

We're in one of those moments right now. A global economic system based on hyperconsumption is predictably collapsing under its own weight. Decades of going into debt trying to find meaning through buying more and using income growth as the only measure of progress has led us to the brink not just of economic collapse but spiritual poverty.

It is a moment of crisis. It is a moment of fear. But more than that, it is a moment of great opportunity. This is God's defining moment. And we cannot be silent.

We are all crew of the Ship of Fools that is the Church ... and it's time for all hands on deck.

At Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation's board meeting last week, what emerged through our prayer and conversation was not a new mission for EGR ... but a focus for that mission. Our opportunity -- and that means you -- is to lead the Church in grasping this moment of economic crisis as God's defining moment, a moment where we don't run in fear from the shaking of the foundations but stand fearlessly firm and proclaim the Good News that what can rise from this is a world not of not riches for the few but abundant life for all.

What does that look like? That's where we need your help. That's where we need all hands on deck. We need you to pray, study, dream, think, discuss, experiment, create ... use all the gifts God has given you to discern what a faithful response to this defining moment in time might be.

This includes, but is not limited to:

*Practical, simple, actions and choices we can make as individuals, families, congregations, dioceses and as a Church to reject the call to fear and step out in faith for a world where "all may have life and have it in all its fullness."

*Educational and programmatic responses for our communities that can open our eyes to the theological reality and opportunity of this defining moment.

*Creative expression (music, painting, scultpture, poetry, whatever your media might be) that can engage people in Christ's presence in this moment and Christ's call to us in the midst of it.

*Papers or shorter musings on the theological and scriptural foundations for an economic system that benefits all humanity.

*Opportunities for building global relationship that can be transformative.

*Things you have tried -- whether you think they have worked or not -- to try to live faithfully in this time of crisis and opportunity.

Share any and all of these things -- and anything else that addresses what a faithful response to God's defining moment of now might be -- with us by sending them to EGR at MKinman@gmail.com. In turn, we will do what EGR does ... take the wisdom God has given you and make it available to all.

It is time for all hands on deck. And that means you are a critical part of figuring out what God is calling us to do and who God is calling us to be in this defining moment. We can't wait to see what happens next!

How do you know what you are?

by Laura Amendola

I must confess that my reflection comes from a sermon my dear priest, Bill Van Oss, preached last Sunday that has stuck with me and caused me to contemplate in the past few days. He spoke on Sunday about his daughter who is around six years old. This amazing little girl, Luisa, was having a conversation with another young girl in the backseat of her dad's car on the way to a birthday party. As they passed a church, Luisa asked her friend what church she attended. Her friend looked a little confused and said she didn't have a church. Luisa replied with a question "What do you do on Sunday mornings then?" Her friend said she did nothing on Sunday mornings. Luisa replied back with yet another astonishing question.

"Then how do you know what you are?"

Now, of course, Luisa was speaking about what denomination her friend was. Being a priest's child and all, I assume she's well aware even at a young age that there are many colors of God's mosaic such as Catholics, Lutherans, Jews, Muslims, etc. But her question floored me. I grew up without a church. In fact, our family was very against the whole God thing, and it wasn't until I was in my early 20's that I felt a longing for a relationship with God. My heart ached for that little girl in the backseat of the car, and it brought me to tears on Sunday. How do we know what we are if we don't have a mirror in front of us to look into? People like Lusia who are bold enough to ask tough questions are such a mirror.

I strongly believe that the Millennium Development Goals are a defining point in our Christian lives. Our Presiding Bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori, sums it up best when she says that the MDG's are our eight promises to a broken world. This world is broken because not enough people are asking the tough questions that long to be answered. "How do we know what we are?" is a question that makes me ponder what is it that defines me as a 25-year-old Christian who lives a decent life and doesn't have to think about things such as extreme poverty, dirty drinking water, or the inability to have an education.

A few years ago, someone asked me in so many words "How do you know what you are?" The question terrified me. However, with a supportive community, and a leap of faith I decided to find out who I was. The MDG's became a very strong promise I've decided to make in my realationship with the rest of this broken world. It has defined how I've chosen to live my life. Who I've decided to surround myself with. Where I've decided to donate time, talent, and treasure. And most important, it has helped me create a life that doesn't have me in the center, but instead has God.

I encourage you all this day to take time throughout your busy schedule to think about what you are. Maybe even be bold enough to ask someone else what they are. I know one little girl who does this. And one day she's going to change someone's whole life with that question.

Laura Amendola is a small business owner in Duluth, MN. Baptized in 2003, she was introduced to the Episcopal Church shortly after she was introduced to Christianity and has "absolutely fallen in love with the Church and the journey it has brought me on." Laura was a delegate to the 2006 Anglican Observer Leadership Conference and official Episcopal Church representative to the Toward Effective Anglican Mission conference -- a worldwide Anglican Communion conference on the Millennium Development Goals in Boksburg, South Africa in March 2007. She is a member of the EGR board.

Tomorrow: Jenn Morazes