Can We Talk?

A couple of weeks ago, I attended a Can We Talk session, a monthly community event that fosters connection and empowers individuals to take an active role in helping themselves and others. The evening began with a community dinner filled with engaging conversation and excellent food, and then transitioned into the main sanctuary of the church, where we were invited to share freely, listen carefully, and hold sacred space.

Along with maintaining strict confidentiality, another important feature of the process is not providing commentary after a person has shared. When a person was finished sharing, our response was to simply hold their truth in the silence of our hearts – to be with each other without judgment or critique.

As I was driving home, I was reminded of how many of the religious spaces of my childhood and youth operated in exactly the opposite way. They were organized around right thinking and theological principles, about defining boundaries, and determining who was in and who was out. Now, don’t get me wrong – I have a deep love and appreciation for theological and philosophical reflection – it is an essential element to how I understand and express myself in the world.

At the same time, I have come to embrace a kind of creative ambiguity – a notion that the intersectionality of life flows in infinite directions, and that all that is bound up in our mutual experience of humanity informs and is informed by the ways in which we move and have our being.

The Rhode Island State Council of Churches stands at a unique crossroads – we inhabit a diverse set of spaces, both as an institution and as the people who do its work. And yet, it is also a time of tremendous creative ambiguity; a time for us to continue to learn, grow, and serve; and a time to live into our very best principles while expanding the community of love and inclusion.