I think about emergence a lot. To emerge means new life and vitality; fragility and tenderness; new perspectives and openness. Emerging means transformation: of body, mind, spirit and community. The call to emerge is at the heart of our life as spiritual creatures.
Emergence recognizes that there is a problem; to emerge, we must emerge from something. As a member of a new Quaker church in the heart of Washington, DC, it is not hard to identify things that we are called to move out of: We witness daily humanity's greed and lust for power; we feel the pressure to lead accelerated, over-burdened lives; we are lured by materialism and spurred by ingratitude. We are beset on all sides by attitudes, situations and structures that we know to be contrary to God's intention, yet are unable to remedy through our own efforts.
In our context, to emerge means holding a space for transformation. In the truest sense of the word, our little church is emerging. Through our prayers and faith God is creating an opportunity for something radically different to come to life in our city. We are a becoming a channel through which the Kingdom of God can be born.
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