A January 28, 2009 Gallup Poll entitled State of the States: Importance of Religion reports that when asked “Is religion an important part of your daily life?” 65% of Americans reported that religion is an important part of their daily lives. This conclusion was based on interviews of more than 350,000 participants around the country. The poll also breaks down responses to the same question state by state. Here the information gets a little more interesting. The poll finds that “Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee, Louisiana and Arkansas to be the most religious states in the nation, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts are the least religious.” In fact six out of the ten least religious states are located in the soon to be New England Conference. (VT 42%, NH 46%, ME 48%, MA 48%, AK 51%, WA 52%, OR 53%, RI 53%, NV 54%, CT 55%). (www.gallup.com)

I am of the opinion that this Gallup Poll reveals some deeper questions such as: What is the future of “religion” in New England? What is “religion” in New England? Why isn’t religion an important part of peoples daily lives in New England? While some like to believe that New England may be on the verge of a “religious revival” I am not sure the evidence would bear that out, but what if we were in the verge of a “spiritual revival?” That’s the question I would like to see answered, “Is spirituality an important part of your daily life?” I believe that the answer to that question would be vastly different.

One of the things I have learned over the years working alongside people in recovery, as well as in my own spiritual journey, is that addicts who identify themselves as Christians are often resistant to embrace step three in the twelve step program: “Made a decision to turn our will and lives over to the care of God as we understand God.” Some have speculated that this is because addicts who have been raised in the church note that they have already tried the “God stuff” and it hasn’t worked, thus creating a resistance to trust and an unwillingness to “do it again.” Others have noted that addicts who are also “religious” may be unwilling to let go of a childlike understanding/relationship with God; an unforgiving, punishing, judgmental, unlistening, and failed miracle God. In any case part of recovery is “reframing” a relationship with God that is personal, maturing and spiritually connected. It is the willingness to turn “will and lives” over to God, and letting something new develop that may have nothing to do with the past and may even make the future a little scary.

In my church travels I often hear churches discuss the need for new members along with the appropriate reasons why. The conversation is often about the needs of the church and not the spiritual needs of those who might be coming into fellowship. It is much like asking; Where is religion in your life, verses where is the working of the Holy Spirit in your life? When churches have assumed values of what it means to be “religious” or what it means to have “religion” in your daily life and try to impose it on others the result will often be a dying church. When a church understands the centrality of the Holy Spirit working, reshaping, reforming, recreating the body, exercising a mature and bold faith, the result is often that the church will grow. The “concept” is the same, at AA or UMC; it is about allowing God to direct us, and not us correcting God.

New England might not be the hotbed for a religious revival, but I am convinced that there is a spiritual awakening among us, the question for our churches is: Will we have the ability to adapt and allow the working of the Holy Spirit guide us deeper into something we don’t quite understand or will we try and assimilate the Spirit into the institution and extinguish the flame. It’s a personal question that requires turning oneself and the church over to God.

The Rhode Island State Council of Churches and the Providence Fire Department invited all interested persons to an update on the new fire code on Tuesday, February 24, 2009 at the Trinity United Methodist Church (375 Broad Street) in Providence from 8:30 to 10:00 AM. (Snow date will be on February 26, same time and location). Although this presentation will be lead by the Providence Fire Department and be of particular interest to houses of worship in Providence, the content will be valuable for ALL Rhode Island communities.

The purpose of this presentation is to provide information to the Place of Worship community, regarding the upcoming inspection process. Our goal is to assist and prepare the Places of Worship for inspection and streamline the process to help bring their facilities into compliance by the required deadline set forth by the Rhode Island Fire Laws.

Some of the topics the Providence Fire Department will be going over in detail are; new State fire code, time table for compliance, fire alarm requirements, cooking, sprinklers, open flame devices, fire extinguisher placement, emergency shelters, and more.

There is no cost for this event, but we would like to know how many people to expect so please send your name, place of worship and any specific questions to riscc@councilofchurchesri.org <mailto:riscc@councilofchurchesri.org> or call Dolores at 401-461-5558 before February 20, 2009 so we can have enough handouts and the answers to your questions.

Has the church been looking for “job descriptions” for leadership positions in the church? What is the “spiritual and leadership job description” for lay leader, parish nurse, scouting coordinator, and about twenty other positions in a local church? If this has been on your mind check out “United Methodist Job Descriptions and Leadership Training” by Betsy Heavnor.

If you have a small church school you might want to read; “Christian Education in the Small Membership Church” by Karen Tye. Good suggestions that help local churches move from “we don’t have any children” to learning to celebrate the children in your midst.

More than 300 million palm fronds are harvested each year for the U.S. alone, most of them for Palm Sunday or church-related events. In conventional palm harvesting, community members are hired by local contactors who then sell palms to large floral export firms. Payment to workers is based on volume, so harvesters are encouraged to gather a large number of palms without regard for the quality. As a result, up to 50% or more of the palms are later discarded because of poor quality, threatening the rainforest as more fronds than necessary are cut. However, in Guatemala and Mexico, an effort is under way to develop a new harvesting practice that protects the environment and minimizes direct impact on the natural forest, while providing a fair income for the workers.

The UM Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is partnering with the University of Minnesota to build support in the U.S. for the Eco-Palm Project, which is an effort of the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation and the University of Minnesota Center for Integrated Natural Resources and Agricultural Management. The project helps to sustain forestry, protect local jobs and helps preserve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers by ensuring fair wages. The Eco-Palms, as they are called, are harvested in a more sustainable way. Harvesters are trained to gather fronds in a way that allows the palm to continue to grow. The harvesters are also paid on the quality of the palms they harvest rather than the quantity, which helps to limit the amount of palms taken from the forest. Community members then sort and package their own palms, ensuring that more of the money paid for the palms actually goes to those who harvested them.

UMCOR supports fair prices for farmers and the investment in communities, people and environmental sustainability. To support the Eco-Palm Project, churches may purchase Eco-Palms for worship services on Palm Sunday. March 2, 2009, is the deadline; visit www.ecopalms.org or call the University of Minnesota at 612-624-7418.

In 2009, New Roots will give Capacity Building Grants to individual organizations and partnerships of organizations working in Providence, Kent, and Bristol counties. Grants will be used for activities that strengthen organizations and increase their ability to serve people in need. Faith-based and community-based organizations working in these communities are encouraged to apply.

The Request for Proposals, with instructions on applying for grants, will be available on February 9, 2009. You may download a copy from the New Roots web site: www.newrootsprovidence.org. You may also request a copy by sending an e-mail to Bernadette Tavares (btavares@provplan.org )


	Rhode Island / Southeastern Massachusetts District The Rev. Gary Shaw, 12 Bay Spring Avenue, Barrington RI 02806 rimds@neumc.org 401-246-1100, Fax: 401-246-0200