Gathering Imaginations: A Faithful Tending of the Vine
Day 1: A Reflection by Rev. Dr. David S. Bell
In the tender light of early morning, the vineyard was quiet. The earth hummed with life, a place where grace could be cultivated and vision could ripen over time. As noonday approached, the vineyard in the urban greenhouse high above the street awakened to the buzz and pollen of human voices. At Gathering Imaginations, we found ourselves gathered, much like vines in a sprawling vineyard, to reflect, grieve, heal, and dream. The work of tending and grafting was real-time work, rooted in both patience and urgency – a convergence of theology, crisis, and the practical math of the world we inhabit.
We began by acknowledging the heaviness in the air – the weight of the Administration and its impact on many of our organizations. Too often, in the pursuit of efficiency, the lifeblood of creativity and justice gets drained, leaving a barren land where vision once flourished. But in our grief, we also found the buds of healing justice, a reminder that ripening takes time, and true fruitfulness comes only through care, perseverance, and an openness to growth.
The conference was a space of mutuality, where radical generosity and enemy love became our guiding lights. We realized that the vineyard is not just about the harvest of today, but about how we sow, nurture, and tend the soil for generations to come. As the birds chirped in the space around us, we were reminded that nature speaks in rhythms we must learn to follow. We experienced a gathering of intention, for when we live in abundance, we are called to give, to connect, and to live with the intention that invites flourishing, not scarcity.
In this community, we reflected on business models and how organizations spend money, recognizing that the way resources flow through our institutions is a direct reflection of their mission. Perspective, we saw, has a shelf life, and so we must continually adjust our lenses, seeing not only the vines we tend today but the vineyard that will stretch far beyond us. The true work of leadership is to look for an heir, someone who will carry the vision forward and tend the land long after we have gone.
We acknowledged that first approaches can feel like inside, single solutions to complex problems, but the truth is far more expansive. The world of connection asks us to think beyond mere solutions and towards mutual flourishing. In a world of mutuality, we live as though the needs of others are just as important as our own. In this generosity, we build resistance to the diseases that threaten community: fear, greed, and isolation.
As we stood together under the canopy of branches, we saw that the vineyard, much like God’s Kingdom, cannot be centralized or isolated; it must be distributed – a network of interdependent vines, all growing toward the light. We recognized that the way we handle real estate – the spaces we inhabit – directly impacts how we handle injustices in the world. How we build, how we share, how we welcome the stranger into our midst, all of this is part of the tending of the earth.
We spoke of Mãnoa, the place of welcoming strangers to a new place, and how there is a deep gap in empathy in many of our churches. This gap must be bridged, not just with resources but with genuine openness, humility, and a readiness to listen. For in welcoming others, we ourselves are grafted into a vine much greater than we could have imagined on our own.
And as we came to the closing of our time together, we saw that perspective shifts. Our imaginations have been stretched. What we once believed about growth, about resources, about the possibilities of the Kingdom of God, is now richer, deeper, and more connected. Our first day was a call to each of us to return to our own vines and tend them well, for the fruitfulness of tomorrow depends on how we tend today.
Gathering Imaginations: A Learning Journey
Day 2: A Reflection by Rev. Dr. David S. Bell
Take a breath. In this stillness, let the weight of the moment settle within you. Great is thy faithfulness, an eternal truth that anchors us amidst the shifts and changes of life. As we embrace the transitions before us, we see clearly that transition lenses are not just for our eyes, but for our souls. We focus our view on God's shining love that is always present, even in the most uncertain times. We are all a living epistle, each of us a testimony to God’s work in the world, written through the choices we make and the love we extend.
In a world that seems divided by opportunity and hope, we are called to reflect on the land of little opportunity but great hope and the land of great opportunity but little hope. Both worlds exist around us, but God is at work, showing us that God’s presence can make all things possible. We remember that the church is the greatest deployment center on earth – an outpost of love, a place from which we are sent to embody what is possible in Christ. Come, be what’s possible, and together we will build a world rooted in the possibility of God's kingdom here and now.
However, we must not be distracted by the noise. We have to stop entertaining agendas that pull us off course. Instead, let us choose to love one another and to serve with solutions, not just words. In our encounter with each other, we see the energy invested in each person and each space, knowing that together we can create a world full of rich-u-well – where well-being, richness of spirit, and purpose converge.
We are now witnessing greatness. We are drawn not just to the greatness of the work being done, but to the potential that lies ahead. This is a lifelong learning journey – one where we grow and evolve together. It reminds us that being a good neighbor means actively living out that community is love in practice – not just in words, but in action and sacrifice for one another.
In this journey, we must recenter power to provide access and agency. It is time to return humbly to neighborhoods that institutions have abandoned, to restore relationships, and to provide what has been lacking: care, compassion, and commitment. We learn by listening and walking with people in their struggles and triumphs. The social bank for the common good is more than just an idea; it is a movement that calls us to invest ourselves deeply in one another.
We learn by listening. As we walk together through these streets and spaces, we discover that true community is built on listening and understanding. The church has long been quick to offer a sense of community, but now it is time to ask: What if we not only offer community, but live it?
Comprehensive community development transforms our understanding of the world around us. It challenges us to not just engage, but to truly change minds. It compels us to rethink our approach and to take action rooted in asset-based community development – a model where we uplift what people already bring to the table, fostering trust, security, and a space for innovation to flourish.
Basic necessities lead to trust, and from trust flows security. Security breeds innovation, and in this space, we realize that we need each other. We are incomplete without one another. Margins and the center often are shifting. As we grow, we learn that just like buds need a root stock, our lives need a deeper connection to one another. We need to graft onto the larger community and to Christ.
The end game is not the perpetuation of our own institutions, but the work of God in the world. We need to find the front doors of the church that are truth-telling. We must reflect: What weapons do we need to lay down to be made whole? This question calls us to humility and openness, letting go of everything that hinders our wholeness in Christ. Take courage, for courage is not simply something we have, but something we find. Find courage, and in finding it, be encouraged.
As long as our hearts are burning, it might just be Jesus calling us to a new direction, a deeper commitment, a new phase in our collective journey. Trust and follow our intuition, for God speaks to us in those quiet moments, guiding us toward the next step.
We close with these ends: The bud of truth on the front end and the root stock of tradition on the back end. The truth of God’s love, justice, and mercy must lead us, while the sacred of the institution holds us grounded to our roots. Truthfulness and institutional memory provide a balanced way forward – one that acknowledges where we’ve been while courageously walking into the future. Our calling is to live and share the truth of God's kingdom and to make space for all to find their place within it.
And so, we walk together, committed to the vision of grafting as our way forward. With God’s soil of guidance and joy, we will live out the fullness of what God has called us to be.
At Gathering Imaginations, we didn’t simply learn or listen – we lived in the vineyard. We learned that the work is long, the challenges are real, but the vision of justice and generosity is worth every moment of labor. And so, as we leave, we carry with us the truth that ripening takes time, and in time, our grafting will bear fruit. The vineyard is waiting. The work is now.