Last month 72 pastors and ministry workers participated in the Pastor’s 24 project. You can read more about it here. Basically it was a call for pastors to tweet about their ministry-related events during the day so people get an idea about what ministry really entails.
One of the joys that has come from that experiment is a desire to continue the experience with a different emphasis. Rev. Becca Clark has adapted the project into a call for people to tweet their joys in ministry as an acknowledgement of blessings. She calls it #OurExamen. I’ll let her explain:
It felt like an examen to me. The way I think of an examen may not be by-the-book Ignatian, but it is taking some time to reflect on the events of the day and determine when I felt closest to God or most connected to my calling (and sometimes, when I felt farthest away, because that’s important to know, too). What things lifted me up? For what do I give thanks? What do I give back to God? This exercise of tweeting my ministry helped me be aware of the silly things that were annoying or when I felt far from God/my calling, and the many things that were uplifting and sacred and drew me closer to God and who God is calling me to be as a pastor and a person… In our shared frustrations, I found some humor and consolation, and in our shared celebrations, I saw nothing short of the laborers in God’s vineyard.
The instructions are simple.
Spend time reflecting on (some people call this praying about!) the events of the past day or days. Ask yourself the following questions, or variations thereof:
– What lifted me up? Brought me closer to God? Affirmed my sense of calling?
– What dragged me down? When did I feel farthest from God and my sense of calling?
– What challenges did I face? What unresolved issues or tasks to I offer back to God?
– What do I want to celebrate? Bemoan? Share?…
Post whatever reflections you wish to your Twitter account, and include the hashtag (that’s the little #-plus-topic code that lets Twitter put all updates with the same category together in a common search) #ourexamen. That’s examen for the process, and our because we’re sharing it (and because #examen was already taken by every spanish-speaking person talking about exams).
If you want to participate, read her blog post here and post your updates using the #OurExamen hashtag on twitter. Enjoy!
A fascinating discussion is definitely worth comment.
I do believe that you need to publish more about this subject, it might not be a taboo subject but generally people don’t discuss such topics.
To the next! Cheers!!