From Consumers to Citizens

01/18/24 • 20 min

In an era where many of us feel the fabric of community fraying, Rev. Peggy Clarke and DRE Jil Novenski engage in a rich discussion on reimagining our engagement in religious and societal structures. This episode is not just a conversation; it's a call to rediscover our roles within collective spaces and enact meaningful change. The dialogue delves into the transition from a consumer model defined by individualism to engaged, interdependent citizen models that can promote both accountability and community within our churches.

Rev. Peggy and Jil dissect the existing paradigms—subject, consumer, and citizen—revealing the intricacies of each and the urgent need for change. They imagine churches as havens for the practice of genuine, collaborative humanity in a world teetering on the brink of authoritarianism. Part of the mission of disrupting church is to remake our church communities as a tapestry of relationships built on need, reciprocity, and a beacon of communities woven together through love and resilience. And this is where we start.

You can find out more about the Disrupt Church idea and watch the workshop that launched this conversation here. To join the conversation on Facebook, click here. You can find the podcast on many other platforms, and we encourage you to do so - every subscription, download, rating, and review really helps us get the word out and reach new people who might be interested in these conversations.

If you found this episode valuable, insightful, or just entertaining, we hope you will consider sending it to a friend or fellow congregant wherever you call your spiritual home.

If you found this episode valuable, insightful, or just entertaining, we hope you will consider sending it to a friend or fellow congregant wherever you call your spiritual home.

Previous Episode

The Things that Keep Us Stuck

Happy New Year! On today's (short) episode, Rev. Peggy and DRE Jil rattle off a list of factors that keep churches stuck in old patterns that may not be serving their best interests. And we are not focusing on Community Church here - we will hear stories from several different communities that shed light on some of the behaviors, attitudes, and traditions that make it difficult to move forward and change with the world. Peggy and Jil highlight the importance of examining and challenging existing systems, being open to new ideas and technologies, and addressing issues such as ego, attachment, entitlement, and fear. They also emphasize the need for honesty, collaboration, and setting boundaries to create a welcoming and inclusive church community.

If you found this episode valuable, insightful, or just entertaining, we hope you will consider sending it to a friend or fellow congregant wherever you call your spiritual home.

Next Episode

So, What Now?

In this season finale episode, Rev. Peggy Clarke and Jil Novenski are joined by Rev. Jude Geiger and Br. Zachary Stevens-Walter to discuss how to breathe new life into congregations and Unitarian Universalism. They explore the stuck places that churches can find themselves in and how to get unstuck by embracing change, flexibility, and stepping outside the walls of the church building.

The group dives into creating a sense of communal vitality, moving beyond an individualistic, consumerist model of church toward practices of mutual aid and sharing the joys and struggles of being human together. They examine the challenges of having courageous conversations about change, and the importance of finding new models of religious community suited for the world we want to live in, rather than replicating systems that aren't serving us well.

Peggy, Jil, Jude, Zachary, and producer Starling offer practical ideas for disruptive actions both within and outside existing congregations - from starting one-on-one values conversations, to doing acts of care and support, to making literal soup to share with others as an invitation into beloved community. Throughout, they raise the call for Unitarian Universalists to get activated as a positive force for change in the rising tides of alienation, loneliness, and difficult realities we face as a society.