This is the first PowerPoint presentation that Tom Brackett offered to the Episcopal Church in Vermont, during their Annual Convention in November 2013, at the Cathedral in Burlington.

2. Session #1
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Stirrings of the what?!

3. “I live to serve the Spirit in all of creation
by being a loving, compassionate,
courageous, playful & provocative midwife
to the Spirit's life and joy that are longing
to be birthed in this moment.”

4. “For the birds”

5. Consider the following stories …
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. . . how might we rewrite them, today,
given what we now know?

6. There was a priest named Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth
who had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and
both were getting on in years. Once when he was serving
as priest there appeared to him an angel of the Lord and
when Zechariah saw him, he was terrified; and fear
overwhelmed him. But the angel said to him, ‘Do not be
afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your
wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him
John. Zechariah said to the angel, ‘How will I know that
this is so? For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in
years.’ The angel replied, ‘I am Gabriel. I stand in the
presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and
to bring you this good news. But now, because you did not
believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you
will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these
things occur.’
Briefly review each story....then have them break up into groups and name the clues that they see to the stirring of the Spirit, to God at work, clue that they could apply to the world today.
5-7 minutes in pairs or groups, then sharing with the larger group.
Gather their clues and wrap them into the clues/evidence listed below:
!
Getting clear about the evidence
disturbance, disruption and dissonance.
fruits of the Spirit - are they still enough?
language is not enough - we need whole body engagement: “How do you ‘smell’ God @ work?”

7. • How was Zechariah caught off guard?
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• Why was he surprised?
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• In his own voice, declare how things
would go differently, were this to happen
again.
Briefly review each story....then have them break up into groups and name the clues that they see to the stirring of the Spirit, to God at work, clue that they could apply to the world today.
5-7 minutes in pairs or groups, then sharing with the larger group.
Gather their clues and wrap them into the clues/evidence listed below:
!
Getting clear about the evidence
disturbance, disruption and dissonance.
fruits of the Spirit - are they still enough?
language is not enough - we need whole body engagement: “How do you ‘smell’ God @ work?”

8. Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called
Emmaus and talking with each other about all these things that
had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus
himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept
from recognizing him. And he said to them, ‘What are you
discussing with each other while you walk along?’ They stood
still, looking sad. Then one answered him, ‘Are you the only
stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have
taken place there in these days?’
!
Then he said to them, ‘Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of
heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Then he
interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.
Later, when he was at the table with them, he took bread,
blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were
opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their
sight. They said to each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning
within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was
opening the scriptures to us?’
Briefly review each story....then have them break up into groups and name the clues that they see to the stirring of the Spirit, to God at work, clue that they could apply to the world today.
5-7 minutes in pairs or groups, then sharing with the larger group.
Gather their clues and wrap them into the clues/evidence listed below:
!
Getting clear about the evidence
disturbance, disruption and dissonance.
fruits of the Spirit - are they still enough?
language is not enough - we need whole body engagement: “How do you ‘smell’ God @ work?”

9. How were these two travelers caught off guard in
this encounter?
!
Why were they?
!
In his own voice, declare how things would go
differently, were this to happen again.

10. 2 Kings 7: Now there were four leprous men
outside the city gate, who said to one another,
‘Why should we sit here until we die? If we
say, “Let us enter the city”, the famine is in
the city, and we shall die there; but if we sit
here, we shall also die. Therefore, let us
desert to the Aramean camp; if they spare our
lives, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall
but die.’ So they arose at twilight to go to the
Aramean camp; but when they came to the
edge of the Aramean camp, there was no one
there at all.
Briefly review each story....then have them break up into groups and name the clues that they see to the stirring of the Spirit, to God at work, clue that they could apply to the world today.
5-7 minutes in pairs or groups, then sharing with the larger group.
Gather their clues and wrap them into the clues/evidence listed below:
!
Getting clear about the evidence
disturbance, disruption and dissonance.
fruits of the Spirit - are they still enough?
language is not enough - we need whole body engagement: “How do you ‘smell’ God @ work?”

11. Completely different disruption.
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What made this outcome possible?
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Imagined enemies … ?

12. About noon the next day, as they were on their journey and
approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He
became hungry and wanted something to eat; and while it
was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw the
heaven opened and something like a large sheet coming
down, being lowered to the ground by its four corners. In it
were all kinds of four-footed creatures and reptiles and
birds of the air. Then he heard a voice saying, ‘Get up,
Peter; kill and eat.’ But Peter said, ‘By no means, Lord; for
I have never eaten anything that is profane or unclean.’ The
voice said to him again, a second time, ‘What God has made
clean, you must not call profane.’ This happened three
times, and the thing was suddenly taken up to heaven.
Briefly review each story....then have them break up into groups and name the clues that they see to the stirring of the Spirit, to God at work, clue that they could apply to the world today.
5-7 minutes in pairs or groups, then sharing with the larger group.
Gather their clues and wrap them into the clues/evidence listed below:
!
Getting clear about the evidence
disturbance, disruption and dissonance.
fruits of the Spirit - are they still enough?
language is not enough - we need whole body engagement: “How do you ‘smell’ God @ work?”

13. How was Peter initially caught off guard in this
passage?
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Why do you think he was he surprised by the
Spirit’s offer?
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In the voice of Peter, declare how things would go
differently, were this to happen again.

14. Now when the Judean apostles and believers
heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word
of God, the circumcised believers criticized Peter,
saying, ‘Why did you go to uncircumcised men
and eat with them?’ Then Peter began to explain it
to them, step by step, “how that the Holy Spirit
fell upon them just as it had upon us at the
beginning.” (He asked) “If then God gave them
the same gift that he gave us when we believed in
the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could
hinder God?” When they heard this, they were
silenced. And they praised God, saying, “Then
God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance
that leads to life.”
Briefly review each story....then have them break up into groups and name the clues that they see to the stirring of the Spirit, to God at work, clue that they could apply to the world today.
5-7 minutes in pairs or groups, then sharing with the larger group.
Gather their clues and wrap them into the clues/evidence listed below:
!
Getting clear about the evidence
disturbance, disruption and dissonance.
fruits of the Spirit - are they still enough?
language is not enough - we need whole body engagement: “How do you ‘smell’ God @ work?”

15. What happened to Peter?

16. These biblical texts offer us
clues to the way that the Spirit
stirs our waters!
!
These biblical texts offer us clues to the way that the Spirit stirs our waters: “Spirit Stirrings” = Emergence (God’s dreams emerging through the chaos of our times.)

17. What is the common thread
of evidence that shows up in
each of these stories?
What helps you notice when
it is God doing the stirring?

18. How are we to embrace
God’s dreams that are
longing to be birthed in
our midst?
How are we to embrace God’s dreams that are longing to be birthed in our midst?

19. STARTING PLACES
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Answer Jesus’ invitation to Peter by stepping out of the boat and on to the water.

20. STARTING PLACES
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Learn to anticipate the disruptions of the Spirit.
!
Answer Jesus’ invitation to Peter by stepping out of the boat and on to the water.

21. STARTING PLACES
!
Learn to anticipate the disruptions of the Spirit.
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Appreciatively & compassionately ask:
!
What do we cherish and hold onto?
What do we let go of?
What do we learn to love in new ways?
Answer Jesus’ invitation to Peter by stepping out of the boat and on to the water.

22. STARTING PLACES
!
Learn to anticipate the disruptions of the Spirit.
!
Appreciatively & compassionately ask:
!
What do we cherish and hold onto?
What do we let go of?
What do we learn to love in new ways?
!
Stay close to the simplest and most practical
expressions of the Good News!
Answer Jesus’ invitation to Peter by stepping out of the boat and on to the water.

23. Resources:
For the Birds is a 2000 animated short film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and
directed by Ralph Eggleston. It won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in
2001.[1] It premiered on June 5, 2000, at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival
in France,[2] and was shown alongside a theatrical release of the 2001 Disney/Pixar
feature film Monsters, Inc.[2]
The Dream of God: A Call to Return
(by Verna J. Dozier)
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Changing the Conversation: A Third Way for Congregations
(by Anthony B. Robinson )
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Theory U: Leading from the Future as It Emerges
(by C. Otto Scharmer)
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A Whack on the Side of the Head
(by Roger VonOech) stcherry2 c4th3dr41

24. The Rev. Thomas Brackett
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New Church Starts & Missional Initiatives
Episcopal Church Center
815 2nd Ave.
New York, NY 10017
646-203-6266
tbrackett@episcopalchurch.org
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Schedule a phone call or meeting with Tom here: http://doodle.com/TomBrackett
Tom offers a blog at http://5marks.org/blog/
Skype: thomasbrackett
Twitter: @tombrackett
http://5marks.org/