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Sermons for the New Millennium, 1996 The Muttart Fellowships Sermons for the New Millennium the New Sermons for Martin Garber-Conrad Sermons for the New Millennium Martin Garber-Conrad Price $10.00 M Printed in Canada Each item in The Muttart Fellowship Products Series carries “the look” designed for the program. The concept incorporating pebbles and water fits with the Zen-like qualities of the visual identity of the Fellowship Program. Each front-cover pebble is different—representing the uniqueness of each fellow and what s/he has to offer. Applicants are like pebbles among pebbles. After each is refreshed and renewed through the Fellowship year, s/he has an impact on the nonprofit charitable sector like the rings the pebble creates on a pond of water. The varied use of this design recognizes the individuality of the Fellows while also creating a unified look to the Muttart Fellowship Products Series. The Muttart Fellowship Program—unique in Canada—was created in 1996. A project of The Muttart Foundation, a private foundation based in Edmonton, Alberta, the program is designed to: • develop research and other materials that will benefit the charitable sector in Canada. • provide senior managers within the social-services sector with an opportunity for a sabbatical year—a chance to recharge and renew themselves. Up to five fellowships are awarded each year to people working in senior-management positions in social-service charities within the Foundation’s funding area—Alberta, Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories and Yukon. During the Fellowship year, the Fellow leaves his or her agency to work on the chosen project. The Foundation makes a grant equal to the salary and benefit costs for the Fellow’s position, and provides a budget for expenses related to the project. At the end of the Fellowship year, the Fellow returns to his or her agency for at least a year. For more information about the project, please contact: Executive Director The Muttart Foundation 1150 Scotia Place 1 10060 Jasper Avenue Edmonton, Alberta T5J 3R8 M Sermons for the New Millennium Martin Garber-Conrad 1997 Muttart Fellow Edmonton, Alberta September 1999 Published by: The Muttart Foundation ©Rights to this material are held by The Muttart Foundation. Permission is granted to any not-for-profit organization to use the material, in whole or in part, for any non-commercial purpose, provided that credit is given to the author and to the Foundation. Permission for any other use must be obtained from The Muttart Foundation. The opinions expressed in this material are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the The Muttart Foundation’s Board of Directors. Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data Garber-Conrad, Martin Earl, 1949- Sermons for the new millenium Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-9687041-0-7 1. Nonprofit oganizations--Management. I Muttart Foundation. II. Title. HD2769.15.G37 2000 658’.048 00-900726-1 …offering a jazz player’s solution to radical problems of democracy in a land based on breaking with Old World history while creating the new. “We seek not perfection,” he says, “but coordination. Not sterile stability but creative momentum. Ours is a youthful sector*; the perfection we seek is futuristic and to be made manifest in creative action. ”The solution, in other words, is to remain resilient in the face of the blues—ready to improvise, ready to coordinate, ready to swing. God “always plans for the loooong haul,” Hickman preaches in the brilliant Juneteenth-day sermon. – Robert G. O’Meally’s review of Ralph Ellison’s Juneteenth, in The Atlantic Monthly, July, 1999 [*Note: “sector” is substituted for “nation” in the original.] Contents Contents Introduction: Sermon as Literary Form . 1 Practitioner on Sabbatical: Reflections of an Ersatz-Academic. 3 Other Places are the Same as Here, only Different . 9 Does Size Matter?. 15 Privatization and Contracting Out: What the New Zealand Experience Might Tell Us about our Future . 25 The Future of the Sector? We Don’t Even Know What’s Going on Now! . 33 A Personal Plea to Budding Social Entrepreneurs . 43 Short Meditations . 47 Bibliography. 57 Appendix “A”: Reading Lists . 71 Appendix “B”: The Edinburgh Letters . 81 Introduction: Sermon as Literary Form Introduction: Sermon as Literary Form In traditional Christian theology the sermon is a proclamation of the Good News. More than information transfer or philosophical argument, it is understood as an “event” that calls forth a response in the hearer to the Good News embodied in the sermon. This proclamation is not just for the faithful—the “insiders”—but is for anyone “who has ears to hear.” In more general terms, a sermon is a discreet piece of communication, crafted for a particular audience, calling for a change in thinking, believing, or acting. A sermon is primarily an instance of oral communication, although from the very early days sermons have been written down and shared beyond the group of original hearers. Nevertheless, its roots in oral communication—proclamation, delivery, rhetorical devices, limited length, and a particular audience—are never far below the surface of the written version. 1 I had actually hoped to write essays or at least journalism. But what goes on in my head is speaking with people face-to-face-and eliciting a response (although, as is the case with traditional sermons, the response may happen in another time and place). Nevertheless, the dialogical quality is of considerable importance and the response is an essential part of the event that a sermon intends to be. So, I fantasized about writing essays but what came out was sermons. Perhaps not surprising considering my professional background. Not too full of pious platitudes; not overly long; having some connection with the present reality of the implied audience but pointing beyond that reality. Calling for action, even if only the quiet acts of reflection or further inquiry. A few of these sermons have already been delivered to various audiences. At least two more of them were crafted with a particular future audience in mind. Audiences are always mixed, including both the faithful and inquirers from elsewhere. These sermons have tried to keep both groups in mind although I expect they will be of somewhat more interest to folks within the sector or at least with some connection to it. Elements from several sermons can also be recombined in various ways for specific purposes. Most sermons are based on a text —a brief and often traditional portion of the religion’s scripture. Our sector has few classic texts, even fewer with the power and provenance of the best religious literature. So these sermons don’t have explicit, strictly-delineated texts. What I have included at the end of each piece is a couple of suggestions for further reading. I hope this will be more useful than a lengthy bibliography, although that is included as well in the appendix. People attend to sermons because the values embodied in the event are important to them or, at least, of potential interest. (Unless they are children who, research suggests, go because their mother makes them.) It is my hope that the reader will hear something with which to begin or extend the conversation about the importance of the non- profit sector to our life together as citizens of our communities, our country and our world. Conversation, reflection, action. And, if there’s a jazz player around, perhaps we can even swing! Martin Garber-Conrad Edmonton, Canada 2 September 15, near the end of the millennium Chapter 1 Practitioner on Sabbatical: Reflections of an Ersatz-Academic Practitioner on Sabbatical: Reflections of an Ersatz-Academic First things first. This article discusses how it felt to be inside my sabbatical—the differences and similarities between the fellowship year and the rest of my life since I became employed in the non-profit sector in 1987 at Edmonton City Centre Church Corporation (ECCCC). As executive director, I have complete nominal control over my work schedule. The reality, however, is that most of my days are spent in meetings, often five or six per day. Taking phone calls, reading mail, and writing responses of various types fills the rest, as well as many evenings. Committee meetings are governed by convention or constrained by others’ schedules. One-on-one meetings can, theoretically, be scheduled anytime, but the volume 3 quickly leads to the daily rate noted above. The first difference I noted on sabbatical was the freedom of having nothing to do. No meetings, no schedule, no project deadlines. It was a little disconcerting but I adjusted rather quickly. The way I adjusted was by developing a loose routine in Wellington (mid-January to mid- March). Breakfast, or at least espresso, first thing in the morning, then back to my flat to explore the internet until early afternoon. Then lunch and, perhaps, a visit to some place of interest. Late afternoon was usually time for reading and a beer at a local cafe. Supper and some TV after or more reading. I finally figured out cricket while in New Zealand because TV fare was limited to three and a half channels. Night life was almost non-existent in downtown Wellington although there was a cozy little wine bar that was open in the early evening. In bed by 10 or 11 p.m. I began getting 8 or 9 hours of sleep each night—a significant departure from the previous decade! The second difference was social. I knew only one couple in all of the South Pacific and they lived in Christchurch on the South Island. I made a couple of non-profit sector contacts on the internet but didn’t meet them in person until near the end of my stay.
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