Living Our Faith in South Minneapolis - One Vision
Interview with Pastor Judy Burgett-Winzig
By Jim Seller
Interview with Pastor Judy Burgett-Winzig
By Jim Seller
This is the first in a series of interviews of City South Cluster Ministries (CSCM) leaders. Each one will explore a personal vision of the CSCM mission statement, "Living our faith in Christ together through service in South Minneapolis." Our first interview is with Pastor Judy Burgett-Winzig of Epiphany Church.
Pastor Judy is not only the Pastor of Epiphany; she is one of two interim pastors at El Milagro, and she represents Epiphany on the CSCM Board of Directors. For this article she has chosen to discuss collaboration, a gift which is sometimes called collegiality. She sees that this is what CSCM is, in essence, so it interests her before most other aspects of our organization. In the sections that follow, we'll discuss Pastor Judy's definition of this process, her experiences with collaborative ministry, and have her share some of her vision of what thie process could create.
We have found that collaboration is something that takes time to accomplish; it takes nurturing, and there must be a desire to do it. This is a process, a growing process, amongst all the parties. Often this requires that individuals and congregations must put away their egos and focus on thinking for the common good. This is not a new or radical idea: it's what the New Testament church did.
The process of collaboration involves learning who each other is, trusting what and who we are when we work together, and also celebrating who we can be in the communities we serve. It is always healthier to be intentional in sharing our resources, gifts, and outreach as well as our burdens.
We must realize that the buildings and staff that are so central to our separate assemblies do not have to change, even with 100% collaboration, but the meaning or use of them changes. The difference is that all is then focused on the greater good. La Conexion is a good example of collaboration succeeding. This is something that could not have been developed into as strong a program by any single member of the Cluster.
The Cluster is not about survival, because if this were the purpose, then the Our Redeemer changes happened in vain. The gift Our Redeemer has bequeathed to the Cluster and the community through their spirit is a new expression of the church. They did this for the sake of the greater community and we thank them.
Judy's background has a thread of collegiality woven throughout. Thinking back, we started CSCM with the idea of having a 'no compete' clause. We felt that way because we have seen that competition is not fruitful, and that it thwarts rather than creates the permanent linkages that are so fruitful. Again and again Judy remembers seeing church isolationism that did not work and collaboration that did.
When asked for her Scriptural grounding for these ideas, without hesitation she quotes Acts 2:41-47. "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship...All the believers were together and had everything in common, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God."
Pastor Judy's vision of collegiality is most vividly expressed by imagining the day when each congregation will have a sign on its outside wall. "City South Cluster Ministries/[insert church name] Branch: We are living our faith in Christ together through service in South Minneapolis."
