Paradise Lost—Or Paradigm Shift?

Do you remember when “paradigm shift” was the big buzzword in the 1990s? Paradigm shifts are happening still. As a matter of fact, one is happening big time at St. Mary’s right now.

Paradigm shift is how we perceive the world is changing around us. Rhea Y. Miller, in her book, Cloudhand, Clenched Fist: Chaos, Crisis, and the Emergence of Community, observes that change “is not so much a matter of a change in the content of our world as it is a shift in our understanding.” In our experience at St. Mary’s, Ms. Miller is a little bit right and a little bit wrong.

Our content has changed. Because we’re a community, our content is dynamic, as we experience families moving away and moving in on an almost yearly basis. This year, the content of St. Mary’s changed when three dear families (the Chances, the Everetts, and the Hallinans) moved away over the summer. It will continue to change as new families visit and hopefully join us as we move into the coming fall and winter.

Another matter of content that can be a cause of concern is the organizations that provide us with income through donations for use of space. Here, too, there are changes in the offing. This past spring, Chappaqua Children’s Workshop (CCW) decided to discontinue the program that was using our space. CCW was a wonderful tenant and provided us with a nice stream of revenue. We’ll miss them. But already two other organizations have approached us and begun using our space, making up a good bit of that lost revenue.

But Rhea Miller is right in saying that paradigm shift concerns how we understand the world. Our perceptions go a very long way in helping us to discern how to react to change and cope with it. We can approach this fall with a chilling sense of apprehension because of the loss of three significant families as well as a strong tenant. If we do, we’ll send a corresponding chill through our programming in areas like Outreach, Christian Education, and Music.

But I don’t think that is going to happen at St. Mary’s. There is too much positive energy here for us to dwell on the negative aspects of change. Our losses are significant, but we can turn losses into challenges and rise to meet them.

So much that is wonderful happens here when we gather together in worship, in work, and in play. St. Mary’s is a community with an indomitable spirit and a deep love and concern for one another and for those less fortunate than ourselves. When Andi Tilman, our consultant from Holliman and Associates, was meeting with the Vestry in August, she kept telling us that St. Mary’s had the feel of family. I think she got it right.

So I’m looking forward to shifting paradigms together with you this fall! We have a great Christian Education program lined up for our children and youth. In October, adults will be treated to a insightful journey through Dante’s Inferno by Dr. Mary Refling, who teaches Italian at Fordham. And we’ll have plenty of opportunities to work in outreach (the Pumpkin Patch, A-Home, the Women’s Shelter, the Bedford Correctional Facility) and have fun together (the Auction Dinner)—and all of that is before Christmas!

I hope you will jump in and shift a few paradigms with us as we return from our various summer journeys to reenergize our fantastic community.

Joel t