- Goodwill and lighthearted rapport between or among friends; comradeship.
- Comradeship and loyalty.
- Close friendship in a group of friends or teammates.
Part of the task of pastoral formation is to encourage camaraderie among the clergy. It is not the chief goal or aim of such formation but it is an essential one, nonetheless. Yet how do you do it? One idea used by St. John Vianney Seminary in Denver is this. Former vice rector Fr. John Nepil, formator, professor, and (allegedly) moral compass, organized a 2024 ski trip that included a charming little ritual involving daggers, fake blood, and secret society LARPing. Apparently, Fr. Nepil issued a heartfelt apology for being misunderstood -- of course, he did not mean it to come off the way it appeared. But the question remains. How do you develop a real and genuine sense of camaraderie among priests or pastors?
Just in case you have endured, as I have, the playful icebreakers used at the start of some meetings or in place of introductions, camaraderie among the clergy is not established by keeping balloons in the air or passing around an apple under the chin or playing charades or other common activity. It is formed by our common life around the Word of God and in prayer. Sadly, we lack this camaraderie largely because other activities have stolen our time and attention and replaced our time together in worship and prayer with trivial things that cannot deliver what our common life together around the Word and Sacraments do.
I cannot tell you how disappointing it is when pastors decide to skip the opening devotions or worship scheduled at the beginning of everything from convention to conference to winkel but show up for the main draw of the speaker or controversial topic. Our time together in God's Word and prayer is not some precursor to the real reason we gather -- it is the real reason. By the way, I can tell you that you see the same thing when folks will skip the Sunday worship but show up for fellowship, potluck, congregational meeting or other event that follows the Divine Service. In effect, we are saying either these things are not important or real enough in their own right and something else is more important or more real.
Almost fifty years ago, I spent a week at Three Rivers Priory in Michigan on a spiritual retreat between college and seminary. We did not have much opportunity for casual conversation but there were so many opportunities for worship together that I had not quite expected. From the early morning hours before sunrise to the late afternoon hours when I was too tired to do much more than show up, I learned the power of formation for those gathered around the Word and Table of the Lord. For this reason, the center of any seminary campus is not the campus center or commons area but the chapel. This is not only the beating heart of the seminary but the place where we are formed together for our common life and work as the pastors for God's people. Camaraderie is formed here on knees bent, hands folded, voices raised, and attention given to the voice of God speaking through His Word and our response in worship and prayer. This kind of fellowship of worship and prayer accomplishes what scheduled activities and play time do not.
1 comment:
The non denominational church I have been attending for the last two years has a scheduled monthly “Camaraderie Saturday” in which the men of the church are invited to attend. Usually about eight to ten men show up. It is a relaxed and casual time, with a general topic set by the pastor, who keeps the group focused on a theme of the day. Of course, there are off topics, banter, and kidding around, and some serious discussions as well. It is just an hour long, but there is serious bonding going on. Now, although I am not an official member of the church, I am still treated like one. Some churches are like that, where part of the body are members, but many are not. But all support the church financially and worship collectively. I have worshipped at LCMS churches where I was a current member, and at ones where I was not. I have been in a few denominations over my life, often as a visitor, desiring to just watch and listen, to see how they worshipped, what they taught, and believed, and what kind of preaching was delivered from the pulpit. I found things I liked and things I didn’t like in each church. I am not overly critical or nitpicking, but there are doctrines heard in the churches that have often made me hesitant to join them “officially.” To be sure, the churches which impressed me the most were the ones where almost all of the worshippers carried their own Bibles to the service, and made careful handwritten notes during the sermons, following the pastor along as he guided them from scripture verse to verse. They were interested and serious participants, eager to learn more from God’s word, to mature in their faith, and to grow in their knowledge. As a Christian, I find good people and faithful ones in denominational and non denominational churches alike, where the word of God is spoken truthfully, where camaraderie is based on shared values and agreement on the Gospel message of salvation through Christ alone. In my view, the “camaraderie” is first and foremost a shared love and devotion to Jesus, and it is a blessing that unifies us together for eternity. Soli Deo Gloria
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