Impossible projects.

These are Moo mini cards (http://us.moo.com/products/minicards.html), really cool tiny business cards. The perfect size to carry and hand out while running a marathon! I will have about 50 of these in my pockets on Sunday to hand out to anyone who asks about my St. Lydia's shirt.

A few years ago, I participated in a Bible study group using the excellent book Creating a Life With God: the Call of the Ancient Prayer Practices by Daniel Wolpert. Each chapter in the book describes a different form of prayer, from walking a labyrinth to writing in a journal, with instructions on how to try them out as an individual or groups. The final chapter is about taking on an "impossible project."

In the impossible project chapter, Wolpert asks readers to dream up a goal that feels worthwhile and exciting. For example, readers from a small church might decide they want to reach out to the hungry in their community. Once readers settle on an idea, Wolpert asks them to think of a way to achieve it. So, our church group might decide to collect money and donate it to the nearest food pantry. The ideas generated at this stage tend to be good, but not particularly ambitious. Our church group certainly can collect money and it would help, but is it the most they can do? This brings Wolpert to the next stage of his process: he asks readers to stretch their idea further, to a place where it feels impossible. Our church group might decide they want to open a food pantry that feeds 50 families every week. The goal is to end on an idea that readers are really excited about- something they would absolutely love to be part of- but which they do not believe they can actually do.

The final stage of the process is to make it happen. Wolpert asks readers to acknowledge that their project seems impossible and then commit to doing it anyway. He shares stories of churches that have successfully taken on impossible projects and highlights some of the things they have in common:

First, the excitement of a shared goal gets people working together in ways they never did before. When churches take on really exciting and ambitious projects, people come out of every part of the community to help and think up really creative ways to get things done.

Second, the churches realize they have more resources than they ever imagined. The church groups Wolpert describes all discover previously unknown talents among their members and untapped resources within all of their networks. They all ultimately realize that they had not been ambitious enough in previous projects.

Finally, impossible projects require embracing some dependency. A truly ambitious project is always risky, and requires a certain amount of help. A single person embarking on an impossible project will quickly become overwhelmed. To take on this kind of project, an individual or group must learn how to ask for help and rely on other people. This is where the project becomes a prayer. Wolpert wants his readers to learn how to say "God, we think we have a great idea for a really worthwhile project, but we can't do it on our own. We're going to need your help for this."

The impossible projects Wolpert describes are successful in two ways. They bring really worthwhile ideas to fruition, and they also teach the people who dreamed up those ideas that they are capable of amazing things. They learn that they can dream even bigger.

When I read this chapter of Wolpert's book, I just thought it was a nice idea. I don't think I really grasped the idea of the impossible project until I learned about  St. Lydia's. Last week, I wrote about a conversation I had with my friend Emily, in which she told me about quitting her day job and making St. Lydia's her work. I remember thinking "Now this is an impossible project." My friend had dreamed up something ambitious that she really believed in, found others who were also excited about her idea, and found the resources to make it happen. She was also accepting (and even embracing) the risk and dependency that were part of moving toward her goal.

I'm also reminded of the impossible project as I watch Emily, Rachel, and the St. Lydia's congregation weather their various challenges. When Emily learned that St. Lydia's would have to vacate their Brooklyn home because of structural issues, she sent a letter to the congregation. This is just a short excerpt, but I think it captures many of these ideas:

We will have a place to gather each Sunday night. We are surrounded by people who love and support us. We will keep being the church. And though this time may not look like what you or I might have imagined, it offers us incredible opportunity to be bold and creative in the midst of all that’s unfolding. Let’s sit in the not-knowing and see what God is up to...

...That’s what I have to tell you today, my nomads. Rachel and I look forward to seeing you on Sunday. A recurring theme in our many discussions over the last little while has been how blessed and grateful we feel to be traveling with all of you on this journey. We have both experienced a surprising sense of calm and curiosity amidst all of this that has reinforced our faith that the Holy Spirit is moving, however swiftly and surprisingly, in the work we are all doing together. And we know that whatever comes next, it will continue to be a gift and a blessing to share this work with all of you.

In many ways, running a marathon feels like an impossible project too. My first marathon pushed me well past what felt possible physically, but it stretched me in other ways too. For me, one of the most challenging things about the marathon is that it really can not be done without help. I am a very independent person who likes to to things on my own. Up to a point, running can be a pretty independent, solitary sport. I spent several years running casually and entering the occasional 5K without really involving other people in my life.

When I started running longer distances, I also started to need help. I needed coaches to teach me how to build my endurance. I needed training partners to help me weather the mental challenges of fatigue and boredom. I needed people to cheer me on. Most of all, I needed the people who rely on me to understand and accept the demands running makes on my time and energy. It has not always been easy for me to ask for the help I need, but I have been amazed at every stage of my journey by the overwhelming generosity of people in my life.

Over the past few days, I have finalized the itinerary for my marathon weekend and the number of people involved is staggering. I have friends letting me sleep on their couches, a friend guiding me to the start line, friends cheering me on along the course, and friends keeping my boyfriend company as he waits hours to see me finish. At the end of the day, I have a friend helping me find my way to Brooklyn so I can finally join the folks at St. Lydia's for dinner church. I can't wait to sit around the table with my new friends and share our amazing impossible projects!