Creative Thinkers Needed

I read part of a fascinating article which I will go back to finish, because it's definitely worth reading in its entirety. According to a recent article in Newsweek (7/19/10), titled Creativity in America, psychologists who specialize in studying creativity and collect data about it, state that since 1990, "American creativity scores have been falling." Very interesting.  Apparently, enriched learning environments are making children smarter, yet young children especially those in grades kindergarten through 6th grade have shown a decline in creativity. According to the article, "To be creative requires divergent thinking (generating many unique ideas) and then convergent thinking (combining those ideas into the best result)." 

How sad that creativity is declining in America.  Both America and the global community need creative, innovative thinkers to solve major problems. Those problems include the clean-up of the Gulf of Mexico, (which is mentioned in the article),  finding creative resolutions to conflicts and war and helping to find solutions to other problems that burden humankind.  

When I started thinking about it, I realized it's a problem in the Church as well. Don't we need creative thinkers to help with evangelization, to improve the Church's image in the world, to promote vocations?........The list goes on. 

Greater creativity is definitely needed in the Church, in its leadership, both lay and ordained. The Church has the added advantage (the divine advantage I call it) of using human ingenuity and creativity and combining that with the power of the Holy Spirit. Prayer makes things happen. Developing and promoting creativity and innovative thinking and combining that with the power of prayer, would be dynamic.  The possibilities are endless. That's something to think about while on vacation. 

By the way, listening to classical music stimulates creativity. I've learned to appreciate classical music and to listen to it, in the hope it stimulates my creativity. That's an easy enough way to get started.

NJA

Creativity/ Catholic Missionaries Needed

In January, my blog-Brooklyn-Born-Believer was a year old. I remember a year ago, when a fellow employee where I worked, helped me get the blog going. When I mentioned to him that I enjoyed reading his blog and I would like to blog, in the future, he said, "It's easy to start a blog, I'll show you how to do it....now." I wasn't too sure that I wanted to start a blog at that moment in life. But I put my concerns aside, after all I would be sharing my deep faith and that's important to me. Before long I was on my way. Well, it was easy enough to get the blog started, it's quite another story keeping it up. It takes effort generating new ideas for topics and work to keep it current and interesting and though I love to write, it's a time commitment and involves effort. 

When Pope Benedict recently suggested that more priests should blog (some already do), I thought to myself, that's a nice idea, but will they have time for it. Interestingly, the blogger who helped me get started recently closed his blog down, just saying he was going on to do other things. The comments that people left on his blog were interesting. People were sad to see his blog end, he obviously had many readers who liked his work. But more importantly they appreciated all the work he had put into his blog. I wish Patrick McNamara the best, in whatever he is going on to. 

On another note, in a recent AOL News article I read on the internet titled, "After Quake Evangelicals Find Opportunity," by Emily Schmall, it mentions a quote by an evangelical Christian pastor, Gersan Valcin, who has a congregation in a middle- class suburb of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, "For a Christian, this is the best time to be alive. Out of tragedy, there is opportunity." So as the evangelicals see an opportunity to bolster faith and congregations in Haiti, while encouraging people to believe in God, God's mercy and the goodness of human beings, the Catholic Church has the opportunity to do the same. I'm sure they are but as mentioned in the article, the Church has been severely damaged (literally) with the "once-majestic Notre Dame Cathedral in ruins and parishioners continue to mourn the loss of the Archbishop of Port-au-Prince, Joseph Miot. 

Tim Dale, from Austin, Texas is part of an evangelical congregation in Texas that helps to finance Gersan Valcin's work in Haiti. He is quoted as saying, "Churches are kind of the infrastructure for getting the message out and getting things done....Evangelism underlies the mission of mercy." 

As an evangelizer for Christ, Gersan Valcin is seizing the moment, as he should. Likewise, it is a good opportunity for Catholic missionaries and religious orders to expand their programs and outreach in Haiti. It is my hope, that the Haitian people deepen their faith as they rebuild their small country, and they continue to move forward with hope, courage and a deep belief in God's abiding presence. 

NJA