Reflection #18: Youth Ministry Gives an Excuse and Opportunity to be Creative

When I was first called to serve as Assistant Pastor at Christ Lutheran Church in Regina, Saskatchewan, it was in large part to focus on youth ministry.  I had a big interest in youth ministry because I had been involved in that aspect of church work for years: from being a teenage leader of the youth group at Trinity Lutheran Church in my hometown of Brooks, Alberta to being a counselor at Camp Kuriakos by Sylvan Lake, Alberta, or working as a youth leader at Calvary Lutheran Church in Edmonton while taking the final year of a Bachelor of Arts degree at University of Alberta.  And it didn’t hurt that I was pretty young when I was ordained, just 25 years old – still pretty much a kid in many ways.

In the early years at Christ Lutheran I functioned for the most part as an older kid when leading the youth group, engaging in the activities with lots of energy and enjoyment.  As I aged I became less and less able to keep up with the kids, and there reached a point where I had to acknowledge that I needed some assistance with the youth program from someone younger, a person who could supply the youthfulness and cultural connection with the teenagers that I was no longer able to manage.  Over the years we have had a number of excellent youth workers, starting with Rhett Soveran, then David Ruecker for many years, and most recently Markie Hembroff and Vaughn Schnell.  However, even with these youth workers doing the bulk of running the program, I still kept involved in youth ministry through the planning process, and helping out with some of the events.

I have been attending Canadian Lutheran Youth Gatherings since 1976, missing only a couple of them in the early 80s.  These biennial events have been an important part of my youth ministry experience, either by leading a group to attend the gatherings, or being on the planning committees of these national events.  The best part of being on the planning committees was interacting with other creative people who were passionate about youth ministry.  It is the creative part that I have really enjoyed, being able to ask the question “How could we do this?” over and over, brainstorming and dreaming, and then working to bring such creative ventures to fruition.

This creative freedom was not just experienced on youth gathering planning committees, in fact it functioned at every level of ministry: national, regional and local.  What I discovered in the parish is that trying different things, especially in worship, can be controversial and met with great resistance, however, if I said the change was being done ostensibly to help involve and engage the youth, the older generations were more likely to put up with such changes (at least occasionally). In this way, being involved in Youth Ministry has enabled me to be far more experimental and creative with worship, and that freedom has kept things fresh for me throughout the past 25 years.

The recent Emerging Church movement, with its creative approach to worship experiences, has felt very familiar to me simply because what they were doing resonated with some of the things I've been doing in youth ministry throughout the years.  When I visited some Emerging Church communities, attending their worship services (one called Church of the Beloved in Washington State, and one in London, England called Moot) I thought to myself “This could have been something at a youth event… except there are people of all ages here.”  I think it is the creative aspect of the Emerging Church movement that I am attracted to the most, they are willing to rethink things, reconfigure things, and re-connect people disenchanted with traditional church into a worshiping community.

I remember being responsible for a late night worship service at the Canadian Lutheran Youth Gathering in Winnipeg in 1994 – we were taken by surprise with the dramatic increase in attendance at the late night worship services (previous gatherings had only a couple hundred youth participate, at this particular gathering the room we had set aside for the late night worship services could barely contain all the youth – it was literally standing room only – and we had to scramble to ensure there was enough bread and wine for communion).  There were many reasons for this dramatic shift in attendance, one was that the worship space was right next to the room where the dance was being held, and when the dance let out and the worship began the kids still wanted to be together. But also of significance was that word was beginning to spread through the youth that these late night worship services were creative and interesting.  I remember using a dramatic reading from the Iona Community at that service, having members of my youth group read various parts of the dramatic reading (based on the Last Supper) from various places throughout the crowd.  I also remember having Sara Wahl and a worship band from the Eastern Synod leading the music at that service.  Creative liturgy, new music, and an unusual time all combined to make the late night worship services of interest to the youth.  Ever since that time, late night worship services at the national youth gatherings have been consistently well attended, with the majority of the participants coming together to end the day with worship, and I’m proud to have been a part of helping that happen.

I am grateful for the many ways in which I have been able to express my creativity throughout my time in ministry.  I am grateful that my congregation has been willing to allow worship to happen in new and different forms as a way of trying to involve and engage younger generations or reach out to folks disenchanted with the traditional church.  Now I find myself a part of the older generations, and I hope I will be open to new and creative expressions brought forth by younger members of the church. 

 

This is a picture of young people enthusiastically joining in singing led by the Gathering Band from the Canadian Lutheran Youth Gathering - Full Serve - held in Winnipeg, Manitoba in the summer of 2006.  The Gathering Band was one idea that I had a hand in shaping - the idea being to bring together talented young musicians from across Canada to lead the singing at the youth gathering.  The first Gathering Band was put together for On This Rock, the CLYG held in Halifax. Nova Scotia in 1998 - it was a great group of musicians including Sara Wahl (mentioned in the above post), and my good friends David Hilderman and Nevin Eggum.  After that great start the Gathering Band idea has continued successfully to this day.

Reflection #17: Rise of the Angry Atheists

When I think back to my younger years it seems to me that atheists back then were mostly content to feel smugly superior to people who had faith and they simply ignored us religious folks.  That peaceful coexistence changed on 9/11 – suddenly, it seemed, atheists were not content to keep their beliefs to themselves - there was a reason to get vocal.   According to some atheists who began to show up all over the media at that time, the attack on the United States that fateful September day in 2001 provided irrefutable proof that religion was not only unenlightened, it was downright dangerous.  Overnight it seemed like atheists were becoming more bold, more insistent in converting people to their way of thinking, and there was an angry tone in their talking and writing about the problems with religion.  The way they understood things, much of the world’s problems could be traced back to religions, thus the solution was simple – stamp out all religion.

To tell you the truth, I liked the earlier years better.  I have never been comfortable with people being confrontational or angry with me, and these vocal and antagonistic atheists made me uncomfortable.  They pointed out some of the logical inconsistencies within ancient faith systems, and as they did so it sounded like they were mocking people stupid enough to believe in God.  I didn’t like being mocked, I resented being labelled stupid, and I felt it quite unfair to be painted with the same brush as some religious people who truly deserve to be labelled as harmful. In their attacks on religion, no person of faith escaped unscathed, and thus I felt included in their targeted remarks.

It didn’t help that certain facets of Christianity, especially in the United States, made such easy targets for these angry atheists – and while I could agree with many of the points raised by the atheists, I kept wanting to say “But that’s not me, or the version of Christianity I am part of.”  I do not subscribe to an overly literal understanding of the Bible, I do not think that every word has the same weight and value as the rest.  I do not insist on blind obedience and restricted thinking, but rather I encourage openness and honesty, including facing our doubts.  I don’t think I’m an unreasonable person, and yet I felt like I was getting lumped in with religious people who are dangerous and ignorant.

As I write this entry I find myself thinking of a Bruce Cockburn song - “Justice”. 

What's been done in the name of Jesus?

What's been done in the name of Buddha?

What's been done in the name of Islam?

What's been done in the name of man?

What's been done in the name of liberation?

And in the name of civilization?

And in the name of race?

And in the name of peace?

Everybody loves to see

Justice done on somebody else

Bruce Cockburn points out that evil has been done in the name of many types of ideology, not just religious.  It seems to me that the angry atheists could possibly go down the same road of intolerance and violence as the religious they denigrate.  Christopher Hitchens, perhaps the most famous of the new atheists, was criticized for his support of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, which he saw, at least in part, as a necessary clash of civilizations between the secular West and the Islamic jihadists.  Some saw this as a hypocritical stance, accusing religions of using force and oppression to assert their teachings, then applauding the use of force and oppression to assert the secularist worldview that he subscribed to.

Perhaps the best comment I heard for engaging these new, more vocal atheists came from Franciscan priest and author Richard Rohr, who responds to someone who asserts “I don’t believe in God!” with this invitation: “Tell me about this God you don’t believe in.  Maybe I don’t believe in that God either.” Such an invitation is one possible way to open up a considerate conversation with atheists - for it is certain that I don’t believe in the God that Westboro Baptist worships, and I don’t believe in the God that Pat Robertson portrays, and I don’t believe in the God that Benny Hinn claims to serve.  While it could be argued that these religious people are talking about the same God as me, I find the way they describe God is so contrary to the understanding of the divine that I hold that it could just as well be a different God.  Their God is not recognizable as the God of love, mercy, grace and humility that I see in the person of Jesus the Christ.  With such twisted presentations of God being broadcast through the internet and over the airwaves, it is no wonder the atheists want nothing to do with Christianity.  In some ways I understand their anger, but I also feel it is an indiscriminate anger when they take broad swipes at religion, casting it all in the same hue.

In recent years I have reached the conclusion that hating the angry atheists, or being afraid of them, is the wrong response.  We have much in common, even if they, for whatever reason, they have decided there is no God.  In many cases the objections they raise need to be heard - we can not simply ignore the many legitimate arguments they raise.  Instead we must engage in honest introspection, and a willingness to admit that many points they raise are warranted.  At the same time we must acknowledge that faith continues to be held by many intelligent, educated people – including significant scientists, important humanitarians, and thoughtful philosophers.  While the angry atheists have noteworthy points to make, they are not the only legitimate points to consider.

In the end what will make a difference in our relationships with others is not intellectual argument, but living lives of love, working for truth and justice, serving others as Christ taught us.  Christians living their lives like Jesus called us to live will do far more to quiet the rage of the angry atheists than any argument shouted back belligerently.  Respectful conversation will go much further in developing mutual understanding than heated debate.  So it is time to get over my avoidance of people who might get indignant with me, and time to get serious about entering into open and honest conversation with others, even angry atheists.

Reflection # 16: The Hidden Calling

One moment in my internship sticks with me more than any other, I was meeting with my internship supervisor, Pastor Fred Haugen.  Fred had a reputation for telling it like it is, and so I was always a little apprehensive of these sessions where Fred reviewed and reflected on my work as an intern pastor.  Towards the end of my year at Zion Lutheran Church in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, Fred was summing up what he saw as my strengths and weaknesses in ministry.  His first comment deflated me. “Dennis, your preaching needs some more work.”  This comment blind-sided me because I felt I was a decent preacher at the time (truth be told, looking back on things I think Fred was accurate in his assessment).  Quickly I began falling into a cauldron of self-pity and was resigned to wallow there for the rest of the day until I realized what Fred Haugen had said next - a comment that was every bit as unexpected as the first, a statement that gave me a new sense of who I was and what my calling included.  “I think you have a real gift in teaching.  I’ve even learned things from the Bible Studies you’ve led!”  Suddenly I realized that I was a ‘teacher’, though I really shouldn’t have been surprised – after all I did teach piano lessons while still a High School student, and I have always enjoyed sharing what I learn with others.

Looking back over my ministry I can see that my approach to preaching has often been didactic, that is I always wanted teach people in my sermons, I sought to impart information and knowledge to those listening.  One parishioner, a teacher herself, has commented to me on many occasions “I always learn something new from your sermons.”  Those types of comments bring me a great deal of satisfaction.

Part of being a teacher is continually learning yourself, and I find some of my favourite ways to spend my time is reading books and online articles, watching documentaries, attending seminars and workshops, and listening to the wisdom of others.  The way I see it, there is so much to learn that all of life should be a continual process of education.  To stop learning, or to despise new knowledge and understanding is like walking through an art gallery or museum with one’s eyes shut tight – a big waste of time and opportunity.

When Pastor Bob Leeson went on a year-long sabbatical I took over the responsibility of the Search Bible Study program at Christ Lutheran Church.  This was the same Bible Study that I led at Zion Lutheran in Weyburn on my internship, so it was easy for me to jump right in.  From that point on I assumed responsibility for the Adult Education program in our church (with the exception of the Stephens Ministry program, which Bob so capably leads).  Over the years I have run published programs like Search, Alpha, The Lutheran Course , and most recently the Disciple Bible Study - but I have also run Studies of my own invention.  Some of my favourites in recent years were “Swimming in the Heart of the Sun”, an in-depth study of the Lord’s Prayer; “The Screwtape Letters” a study of C.S. Lewis’ classic work on temptation and Christian life (complete with an audio recording of John Cleese of Monty Python fame reading the letters); “The Book of Revelation and the End Times”, a look at the last book in the Bible that tried to steer folks away from the rapture hype and misunderstanding; and “The Summer Psalm Series”, a noon hour study of the Book of Psalms exploring praise and lament and many other themes found in that ancient collection of Hebrew poetry.

For the past four years I have been overseeing a Sunday Morning Adult Education program that we call EnLightenTime.  This program has used a number of folks from the church and community to present on a wide variety of topics.  We are fortunate to have Luther College as a local resource and we have had a number of University professors make presentations at EnLightenTime.  Another favourite of the participants are the Nooma videos of Rob Bell, these are always good for a discussion starter.  Mostly however I have made presentations on everything from “Sharing Our Faith in a Cynical Culture” to “Dualistic Thinking and Judgmentalism” or presentations growing out of my trip to Europe with Beth, my wife, a couple of summers ago, “Authors and Ideas – Oxford and London” and “Celtic Christianity – the Iona Experience”.  While Beth and I went on our 6 week trip throughout Europe we kept a blog, and true to my calling I felt like I had to make my blog entries educational.  While Beth thought I was crazy typing away at our mini-computer late at night (after a long day of sight-seeing) I was driven to capture what I had learned and experienced in words (and a few pictures).  We called our blog “Being There – a Pilgrimage”. It is still accessible for anyone interested, you can find it here. (The posts from our trip begin June, 2009)

Back in 1991 Pastor Allan Christiansen from Luther CollegeHigh School, a member of Christ Lutheran and Vice-principal at Luther College at the time, asked if I would be willing to fill in for Pastor Randy Faro, who taught a Christian Ethics class at the High School in addition to his pastoral work at Our Savior Lutheran Church.  Randy was taking a sabbatical, so I agreed to take his class for a semester. After all, Luther College was right across the street from Christ Lutheran, so it would be easy for me to hop over to teach a class, then return to work at the church.  That one semester has turned into many semesters, basically I have taught a Grade Eleven Christian Ethics class almost every semester ever since.

The interesting thing about teaching this Christian Ethics class is that I had a lot of freedom to develop my own curriculum (within some basic guidelines).  The subject of this Grade 11 class is general Christianity, so I would be teaching what I was ideally suited to teach in many ways.  Over the years I have modified the course content, adding things that were missing, dropping things no longer important.  In its current form we look at a general overview of Christian teachings using the Apostles’ Creed and four basic themes: Faith, Service, Patience/Endurance, and Love. In addition to this we cover the history of Christianity, broken into three sections: The Early Church, Church and Empire, and Reformation and Expansion.  It is amazing how much I end up using material developed for this High School class in my work at Christ Lutheran.  The other thing this opportunity has given me is a way to stay in touch with the world of teenagers – and not just church kids, but a whole spectrum – from atheists and agnostics to active members of many different denominations and religions.  In some ways I have learned as much from these students as I have (hopefully) taught them.

Whether any of this would have happened had not Pastor Fred Haugen said those fateful words back in 1984 I don’t know.  I am grateful for all the opportunities I’ve been given to develop this calling to teach, opportunities to use this gift that I believe is Spirit-fired.  This does not mean I think I am a great teacher (in fact in attempting to teach others has only made me grow in my appreciation for all the wonderful teachers I have had the good fortune of learning with over the years - how they taught with creativity and passion is truly inspirational and makes me realize how much I still have to learn about teaching). What is does mean is that I have a desire to teach, especially those who want to learn (if you read between the lines here you will notice the absence of any discussion on teaching confirmation – a continual frustration for almost every Lutheran pastor I know).

I believe, more than ever, that teaching is an important function of the church today and in the coming years.  This is because our current culture no longer teaches the Christian story - I am noticing big gaps in people’s understanding of the Biblical story in general, and Jesus’ story in particular, and big mis-conceptions about basic Christian doctrine.  Instead we are seeing much mis-information in society, mis-understanding that steers people away from the Christian faith. The great commission that Jesus gives his disciples at the end of Matthew’s Gospel remains as relevant today as ever - we are to go to all nations to baptize and teach (Matthew 28:19-20).  I remain committed to do both.

Opening Devotion for an Annual Meeting

Welcome in the name of Christ,
the one who came to be one of us,
that all might be saved.

As we gather today for our Annual General Meeting we reflect on the past year, and plan for the year to come.  I’m sure most of you would agree that this past year has had its struggles – we have witnessed a growing impact of secular society on participation levels in the worship services and programs of the church; we have discussed the ramifications of the motions coming from the Human Sexuality Statement passed at the national convention of the ELCIC, and discovered deep differences of understanding around this topic; we have experienced concern and worry as our Senior Pastor was diagnosed with cancer and has gone through a time of difficult treatment and surgery. In some ways it might feel like a year we wish had never taken place.

But we are not given the choice of when we live, and while we might feel these are times of increased struggle and hardship, the truth is, the Christian church has always faced challenging times.  Throughout the New Testament there is evidence of similar struggles almost 2000 years ago.  The early church had to function within a culture that seemed overwhelmingly powerful and irresistible.  They even had to encourage attendance at worship – as we read in Hebrews 10:24-25: “And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some…”

The first Christians wrestled with differences of understanding in terms of acceptable practice and doctrine within the church.  Paul argued for the acceptance of Gentiles without the condition of circumcision, and in the letter to the Romans we read these words addressing differences of understanding:

Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions.  Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables.  Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat; for God has welcomed them. Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds. Those who observe the day, observe it in honor of the Lord. Also those who eat, eat in honor of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who abstain, abstain in honor of the Lord and give thanks to God.

We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.    (Romans 14:1-8)

Listen to Paul’s declaration “We are the Lord’s” – that’s what holds us together. It is Christ who called us into fellowship with one another, Christ who holds us together in love.  A love that will not let us go, even in death!

Hearing a diagnosis of cancer reminds us of our own mortality, and at such times we need to remember these words – in life, in death, we are the Lord’s!  Facing our own mortality has a way of putting things in perspective – we learn what really matters – and what we discover is that what matters most is relationships – our relationship with God and one another.  We were made us to be in communion with God and with others – but because of sin, our age-old self-centeredness, we struggle in these relationships.  We wrestle in our relationship with God, we disharmonize in our relationships each other – but in the end the final word is not struggle, the final word is promise: “We are the Lord’s.”

As we gather to reflect on the past year, with its mixture of occasions to celebrate and times of strife - and as we collectively plan for the future and our common mission, with all the challenges and uncertainty that goes along with such endeavours; may we always remember what holds us safe and secure, what brings us together and gives us a mission, what has sustained the church of Christ from its very beginning until the present time – may we remember, and be grateful for, God’s love and mercy.

The Pessimist - a Midrash of Sorts

I would like to preface this story with a story.  Many years ago I was privileged to participate in a Writers' Workshop at Vancouver School of Theology led by the award winning author Madeleine L'Engle.  I was one of the fortunate few who were selected to have our work critiqued by Madeleine.  During the week we were given an assignment to create some midrash stories, by which Ms. L'Engle meant a story that expanded or grew out of a part of scripture. The intent of such a story was to comment on the scripture passage, to explore more deeply the meaning of the Biblical words through our own words. What follows is one of the stories written for this midrashic exercise.  As I was typing up this story from the original handwritten copy I came across Madeleine's lovely written comment at the end "I'm glad you followed your story."  I'm glad I was able to have Madeleine's inspiration to move me along. I dug out this story to use at this month's Mysterium gathering. I reworked it a bit (re-writing is a big part of writing according to Ms. L'Engle), and now I share it with you, my blog readers.

________________________________________________________________

The Pessimist

I like to call myself a practical pessimist. It’s better to be on guard against silly, false hope, than to get caught off guard – only to end up disappointed and disillusioned. Philip, my friend from Bethsaida, says I’m getting more like my father everyday. I’m not sure I like that. My father is the great grump of the marketplace - always predicting a poor catch of fish, or trade merchants who will steal us blind, or messiahs that will lead us to our deaths. It seems no one pays any attention to him anymore. Perhaps Philip is right, and I am turning into a killjoy like my father – but I can’t help it, I fear being disappointed again.

Yes, you heard right, again.  I once had high hopes, I once loved a young woman from my town. Her father talked to my father, and everything was set. When I was allowed to visit with her I could tell that her love for me was growing as strong as my desire for her. The future looked promising - a lovely wife, a good job – you see I was an apprentice to a successful merchant who had no family of his own.  Things looked so positive for my personal future that I could even put up with the Romans. But now I hate them, I despise their presence. They are like a sickness that infects our land, a sickness like the one that took my betrothed from me.

Her death sealed my fate. I vowed I would never again hope for a good future, I would live out the rest of my life without expecting much. I know that sounds harsh, but to live in such a way dulled my pain a little and kept me from further hurt.

I found it hard to be around people – happy, hopeful people – their joy rang in my ears and gave me headaches. So more and more often I found myself sitting alone in the garden on the edge of our town. It is a quiet place, and I could enjoy the shade of the fig trees in the heat of the day.

One day when I was sitting under my favourite tree in the garden, thinking about nothing really, Philip ran up to me.  “Here you are” he said while catching his breath, “I’ve been looking all over for you. There’s someone I want you to meet.”

I feared that Philip was trying to play match-maker, and that he had lined up some woman who was the daughter of a friend of a friend of his mother’s, and who is of age to marry.  Ach! I could almost hear the well-meaning voices: “What about poor Nathaniel?  He’s so lonely. He needs a good woman, that will cure his woes… Such a sad thing, to lose his betrothed like that, but one must move on, get on with life. The official period of mourning is long over…  He needs is a wife!  Who is available? Ah yes! Jezreel’s daughter…” and so on.  I didn’t want their help, I just wanted to be left alone.

All this flashed through my head as Philip extended his invitation to me, and thus I was naturally hesitant. “Who is this person that I should disturb my peace to go and meet?” I demanded.

“The promised one, a prophet from Nazareth!” he said excitedly, his face beaming.

“Ridiculous” I thought, and I told him so.  He should have known better, no where in the Holy Scriptures is Nazareth ever mentioned. Surely this was another false messiah, and that’s the last thing I wanted to go chasing after – false hope.

Philip, however, would not be dissuaded. “Well, if you won’t believe me, your good friend, at least come and see for yourself” he said.

“Well, at least it isn’t a woman that he thinks I should meet… and I am rather bored just sitting here, so maybe – just for fun – I’ll tag along” I thought. No hopes raised, no expectations - except to poke fun at Philip’s new found prophet.

I never got the chance. As soon as we came within sight of this Nazarene he said “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!”  That made me stop, was he talking about me?  How does he know what I’m like?  So I asked, “How do you know anything about me?”

“I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you” the prophet said.  That simple reply changed everything.  All the pessimistic protection I had surrounded myself with shattered. This Nazarene somehow knew me.  In his words I sensed he understood my loneliness and fear.  How could he have known these things?  Unless… perhaps, yes possibly, he is the promised one. Hope began to soak back into my dried soul, and I have been following the Christ ever since.

(See John 1:43-51 for the Biblical story this fictional work grew out of.)

Reflection #15: Community in Christ Remains One of the Most Significant Things We Offer.

In a world that emphasizes the needs of the individual over the needs of the community, people are staying away from commitment - thus maintaining their personal freedom, but at the expense of involvement in a meaningful community of supportive, caring people. Unfortunately I don’t think people fully understand what they are missing.

I have been fortunate over the past quarter century to see examples of meaningful community in action: people giving and receiving comfort from one another; people helping others, simply out of the goodness of their hearts (and not because they expect to have the favour returned one day); people making a hurting individual feel like they are truly welcomed and accepted, in spite of differences or difficulties.  This is the church at its best.

I grew up in a small prairie town, where there were lots of examples of people functioning as caring community – service clubs, neighbourhood gatherings, charity organizations – all of these existed in addition to what the local churches provided.  To be part of community was the norm.  Today service clubs are disappearing, neighbourhood gatherings are rare (as is even knowing who your neighbours are), and charity organizations turn more and more to professional fundraising outfits to raise money in order to function.  We live in a time of diminished community, of ever-increasing individualization and isolation.

While society has changed, our human needs remain the same.  We still have the same need to belong, to be accepted, to be supported. We still need to get help from others when our personal resources and skills are not sufficient for the challenges we face.  In other words, we still need to be part of a community, and this an opportunity for the church right now and in the years to come.

When a congregation functions in a healthy manner then people will find there a community that provides many of those needs mentioned before. In a congregation we can find a sense of belonging, we can find acceptance as unique individual in spite of differences and imperfections, we can find ourselves surrounded by people who will set aside their own needs to offer help and assistance in times of crisis and struggle.  

When a congregation functions in an accepting and caring manner we get a glimpse of heaven, a foretaste of the community to come.  19^th century English author William Morris once wrote “Fellowship is heaven, and lack of fellowship is hell; fellowship is life, and lack of fellowship is death.”  (from A Dream of John Ball)  In this day and age true community is scarce, thus when a congregation functions as a place where people find fellowship it is like the person who discovers a great treasure buried in a field, and then goes and sells all that he has to buy that field (Matthew 13:44) – it is that valuable.  Community is a treasure we need to uncover, to share, to uphold.

Being united in an active love of God and others will give meaning to individuals who have been given little to live for other than self-gratification. Belonging to a group who isn’t interested in your false projected self, but in the real inner person – and is willing to accept and include the your self – this is a powerful enticement if it is perceived to be offered without hypocrisy or falsehood.  This is one of great gifts the Christian church can offer people in our place and time – meaningful community, a missing component in much of modern society.

It is no surprise to me that the religion Jesus began was founded through community.  While there are moments of people off praying by themselves (including Jesus), there are many more moments of people in relationship with one another - giving support, offering encouragement, sharing resources, keeping each other company, passing on wisdom and knowledge, and discovering the value of different skills and gifts.  This is how the church began, and this is how the church will continue into the future – through the gift of community.  Mark Morrison-Reed has proclaimed “The religious community is essential, for alone our vision is too narrow to see all that must be seen. Together, our vision widens and strength is renewed.”  To me this quote describes the work of the Holy Spirit - it is through community that God most often works to bring new understanding and perspective, as well as renewal of strength and passion.  Martin Luther wrote that the Holy Spirit “calls, gathers, enlightens, and makes holy the whole Christian church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one common, true faith.”  (Small Catechism, explanation of the Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed)  It is the Holy Spirit that creates community, and we can either be participants in the Spirit’s work, or isolationists ignorant of God’s gracious gift.

I am delighted when someone finds a place in our congregation, when they experience the fullness of fellowship.  They become the best possible witness to the value of being part of a church community, they know the value of being with others in a way that truly lives out the command to love God with all our being and to love our neighbours as we love ourselves.  This need for community will always be part of the human experience, and thus is now revealed as a valuable gift the church can offer those weary of the excessive individualism of our contemporary culture.  Now the challenge remains – can we live out this call to be community as fully and holy as possible?