EMBRACING THE CITY

The other weekend I was present at a youth ministry retreat in Northern Minnesota. We spent five days at a camp on a lake. The camp was beautiful and very white. The buildings, the ground covered with snow, the people, and even the walls in my room were white.

While walking back to our cottage one night, one of the women commented how peaceful being in nature was for her. She went on and on and on. She had me look up in the sky as she pointed out the big dipper. And then came the moment I was dreading. She turned to me and said, ‘Isn’t this the best way to experience the love of God?’ I panicked and with some awkward tone in my voice, I replied, ‘sure.’

That was all I could muster out. Of course I thought looking at the stars in the sky was beautiful and I imagined the beauty of spring flowers blossoming around the camp, but I was not filled with the same joy that she was experiencing during our short walk.

As Randy White begins “Encounter God in the City,” he brings up those powerpoint presentations that we have all seen that bring up pictures of nature to bring us to a state of mediation. They may include the ocean or a pine tree covered with snow. Or there may be a picture of a sunset or spring blossoms. He mentioned that there is something missing. What about those other places in the world? Why do we never see pictures of the City or even civilization? Why do we assume that it is always through nature that we experience inner peace?

I agree.

I more than agree.

These images seem very much the opposite of what it means to be in the city. When I see the bare lake surrounded by trees, I think of a city pool overflowing with children. The children carry joy on their faces as they splash in the water with their neighborhood friends. When the image of a sunset flashes on the screen, I imagine streets filled as night is just beginning in the city. Some people are filled with butterflies as they are off to a first date. Then there is a group of girls that are off to celebrate a birthday. There is a man playing a saxophone on the corner looking for enough money to make it through the day. When they show the image of a sail boat moving across the ocean, I picture 30th Street Station during rush hour. Everyone looking to what comes next as pigeons swarm over them. The sides are covered with vendors that provide everything to sunglasses and newspapers to coffee and flowers to help executives and casual travels make it through the day.

Are these images peaceful?

I think it all depends on who you ask.

A dear friend of mine would have a moment of panic if exposed to these imagines. There would be fear. Anxiety. Emotions would cross his body, but peace would not be one of them.

Why is this? Why are we sacred of the city? Is it the horrible news stories we hear? Is it the diversity? Is it because it is simply different?

White makes a clear point that we attempt to take the focus off of the city. I add, we attempt to take the focus off of the city when we attempt to think about peace. We neglect the reality that, “What influences the city, influences the world.”

But why?

Clearly I am left with many unanswered questions when I think of the city. And maybe instead of questions, I am left with frustrations. But in the same way, I bet that women who wanted to discuss the beauty found in nature found frustration with me.

As I focus on what embrace means for the faith community in the city, I begin to realize that the city as a whole needs to be embraced. White shares stories of different people that would show up at his door, many of them trying to get a few dollars out of him. White soon realized that part of his calling to his neighbored was to the people. White could not be the church unless he took the time to embrace his neighborhood, which he made very clear was difficult.

In the same way I think of the churches that are found in the city that have those massive parking lots. That simple, large lot filled with cars on Sunday morning shows a very clear message. The people are not from the community. Are these people embracing the city? Are they embracing the diversity or the culture of the city?

I don’t have the answer for that. I believe there needs to be some sort of embrace of the city in order to be the church in the city. Does this change what it means to embrace the community within the building? I think so. I believe the community will be different if the faith community embraces the city.

Now how do we make this happen? Leadership is a huge part. White suggests for one to be transformed by the city there needs to be a period of experience, reflection and action. He uses this model throughout the book to show how his different experiences have transformed him. Leadership comes in to help the community have experiences, which can be in their everyday lives, and then to reflect on these experiences and take action.

White’s model can also be easily adapted for anyone, Christian or non-Christian. I wonder can we take this formula further in order that it carries our Christian calling to the world. My proposal is — As we experience God’s on-going activity in the world through our daily lives, we are called to prayer and reflection as we continue to discern our calling to be of the World. It is through prayer and reflection that we are able to respond to the needs of the community and ourselves.

Therefore, in order for us to experience embrace, White’s formula or my adaptation need to be part of our lives. I also believe that  these processes are already subconsciously part of our lives. The next step is taking these processes and ask, ‘What does it mean to be a Christian in the city.’