A CALL TO BE AWKWARD

As I made my way over to Riverside Church’s website, I did not get very far for I was intrigued by their logo that is placed at the top right corner of their contemporary website. There is a tree that has a before and after phase. On the left there is a tree that is barren. On the right a different story is depected. There is a river that meets the tree at the roots. The river, which I can only assume alludes to the river of life, brings new life to the tree that has branches are baring green leaves.

As I dug further it became apparent that Riverside Church is very intentional about being missional. They define missional in four, unique divisions:
The word missional reflects a relational focus
The word missional pronounces a rational stamina
The word missional reflects a humbled attentiveness to God
The word missional refers to a stamina for diverse neighbors.

In this last point, missional refers to a stamina of diverse neighbors, they realize that this may bring forward the reality of relational awkwardness. Yet it is this relational awkwardness that Jesus calls us to be apart of. Unlike Jesus, we may not be comfortable with the diversity of different skin colors, languages and cultural histories, which could bring different emotions, including awkwardness.

I am left wondering, what is not awkward about community?

Our cultural and our history have destroyed us. We are left to think of all the things about community that are awkward or difficult. I remember the time when I was going through formal recruitment in the Greek system at Roanoke College. With my small group of 10 to 15 potential new members, we were shifted from sorority to sorority. As much as were told to be relaxed and stay natural, there was still this element of awkwardness. We wanted the other organizations to want us, and in the say way the organizations wanted us, the potential new members, to like them. It was awkward.

In the same way, there is awkwardness with finding community within the church.

Just like my experience in Greek recruitment, the same can be apparent with the church. The church wants people to want them, but a potential new member of the community does not want to feel like an outcast. This too has the ability to bring on feelings of awkwardness.

I do not think there is just one or two things to blame for this element of awkwardness. Riverside acknowledges, through the lyrics of Coldplay, that we are often left lost in this world. —“I just got lost, every river that I’ve tried to cross, and every door I ever tried was locked.” So, the question comes when we are left to respond to the call of what do we do now. We have people that have come to our community that have had a feeling of being lost. How do we allow them to experience the hope of community?

I doubt there is a solution to disregard that awkwardness. One thing Riverside is doing is providing ways for people to break through that awkwardness in order to grow in relationship with one another. They have various ways for college students and recent graduates to assimilate themselves into the faith community. They have a program called Honest Questions which tackles a difficult question at a local Pub. They have care teams in a variety of different of areas, as well as Bible Studies for an array of audiences. And a separate website for youth shares they are committed to creating an environment that allows young people to have honest and real relationships, while sharing the gospel. My favorite of all their programming, an Art Gallery that is “to encourage artists and to facilitate an understanding and enjoyment of art in our community.”

Maybe the first step of breaking through that awkwardness is by giving people the opportunity to be in relationship with one another, as well as living out the reality that what people need from community is different. Like Riverside noted, missional refers to diverse neighbors. In order to be open to diversity there needs to be an honest realization that opportunities and experiences are uniquely different for people. I’d also like to think it was awkward between Jesus and his disciples at first, but Jesus did not give up. He continued to work through that awkwardness in order that we see a life of community and discipleship from him and his followers.

That river of life is not going to give up on us. It continues to flow and it continues to bear good fruit. It breaks through that awkwardness in order for community to form.

Why would I visit?
My least favorite band is the whole world, and my best friend’s favorite, is Coldplay. Throughout their website they found ways to quote Coldplay multiple times. As much as I do not want to hold that against them, I may. Something so simple as sharing lyrics from one band, seems to imply one audience. After spending time looking through their website I am also left thinking that they have a very defined audience in mind when they looked to their mission.

If I negate the overuse of Coldplay lyrics, I enjoy that Riverside is very articulate of what it means to be missional. It is a word that I think the church is often scared to use. And maybe they are very afraid of the world because they are afraid of what the word calls us to do. That call is difficult and like they noted, awkward.

The one thing I love, and may be my favorite thing I have seen throughout this study, is the Riverside Art Gallery. My passion is art. My love is art and it can easily be a struggle to figure out what role do artists and art have in the church. Part of the reality is that art tells a different story for all people. Riverside is giving individuals the time and place to tell their story through their creative muse.

What can they tell us about urban community in five words/phrases:
missional
responsive to culture
honest
contemporary/modern
identity

Information was taken from:
Riverside Church
Riverside Church Youth Ministry
Riverside Gallery

BUILDING THE BRIDGES BETWEEN THE CHURCH, THE WORLD AND GOD’S PEOPLE

Do you remember that time when you first learned that at some point the whole world was connected? The Pangaea theory believes that a supercontinent, called Pangaea, existed during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic era. The theory supports that the land started to shift to form the modern day continents. Although the theory originally received much skepticism, today the theory receives much support due to increased evidence.

It’s difficult to even begin to comprehend the world connected. In Greek, Pangaea means all land. I begin to think of all the things that divide the land. Some are cultural, some racial, some religious and some social-economical. But one thing is clear, there is a divide. The world is not connected. Pangaea does not exist. We are not connected.

Is there an answer to this divide of race, culture and class?

Harbor Presbyterian Church began as they accepted that this divide is present in the world, in the nation, and in San Diego and Tijuana. As we hear the prophecy, “After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands” (Rev 7:9) Harbor Church asked the question, ‘why not now?’

Harbor Presbyterian Church is a “multi-site, multi-ethnic church with worship services” throughout San Diego and Tijuani. Each site’s unique personality shines through their distinctive website and mission. Harbor Church Mid-City worships in a zip code where over 80 different languages are heard. As they hear the question why not now, they are drawn to the metaphor of a bridge. “We live in a city of isolated, fragmented people who need to be reconnected (or bridged).”

I have spent the past semester studying the prophets of the Old Testament. Throughout their story we see the people need to be reconnected to God. Evil has become so much part of our life that Jeremiah shares with the people, Can Ethiopians change their skin or leopards their spots? Then also you can do good who are accustomed to do evil” (Jer 13:12). Evil is what divines the people and we wonder can there identity ever change.

Today we are very much identified with what makes us different that the very idea of bridging ourselves to one another, even those who are closest to us, seems like an impossible task. It seems impossible to even imagine a world that is connected. A world that all tribes will gather and will speak the name of the Lord.

I begin to think of all the bridges that need to be created. And this is no little task. There is a bridge to re-connect the church to the world, people to people, our community to the community over, church to church, mother to child. This list of what needs to be reconnected seems neverending. The task to build bridges is not a task that can happen with the snap of the finger. And Harbor Church is not looking for an overnight miracle.

Harbor Church Uptown faces this reality with a “Loving Our Neighbors” visioning plan, because like I have mentioned before, even the very idea of loving our neighbor has been linked to a process or equation. During the January, February and March of 2011 they had a focus of growing deeper in love for Jesus, His Church, and the world he came to save. Each month then has a focus of either prayer, engage or do something. As one is called to deepen their relationship with Christ, the Church and the World, individuals are
given a goal, action and resources to help them. Each goal begins with the words, “get convinced that…”

What do we need to get convinced of? Harbor Church gets that we need to convince people that the world is divided. That there needs to be re-connected. Harbor Church Uptown tells their members, “Get convinced that Jesus is relevant to your non-Christian friends. Their needs are not so different from yours.”

It is this idea that we are not all that different. We share a divide. Whether it be language or race, or even education or family, there is a divide. Growing up in a two-parent home divides me from others, and in the same way my non-Scandinavia heritage divides me from others. I recognize that which divides. I embrace those divides. I know they are part of my identity, but I do not let them isolate me.

In order for us to begin to build bridges, there needs to be a recognition that there is a divide. Harbor Church in no ways denies that there is a divide. They realize that when Martin Luther King Jr. shared that 11:00 am on Sunday mornings is the most segregated time in American History, he was right. They realize that the Gospel has the ability to to connect people that suffer from segregation. And not only are they talking about it, they are doing something about at it.

Why would I visit?
There is so much to learn from Harbor Presbyterian Church. I have spent the past four days watching videos and shifting through material on their website. One thing is very apparent, they very much have a sense of hope that things can be different. It is also apparent that a sense of hope can only come with knowing that a change can happen. I like that.

I also really like that they are not just talking about making a difference, but doing something about it. For example, the Visioning Process of Uptown shows very realistic goals for its members, and like authentic community, they are keeping one another accountable for their actions. Change cannot happen until we do something, and part of that is keeping one another accountable for their actions.

They very idea of diversity makes me overjoyed. I have struggled with churches holding an identity by the people inside the doors. For example, this is the congregation that professionals attend or this congregation is busting at the doors with young adults or a latino populations. I very much appreciate that congregations minister to those present, but I also dream of being part of a place that is filled with diversity. I do not want to be spectator of this kind of community, but I want to be part of it. Harbor Church’s mission, values and story make it apparent that this diversity is just a little glimpse into heaven on earth.

What can they tell us about urban community in five words/phrases:
1. renewal
2. bridging the Gospel to society
3. hope
4. diversity
5. belonging

Information is taken from:
Harbor Church - Mid City
Harbor Presbyterian Church - Uptown
The Pangaea Theory

A PART OF THEIR STORY

Harbor Church Mid-City gives us a glimpse into their story.

A CALL TO WELCOME THE STRANGER

If you come across the facebook page of Welcome Church, you will see invitations, whether it be to Church on Logan, their weekly worship service at Logan Circle bringing in 30 to 50 people, or Tea Time at Arch Street Methodist Church. But among the invitations and invites there is one that may seem a little unusual, especially for a facebook event. It is for a Memorial Service. It is this Friday, May 27th at 1:00 pm at Ritthenhouse Square. Two photos show that the service is for Tony, a 52 year old man that died suddenly of a heart attack. The location of the service, Rittenhouse Square, was one of Tony’s favorite place.

A location like Rittenhouse Square would not be unique for Welcome Church nor would Sunday worship being held at Logan Circle. This is normal for the only street ministry of the ELCA. What I find unique is that Tony was not even a part of Welcome Church. So why is there a service to remember Tony? I asked Joanna Hertzog, Seminary field-ed student at Welcome Church, she said,“Even though Tony was not part of the community, his friend was, so people will go to support his friend.”

I wondered what community would look like in a street ministry. Do they feel the support of one another? Do they have a sense of embrace and belonging? Do they a desire to live a life of discipleship among one another?

Hertzog made it clear that all of those questions can be answered with a ‘yes’ and Tony’s funeral is a beautiful example of that. And like they always say, ‘Welcome Church is a church without walls.’

Welcome Church makes sense for a city that has a very visible homeless population. And it was that population that Pastor Violet Little noticed when she started working down town. Her awareness led her to the realization that something needed to be done. “God always comes to us where we are, and is willing to touch us in those places we want to hide or are ashamed of,” noted Little.

Little then began the Welcome Center which is housed at Holy Communion Lutheran Church on 21st and Chestnut, a ministry that is still in place today, yet separate from Welcome Church. It soon become apparent that the homeless population was not just looking for a place to be dry and be feed. They wanted something more.

It was then that Little approached the synod in hopes that something could be done. Today the ELCA is proud to have started their first street ministry in the streets of Philadelphia.

The core of the community at Welcome Church is homeless or in a shelter, but due to their very public location, Hertzog noted, they get many spectators during Sunday worship, as well as youth groups and other clergy curious about what a ministry to the homeless of Philadelphia looks like. 

Tony’s funeral made it very apparent that there is a sense of community at Welcome Church, but I was curious as to what it meant to be relational and missional in a place without walls. Hertzog shared that after worship there is a coffee hour, just like we would see at other churches. But Hertzog made clear that this is not just another feeding program, “but this is time together.”

Hertzog went on to describe that there is also very much community within the homeless population. Once an individual is no longer homeless, they have lost community. Their community is homelessness. Unfortunately this often leads people back on a street because they need that sense of belonging.

So I wonder, does the Welcome Church also having the opportunity to break down a system. If one is able to find genuine community within the congregation, will they be able to continue once they are not calling the streets home? It will be interesting to see what the community of Welcome Church looks like in 5, 10, 15 years.

There is one very important thing we can learn from Welcome Church. It is that message of welcome. Hertzog shared a story of a women that went missing for months. They had no clue where she had gone. Just the other Sunday she was back. And what did they do when she returned, welcomed her back with open arms.

It is this very idea of welcome that is often missing from the church. Welcome Church is very transparent about their sense of welcome. It is the neglect of attention that I believe often scares people away from the church. I think of the churches I have stepped into and have left with no one saying a word to me. Are those the communities people are excited to be a part of?

I doubt it.

The city is diverse and like Hertzog mentioned, random. A sense of welcome needs to be extended to all people. It is that first sense of welcome that opens us up to what comes next. In order for any sort of community to begin, both parties, the church and the people of God have to be ready for the embrace. Volf illustrates this with being ready with open arms.

Welcome Church is very willing to open people with open arms. The boundary that most congregations face is the walls that divide them from the world. Welcome Church got over that obstacle with removing walls all together.

What can they tell us about urban community in five words/phrases:
welcoming
diverse locations
community
diverse (mential illiness, faith traditions)
missional

Why Would I visit?
I first heard about Welcome Church in the Fall of 2008. Southeastern Pennyslvania Synod of the ELCA had sent out an invitation for Little’s installation service. And just like weekly worship, it was to be held at Logan Circle. The part that I was always most curious about is what would church look like in the city, especially the city that I call home.

I am skeptic of a lot of things, but it brings me shear joy that this is not just another community service for homeless people. This is a genuine community that brings people together. Although the congregates do not always have a warm bed, does not mean that they are seeking a life with Christ.

This is also the church. When I was asked to write my missional ecclesiology, I fought with the churches response to the world. We so much use the walls of the building to keep up safe from the world. Welcome Church is one of the best examples I have seen of what it means to be the church in the world.

I would also visit because this is part of my BFF’s field-ed site for her middler year of Seminary. I have loved to hear the stories that Joanna has shared about the people and moreover her passion for being the church in this unique and creative way.

Information was taken from:
God made personal at Welcome Church
Interview with Joanna Hertzog
Welcome Church’s Facebook Page

A CALL TO BE SIMPLE

ReNew DC represents a group of church bodies that started with Church of the Resurrection on Capital Hill. Resurrection meets in the same rented historic church building, near the Library of Congress, that it began in seven years ago. Two additional church bodies have grown out of Resurrection, with two more on the way.

Dan Claire began his planting when he moved to Washington D.C. in 1999 with his family. Claire realized that many of the churches in the city seemed “asleep or dead.” He even ended up traveling 45 minutes to the suburbs with his family for worship. Claire also noted the “neighbors seemed unmoved by a Christianity largely absent from the city and its spiritual and social concerns.” He knew that something needed to be different. He sensed that God was calling him to do something in the city. This call was to find renewal in D.C. by establishing smaller churches throughout the city.

ReNewDC’s simple website may follow their theory that they are all simply Christian. They note that simple means that they are giving priority to the beliefs and practices that unite all Christians. They note that to be missional is to be simple. If you are curious what it means to be missional or the missional church, check out this video that I posted earlier.

We often think that to be the church it mean to be difficult or complex. We may not use that language, but think of all the things that churches do in order to have people hear the story. My list covers a lot of things that members of the congregation think sound great, but the reality is they are not taking the time to think of the needs of the community. And they are often very complex.

ReNewDC made it a priority to look around at what does the community need. They do not need another mega church. The community needs simple. Simple supports the churches focus on what can we learn from the gospel that is essential — worship, discipleship and community. Simple also means that they are giving priority to beliefs and practices that unite all Christians.

Simple enough? Maybe. It is the simple word simple that I cannot wrap my head around. It could be that I am the furthest thing from simple. Those who know me agree. So what is about being simple?

I thought it maybe helpful to begin to define what it means to be simple. It was not the definition itself that was helpful but the origin of the word. The origin of simple is Middle English. In the noun sense, simple was originally referred to as a medicine made from one constituent, especially from one plant.

Now the idea of the church being simple makes sense.

I’d like to think that the church is made from one constituent, the life, death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. In theory we can say it is simple, but how do we keep it simple. Or better yet, how do we keep the church missional.

I think it is hard. Okay, I know it is hard. Claire shares a really interesting point that it would be much more efficient for there to be one congregation, instead of three smaller ones. One congregation would mean one person preaching, instead of three or just one nursery team instead of three. He then makes an important point, “But healthy churches are inefficient, because relationships are inherently inefficient.”

So maybe our goal is to be simple but inefficient. It is completely crazy but Claire has realized that the efficient way to do church does not work. The church in the city is unique. But it’s uniqueness does not call for complexity. It is a call for something we all need — worship, community and discipleship.

Why would I visit:
I’d initially be drawn to one of the churches from ReNew DC because they are small, I’m a serious skeptic of community within larger congregations. Claire says that there are things that Resurrection cannot do because they are small. The ReNew DC network allows for some more dreaming and ministry to happen. This really resinates in my current position. I work in three congregations with Children, Youth and Families. I think we all realize that there are things we cannot do on our own because we are limited by size. But what does ministry look like if we begin to do some of this together.

I am also be intrigued by the fact that they did not just decide to plant a church, but spent time in the city to realize the needs of the community. ReNewDC is not sitting silently in a church building. They have partnered with other organizations, including Capital Hill Baptist, to have a voice in the political realm.

I have been very naive when it comes to church plants. I have lived in this reality that people plant churches in order to take people away from other churches. This could be because they want to save souls or they think they are better, but Claire said something that is really important for those who are unaware of plants to know — “If you are coming from another church here in D.C., please have your pastor give me a call first,” Claire says. “Our relationship with other churches here in the city is more important than where individual Christians worship.” It shows that that relationship piece is not just inside of the church doors. It allows us to see that we cannot be Christian on our own. We need each other. This simple community also includes others of different congregations and bodies.

What can they tell us about urban community in five words/phrases:
1. simple
2. missional
3. small-intimate community
4. diverse
5. assessing the needs of the neighborhood

Information was taken from:
Church of the Resurrection - Washington, DC
The Gospel Coalition— TO Renew D.C..: Church Planting in the Nation’s Capital
ReNewDC: Seeking the City to Come

IT'S A LONG WAY

There is so much that is a long way. Some of these things for me are my family, my little sisters, my BFF, my favorite place in the world, the mountains, water ice, and the end of the semester. Even though these things are a long way, I still see them being within reach. I know that I will see my little sister and Chris in just days. I know that the mountains are there waiting for my return and that yes, even the semester will come to an end. Every time I listen to this song, I imagine those things that are not within reach, and I don’t necessarily think of things like my family or water ice. I am more prone to think of things like equality or a cure for AIDS. These are things I wish were not a long way. I wish things like embrace of the stranger were within reach. I wish I had a solution that could easily be applied to the world stage. I hate to think of myself as a pestimist, maybe more of a realist.

As I try to define embrace and community, I wonder if the church is ready to be the catalyst for change. I often think that it is easy to be afraid. It is easier to hide, than take a stand. It is so much easier not to disturb the structure, but we will continue to be a long way from anything if we do not take the time to disturb the system.

THE MISSIONAL CHURCH...SIMPLE

A helpful step in being able to explain the missional church.

THE SNEETCHES AND EMBRACE PART II

In Dr. Seuss’s allergory, The Sneetches, Dr. Seuss takes up issues of prejudice and discrimination, issues that surround Christian community. Dr. Suess shares that there are different kinds of Sneetches, some have stars on their bellies and others are plan bellied. There are different people present in our systems. Even though their differences may not be seen at first, it may be that the church and other individuals are very aware of what sets the stranger a part. And like the Sneetches, we segregate ourselves from those who are different.

When the Star-Belly Sneetches had frankfurter roasts
Or picnics or parties or marshmallow toasts,
They never invited the Plain-Belly Sneetches.
They left them out cold, in the dark of he beaches.
They kept them away. Never let them come near.
And that’s how they treated them year after year (185).

This is very much the reality of the church. There is the understanding that the church is for those present, while neglecting what is happening outside the church doors. We are often able to create a stereotype of those who are inside the building and those who are outside the building. The unique thing is we do not want to forget about those on the outside, but we only want to embrace them at certain times, maybe holidays or other special occasions. This embrace usually comes with some sort of solution. It could be making them like us or holding a separate event for ‘those people.’ It is almost like the church is Sylvester McMonkey McBean.

“My friends,” he announced in a voice clear and keen,
“My name is Sylvester McMonkey McBean.
And I’ve heard of your troubles. I’ve heard you’re unhappy.
But I can fix that. I’m the Fix-it-Up Chappie.
I’ve come here to help you. I have what you need.
And my prices are low. And I work at great speed.
And my work is one hundred per cent guaranteed!” (187)

The church thinks they have the answer. The ability to fix the issues that plague the city. And just like Sylvester McMonkey McBean the church thinks that answer is changing the others identity in order that they fit their definition of church and Christian. Other answers the church gives is reaching out to people by giving them things they may need, food, clothes, etc. Here the answer does not include a relationship nor does it allow making room for them in their lives.

“Just pay me your money and hop right aboard!”
So they cambered inside. Then the big machine roared
And it klonked. And it bonked. And it jerked. And it berked
And it bopped them about. But the thing really worked!
When the Plain-Belly Sneetches popped out, they had stars!
They actually did. They had stars upon thars!

Then they yelled at the ones who had stars at the start,
“We’re exactly like! You can’t tell us apart.
We’re all just the same, now, you snooty old smarties!
And now we can go to your frankfurter parties.” (189-190)

Is that what the church wants? There is this vision that we need to love our neighbor but the church does not understand what that means. Or a better explanation is they do not understand how to live that.

Everything turns into a mess once the different types of Sneetches begin to fight for who is best by paying more to add and remove stars to determine a superior. And so, Sylvester McMonkey McBean, realizing the mess he has created, packed up saying,

“They never will learn. No. You cannot teach a Sneetch.” (200)

Again, the church does the same thing. They realize embrace is hard or that they cannot fix the issue and they abandon the other, leading to more harm. All of this may be a stretch, but the issues are not.

This may be a very critical observation, but very true when we think about the church. They do not have the ability to learn. Will our story take on the ending of the Sneetches?

But McBean was quite wrong. I’m quite happy to say
That the Sneetches got really quite smart on that day,
The day they decided that Sneetches are Sneetches
And no kind of Sneetches is the best on the beaches.
That day, all the Sneetches forgot about stars
And whether they had one, or not, upon thars.6

It is easy to draw to conclusions and think that looking at Dr. Seuss’s, The Sneetches is an illegitimate representation of the church. It is quite possible I have gone too far, yet the Sneetches carries an important message of identity and community that the church is not ready to accept, possibly the same message that Dr. Seuss hoped that society would take, a message of embrace of the stranger, a message that society is not ready to accept.

Embrace of the stranger is not easy and will not happen until, “The culture of social hope ‘will center around suggestions for drastic change in the way things are done — will be a culture of permanent revolution” (Volf 28)  This drastic change is the ability to embrace the neighbor. If we continuing studying the Sneetches and slow down their process of being able to embrace the ‘other’ or the stranger, we can enter in a process of embrace or deepening theology of embrace.

So as the church, how do we get to this point; this point of acceptance and conformity. How are we able to make community by living in the reality that we are all unique.

I talked about this earlier, but Miroslav Volf’s four step process can easily be applied to the Sneetches.

1. Repentance
2. Forgiveness
3. Forgetting (making room for the other)
4. Healing memory

It is a time for the Sneetches (and the church) to realize they have been hurt and are vulnerable. It is a time to look for forgivness, before forgetting what has happened in the past in order that they can make room for one another. And embrace may happen once individuals are healed by a new memory taking over the old.

Maybe a stretch, but we’ve also learned that “a person’s a person no matter how small” from Dr. Seuss.

THE SNEETCHES AND EMBRACE PART I

What can we learn about embrace from the Sneetches? Dr. Seuss’ The Sneetches is an allegory for prejudice and discrimination, and I think there is easily a theology of embrace in this tale.

More is coming as I look at The Sneetches in a paper that is defining community, which of course looks at the role of embrace.

CHAIRS

How do we embrace the other who has no food, no water and lives a life so different than our own?

IS CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY IRRELEVANT?

I wonder where I first learned about acceptance and community. I imagine that it was not in school as there was a clear, defined social-economic divide even after school uniforms were brought in for the goal of diminishing the chasm. I also believe that it was not the small liberal arts college I attended in Southwest, Virginia as the Mason Dixon Line was still a very alive issue for people. I also do not believe it was being part of the Greek system in college as we handpicked the young women we wanted to be part of our organization.

I believe that amongst all of these things there was community present, yet the idea of community being a place for all people was clearly not present. Therefore, there must be different types of community.

Community that we are placed.
Community we choose to be a part of
Community that is inclusive for all

I am left wondering then, is it inept human desire to be part of community? Can we begin to have a debate that community is also an issue of nature versus nurture?

I want to believe that community is all something that we want. We want to belong. We want to be part of something bigger, but then again, maybe that is just me. Research shows that that one of the most prominent communities in my life, my many and unique faith communities, is not the type of community that our culture is seeking. Yet this does not mean they are not seeking religion, spirituality or God.

When we state we are in the search of something larger in the world, the larger spirituality question, is cultural seeking God without the community? And can this be associated with the shift from ethical issues in our lives have moved from questions of Christianity to moral issues, for example sexuality, ecology issues, abortion, etc.

Interestingly enough, a study by Barna stated that twenty somethings were nearly 70% more likely than older adults to strongly assert that if they “cannot find a local church that will help them become more like Christ, then they will find people and groups that will.” This is part of the shift that is making issues of Christianity into issues of moral reasoning.

These individuals are also less likely to state that, “a person’s faith in God is meant to be developed by involvement in a local church.”

Yikes! What does this stay. I agree that this is a reality, but I also believe there is something else going on. Being present in three urban congregations, I know that things are different. I know that there is something unique about being Christian in community and would even go as far as to say that you cannot be Christian by yourself. Yet I also agree that there is something special about being the church in the city. Does everyone get it? Oh, no. We cannot go that far. (But I wish I could.)

I am proposing that as we read statistic after statistic stating that church is irrelevant, it’s not. I am going to explore some communities in the city that can tell us something unique about being in the city, as well as being community.

CAMP AND COMMUNITY

What can we learn about community from camp? I’ve always struggled with camp. In no way am I saying that camp is a bad thing, never, but I think we share the message of camp as it is this outer reality. We tell individuals they can leave everything they know and experience all these wonderful things.

And in the context of this study, we take people from ‘their normal lives’ and create this community, but what happens when the leave? I see time after time students continue to grasp on to that one week. They have created an ideal situation and it is camp. How do we allow people to see that these experiences of community at camp can be the normal in their life?

Learn more about the creator of the video over here. He’s a friend and this is the camp I worked out while in college. Learn more about Lutheran Springs and Lutheran Outdoor Ministries of Florida here. 

WE ARE A MILLION STRONG...

“We are a Million Strong. We believe Jesus’ message compels us to welcome all, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity. Show the world that you can be Christian AND believe in LGBT equality. Join the movement to unite a million Christians for LGBT equality in the church and beyond.”

Learn more at Believe Out Loud.

AFFIRMATION OF FAITH

We join together affirming our heritage and Christian living this day, in a statement of faith.

I believe it is a matter of faith to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves.

I believe it is a matter of faith to recognize equally and love all members of God’s human family whatever their race, creed, color, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, physical or mental capacity.

I believe God’s creation is good, beautiful, scared and therefore to condemn any portion of God’s creation is to condemn a portion of God. This is sin.

I believe Jesus Christ came to us to free all people from sin and to make disciples — people willing to live Christ’s discipline of love and justice for all.

I believe the Holy Spirit is that power within us that gives us courage and stamina to face the truth and to live it, even to die for it, as Jesus died.

I believe in the resurrection, the victory over death, the truth that is life for all in Jesus’ name.

Glory be to God, the One in Three Creator, Savior, and Holy power of love. Amen.

The Affirmation of Faith being used during the Easter season at Calvary Lutheran Church. It is credited to Diane E. Wendork, as adapted from the book Touch Holiness, edited by Ruth Duck.

FORGIVENESS WITHIN

"Forgiveness flounders because I exclude the enemy from the community of humans even as I exclude myself from the community of sinners. But no one can be in the presence of the God of the crucified Messiah for long without overcoming this double exclusion — without transposing the enemy from the sphere of the monstrous… into the sphere of shared humanity and herself from the sphere of proud innocence into the sphere of common sinfulness. When one knows [as the cross demonstrates] that the torturer will not eternally triumph over the victim, one is free to rediscover that person’s humanity and imitate God’s love for him. And when one knows [as the cross demonstrates] that God’s love is greater than all sin, one is free to see oneself in the light of God’s justice and so rediscover one’s own sinfulness."