Behind the walls & doors of the building we call the “church”, it’s sometimes harder to find church, than it is out there.
Walking to church this wet Wednesday morning, church happened. Three times.
First, I met up with Trevor, a dog-walking acquaintance. He and his various dogs have been part of my life for the past fifteen years; we had dog-walking in common, as I walked Pepper from youth to old age. A couple years ago, I walked Pepper a lot less, but we still talked about how he was doing. Today, Trevor sympathized with me when I told him of putting Pepper to sleep last month. It was a godly meeting. He ministered to me. Church happened.
Then it was Paula, in front of her group home. I hadn’t seen Paula for quite a while, or the fellow she’s usually with. Turns out he’s in a nursing home; he was hit by a car and very seriously injured, around Christmas. We talked about arranging a ride for her to get out to see him. Church happened.
As I walked onto the church parking lot, I greeted a guy with a teardrop tattoo as he cut across the lot in the other direction. When he saw I was heading for the church door, he asked “You work here?” Okay, he took the conversation to the next level, I didn’t … but it developed as it needed to. I now know his name and something of his difficult story. He knows my name, and something of this church’s character of being real, and that we’d welcome him, and that the Friday night BBQ is a good gathering. When I see him next, I think I’ll be able to call him by name. Church happened.
Inside the building, church happens too. Sunday mornings, it should go without saying. But let me tell you about last Saturday morning!
- Last Saturday morning, the four or five families of Phoenix Housing and their overnight hosts woke up, had breakfast, and set out for the rest of their day. Church happened.
- Last Saturday morning, like every morning of the week, the Sunrise A.A. fellowship met for the mutual encouragement that makes a life of sobriety more possible and more graceful. They met in Wilbur Hall. They’re back to meeting in the Library now; they had relinquished that friendlier space to one of the Phoenix Housing families for the week. Church happened.
- Last Saturday morning, like every Saturday morning for the time being, the worshipping community of the Covenant in Light Fellowship brought in their instruments & speakers, and thirty or forty members gathered for worship in Wesley Hall. They’re the worshipping community of Agapé Homes, whose gathering space on N. Fife is damaged by a bad roofing job, and will be under construction for a few months. Church happened.
- Last Saturday morning, ninety or so community volunteers — including the UPS football team, students & teachers from Grant Elementary, and teams from 6th Avenue businesses — gathered in Wilbur Hall to be organized for the annual Neighborhood Cleanup. Afterward, a celebration with pizza & awards (most unusual junk found, etc.), back in Wilbur Hall. Church happened.
Last Saturday morning was far busier than most … but close to two hundred people gave and received gifts of grace in this place. Lives, and our community, were transformed. Service was performed. Relationships were built. Christ’s love was shared. Every element of Epworth LeSourd’s mission was engaged: “We boldly transform lives and our community through service, building relationships, and sharing Christ’s love.” Church happened.
The crazy thing, the crazy wonderful thing, is that most of the people involved in every one of these events were NOT members of Epworth LeSourd. Even though part of me wants to bemoan the fact that none of these missional events happening here in this place were programs of Epworth LeSourd, sponsored by and controlled by our Church Council and various committees, supervised by church members. I’m guessing that on Saturday morning, there wouldn’t have been more than two or three ELUMC members involved, even as ELUMC’s mission was fully engaged, and Church happened.
I wrote that last paragraph, then went back to the mission statement: “We boldly … “ and realized that “We” weren’t doing any of those great things on Saturday morning, if by “We” we mean folks on our membership & constituency rolls. But one of the things a traditional church learns as we become a missional church, is that what we mean by “we” changes. The question of who belongs, who’s part of our mission, who’s on our team, who’s “with us”, shifts. Who we mean, when we say “us”, shifts. If we’re on God’s mission, then anyone doing the work of God is part of “us”.
It blows me away that it’s only as I wrote that last paragraph, that I remembered the scripture, and it all fell into place. Jesus’ family-of-origin came to find him, thinking he was getting a little out of hand. “Your mother and your brothers are here,” they told him. “Who’s my mother? Who are my brothers?” Jesus asked. He continued, gesturing to those with him: “Here they are! Whoever is doing God’s will is my mother, and brother, and sister.”
Church happens when God’s work is engaged, no matter who’s doing it. Our mission isn’t to do it all, but to be united with all who are doing it.
(And you thought this post was going to be just another one about walking!)
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