A coincidence what you write today, as I have been talking about this to several I know well, and pondering it myself. My adult children no longer go to church. In 40+ years of ordained ministry I have seen parishes decline dramatically. In a book I gathered lots of reasons discerning people posed: disgust with judgmental, prejudicial attitudes both from preachers and members, boring worship, lack of hospitality and more. On the other side, though, laziness, indifference, disillusionment with all groups, institutions, keep folks away. But, the communities with which I have worked as a priest in the last decade, while small, are full of generous, welcoming people who do a great deal with and for their neighbors in need. They also take their faith seriously, ask questions. As you said, they love each other dearly and here you can see the real heart of church: fellowship, koinonia, community. Hence what I wrote: Community as church, church as community (Cascade, 2021). I believe that community is where you find transformation, deeper understanding of God and each other growing. If anything going forward in the next years, we will need this. My mantra is: We're supposed to stand up for God's ways/kingdom. We're the ones who are supposed to do what God does. That's how God works. We have to hold on to this.
Yes. And my question is - how? How are we forming communities around Christian faith and practice? So often it seems that churches *assume* they are doing this because they gather for worship, fellowship, and study. But is it working? Are people being formed in the faith? do they feel they are growing closer to God?
Stay tuned - this is going to be my conversation question tomorrow!
A coincidence what you write today, as I have been talking about this to several I know well, and pondering it myself. My adult children no longer go to church. In 40+ years of ordained ministry I have seen parishes decline dramatically. In a book I gathered lots of reasons discerning people posed: disgust with judgmental, prejudicial attitudes both from preachers and members, boring worship, lack of hospitality and more. On the other side, though, laziness, indifference, disillusionment with all groups, institutions, keep folks away. But, the communities with which I have worked as a priest in the last decade, while small, are full of generous, welcoming people who do a great deal with and for their neighbors in need. They also take their faith seriously, ask questions. As you said, they love each other dearly and here you can see the real heart of church: fellowship, koinonia, community. Hence what I wrote: Community as church, church as community (Cascade, 2021). I believe that community is where you find transformation, deeper understanding of God and each other growing. If anything going forward in the next years, we will need this. My mantra is: We're supposed to stand up for God's ways/kingdom. We're the ones who are supposed to do what God does. That's how God works. We have to hold on to this.
Yes. And my question is - how? How are we forming communities around Christian faith and practice? So often it seems that churches *assume* they are doing this because they gather for worship, fellowship, and study. But is it working? Are people being formed in the faith? do they feel they are growing closer to God?
Stay tuned - this is going to be my conversation question tomorrow!