CHURCH AS COMMUNITY

The church exists to help its members, each in our own way, approach a wholeness in our lives that we might not otherwise be able to attain. It does this by fostering community. It is community that respects the rights and well-being of each of us as individuals. It is community that recognizes and supports our individual needs to arrive at our own understanding of the world and life. It is community that values our individual understandings that may significantly differ from one to another.

But for such community to work each of us must make individual commitments to its well-being. We need to recognize the tension that exists between individuality and community. When we agree to work on a committee, for example, we may have our own ideas about the work of that committee. It may seem at times that the committee is headed in the wrong direction. But when we are committed to community, rather than boycotting the committee’s activities, while respecting our own integrity, we see the process through as best we can.

When we participate in community, we know we will not always agree with its actions. Yet, we recognize that the community gains its vitality by the active participation of each of us with our different perspectives. The vitality comes out of our caring for one another with our differences and our trying to honestly understand and sympathize with one another’s points of view.

As the ordained minister in this community one of the significant roles I assume is that of facilitator. I work with individuals, groups and the congregation as a whole to facilitate a process that, hopefully, permits us to honor individual perspectives and arrive at our communal perspectives. At our best we empower one another to be true to ourselves, while simultaneously caring for one another and working toward shared goals.

Within community we seek wholeness. We come together to invigorate our hopes and renew our visions. Part of that process is actually caring for one another. The ordained minister has a special role in providing pastoral care. It is a role that I greatly appreciate, for it allows me to accompany people at those times in their lives that may be the most important to them. However, in community care is not relegated to one person, but it is a shared activity. As we approach wholeness we learn first of all to care about ourselves, then we are able to care for one another. As we grow, we foster the spiritual depth that permits us to ever expand our limits of caring.

A true community has a focus larger than itself. It recognizes its place in the wider world, and it owns its responsibilities in the world -be they local, national, or global. As a community we consider those situations and issues in the world where we perceive need or injustice, and we choose how to respond. I know that some find it difficult or even inappropriate when their religious community addresses issues of injustice.

There are times when I agree with that. A religious group, like any other, can speak or act out simply for the “grandstand effect.” But I believe that a quest for “greater spirituality” that is detached from the issues of life is inherently flawed. That which we call spirit is not intended to remove us to a more blissful utopia. Jesus said, “Behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” When we are moved by the spirit, then we are opened to the possibility of engaging the needs of the world with courage and creativity.