By Dawn Taloyo, Associate Superintendent, PacNWC
I wonder when the time will come when every article I read doesn’t begin with some reference to our current experience with this pandemic? I look forward to that. Maybe you do too. I’m sorry to say this is not one of those times, for we continue to linger in that liminal Covid space. Is this the beginning of the end? Is there light at the end of the proverbial tunnel? Dare we hope?
As I’ve sat with pastors and church leaders in various contexts the past couple of weeks, I’m starting to see glimmers of light. I’ve heard a variety of stories of churches experiencing a steady stream of new faces and holding large new member classes. There have been surprise financial gifts allowing churches to meet budgets, and leadership teams finding the time and mental space to begin discerning vision and new mission.
However, it’s not universal. There are also many churches still experiencing the disorientation of the last couple of years. They are having to make hard decisions, including my own congregation which recently voted to conclude our ministry. As a result, I now find myself in transition and discerning our family’s next church home. It raises many questions.
Last weekend I attended my cousin’s wedding. Rather, I should say, I attended the post-wedding reception. In stark contrast to every other family wedding experience, my cousin and his bride chose to only invite immediate family for a very small, in-home ceremony, which was officiated by his older sister. In addition, the reception was bereft of previous family traditions. There was no receiving line or first dance. Instead of a wedding cake, there were donuts. And, alongside the charcuterie were sliders and French fries. My aunt, the mother of the groom, noted: the pandemic changed all the rules around weddings. I thought to myself, maybe churches too.
What is church? That is the question I’ve been pondering with my spiritual director. The pandemic has been a huge disruptor to allegiances and certainly church attendance. I call it the great sorting, as many brothers and sisters have either opted to change faith communities or opted out of the institution of church altogether.
What is church? The pandemic has raised this important question for me personally, and perhaps for all of us as followers of Christ. What is essential? What do I believe is the purpose and value of church? Who is my faith community and what role do they play in my life?
How would you answer these questions? Read on if you’d like to hear my current and personal musings as I prayerfully discern what is next.
There are many New Testament passages that I could turn to for pictures and imperatives regarding the gathering of the people of God. Acts 2:42 and Hebrews 10:19-25 come immediately to mind as personal favorites and are hopefully familiar to you. I will not use this space to offer an exegetical exploration, as that would take too much time and space. However, I offer the themes that are emerging in my recent readings and reflections, not as a conclusive list, but as a starting place that might confirm or inspire your own reflection on the question: What is Church? Not a surprise, I have three points.
- Church is the context in which I am reminded of who I am and Whose I am. It is the place that confirms my identity as a beloved child of God, adopted into an incredible Trinitarian Family with an amazing inheritance of grace, hope and fullness of life. As well, it is the place that confronts me with the Truth and Otherness of the Triune God and offers the comfort of a greater narrative and purpose in this world.
- Church is a place of belonging and transformation. We hear it often – we are not solo disciples; we are made for community. It is part of being created in the image of our Triune God. Today there is no shortage of ways we can fill that basic human need. Digital spaces have opened avenues for connectedness around any hobby or shared interest one can imagine. There is nothing wrong with that. I merely ask, does the community to which I belong remind me of the first point, that I am a beloved child of God? Is there a mutual belonging to one another that spurs me on to love and good works? (Hebrews 10:24) Does the community call me to Christ-like living and teach me about grace and forgiveness when I have fallen short, or when we disagree? Church is both the protective cocoon and catalyst for incubating a maturing life of faith and practice.
- Church is the community in which the Holy Spirit gifts and calls us outward. It is the refining and discerning context that challenges me to not be selfish or complacent with the grace and love received, but to generously offer it to others. In church I am invited to step out in faith and sacrifice, to serve and care for that which God cares about.
I trust none of the above strikes you as surprising or new. They are, however, the best way I can articulate at this point the essential, orienting elements that define church. While no faith community is perfect in living all of this out, it is the road map that helps orient my discernment. They are what compels me to seek out, and remain connected, to a faith community and to not give up meeting together. (Heb 10:25) What about you? How would you answer What is Church?