Dear Friends,
As we gather for worship every Sunday I think of how important it is that we are members of one another. In other words, we belong to one another and to First Church. It is a good and holy thing.
Someone has talked with me about “pre-pandemic” and “post-pandemic” members. I think of “members.” Not pre and post. I love the way we come together.
Wendell Berry’s writing often talks about what “membership” means. I’m not talking here about the formal membership we perform with one another. I mean whenever we gather whether one has gone through a ritual or not…we belong to one another – we are members of one another.
On Sunday our membership included teachers and business people, architects and students, people who work at universities and people who work for the city. It included people who work fast food and people who are unemployed. It included book editors and book readers. It included musicians and composers, people with illnesses and people who are healthy.
It also included immigrants (1st, 2nd, and 3rd generations) to this country. It also included people who were born here before their parents were citizens. Worship leadership involved people who are new to the congregation and people who have been around for a long time. It included young and old. It included visitors for the first time and long time people. It included transgendered people. It included people who use pronouns he and she and people who use pronouns they and them.
Someone wrote and said they are members here and I didn’t know them! That’s great. We are so many even the pastor doesn’t know all of us!
Jesus has to work at it to remind his disciples they aren’t set apart…they are one with everyone. Even children. Even the sick. Even the lepers. Even, even, even….
We are members of one another. This is our strength.
Keep tellin’ the Story,
Mike
Here’s a little joy to share with you today.
Here are the four takeaways from this week’s Loop:
- We Belong to One Another (both inside and outside of the church).
- We have a delightfully diverse community.
- There are so many new people it is hard to keep up!
- We are members of one another, and it is important to show the world this is so, to remind us we all belong to one another.