Last night, Lisa organized a trip to the Hunger Garden in nearby Madison. The Hunger Garden is a couple acres of land donated by a local farmer to the Westmoreland County Food Bank. It is run and farmed completely by volunteers, grows many different crops, and 100% of the crops produced are distributed through the food bank to the hungry in our midst. It is a wonderful project on so many levels -- feeding the poor, practicing environmental stewardship by distributing locally grown food, tithing of land by one individual, the work of many to be the hands and feet of Christ, etc.
Our congregation (average Sunday attendance: 61) took 11 people last night on the first of hopefully many trips to the Hunger Garden. We spent about 2.5 hours farming, then grabbed ice cream together on the way home. Among those 11 were 4 youth, 2 of whom were confirmed in worship just one day earlier. These two girls, Natalie and Alex, professed their faith, remembered their baptism, and promised to support Christ's holy church with their time and resources. Then they wasted no time in literally getting down and dirty for the kingdom, right next to fellow brothers and sisters from all over the area that had come to plant hope at the garden.
What a witness! I could not be more proud of Natalie, Alex, and the rest of our group than I am right now. This morning I sit in my office, beaming with the joy at the miracle I witnessed last night. Moments like last night give me hope to live out another day as a member of the body of Christ. This congregation has a future filled with hope. This region has a future filled with hope. This world has a future filled with hope. And God's kingdom has a future filled with hope. Now we wait for the harvest to come, where that hope will finally be fulfilled.
Showing posts with label Congregational Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Congregational Life. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Spiritual Act of Worship
That's the part of this week's Epistle text that jumps out at me. I'm not preaching on it, but I keep thinking about it. All 3 texts this week this deal with membership and involvement with the community of believers, and sometimes this issue is not as clear as we think.
I have a member of the church who is part of the extended family that makes up about 1/3 of our active membership. This guy is single, lives close by, almost all of his family comes to worship on Sunday morning, and he does not. For whatever reason, he's never been interested in worship or any other church involvement -- until 3 years ago when he was nominated to serve on the trustees. Many thought he wouldn't agree to it, but he did. He shows up to meetings, knows what he's doing, gets things done, and is basically one of the most important members of that committee. He's enjoyed his role as a member of the trustees, but his term is ending this year. With charge conference coming up in November, I'd like to get him on another committee so he continues to serve in some capacity. People tell me he's good with finances, so that's a possibility. If he's not on a committee, I doubt he'll ever set foot in our building.
Can this man's involvement in committees be considered a "spiritual act of worship", even if its his only act of worship? Can someone be an active, faithful member without ever participating in corporate worship? Is it possible that corporate worship "isn't for everybody"? Or should we seek to bring him in to Sunday morning worship? If we do, why are we doing so? Is he currently fulfilling his membership vows? Is he fulfilling those vows more or less than someone who comes to worship on Sunday and never does anything else?
These are questions to which I have no clear-cut answer. I'd love to hear what all 3 people who read this blog think.
I have a member of the church who is part of the extended family that makes up about 1/3 of our active membership. This guy is single, lives close by, almost all of his family comes to worship on Sunday morning, and he does not. For whatever reason, he's never been interested in worship or any other church involvement -- until 3 years ago when he was nominated to serve on the trustees. Many thought he wouldn't agree to it, but he did. He shows up to meetings, knows what he's doing, gets things done, and is basically one of the most important members of that committee. He's enjoyed his role as a member of the trustees, but his term is ending this year. With charge conference coming up in November, I'd like to get him on another committee so he continues to serve in some capacity. People tell me he's good with finances, so that's a possibility. If he's not on a committee, I doubt he'll ever set foot in our building.
Can this man's involvement in committees be considered a "spiritual act of worship", even if its his only act of worship? Can someone be an active, faithful member without ever participating in corporate worship? Is it possible that corporate worship "isn't for everybody"? Or should we seek to bring him in to Sunday morning worship? If we do, why are we doing so? Is he currently fulfilling his membership vows? Is he fulfilling those vows more or less than someone who comes to worship on Sunday and never does anything else?
These are questions to which I have no clear-cut answer. I'd love to hear what all 3 people who read this blog think.
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