Churchn'

Leslie Congregational UCC

116 W. Bellevue

When we think of church what comes to mind? Community? Potluck? God? Jesus? Coffee? Conflict? Worry? Anxiety? Relationship? Is the church only as good as it’s growing numbers for a Sunday morning worship? Is the church only as good as it’s online viewership?

What is church meant to be and what does it mean to us as members is a wonderful question that may lead to "how” do we do church. What is church can lead to the better question of how do we do church.

If you were to read any article, pre-COVID, you’d find a general notion that church growth will not happen on Sunday mornings. With very few exceptions church’s were not going to grow by concentrating on Sunday morning pew numbers. Now that we are, hopefully, God willing and the creek don’t rise, post COVID, or at least through the worst of it, that notion remains and has been amplified. More and more articles are pointing out the growing numbers of non church folk and those who fell away from their local church and a large number are not returning. For a pastor this is a difficult reality. I think most pastors were hoping, even if we said different, for a return to at least a form of normal that would bring ‘em all back in droves. Including the young adults that were part of our community.

For a pastor and church who are worried about numbers it can be anxiety inducing. For this pastor, I simply miss the non-returning folks. For whatever reason they are not returning and I miss their presence and energy.

Where does all this leave us? Sad? Worried?

What if? What if we are realizing that the church is far outside the four walls of Sunday morning, and always has been.

What if we are learning that it was never about us in the first place, it was always about God? If the God of creation and love is the expansive God of all that is, was and will become, how can we expect to contain God in the building. Now don’t get me wrong. God, when church is done good, is found within the confines of a church building.

Experiencing the Divine Love of God has been the point all along.

When church is done well people find that on Sunday mornings. When church is done well people experience the love and grace of God within us and feel that Love from us and from our churches. The question becomes how do we create sanctuary outside of the sanctuary?

I believe that people are yearning for a caring place of safety and comfort. A break from the bustle of life and conflict in our public square. People are seeking, more than anything else, a place to come and be vulnerable and know that they will be cared for. A place to lay bare their worries and find a listening ear. If that is the case then we carry church in our hearts. Don’t we? We become the sanctuary. Don’t we? We are the church. Aren’t we?

Church may be the simplest thing we can do to heal a broken world. Take the love of God with us wherever we go. Not so that people will come on Sunday mornings but so that Sunday mornings will be taken to the people.

Ooohhhh….we might be getting closer to the king/kindom of God. The place and essence of God may be closer than we think.

When we live into that Divine Love and witness to that Divine Love in others we can all do church and do it good.

Church by tiny little church contained in each of us, a little bit of our broken world may be healed.

May the hearts and doors of our church remain wide open so that people may know the Divine Presence that cannot be contained by time or place.