Ever since I was a young boy, I have had the sense of a wider and divine presence moving within and all around me. When I could, I would take up residence in one of my two special trees. There, I could sit and ponder life, the universe and everything as only a 10-year-old could. The trees offered me a safe place, a quiet place and a restful place where I could feel the presence of God with me and at the same time, feel my soul replenished. To this day, I can only refer to those childhood moments as full of grace. They were moments that sparked my capacity to imagine, to dream, to wonder, to simply see the goodness of creation as the sunlight dappled its way through the leaves. These moments remain precious to me and of course, they only hold meaning for me and my spiritual path. But, what I can say is that time sitting in the tree was not only a safe and spiritual place, it was the place where my call to ministry was slowly taking root. It was the very beginning of a journey that led me to a life of service within the Christian community or to use Paul’s words, a call to participate in what God is doing, striving to excel in building up my spiritual gifts for the good of the church (I Cor.14:12).
Over the years my understandings of the Divine and the significance of the Christian community have continued to shift, grow and hopefully mature. I remain steadfast in my decision to advance the role and place of the faith community in service to the world around it. Our Biblical tradition and our denominational heritage are both quite clear that congregations are not designed to be a passive audience gathered on a Sunday morning with the soul purpose to be entertained or be pleased. Rather, the congregation is an active agent of Christian faith that exists to offer healing, justice, compassion, light and love to its members and the world around it as informed by the ancient Hebrew writings and the wisdom and teaching of Jesus. Chapter 14 in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians is exactly about that. He is admonishing the church in Corinth to pay more attention to what it means to strengthen the spiritual gifts that serve the good of the congregation—that is, the good of the whole so that it can provide for its members and those it serves in the wider community.
As we begin the Fall, I am convinced that congregational life matters more and more to our well-being. It matters that we be together in Christian love to: foster community, tend to relationships, pray together, rest in the presence of the Divine, share meals together and offer care to one another. I had a couple of parents from the Priddis area in a little while ago who wanted to see me about their 22-year-old adopted son. At the end of our time together they wanted to pay me. I said, my congregation makes it possible for me to be with you. Please consider a donation to High River United Church. In the last year I expect that Susan and I have provided approximately 400 hours of one on one pastoral care appointments where we provide all manner of support for relationships, those grieving, suffering addiction, and enduring personal challenges. I share this because, the need is great and seems to be increasing. People need to be heard and truly listened to. A faith community most often is the only place where someone can truly be heard and be surrounded by the presence of others when they are most alone.