April 1, 2022
What a wonderful spirit of celebration and community we had last Sunday with Bishop Lucinda’s visitation! With those being confirmed and reaffirmed, we renewed our Baptismal Covenant, promising, with God’s help, to:
- continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of the bread, and in the prayers
- persevere in resisting evil, and whenever we fall into sin, to repent and return to the Lord
- proclaim by word and example the good news of God in Christ
- seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbors as ourselves
- strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being
The occasions when we speak these promises are my favorite Sundays of the year, I think. They remind me of what is most important about “church.” It’s not the beautiful music, or the glorious windows, or the delicious treats we sometimes have at coffee hour (although all of that is wonderful!). It is us, the Body of Christ, gathered to worship our Creator, to be sustained by the Word, and to be sent forth in the Spirit into the world.
In her sermon, Bishop Lucinda explored our ministry of reconciliation. It is the work of the Church to be a reconciling community. And that doesn’t mean we gloss over disagreements so that we all “get along.” It means that when we disagree, we seek a “third way” that God invites us to. If you missed her sermon, you can find it on our website.
It is no secret that we have disagreements among ourselves. Our church is not alone in experiencing conflicts, large and small. The world is a very anxious place right now, and that naturally affects how we interact with one another – yes, even in the church. It is hard to remember, sometimes, when things seem to be either/or, that there is always a third way. But God’s invitation is for us to discern that third way together. So let’s gather for prayer and fellowship. Let’s break bread together and listen for God’s leading. We can be reconciled, and we can be a force for reconciliation in our world.