Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

I've been thinking a lot about church membership lately for some reason. When I was ordained, the pastor who gave my charge and the congregation's charge pointed out to everyone that my home church was the only church I had ever -- or would ever -- be a member of. In the Presbyterian Church (USA), once a pastor is ordained, that pastor becomes a member of Presbytery. Presbytery is my church; I am no longer a member of any one particular church. That hit me in a strange way when the pastor doing my charge said that and for some reason I've been thinking about that a lot lately. It probably has something to do with my congregation's focus on how we increase on our membership.

People have very different views on church membership. Some think the obvious thing to do when you start attending a church is to become a member. Others believe that membership is just a way for the church to get new leaders and new pledge cards.

Which, I have to admit, is probably partly true.

There are different reasons for becoming a church member, and several pros and cons to church membership that I'm not going into here. What I'm really interested in this week is the importance of membership not in the particular church, but in the body of Christ.

As a church, we are just one part of the body of Christ. Even the Presbyterian church as a denomination is just one part of the body of Christ. Our brothers and sisters in Christ of every time and every place -regardless of denomination - are a part of that body.

I noticed when I led a new member's class that one of the first things I focused on was what makes the Presbyterian church stand out from other churches. When you come right down to it, the things that are really different are how we do communion, when we do baptism, and how we conduct our church's polity. In retrospect, I kind of wish I'd started that conversation differently. Instead of beginning with where we are different, I wish I had started with where we are the same. We are the same in our belief in Jesus Christ. We are the same in our belief in God's amazing love for us. We are the same in our belief that the power of the Holy Spirit dwells within us and empowers us to live in the grace of God. That's the heart of the week of prayer for Christian unity.

I asked an older member of my church once why she was still Presbyterian. She answered with a smile, "Find me a church where I agree with absolutely every single theological point." Point taken. There really isn't the "perfect denomination." She's totally right.

Our Book of Order reminds us that "Unity is God's gift to the Church in Jesus Christ" and that "Division into different denominations obscures but does not destroy unity in Christ." We talk about how we as a church are to strive towards diminishing that obstruction of unity. How is it that we actually do that? In Washington, Illinois, we have a very active ministerial board. That ministerial board is a gathering open to all the clergy in our community. While not every clergymember in town is active on the board, we are represented by a wealth of ecclesial traditions. At our meetings, we don't talk about what makes us different. Actually, we actively avoid that. We talk about how we as a board can offer pastoral support to each other as well as to the community around us. We hold several events throughout the year, including a community prayer service, a Good Friday service, and Thanksgiving service. We also participate in the Mayor's Prayer Breakfast in the fall. I feel so blessed to be a community where the ministerial board is dedicated to striving towards minimizing the ways in which having different denominations obscures the unity of Christ.

I take comfort in the fact that being part of one denomination or another doesn't mean we are destroying the unity because there are things about being Presbyterian that I certainly don't want to give up. I feel strongly that God has called me to minister in the Reformed tradition.

So this week I'm praying for unity among the entire body of Christ, regardless of what denomination you subscribe to. I'm also praying for unity within the Presbyterian denomination itself. Lord knows we need those kinds of prayers right now. I hope that as you think about how God is calling you in your walk of faith, you think about how you are helping to strive towards minimalizing the obstruction of unity in Christ. How does your church support Christian unity? How do YOU?

Yours in Christ,
Pastor Becki

Praying for Each Other

I have to say, I'm rather embarassed to note that the last time I posted on this blog was in November. I really do have the best of intentions to update this reguarly. Life, as you might have guessed, happens and the Advent season is especially crazy for pastors.

We did something new this year for Advent that I wanted to share with you because it really went over much better than I thought it would. I've heard of "Stations of the Cross" as a spiritual journey we undertake during the Lent season and I was looking for something comparable for Advent. I really wasn't finding what I was looking for, so I decided to make something up and I entitled it "Stations of the Manger." Each classroom downstairs had a different station. Each station had a scripture passage, a devotion, and a prayer practice. Each person went through the stations as individuals instead of as groups. I put up a sign by the door that said, 'Quiet please, prayer in progress' and encouraged people to go through each station at their own pace. Most people took about an hour to get through all five stations. What was really interesting for me was that I didn't see anything actually happening. I stayed up by the front door at a table handing out instructions and maps outlining where each station was and the whole event kind of ran itself. The only way I knew what was actually going on downstairs was the feedback I received from people after the event. Most people were grateful to have something the week before Christmas that actually forced them to slow down, take a deep breath, and encounter Christ in Advent. I even had to make more photocopies of things, something I've never had to do before. The "Stations of the Manger" was truly a testiment to what a powerful experience engaging in prayer can be for people.

Among the changes to the Presbyterian Book of Order is change to the ordination/installation vows. The eighth question for those being ordained or installed as ruling elders, deacons, teaching elders, or certified Christian educators is this: "Will you pray for and seek to serve the people with energy, intelligence, imagination and love?" (bold print notes the new language). There is something profound, I think, about our leaders taking a vow to pray for the people they serve. We are asking the congregation to trust the decisions this group of people make. It makes sense to hope that they are not making decisions in a vaccuum; it makes sense to hope that decision makers in the church are making decisions based on the direction they hear God calling us as a congregation, not just making decisions based on their own agendas (which does, unfortunately, happen occassionally in church politics). Reminding our leaders to be praying for the people they serve reminds us as a congregation that church politics is not just about the politics; it's also about people serving, encouraging, and praying for other people.

The other side of the coin is that not only should congregations expect their leaders to be praying for them, but leaders should expect their congregations to pray for them, as well. During installation and ordination services, congregations take a vow to agree to "pray for them, to encourage them, to respect their decisions, and to follow as they guide us, serving Jesus Christ, who alone is Head of the Church." As pastor, I hope that my congregation prays for me. Lord knows we pastors need prayer!

This coming Sunday my congregation will be ordaining and installing new officers to the offices of ruling elders (session) and deacons. As we hear the candidates make their vows to pray for us and as we vow that we will pray for them in return, I truly hope we take that vow seriously. As a congregation, we agree to trust each other. Officers trust that congregations will do what they can to make sure our congregation continues to thrive and congregations trust the officers will make decisions that paint a clear picture of God's call for our church.

I deeply encourage you, whether you are an officer of the church, a member (whether a member on roles or a visiting member) of a church, or even someone not connected with the church at all to keep your leaders in your thoughts. I hope this also includes our secular leaders who, Lord knows, also need our prayers. If we keep each other in prayer, I suspect we will quickly feel the evidence of so many hands keeping us uplifted. And if you are praying for someone in particular, I encourage you to tell that person you pray for him or her. Your leaders will appreciate knowing that they are in your prayers and congregations will appreciate knowing that their leaders are keeping them in prayer as well.

Yours in Christ (and keeping you in prayer),
Pastor Becki