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