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Steve Aiello's avatar

Wondering if you received my email from last weekend?

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David Piner's avatar

I notice that though your guest bristled at the term, well-churched remains one of your phrases of choice. I understand why. It is consistent with your (our) religious upbringing and church remains a vibrant part of your life. I have always loved and will continue to live MY church (Home Moravian), even though I am seldom able to attend worship there. I was “well-churched” at Home and life apart from it remains nearly unthinkable.

That said, I think the term church and the phrase well-churches are tainted and perhaps in the way of a truly inclusive Movement of the Spirit. Fundamentally, I believe church happens where we are, when we are gathered with others, any others, and are exhibiting and sharing love for one another. Just being with others opens the pathway for the Holy Spirit to enter into the moment in a way that can be transformative. Our sharing of love, joy, compassion, kindness, pick your fruit of the Spirit, enables us to manifest anywhere, with anyone, the living Body of Christ. We do not have to name it as such, and for the sake of avoiding alienating others, we shouldn’t. Far better that we simply exhibit sensitivity and openness to others beliefs and faith experiences than to insist that those experiences fit our terminology.

I agree that Christianity has a bad reputation, well-earned some might say. The same might be said of Islam, and of Judaism, of any religion that exhibits fundamentalist ideologies and theologies that foster judgement and an us vs them mentality. Anyone who claims ownership of the Sacred, who says our way is The Way, operates in opposition to Grace, which such persons seldom exhibit and likely have never truly allowed themselves to experience. Christianity would have fared far better over the centuries had the Johanine quote, “I am the Way” been omitted, as I’m certain many of Jesus’ teachings were by accident or by intention. Everyone wants to feel they are part of the chosen ones but this is not possible without identification of the unchosen in all their identifiable otherness.

I think the Church as we have understood it (here is the church, here is the steeple, and WE are the people) is evolving. Its structures are proving inadequate to generate inspiration and transformation. It has become our object of worship too many times rendering us good members of our specific group devoted to its maintenance, sustenance, and preservation of its identity. If all the churches closed their doors at once, sold all their assets and gave the proceeds to the poor, I wonder what would emerge in its place. Something small and local, something defined by relationships I would hope, something not bound to a place, but unfolding in the market square and main streets, something loving in a way that is magnetic and that draws people into the experience of Love. That it’s so hard to imagine this alternative says something about how “well-churched” we have become over the centuries. And yet we feel disconnected, adrift, anomalous, craving connection, and starved for wonder. An “un-churched” faith, hope, and love shared person to person right where we are living our “real” lives might be preferable if not urgently needed at this time.

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