Being a Part of a Faith Community

Recently in a conversation I heard the words again “I don’t have to go to church to believe in God” and my response was, as it always is, that is certainly true. However I think what I should have said was,

“That is true enough but there is more to it than simply saying you believe. Being a part of a community of faith provides the opportunity to pool resources and talents; it provides a place to enter into conversation with others and to grow and learn; it provides a safe place to explore faith and to be; it gives strength when you are weak; laughs with you in joy; cradles you in sorrow; challenges you to be the best that you can be; calls you to account when you are wrong; and so much more.”

It is about . . .

Going to church is about uniting your energy with others so that the impossible becomes possible! Going to church is about sharing your understandings and faith with others and being a light in dark places. Going to church is about give and take. It is about discerning together the call of the Universe. It is a place where no one person has to do everything and every person does one thing.”

I began to experience God all over the place

Graham Standish in his book “Becoming a Blessed Church” talks about his own experience of church. He names that as a teen he walked away from the church finding that it was a place of hypocrites. As an adult he explored all different schools of thought by reading and researching. He became a counsellor and later quit that job. In the midst of his searching and struggling he questioned where God was in the midst of this. In the middle of his struggles he decided to join a church. He writes

“In joining a church, I became aware of something I had refused to see before. Of course the people in the church were hypocrites. Of course the church was flawed and full of faults. I was just as aware of their faults and flaws as before, but now I recognized something even more important. I was a hypocrite too. I was just as flawed and faulty. What better place was there for me than church? I joined the church because I needed others to join me on my journey, just as I needed to join them on theirs. The funny thing is that after I made the decision I began to experience God more tangibly in my life. Coincidences opened doors that had previously been shut. People came into my life who gave me guidance. I began to experience God all over the place.”

My Faith Community by Valerie Peyton Kingsbury
Each Sunday I stand before this community of faces
Faces that depict many different stories
Stories that tell a tale of celebration and sorrow
Of hope and promise

Each Sunday I stand before you and look into your eyes
Eyes that invite me to be part of your lives
Lives that are incredible examples of determination
Of courage and of love

Each Sunday I am transformed by God’s power
Power that can touch and fill the soul with love
Love that empowers and enables
Creating space for justice to grow

Do you have to go to church to believe in God?

So do you have to go to church to believe in God? No, but being a part of church, of something greater than yourself, makes that presence of the Sacred more tangible and opens doors. Why would one choose not to be part of something this amazing!!

Blessings
Valerie

October 29, 2014