21 August 2019
India is on my heart at the moment. I don’t know why. It is not a country I know much about, other than what I have seen in films. It has a massive population – 1,368,737,513 according to one website, second largest after China. I don’t think MCC has a formal presence there yet. What would MCC look like in India I wonder? What languages would be spoken in worship? What would worship even look and sound like? How would our MCC tribe fit into the vibrant landscape of so many faith traditions? What justice work needs to be done there?
What would be the impact on us, as a global Fellowship, if, in twenty years’ time, there were more MCC communities in India than anywhere else in the world? I invite you to just sit a while and just notice your response to that thought.
MCC is active in 33 countries at the moment. There are so many more countries in the world where the life and spirit transforming ministry of MCC is needed. We will appear in many shapes and sizes. In some places, we will be that delightful interplay of traditional church and queer activism, with a fine building, an excellent choir and a fierce reputation in the community for speaking truth to power on issues from trans rights to global warming.
In other places, MCC will be a subversive cell, offering safe shelter to those in hostile environments, helping to build community, build momentum for a fledging LGBTQI movement in a country that still does not recognise the diverse richness of God’s people.
Perhaps our presence will be in partnership with others, serving those at the margins – refugees, homeless people, those who have addictions. Our gospel of God’s radical inclusive love being shown in practical ways, as we, like Jesus, get out onto the street and serve the people where they are.
Of course, MCC already exists in these ways and in other ways, too. As MCC, we build community, we bring people closer to the Divine, we empower them to live fully as spirit-filled, embodied beings. We offer safe space and radical faith. We are still needed in many places to change the world.
God is already there - waiting and preparing for our arrival.
