|
Pastor Dion's UPDATES and INSPIRATIONS
Just yesterday, I had a conversation with a young adult. I mentioned that dancing in church can release some joyful energy. He laughed. His perception was that church people don’t dance. Church people sit still, hush one another, and take on a weird, artificial, churchy demeanor. His perception was that church folks sit through an irrelevant tradition once a week because they want to avoid hell in the hereafter. At least he had an opinion, and we would do well to be listening, learning, and being the open-minded, caring Good News church 24-7.
In his book, A New Reformation: Creation Spirituality and the Transformation of Christianity, Matthew Fox noted that churches in which folks dance tend to be among those churches that are growing—perhaps because they incorporate ancient spiritual practices according to their cultural context. Fox’s emphasis is on spiritual revival over institutional church reformation, and he names Earth as an awe-inspiring cathedral worthy of our intentional care. I am not saying dance is the solution to a Christianity that seems to be fading away in parts of New York. I am saying that spiritual revival, relevance, and sustainable living may be building blocks of a lively, joyful, authentic, life-transforming Christianity in the 21st century.
Paul Nixon writes in A New Way Forward: How to Grow Churches in the 2020s that we would be wise to shift our attention from adding members to helping people to “discern what God is inviting them to do in this season of their lives.” To do this, we need to get outside of the church doors. We need to meet our neighbors and get to know our neighborhood as for the very first time. We will need to shift some time, energy, and creativity to gathering with our neighbors and together discovering or creating relevant, energizing ways to help folks follow Jesus in ways that are unique to them.
Many people who don’t wear the label “Christian” often find wisdom in the life and teachings of Jesus. Some people have a negative perception of the institutional church, even when they identify as Christian. Some folks say they are spiritual but not religious. Personal renewal and social renewal will continue to be the United Methodist way. We nurture disciples for the transformation of the world, that we may love God, love our neighbor, and practice compassion that puts time, energy, and resources into making life sustainable for all, especially for the vulnerable.
As one way of getting to know our neighbors, on October 3rd from 11 a.m. to noon, we will be out on the side lawn blessing dogs, cats, and pictures of pets. I hope some of our neighbors will stop by for a friendly chat. An online Zoom prayer meeting is set to begin in October; I will post the Zoom link to the church Facebook page. An interfaith network is still in the works; I hope it can begin meeting soon.
May peace, hope, and creativity be yours.
| 
