Note From the Rector, March 10, 2016

We began Lent having just had a rich conversation with Natalie Finstad about how we are called to “be the church” and be about the mission of reconciliation and radical love. The Compassionate Community weekend was a wonderful introduction to some principles which are slowly and steadily impacting our ministry together. I hope you’ll go to our website page dedicated to this work, review what we learned and suggested, and pray for guidance as we move ahead.

Four Principles of Reconciling Communities via Natalie Finstad We pattern our lives after Christ’s radical love as an alternative way of being in the world We practice solidarity through sharing power, vulnerability, and accountability We hunger for transformation and offer ourselves as living witnesses that resist the powers that corrupt and destroy life We commit to shared spiritual discipline that opens us to receiving grace from unexpected sources

This weekend, we are all invited to gather on Saturday evening at 6 p.m. in Sydnor Hall with local Muslim neighbors to share a meal and conversation. It is a “potluck,” in every sense of the word. We trust that there will be a variety of foods, a variety of people, and somehow it will all work out. You are all invited to attend (no pork or alcohol please). This was one of the ideas suggested at our Compassionate Community weekend, that we find ways to form deeper interfaith relationships. It is one way of “patterning our lives after Christ’s radical love as an alternative way of being in the world” (principle #1 of reconciling communities that Natalie shared with us). To take a risk, to open ourselves up to new relationships with people unfamiliar to us is a “shared spiritual discipline that opens us to receiving grace from unexpected resources” (principle #4).

Why would we want to do this? First of all, it’s okay to feel uncomfortable. No judgment there. We all have things that push us outside our comfort zones. When we feel uncomfortable, it’s usually because there is something for us to learn, some way God is calling us to grow.

Writing almost 40 years ago about interfaith dialogue in a famous book,The Open Secret, Lesslie (yes, it has two ‘s’s) Newbigin said that the reason to enter into these conversations is out of obedience to Jesus. We are not trying to convert others to Christianity, but we are open to a transformation in Christ, because we believe that Christ lives and moves in the lives of all people of every creed and culture. In the encounter with others, we encounter Christ. This is also a way that we are living our baptismal vows. Through fellowship, we are striving for justice and peace and respecting the dignity of every human being.

That is a lot to chew on! I will definitely come though, because I believe there will be some good food and conversation! Whether you come or not, please pray that, in all our work together, we will continue to grow into a compassionate community that embraces the transforming, restorative love of Christ.