We will begin to play with some material from “Holy People” by Gordon Lathrop.
Assembly, a gathering together of participating persons, constitutes the most basic symbol of Christian worship. All the other symbols and symbolic actions of liturgy depend upon this gathering being there in the first place. No texts are read, no preaching occurs, no hymns are sung, no Eucharist is held without an assembly, however small or large this gathering of persons may be. The event we call Baptism brings a person into this assembly.
We are a community people. Our faith is not merely a personal adventure. Yes, we do move away from the font and away from our Sunday gathering and away from the Meal as individuals, but we do so as part of a people. To stay away from the community is to stay away from the vitality of the church – the body. In a day when the mega-church…or simply a church bigger than what is presently the case seems to be the goal of congregations, there is that important word that defines us: Assembly. We gather. Sometimes small numbers…sometimes many...sometimes we are quite alike…sometimes we are as diverse a collection of people that is seems as though God is gifting us by placing us alongside those we do not know. Yes, we can be in “touch” with God as we wander in the woods or watch a sunrise, but it is as we gather together that we face something we cannot face on our own – the body of Christ…in all its glory.
Connection: Come to worship and take part in the many facets of our life together that may just lift up our lives and cause our voices to reach up and praise our God.
Gather us in, O God, and shape our hearts so that we may come to rest in the gracious ways of your Reign. Amen.
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