Thursday, 1 August, 2002

The lead piece is from "Amazing Grace by Kathleen Norris. In this book she takes many of the words and images of the faith and attempts to put some reality and life to them.

There will be no devotion sent out on Friday, August 2, 2002.



UNCHURCHED

The best commentary on the word "unchurched" that I know of came from a grocer in a small town in Iowa, apparently one of the suspect heathen. One day the pastor of the Lutheran church approached him about providing food for a district meeting of church evangelization committees. These are people, the pastor explained, who have a special ministry - here he paused, significantly - a special outreach to the "unchurched." The grocer took the order for cold cuts, sliced cheeses, rolls, cookies, and fruit. When the pastor unveiled the large platter in the church basement, he was startled to find that the centerpiece was a cross constructed out of slices of bologna.



Now, was the cross a sign to the pastor that the grocer knew the story already and he need not treat the grocer as ignorant...Or...was the cross a commentary about what the grocer thought of the church? Either way, we can be so singled minded that we do not know how to treat people during our days with a sense of respect and holiness that is not filled with religious language. I have found that some of the so-called "unchurched" know more about the basics of the faith than the "churched." Where does that leave us? Those who are not inside the church cannot be viewed as a commodity that we are looking to obtain. Instead, people inside and outside the church need to be involved in the life conversations that bring people together rather than separate into more and more categories.



Connection: It is always appropriate to invite people into the community called the church. That may be for worship, study, social activities, etc. When we have people over to our home, I never refer to some of our friends as "unchurched"...they are our friends and they know I participate in a church and hang around with other who are very committed to a church.



Lord God, stretch us so that we may find in everyone around us a piece of your creative energy that brings to life something new and fresh to our day. Remind us of the value of the stories and lives of the people we will meet this day. Amen