Hi All,

Pile on!

This is us, The United Church of Canada, saying as one of the first things we have ever said, that we and we alone are not the whole of Christ's Church.  We are a part certainly, but we are not the beginning or the end of Christ's Church in the world.  There is something that is ultimately bigger and more important than we alone and that something is spread across the face of the earth and back and forth across the face of time.

This greater Church is Holy, meaning set apart for God's purposes and it is Catholic, meaning universal.  This Holy Church has a purpose in the world, a purpose that is not simply it's own but one which God has prepared for us.  We are called to be different, sometimes radically different and other times minimally different and sometimes, not so different at all.  How that works is up to the individual members in individual congregations to determine how they will best fit into the world while maintaing the purpose that God has given to them.  This Catholic Church is not in competition with itself and does not need to work in opposition to brother and sister Churches.  The relationship is complimentary and each will speak with resonance to the world and that resonance will vary.  By working in harmony we have the opportunity to resonate with the whole of Creation.  By working divisively we cancel ourselves out.

Quite simply it means that we can't be counted.  True, we have vital statistics that we fill out every year and that tells us, once it is all tabulated all the numbers of The United Church of Canada.  This article of faith is bigger than our census data.  This article faith is about what we believe but it is not simply about who we are.  It places us into the context of the greater Church and we are a sea of souls beyond the counting of any who care to count.

We are also saints.  Not capital "s" saints like Peter and the rest yet, at the same time we are not unlike Peter and the rest either.  The word saint, like the word holy, means set apart for God's purpose.  The greater Church is Holy because it is made out of the Holy.  We, the saints, are the living cells of a living Church.

This greater church extends to every corner of the planet and to every moment of time.  To lands and places far distant and isolated from the events that took place in Jerusalem, even before there was a Jerusalem and to times and places we have yet to experience.  This greater church permeates every nation and every culture and expresses itself in ways which we find both familiar and alien.

Not necessarily by our creeds or our interpretations and possibly not even by any scripture we have read or approved to be read..  Those that the Holy Spirit has touched in every time and in every place are automatically connected to the Head of the Church.

This has staggering impact.  Not only do we, by virtue of having been selected by the Holy Spirit belong to this greater church, have communion with Jesus we are held in communion with the innumerable company of saints.  Those long gone and those yet to come.  Those next door and those on the opposite side of the planet.  Whether we feel that connection with any strength or certainty is an issue for our spiritual development to affirm.  We may not feel the connection, that does not mean the connection does not exist.

The greater Church and its smaller member churches are meant to be seen in the world.  We are to be involved in some manner in every corner of public life.  Adding our wisdom when required or our passion, or our compassion to public discourse and community practices.  While we are visible we are also to be seen as visibly connected and supportive.  The calling is not to represent squabbling siblings and a divided house.  We will have disagreements.  We are not forced to have those disagreements turn into spectacles.

Belief in Jesus Christ is problematic for us with the forces of literalism infiltrating the Christian tradition.  Earlier we have touched on the doctrine of the Trinity.  Three persons yet one God.  If we truly hold that doctrine to be true then we are forced, by that doctrine to accept that those who profess faith in God, though they may never have met the person of Jesus or even heard of Jesus still profess faith in Jesus.

The doctrine takes us dangerously close to the notion of Christian imperialism.  So long as we can resist the effort to force a certain interpretation into that undeveloped image of Jesus we do not fall into that error.  We trust the Holy Spirit to fill in those blanks as the need arises and we make ourselves available if the Holy Spirit deems us to be the appropriate tool for the job.

Obedience is also problematic for us as smaller members of a greater Church.  We are always tempted to define obedience to Christ in the ways that are natural for us and the relationships that we have with Christ and our neighbour.  We tend to forget that as unique individuals our relationships are also unique.  As much as our relationships may resemble the relationships of others on the surface there is a unique part of us that shapes and influences how our relationships work.  We should always be willing to guide new believers to the best of our ability.  We should never presume that we know exactly what or how the new believer is to be obedient.

Simply put, we sing Christ's praise or, if we are not yet familiar with Christ's name we praise the name of God.  So long as we do not let literalism restrain us then we can accept that all praise sung to God and the name of God is equally praise that confesses Jesus.

Where the name of Christ is known it should be the responsibility of the Church to confess the name of Jesus freely and reclaim the honour the name is due from those who have allowed it to fall into abuse.

We are called to gather together and in that communion we are called to worship our Lord and our God.  The form of worship is not set in stone, neither is the time of worship prescribed.  Whenever we can get as many of us into one place is suitable for the act of worship and the minimum required is two or three.  One can worship alone and there may be times when the believer requires such solitude.  Unrestrained isolation cannot build up the body of believers nor can it build up the believer who is not tested or challenged by the community.

We are called to celebrate, as often as we find it feasible and meaningful, the sacraments which Christ has given to the greater Church.  While other smaller member churches may have significantly more or less liturgical events that they recognize as sacraments is not an issue which should greatly concern us.  The number of sacraments and their celebration should not be allowed to divide Christ's Church.

Apart from the fellowship and worship and confession comes the education and the equipping of the saints for the ministry to which they are being called.  Church is not for spectators and Church is not meant to be passive.  Church is meant to be and do not sit and watch.  For such action to happen the members of the Church, you and I, need to be engaged in building our spiritual muscles.

We have been set apart for a purpose, sitting on our backsides and mumbling a litany is not what we were set apart for.  To do what we have been set apart to do we need to prepare.  This requires the help of those who are already doing what we have been set apart to do and can give us pointers on how to make the job a) simpler or b) less painful.

Whoa!  Those are some big words eh?

Universal propagation is a very convoluted way of saying "spread everywhere."  We, the saints, the Church of Christ are to spread Christ's Gospel everywhere we can.

A reminder that we are not perfect, and that is okay.  It is also a reminder that the other smaller churches who belong to the greater Church are just as imperfect as we are and that too, is okay.

Grace and peace to you.

John