From the Vicar: (Un) Comfortable Church

From the Vicar: (Un) Comfortable Church

From the Vicar: (Un) Comfortable Church

# News

From the Vicar: (Un) Comfortable Church

Dear Ones of St. Columba's,

Last week I proudly made our big group photo from St. Columba Day my cover photo on Facebook, and the cover photo on our St. C's Facebook page. I've been showing it to everyone because I just love it. I love the photo because I love you, and I love having a visible image of who we are as a community and who we are becoming together. When I look at that picture I see young people and old people, people who were born in this country and people who were born other places, and I see people who are diverse in many other ways as well. And yet when I look at that picture I see a community that belongs together, and to each other. 

I say this is a picture of who we are and who we are becoming, because I believe this congregation has the potential to continue to live into what that picture promises: a church where people who have many reasons not to be together, are together as loving communtiy for the purposes of worshiping God and being transformed by loving God, each other, and the world we are sent into at the end of our Eucharist each week. 

This is an exciting thing, this potential to continue to embrace a new identity as multi-cultural in many ways (ethnic culture, economic culture, political culture, etc.) It is exciting, and if there's one thing I am sure of it is that it will not always be comfortable. 

But what if church was both the place to come to find comfort and support and community, and a place where you come to learn how to live and love with people whose ideas, life experiences, and backgrounds were significantly different than you? What if church was both the place where we are re-charged and the place where we first engage with love and hope the diversities of our world? What if having a church where not everyone votes, believes, loves, or lives exactly the same way as each other is exactly what we are being called to be and to become? 

More and more I am thinking about how we can live into the promise of our picture, and become a beloved community that has the capacity to respect, express, hold, and love across race, ethnic background, culture and political spectrums. We are diverse, and it is a strength of our community. It has brought us gifts and will bring more. It has brought us holy discomfort as well, and that also will continue. May we embrace the call into our future, and all the glorious promise and discomfort that comes.

I am so grateful to be on this journey, with all of you.

Alissa


You might also like...

0
Feed

  St. Columba Episcopal Church   ·   Physical address: 26715 Military Rd, Kent, WA 98032
Mailing address: 31811 Pacific Highway South, Ste. B #342, Federal Way, WA 98003       253-854-9912       admin@stcolumbakent.org

Contact