A couple of years ago, I attended a clergy retreat where a prominent priest I had gotten to know during my time in seminary was giving an address. One of the subjects she discussed was how many of the church photos we see online are pictures of the church building and not the people attending services. I have to confess, this is something I am often guilty of, so her words resonated with me. Judging by my conversations with many of my colleagues and superiors, it hit home for them as well.
I don't mean that we have to stop taking beautiful pictures of our church buildings. I certainly haven't! Yet this is a call for us to think about what church actually is. Our parishes are made up of people who come together to form a community. We come together to reflect the unity of God in Trinity as well as the desire God has to come closer in relationship with us. We are also a tiny part of the wider Christian family throughout the world that reflects this truth that God is calling all of us to be together.
Based on a recent survey I sent out on Christian Formation, Scripture was by-and-large what people were interested in learning more about. I have also noticed that St. Luke's has a strong sense of our identity as a church, as has been the case in many of the parishes I've served. My hope is to combine exploring our identity and seeing the roots of that identity in the Bible. What I am proposing is a deeper look at the Scriptural understanding of community.
In the coming months, our Christian Formation offerings will reflect this further exploration. We will start with a better sense of what Scripture is to us and then dive into what Scripture has to say about community. My hope is that these offerings will help you see what God's hope for us is as a parish and where each of us fits in with that purpose.