The Church as Our Family

This morning, I was at Linworth United Methodist Church for there was an interesting mix of news and prayer list items. During announcements, we heard about a debt reduction campaign and the upcoming annual garage sale. There were two rosebuds on the altar in honor of two babies born, one of whom was at an earlier service, and a couple announced their engagement. Moving from joys to concerns, we were reminded the memorial service for a member of the church was set for the afternoon. It struck me that this was quite a diverse microcosm of life.

Then, Pastor Rae Lynn Schleif talked about the church as a family. This made a lot of sense to me, just in light of the news shared shortly before. In my close extended family, there are always a dozen significant matters going. Seldom is there a clear time for weeping or dancing, as Ecclesiastes tells us; the tears of joy follow the same track down our faces as the tears of sorrow. What means so much to me is that family is there for me no matter what.

At some point, though, we all need a surrogate family. One of the clearest reasons I ended up in seminary is that I feel compelled to try to help bring others that essential sense of family love and support. I pray I can learn to convey this more effectively, both now and when I am back out in the “real world.”