Finding Faith ... in building a faith community

By Pastor Devlyn Brooks

In the past few weeks, we’ve seen a good turnout for our Ash Wednesday and subsequent Wednesday Lenten meals and services.

Prior to that in late February, we hosted a 100th birthday party for Earl “Barney” Edwards, and an estimated 100 people turned out to wish him well as he entered his second 100 years of life!

And our Faith Lutheran Church Education Committee will be hosting a communitywide movie night on April 1 here at the church, with an invitation extended to all far and wide to join us.

What does each of these things have in common? … Well, of course, it’s the fact that they bring people together. Bottom-line: They help create community.

I often describe our church as a “faith community” because I think it’s important to describe what we do in action. We are far more than just a group of people who gather together for a couple of hours on Sunday morning in some mysterious, old building, which is the connotation that using the word “church” gives to so many.

So, that is why I use the phrase “faith community.”

In its earliest days, the “church” was created in the footsteps of Jesus' extraordinary ministry, and it focused heavily on building community, bringing together believers to homes and public venues to eat, participate in fellowship and to solve community needs. Somewhere along the way, in the middle centuries, when Western Europeans were bitten by the rationalization bug, it became important to impose order and structure to EVERYTHING. … And the church was not spared this movement.

Thus, for many faith leaders, church became about structures and finances and doctrines and dogmas and such. Some of which made our church better for the effort; some that did not.

I personally lament the fact that the Jesus movement, originally known as “The Way” in the 1st century, lost its focus on community. As I understand Jesus’ commandments, we are to love God “with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind,” and “‘love your neighbor as yourself.” … How better do you love your neighbor than creating a loving, supportive and welcoming community?

I believe that when we gather for meals before our Lenten services, and for 100th birthday parties for those we love, and for entertaining communitywide movie nights, that is exactly the kind of Christian community that the Apostle Paul so lovingly talks about at length throughout the New Testament. The faith community that practices this type of community, is going to be the one to retain its vibrancy and its future.

Since the pandemic, many churches have seen a decrease in attendance. And there is a lot of urgent talk churchwide about what is the future of “church,” and where do we go from here?

Well, in our case, I think we figured out the formula a long time ago without ever having even had a single conversation about it. The formula is that we remain vibrant … by bringing people together, whether it be for Lenten meals or birthday parties or movie nights.

One of the issues that became apparent during the pandemic is that a great percentage of people are starving for connection, whether that be connections with neighbors, connection with community, and yes, even connection with God. Not everyone will use those terms, of course. Not everyone is as comfortable admitting their desire to better connect with God out loud, nor may they even understand that this is the desire they are feeling. But that is my humble diagnosis.

We’ve lived through a challenging couple of years during the pandemic. And we are just now beginning to come out of our cocoons, both as a church, but also as a broader community.

For those of us who have spent any time at all thinking about the future of Faith Lutheran, I suggest that we already know the answer as to how we continue to remain vibrant and vital to our community. The secret is in how we connect with people. … Not just in the pews in our beautiful sanctuary on Sunday mornings. But here, out there, everywhere. And during worship services and during birthday parties and movie nights and so many other opportunities to gather.

Faith Family, I believe we are uniquely situated at the geographic and spiritual heart of a community longing for fellowship. We don’t have near the number of other competitors for the soul of our community as other churches have because we remain one of the last few strong institutions in Wolverton and the surrounding countryside.

We have an amazing opportunity to serve as a faith community that brings people together, makes them feel as if they belong to something bigger and to let them see Jesus shining his light through our efforts. I encourage us to continue to think big about our future, to think about how to continue reaching out to our community and to think big about how to graciously invite our neighbors into our doors.

I encourage us to continue to think of new ways of practicing fellowship and worship because I don’t believe for one minute that our best days are behind us.

In fact, I believe that God is just getting started with us! And that if we fully entrust our future to the Holy Spirit, we may be surprised by what God has in store for our future!

Until next month, blessings to you!