We are SisterFriends. We are the Church.

February 13, 2008

We are SisterFriends. We are the church.

We are conservative. We are progressive. We are evangelical. We are liberal. We are seeking, searching and emerging. We have found the Answer. We are content to live in the questions.

We light candles and sing Georgian chants in the scented haze of burning incense. We sing “Amazing Grace” and weep as we do. We lift our hands in worship. We hold our hands in silent meditation. We dance down the aisles. We genuflect before the cross. The walls of our church are brick and glass. The walls of our church are mighty oak trees and endless blue sky.

We celebrate Eucharist. We receive communion. We come to Christ’s Table. Once a month. Every Sunday. Paper thin wafer. Chunk of earthy bread. Cup of sweet grape juice. Chalice of dry red wine. We sip. We dip. We have a baptistry. We have a font. We dunk. We sprinkle. We all wade into the deep swirling waters of Spirit and Mystery and God Most Divine.

We call God Heavenly Father. We call God Heavenly Mother. He. She. We come to God as Creator, Redeemer, Friend, Source of All Being, Holy Spirit, Indescribable One. Alpha. Omega. Mystery. Name Above All Names. God Above All Gods. I Am.

Just as diverse as our styles of worship, the places where we worship, and our attempts at naming God, is our theology. I believe this. You believe that. On some things we will agree. On many things we never will.

We are seeking to know God ever more. We are falling, ever falling, more in love with Christ. We are committed to living authentic lives, transparent lives, faithful lives, made in the image of God, committed to the purpose of God. We are passionate. We are opinionated. We are strong and we are devoted to searching, seeking, growing, following, changing, obeying, transforming, and living for and to the Glory of God and to the Risen Christ, God’s Son.

We are equal in faith, equal before God. We are no more wise in understanding, no nearer to God, no more privy to God’s Spirit speaking than the one who stands beside us or the one who stands against us. We believe what we believe because it is what seems most true to each of us. And yet, at times we might be wrong or they might be wrong or you might be wrong. Or maybe, just maybe, collectively together we could be closer to the truth that we could ever be on our own, as we glimpse the same thing from different places, putting together the pieces of something bigger than any of us alone can grasp. We can teach one another. We can learn from one another.

The same spirit of Christ that dwells in us, dwells in you. It is Christ that unites us. It is to unity in Christ to which we will default. When our differences begin to splinter us, let the grace of God, the love of Christ, and the unity of the Holy Spirit bind us inseparably. In this we pray. In this we believe. To this we commit ourselves.

Amen.

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Posted in Affirming, Christian Lesbian Identity, Christian Unity, Opposing