by Catherine Dafoe Hall
The Ministry of Serving
We need more people here!
I frequently hear this from church committees and parish members.
But sometimes I ask the question, “What do you need more people for?”
It seems obvious that if a church is getting smaller and attendance is falling that the answer is more people. But I challenge people to consider why they want more people. I hear things like: New blood! We need new blood here. We are getting tired we need help. And we need money. We need younger people to carry on after we are gone.
And that leads to the next question, “what do you have to offer those you are inviting to come and join you here?”
That question can be a real conversation stopper but it is an important question.
If we are inviting new people to the church because we need their time, their energy and their money then we are inviting them to serve us, for our advantage rather than theirs. This search for “new blood” is what I have heard called “Vampire evangelism.”
But Jesus said, “…the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve…” (Mark 10:45). We, the Church, are the hands and feet of Jesus here on earth. When we ask to be served rather than to serve, we do the opposite of what Jesus did. So it is important to take that question seriously, “what do you have to offer those you are inviting to come and join you here?”
Some churches have such a poor sense of self-esteem after struggling to continue to survive after a long period that the people have a hard time naming an answer. But, in all my years I have never come across a church that doesn’t have something to offer. Over the next month consider this question, discuss it with the members of your parish, talk about it at church committee and see what kind of response you can make to this question. I will continue with this theme next month.
Jewish Community Centre Desecrated Anglicans Offer Help
The Jewish Community Centre in Kelowna was desecrated in late June. The vicious anti-Semitic slogans were discovered early enough to be covered before children arrived in the nearby school.
The Anglican churches of Kelowna and other Christian communities responded by writing a joint note to the Jewish community offering labour to help re-paint the building.
The Jewish community responded warmly and with deep gratitude. Marcia Turner, the president, invited clergy and other community members to attend the Shabbat service on Friday, July 4. Three Anglican priests, a Lutheran pastor and other clergy from the community were present at the service.
The Shabbat service was conducted in Hebrew but there were explanations provided. One member of the Jewish congregation sat among the clergy to assist us to keep our places in the service book. The book had English translations of the Hebrew so we were able to follow a great deal of the service. When the service concluded Marcia Turner thanked the clergy for attending and for our response to the desecration. At the reception that followed the service many individuals expressed gratitude for our presence and support.
