Dear Friends in Christ -
Studies show two things about churches that are diverse (in terms of age, race, socio-economics, and/or other factors): (1) they tend to be healthy and (2) they tend to grow deep, though slowly.
St. Paul's is filled with a great spectrum of people. True, we're not very racially diverse - but neither is the neighborhood we're located in. We are VERY diverse in terms of age, socio-economics, political perspectives and other factors.
Today's reading in "Forward Day By Day" really stuck out ot me, and I wanted to share it with you. May you be blessed as you reflect on it. (And I would love to hear what you think about it!)
Faithfully,
Janet+
Psalm 133. Oh, how good and pleasant it is, when brethren live together in unity!
Unity, though, is not uniformity. In Saint Paul's beautiful, practical metaphor, the Body of Christ has many different parts in one diverse yet unified whole. What the church-local and universal-needs is patient prophets, loyal dissenters, and militant moderates.
Our prophets need to be patient. They see farther than we do, and they need to be patient with us as we, by grace, cover new ground that is old to them. Our dissenters need to be loyal. My best growth has often come through clear-eyed critics who, through candor, insistence, and, above all, love, have helped me grow. Our moderates need to be militant, anchoring their positions not in passivity, but in their passion to keep us together as one.
Into which category do you fit? Can you live into your corresponding, counterbalancing opposite and maintain your integrity? How can you in your prayers and actions make this psalm a reality today?
Being a family is hard work. But as the psalmist says, when we stick together as the family of God, heavenly blessings can and will flow.
PRAY for the Diocese of Accra (West Africa)
Ps 131, 132 * 140, 142; Jeremiah 26:1-6; Romans 11:1-12; John 10:19-42
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