Story and Community

On a snowy January morning, twenty-five people (ages 6-86) gathered in the chapel at St. Dunstan’s Church for a homemade breakfast and a Christian formation program, Growing In Faith Together (GIFT).  I had created GIFT the year before with input from dozens of parishioners, and on this Sunday, each piece of the program was led by different people.  A mother and her teenage son provided breakfast.  A fourth-grader led the prayers and worship songs.  A drama teacher led a response to the Gospel story with physical action as well as discussion.  And an elderly couple offered to clean up.

This program, exemplified in this morning, demonstrates two important parts of ministry: story and community.

As Christians, we automatically engage in storytelling during Sunday morning worship. We read our faith stories from the Christian Bible and the preacher responds to those stories in her sermon.  We also tell our individual stories during the week: to coworkers, family, friends. But we often overlook that both sets of stories are interrelated and need to interact for our faith stories to be whole. Our personal stories are built upon the stories of the community, which starts local (in time and place) and expands to all times and all places.

Each person’s story is unique, while still having similarities with other people’s narratives.  Just like each individual is unique, yet we are all equally beloved children of God.  I visualize this concept by using a Venn

diagram.  Each person is a circle that overlaps with the other circles, and is only engulfed by the enormous circle that represents God and includes all things and all people.

In a similar visual, all people’s faith journeys also overlap.  No person’s “line” is straight.  No person’s line is always headed in the same direction.  No person’s line is exactly like anyone else’s.  But the different lines cross.  They mirror each other in places.  They join each other for stretches.  Each faith journey enriches and affects other people’s faith journey.

Humans are naturally drawn to communities.  My job as a lay pastor is to create a space where genuine communities can grow and flourish.  Where a person can continue her journey for awhile with other people who love and respect her while also introducing her to disparate ideas and giving her a place to grow and change.  Where being unique can occur side-by-side with being a welcome part of the group.