Homework assignment: Why are you part of a "church" community?

[54anickel]

I have a assignment due next week and could use some help. I need to ask at least 10 people why they belong to a church community. It's for a class in an ELCA program, hence the word "church" but I certainly don't want to limit it to the christian faith only.

Thanks in advance for anyone willing to help out and share.

[kwassa]

1. Communing in worship with others is important to me.

Doing it as a group makes it more powerful, as a way of invoking the spirit of it all.

Also, to live in a community that shares a set of common values (mostly, anyways) and with an interest in the same faith.

And, the support given by that community to me, as well as I to them, creates a sense of connectedness to others that feels wonderful.

And, I like to sing, and love music, so there is the choir.

It is also a great way of recognizing and supporting families.

[54anickel]

6. Thanks kwassa. It really does go way beyond the term fellowship, doesn't

it?

I tend to be a bit of a loner, not a lot of close friends, yet I can feel that "connectedness" with others in the congregation. It's hard to explain, they're not really close friends, more like acquaintances or co-workers that you see all the time but that feeling of closeness/connectedness is there.

I like the singing too, though I'm not very good at it. I stay out of the choir but I do play guitar there.

[Critters2]

2. I believe God is best known in community

I honestly don't believe one can have a full relationship with God without a relationship with a faith community. God enters into covenant with communities more often than with individuals in scripture. I often joke that I've accepted Jesus as my communal Lord and Savior. It seems so basic to me to see that faith calls one into relationship with God and with others. That relationship, with all of its trials and tribulations, is also full of joy.

Long story short--one doesn't do the Christian faith alone.

Which ELCA program is this? I took an online course through Wartburg Seminary last spring and really enjoyed it. It was through their Center for Theology and Land. I'll probably do another one this year some time.

[54anickel]

4. Thank you for your response. I am in the diakonia program. It's 12 classes

each is 5 weeks long spread out over 2 academic years (summer off). We're just starting the 4th class - Koinonia-Biblical Images. It's basically about the relationships within the early church. I have really been enjoying the program so far.

I just checked out the Wartburg Seminary (thanks for the lead). Some interesting classes coming up there too. I've been exploring the possibilities in ministry - not sure what I'm going to do with my life yet, but I thought the diakonia program was a good starting point. I feel a calling toward a healthcare/hospice chaplin, just not sure if I'm up to becoming fully ordained - I'm gettin' too old to spend years in seminary.

[StoryTeller]

3. I completely agree with the first two responses.

To add to them, I'm part of a church community because I need both the opportunity to serve others and the support and service they provide me. I believe that God--being a triune being--is ultimately all about community. The perfect community can be seen in the Trinity, but He extends that community to us. I think part of being His image is being in relationships with other people. And there's something really special about relationship with others who share your love for and faith in God.

[54anickel]

5. Thank you StoryTeller. I never thought of the Trinity that way before. That's

really a beautiful image - "He extends that community to us".

[Lydia Leftcoast]

7. I'm in there for a sense of connectedness as well

To me, communal worship (in the liturgical tradition--that's my preferred mode) is one of the most inspiring experiences there is, especially when it creates a kind of "flow." This is especially true for me as part of the choir.

I also like the way that the church brings together all sorts of people who wouldn't otherwise know one another and inspires them to work for common purposes. I've seen how they rally around when a member is, as the Prayers of the People in "sickness, need, sorrow, or any other adversity." I think it was St. Theresa of Avila who said, "God has no other hands on earth but yours."

I also enjoy the structured opportunities for intellectual and spiritual growth, participating in retreats or taking the EFM (Education for Ministry) course, a four-year course for lay people.

There have been times when I avoided going to church, but it was mostly because I hadn't found the right community. With the right community, I enjoy going.

[54anickel]

8. Thank you Lydia Leftcoast.

Yes, it certainly brings a diverse group of people together. Then again, so does DU in a way --- I wonder which is more diverse? DU is obviously much bigger, but I digress.

The opportunities for intellectual and spiritual growth was what initially drew me in. I visited the church a few times as I'd had outside contacts with their Pastor. Somehow I got put on their newsletter mailing list. I'd see the topics of some of the studies and the titles for the BookTalks, after a few months one BookTalk really caught my eye and so I went to it. Then I started going to Sunday services a bit more often, next thing I knew it was home. Shortly after I "joined" that Pastor left, not on the best of terms with some in the congregation. I guess they had issues with his "outside of the congregation" missions - all the things I so admired about him.

I still sometimes feel like an outsider. I'm very close to the new Pastor, have a few casual friends there, but I don't quite get that sense of community where I'm at right now. Might explain why I had trouble answering the question for myself.

Edit to add...

There's that connectedness in worship, but not a sense of community that extends beyond. Does that make sense? I can't really explain it much better than that.

[JVS]

9. 2 basic functions of church

1. teach- someone has to tell of Christ

2. administer sacraments- baptism must happen, the lord's supper must be given to the people

churches can do more, but without those two there is no church.

I go to church to be taught and to partake of the sacraments.

So is this for confirmtion class or what?

[54anickel]

10. Thanks JVS. It's for a lay ministry program called diakonia.

I agree with your 2 basic "functions" of the church, that certainly has become the crux of most any teaching on Luther's motivation. But, people have very different personal reasons why they belong to a church that go beyond the 2 basic functions of the church. The Augsburg Confession also defines the church as an "assembly of saints". Hopefully what draws people to that "assembly" is something that resulted from those 2 functions being properly administered.

Of course, then that raises the question of "what about the outsiders?"--- The visitors who don't consider themselves part of that "assembly of saints". Is the church then some sort of exclusive club? Is it meant to be? ...but I digress again.

[More Than A Feeling]

11. Well, I'll tell you...

I want to ask and think about the most important questions in life, in the company of people who also care about those questions. It's the same reason I participate in the Religion/Theology forum more than any other forum on DU. Most people I see on a daily basis either do not care, or don't want to talk about it.

[54anickel]

12. Thanks Heaven and Earth. I lurk quite a bit in the Religion/Theology

forum, and post occasionally. It is extremely thought provoking, as are most DU forums. Sometimes reinforcing, other times challenging my personal beliefs - but always contributing to my "spiritual" growth.