Conversation flows easily and laughter
abounds. It is Sunday night and Saskatoon
church leaders have gathered for
a pot luck dinner. Disbelief is followed
by jocularity when Bill, an evangelical
pastor, describes the size of the fish
he caught. One of the tallest members
urges purchase of tiny Smart Cars. We
begin with jokes and stories and move
to serious discussion about the effect of war and the need for
refugee sponsorships. This morning we presided at church services
in separate places. Now we are together to share a meal.
We meet together socially but we worship separately. Why?
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A few weeks earlier we participated in a joint service for
the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. A Roman Catholic
priest, Father Bernard de Margerie, told us that unity between
religious denominations will not be accomplished by a program
or a study book. It will happen as a movement emerging from
a will to share.
People in rural Saskatchewan tell me There are just a few
of us. We love our church but it is a struggle to keep the doors
open. We would like to worship with other churches but we don t
know how to open the discussion. I suggest getting to know one
another first. Then we could begin to solve the challenges of small
numbers and costly buildings. Maybe there are ways of co-operating
with other churches that we have not discovered.
Collaborative is a new word in church life. It means bringing
people from several religious traditions together in ways
that do not compromise deeply held convictions. Three small
churches in Biggar, Sask. are worshiping together every Sunday
morning. They move from church to church month by month.
A few years ago I attended a conference on collaborative
ministries. One of the speakers was John Bell, a hymn writer
from Scotland. He told us not to be discouraged if our churches
are small. A large percentage of churches in North America
have fewer than 100 people in the congregation each Sunday.
Bell recalled the tradition of the Jews where there has always
been a place for the small synagogue.
Church unity will not come about because denominational
leaders decide it is a good idea. We need to respect conscience,
convictions and the affection people have for their church
buildings. When you have been baptized in a church, married
in a church and brought your loved ones for burial to a church,
the building becomes holy ground. Churches do not become
holy because they are designed by an architect and erected by a
contractor. They become holy because people pray in them.
Some under-utilized churches come to life in unexpected
ways. Liza Gareau Tosh lives near Harris, Sask. She is an actor,
a musician and an artist. Her murals decorate the walls of
buildings in several towns. Liza purchased an unused church
and moved it 12 kilometres to Harris. Her dream is that the
old building will be a place where musicians present concerts,
drama groups put on plays and artists display their creations.
Perhaps Saturday night dances will be revived. She hopes that a
neglected church building will bring new life to her small town.
Driven by the forces of love, the fragments of the world
seek each other, so that the world may come into being. Teilhard
de Chardin
Suggested Scripture: Matthew 13:31-33, 1 Peter 2:1-10
Bishop Rod Andrews is with the Anglican Diocese in Saskatoon
