Are We the Church of Jesus?
by the Rev. Tracy Johnson Russell
"It is not enough that we love God. It is not enough that we love one another. We must also love the world for whom Christ died."
George Bernard Shaw once wrote:
"If some enterprising clergyman with a cure for souls in the slums were to hoist a board over his church door with the following inscription: 'Here men and women after working hours may dance without getting drunk on Fridays; hear good music on Saturdays; pray on Sundays, discuss public affairs without molestation from the police on Mondays; have the building for any honest purpose they choose on Tuesday; bring the children for games, amusing drill and romps on Wednesdays; and volunteer for a thorough scrubbing down of the place on Thursdays, he could reform the whole neighborhood."
I believe George Bernard Shaw saw the church's greatest need as well as its unlimited potential. My friends, if the church of Jesus Christ becomes what it was created it to be, a place that truly seeks freedom and wholeness for God's children, we must come together in unity.
So, where do we begin?
We begin by acknowledging who we are. We are the body of Jesus Christ. We are temples of the living God. We are the company committed by a covenant and a cross. The writer of Leviticus knew that is where we must begin. The Lord speaks to Moses in the second chapter of this book of priestly laws and says to him, "Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: 'You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.'" (Lev.2:2)
The people of Israel never forgot who they are, though from time to time they needed a little reminding. That is how they have survived as a people for three thousand years under every possible adverse circumstance.
Whenever the church has forgotten who it is, it has lost its vitality and lost sight of its mission. However, our strength is renewed when we are rooted in our dependence upon God. And we dare not stop here; it is clear that Christ calls us to be more than a shrine. As we know, the church is not a place but a people - a people bound together in love and in mission.
It's not a stretch to say that every church has its problems. We all have our own ideas on how the kingdom of God ought to be advanced, and sometimes those ideas are hard to mesh. But we are one body. We can't afford to lose a finger or a hand or a foot or a leg. We are one body - the body of Jesus Christ. If we are going to be about the business of being the church of Jesus, then we must work together, pray together, strive together in unity and common purpose, and never lose sight of the fact that even though we may disagree, we are one body!
One more thing needs to be said. The writer in Leviticus was the first to record God's command that we were to love our neighbor, but the boundaries of love's demands are expanded throughout the Bible. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus counsels us that our love must also include our enemies. And St. John, the last of the Gospel writers, instructs us that "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son." Somehow, we must also learn to love the world. And that can be challenging.
A man came out of church one day and said to his pastor, "I love God so much that I am ready to choke anybody who dares to speak a word against Him." That may elicit a chuckle - but such attitudes are wreaking havoc on our world today. People are ready to choke anyone who disagrees with them.
During my time in the city of New Haven, ministering in the Newhallville neighborhood, I was blessed to witness the power of the Good News of Jesus Christ-that we are loved, forgiven, and part of the Kingdom of God. My ministry has been forever changed by my participation in the weekly prayer walks that fellow clergy and lay people engaged in, where we reached out to people in the neighborhood in prayer and love with no strings attached.
Jesus set out not to choke the wayward but to embrace them with the good news that they were loved, that they were forgiven, that they were part of the family of God. I ask you, is this not our task as well?
So, let us not forget that we are the temples of the living God, the body of Jesus Christ. We dare not let anything tear us asunder. Nor dare we stray from our central reason for being, which is to tell - and show - the world, in Jesus' name, that it is loved.
The Rev. Tracy Johnson Russell is Priest-in-Charge at St. Monica's Hartford and founder of Your Place Hartford, a ministry to youth in the city. She is a graduate of Berkeley Divinity School at Yale.
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You are invited to join Berkeley Divinity School at Yale for The Wesley Royce Leadership Symposium
June 6 & 7 (noon to noon)
Berkeley Divinity School at Yale
Connecticut clergy are invited to join the Rev. Dr. Andrew McGowan, Dean and President of Berkeley in addition to other Episcopal leaders from around the country for Berkeley's annual Leadership Symposium which will focus on the newly released research for strategies to transform your parish. The symposium will feature the just released Rise: Bold Strategies to Transform Your Church. Participants will hear from and engage with Cally Parkinson, the author, and Eric Aronson, the lead researcher. Jay Sidebotham will also convene a panel of leaders who have adapted this type of research to suit the needs of Episcopal parishes. There is a $100 fee for this two-day Symposium which includes materials, two lunches and a dinner. After the event Jay will offer a two-hour workshop for parishes wishing to learn more about the work of his organization, Renewal Works.
Berkeley Divinity School at Yale
409 Prospect Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Remaining spots will fill quickly; reserve your place no later than May 26
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Clergy Safe Church Recertification
All clergy within the Episcopal Church in Connecticut are required to complete Comprehensive (Basic) Safe Church Training. (This includes newly ordained clergy and clergy new to Connecticut.) Clergy may attend any of the basic safe church training sessions. Clergy must attend a recertification training every five years. Remaining dates, locations, and registration links to the 2016 Safe Church Recertification:
June 2, 2016 at St. Monica's, Hartford (note location change): register here.
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Mark your calendar!
Ordination to the Transitional Diaconate
Phil Bjornberg & Jane Hale
June 14, 6:30 p.m.
Christ Church Cathedral
Clergy, Red stoles
Celebration of New Ministry for the Rev. Rebekah Hatch
Rector, St. Albans, Simsbury
May 26, 6:30 p.m.
Clergy, Red stoles
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Transitions Ministry Corner
New Calls
The Rev. Jim Speer is now Missional Priest at St. Andrew's Church, Marble Dale.
The Rev. Shaw Mudge is now Interim Rector at St, Peter's Church, South Windsor.
The Rev. David Parachini is now Missional Priest at Grace Church, Newington.
The Rev. Dr. Paul Carling is now half-time Interim Rector at Trinity Church, Trumbull.
Parishes in Transition
Epiphany Church, Durham......................................Using Supply Priests
Grace Church, Hartford....................................Seeking Priest in Charge
Old St. Andrew's, Bloomfield...........................Interim in place: Alex Dyer
St. Andrew's, Madison.......................................................Interviewing
St. James, New London.................................Interim in place: Bob Miner
St. John's, North Haven....................Interim in place: Louise Kalemkarian
St. John's, Waterbury............................................Using Supply Priests
St. Luke's, New Haven.....................................Seeking Priest in Charge
St. Mark's, Storrs.......................................Interim in place: Hilary Greer
St. Mary's, Manchester................................Interim in place: Lynne Grifo
St. Martin's, Hartford........................................Seeking Missional Priest
St. Paul's, Fairfield.......................................Interim in place: Amy Welin
St. Paul's, Riverside.....................................Interim in place: Alon White
St. Paul's & St. James, New Haven.........................Using Supply Priests
St. Peter's, Milford.................................Interim in place: Cynthia Knapp
St. Peter's, South Windsor..........................Interim in place: Shaw Mudge
St. Timothy's, Fairfield...............................................Receiving Names
Trinity Church, Portland....................................Seeking Missional Priest
Trinity Church, Seymour...............................Interim in place: Steve Ling
Trinity Church, Trumbull.............................Interim in place: Paul Carling
Please contact Lee Ann Tolzmann (latolzmann@episcopalct.org) with any questions about the TMC or the process. I look forward to working with you.
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