The Pastor’s Offering: Why “You Belong Here” Is Such Good News
Dear Friends,
As a faith community, we have so much to celebrate and be grateful for.
To be a vital and progressive Christian church community in the United States at this time in history is a significant blessing beyond measure.
To be a pastor celebrating 20 years of pastoral ministry in the same church, and 23 years of ordained ministry overall, is, thanks to God’s sustaining grace, bordering on miraculous.
Both these realities say so much about who we have become together over these many years, and what many people experience when they walk through our doors or meet us out in the community.
Although we have suffered quite a bit of loss over the past three years, due to COVID and folks moving out of Alameda, in the big picture, FCCA is not just surviving but reviving and thriving.
Those of you who read the New York Times or The Atlantic regularly may have noticed that there has been a plethora of articles over the last year or so on two converging topics that are incredibly relevant to who we are as a faith community.
The first topic is the “epidemic of loneliness” in our country. The second topic is the decline in the number of people participating in organized religious communities. Just search online for the topic of decreasing church attendance or the rise of “nones,” short for non-religiously affiliated people, and you will have your fill of reading material.
You would think that, if people in our society are experiencing an increased sense of loneliness and isolation, there would be more people seeking to participate in faith communities, not less. But studies and stats show that this not the case.
One of the biggest reasons for this is that people have experienced the church as a place of judgement, exclusion and othering* rather than as a place of acceptance, inclusion and belonging.
In her book Belonging: Remembering Ourselves Home, Toko-pa Turner says, “the absence of belonging is the great silent wound of our times. Most of us think of belonging as a place outside of ourselves, that if we keep searching for, that maybe one day we’ll find it. But what if belonging isn’t a place at all, but a set of skills, or competencies, that we in modern times have lost or forgotten.” Brene Brown notes that “belonging is a spiritual practice.” It takes intention for our sense of belonging to deepen, grow and flourish. There are so many obstacles in our culture and society working against a true sense of belonging.
As an inclusive and progressive faith community, we seek to be good news together and for the good of others! This, my friends, is why we will take a deep dive into the theme of Belonging over the next four weeks as we re-gather and welcome one another back from our summer adventures.
Our worship series, You Belong Here! begins this Sunday and continues through October 1. Our worship team has been developing ways for us to experience a deeper sense of belonging by making different part of our service more participatory. Much thanks to members of our creative team: Rev. Lacey, Rev. Alexandra, Eric Hartz, Kathryn Gronke, Barbara Regan and Paul Dannhauser.
Also, some birdies have told me that we will be celebrating my 20th anniversary this Sunday. Woohoo! Ironically, this week there have also been a flurry of articles and social media posts related to the challenging realities of being a pastor. Suffice to say that my longevity at FCCA has much to do with the health, integrity, love and commitment of so many of you, for so many years. For this I am truly grateful.
Many Blessings,
Rev. Laura
*I recently discovered the Othering and Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley, which uses this word “othering” to describe the systemic injustice that prevents people on the margins from experiencing true belonging. Join me in exploring their website at www.belonging.berkeley.edu.
