Welcome to Christ Episcopal Church

Community

It’s a concept that seems countercultural these days. In large part that’s because the culture we swim in has fragmented into hyper-individualism, where our individual needs and wants take priority. All this has affected our idea of what “community” is. We join groups so long as they meet our personal needs – but when we no longer need what the group has to offer, we’re often “out”. And yet, we all need authentic community. We know this from our theology – if we’re created in the image of God, and God is mysterious relationship between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, then we have been created to be in relationship with others. We also know it from our biology. One of the reasons loneliness is so difficult is that it sends danger signals to our brain, because for millennia it was life threatening to be cut off from the group.

Churches are one of the few places in our society where people can experience authentic community as people from different backgrounds find common ground in our worship of the Living God.

So how do we build community? One way to do that is through small groups. Church members who are part of a small group are much more likely to say that their church helps them build meaningful relationships.

We don’t do “small groups” at Christ Church like you might find in many other places. But we do have a lot of groups that are small. Groups where people find deep, authentic relationship by sharing their lives and how being a Jesus-follower makes a difference. Our Chosen ministry. Our Wednesday morning worship service. Our Vestry, who spend 15 minutes each time we meet immersing ourselves in Scripture. Our Christian Conversations forum, our Sunday School, and our Youth Group. The fact is, any group in our congregation, large or small, will be more life-giving if we dedicate at least a little time to building relationships that center on the difference God makes in our lives.

Common Cup

I also want to touch on another aspect of being in community – the common cup. I received notice from Bishop Loya last week directing congregations to return to using the common cup by the Day of Pentecost. As Bishop Loya writes “Since at least the fourth century, the use of the common cup for eucharistic wine has been an important sacramental expression of how we who are many are one body, because we all share in the one bread and one cup. … [The common cup] is a powerful and important symbol of our unity, our shared identity in Jesus, and our love, acceptance, and embrace of one another.”

In his letter, the bishop also notes that “the issue of the common cup has been studied a number of times by public health scientists over the years, and those studies have confirmed very little risk, and almost no evidence, of infectious disease spreading in any significant way because of its use.” I am working to devise a plan that will both ensure your safety, should you choose to consume wine at Communion, while also adhering to the theology the bishop has outlined for us. While it’s important to remember that the church teaches that we receive the full benefit of the sacrament by receiving either the bread or the wine, I want to be sensitive to those who wish to receive Communion in both forms.

In Christ, Pastor Aaron Twait