My brothers and my
sisters,
The joyful storm
over the UCC God Is Still Speaking ads is washing over the nation! Even
though NBC and CBS found the ads to be "advocacy ads" and "too controversial",
word is getting out that all people, all seekers of faith and grace, are welcome
in UCC churches. Major news outlets --including CNN, NPR, the Chronicle, and
CBS News -- are carrying the story of the ads, which can be seen on our website
as well as on the national www.stillspeaking.com
site.
While it is great
that the inclusive message of the United Church of Christ is getting out, it is
most important that the message itself -- that all people are welcome in
Christ's church -- is both preached and practiced. Ken True, our
webmaster, reports that we have received a number of new visitors to our site
from the Still Speaking ad. Let us all pray that they will have the
courage to walk through our doors, and that we will have the grace to serve
their needs.
When guests visit
our church, they will risk everything. They will be stepping through our
doors both fearful and hopeful. No new person comes to church because they
have to, or because they have nothing better to do. They come in
need. They come looking for hope. They come looking for an immediate
experience of the holy. They come looking for transformation. And
they come looking for others who will walk with them, not in simple friendship,
but on the path of spiritual growth.
We
must be those people. We must be Christ's embrace.
We must be people who will immediately offer to walk with others
on their journeys of doubt and faith.
When guests come,
introduce yourself. Sit with them. Help them understand what will
happen in the service. Introduce them to other lay people who have similar
interests to theirs (you'll have to find out what their interests are to
know!). And ask them: what brought you here today? What is
your heart longing for? And then listen to the answer.
You may find the
baby Jesus waiting in their words.
God is still
speaking, here.
Elane
__________________________________
Elane
O'Rourke
Congregational
Church of Campbell,
United Church of
Christ
400 W. Campbell
Ave.
Campbell,
CA 95008
408-378-4418