Why Fruitvale is my faith community!
An editorial from the Voice

(Newsletter of Fruitvale Presbyterian Church)

This past month a scientific study came out affirming that we are shaped by the people we spend time. It was specifically researching obesity in modern-day America, but also commented on such things as youth crime and violence. Now it’s not really a surprise is it? We are greatly impacted by the people we hang with, eat with, learn alongside, and relate to. So what does that mean for us who have chosen to make Fruitvale Presbyterian Church our community of faith? In today’s world we seemed to be offered two choices in terms of our spirituality: we can take and pick what we want, creating an over-the-counter spirituality, or we can choose to accept a vision that’s larger than what we personally expect or imagine because it implicates us in a community of faith. In our culture today we increasingly want to be spiritual people, but only on our terms, when and how we want it, according to our desires, schedules, and dreams. On TV last night, a sitcom character, when invited to church, replied, “I’m plenty spiritual without church. Who’s the church to tell me…?” That sit-com skit got it right. We tend to think that it’s all about us, all about me. In our hyper-individualistic culture we are conditioned to pick
and choose what we want and how we want it. We increasingly seem to only want faith if we can have it our way, only if we can control it; that faith is what we make of it. Faith ends up being more about us than God.

Yet don’t you feel the most alive in those existential moments when we don’t have control?; when life escapes our plans and surpasses our expectations? When a child is born, a loved one dies, we make a transition in life, when we experience God’s love and glimpse what life could be if the world was whole. All of those moments are fleeting, rushing upon us and then leaving us behind. If we’re not attentive, we pass by without recognizing those moments, relational encounters, & life-transforming experiences that only the Spirit of God can birth and facilitate in us, and our world. Such moments make us more grateful for what we’ve been given. They open our eyes to how the goodness of life and the love of God transcends the little boxes we try to keep God in. What’s interesting is that such existential moments, while they happen in and to us, always take place in community: relationships of family, love, friendship, shared values, common history and faith communities.

This week some have sensationally claimed that the news that Mother Theresa expressed personal doubt in God in her life convictions means that she wasn’t really a Christian (read this week's Time Magzine Article on this HERE). When we think of her life and example, doubt is not the word that comes to mind. So if she doubted, does that mean it was all her actions were a lie?; or that God must not exist? Some have said that. Yet I think it’s the opposite! Doubt is an essential or unavoidable part of the journey of faith. Mother Theresa expressed doubt in that she hadn’t had a life-changing experience of God’s power and love for many years after her original call to the ministry of loving the extremely poor. Yet she continued on. She didn’t give up. She undoubtedly doubted at times, but she was smart enough to commit to living her life and her faith in the context of a community of faith. She knew that our spirituality is the integration of our relationships, knowledge, experience of God and faith practice. She knew that we are influenced, encouraged and challenged by those that we hang with. So she chose well.

It’s easy when we face the challenges that we do as individuals and an urban church community to lose hope. Yet I find myself more and more grateful that God has called my family and I, to live not just our faith but also all of our life in the context of our church community. You are the ones we want to influence, encourage and challenge our children and us. You are the ones through whom God transforms our doubt into trust and our grief into grace. You can’t have faith without doubt. You can’t have spirituality without community. Someone said recently that they couldn’t live without Fruitvale. You know why I’m here, why are you here?

Peace to you and yours,
Monte

(This is part of the monthly Newsletter of the faith community I practice in.
It's called "THE VOICE" you can read it online HERE)