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Hands Together
What if our churches made space for simply bringing together groups and organizations? (Shutterstock Photo)
“Happy are people who are hopeless, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
“Happy are people who grieve, because they will be made glad.
“Happy are people who are humble, because they will inherit the earth.
“Happy are people who are hungry and thirsty for [justice],
because they will be fed until they are full.”
– Matthew 5:3-6 (Common English Bible)
A few weeks ago, I was invited to speak at a community vigil that had been organized after the killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis. My congregation was hosting the gathering, but we were by no means running the show – it was a team, gathered with only a day's notice, that was gathering people for this brave and healing moment. This team was made up of local advocates for LGBTQ rights, Black Lives Matter organizers, queer theologians, the head of a mostly Spanish-speaking immigrant queer and trans community, and others. The team, and their children, brought boxes and boxes of candles and made a beautiful candle-lit altar, and the queer migrant community built an ofrenda to remember not only Renee Good but also all of the lives taken by ICE in the past year, many of whom had gone unnoticed by the national press, even as their families and communities grieved the shock and tragedy of what was unfolding.
As the event unfolded, prayers were said, in English and Spanish, and the crowd heard from the wife of an immigrant currently incarcerated by ICE, a man with 7 children who built pop-up health fairs in his community. We heard from a Palestinian Muslim woman running for governor, and the leader of a community activist choir offered a song. Throughout the time, a trans artist painted a portrait of Renee Good.
This vigil was attended by members of the groups that had organized it, but also by church folks and folks from a variety of religious paths, and political leaders and clergy and community organizers. Neighbors from the immediate community came, encountering this diverse mix of engaged people, some for the first time.
What was striking is the way that all of these people, with all of their various identities and experiences, found themselves intersecting in a United Methodist Church on a Friday night, coming together in their grief but also finding courage in solidarity, strength in their shared humanity. Funds were raised for mutual aid efforts, information was shared for further connections, and underneath all of it was an energy - a deep sense that none of us, as threatened as many of us are in the current political and social climate - none of us were alone.
Lent is traditionally a time for “repentance” – and another helpful framing of the spiritual work of the season is to “refocus” on what our core practices are. We “turn around” and realign our time and energy as people of faith - and as Christians, and as United Methodists, one of the centers of our focus is grace shared in community, and the transforming power of getting together and talking about what is happening for us and our people, and listening and learning from the experiences of others – what Wesley called “holy conferencing.” As the forces busy at work in our society look to exploit working people, dehumanize immigrants, trans and queer people, Black and brown people, neurodiverse people, women, children, and political opponents, and as so many people struggle to find deep community as they work harder and harder to make ends meet, even as they slip into loneliness and isolation - it is time for the church to “stand on business” and be a catalyst for community.
On a basic level, churches are adept at gathering people together and finding ways for us to connect - often around age, or interests, or life stage. But what if we used our gifts of making hospitable space to generate new connections among groups and organizations that simply need introductions to each other and a warm meeting room with coffee and pastries - and watch the Liberating Spirit do what the Spirit does best: empower connections and bridge barriers.
But more than that - how might we be a part not simply resisting the evil, injustice, and oppression of our structures and systems - but of building the connections and relationships between engaged and creative people in our neighborhoods - people that are already building alternate systems of mutual care, restorative justice, and liberation for every kind of person. Because we are not alone in dreaming of a new world, This is the business of the Body of Christ - weaving together the Beloved Community that binds up the broken hearted and declares that even this dark moment can be a fresh beginning and we can add to the new world; even with small actions, conversations with neighbors, and simple gestures of kindness we can be laying the groundwork for the kindom. It's time to stand on this business, to double down on our work for a new world, a world where all God’s children have what we need.
The Rev. Andromeda Woodworth (Courtesy Photo)
The Rev. Andromeda Woodworth (she/they) is Pastor of Neighborhood Church in Atlanta. She is an ordained elder in The United Methodist Church and has served churches in various roles in Atlanta and Northwest Georgia.