One of the most well-known types of “going out” is when people leave church for a period of years and then they come back to find that it’s not as they remembered at all. Maybe they even wonder why they left.
• Evangelicals, 20 million people in the US by the Barna definition, deeply oppose same-gender marriage (94% disagree with the Supreme Court decision)
• the divide in how young folks who are practicing Christians and who are non-practicing or lapsed Christians feel toward same-gender marriage is profound
• 1 in 5 feel that Christian ministers should be legally compelled to officiate same-gender marriages and 2 in 5 feel that businesses should have to provide services for same-gender weddings
Modern sociologists and social/cultural anthropologists divide folks born in different eras with a cohort name. Right now it’s all the rage to speak about the Millennials, those folks who are adults 18 to 34 years old. Especially when speaking of the future of the Church. Only 40% of Millennials identify with the name.
It was a company that the brothers started on their own, without even help from Mom & Dad, while they were still in high school. For them it was a way to earn money for school and allow them to be involved in their favorite sports. The company name was a humorous ribbing of their off-time activity, weight lifting. And what started as high school athletes moving friends and neighbors for pizzas and tips has become a top notch moving company with professionally trained college athletes.
The Revd Bob Simon worked his concept of the openness of the Church to the population he used for the piazza, folks from all walks of life represented as the little Lego people walking the square.
Just about everyone has one, a least favorite hymn. That hymn that sends you into paroxysms of disdain the moment you hear the first few bars of the music. What if you could arrange to not have to sing that hymn for a whole year? Would you be willing to pay money for the privilege? How much would you pay?
Once again I invite you to read the words of one of my favorite Christian pastors, Jon Pavlovitz, who just doesn’t happen to be Episcopalian/Anglican, but models Jesus really well to me.
God covers a multitude of our sins, that’s a given. Our asking for forgiveness from God is not so much for God as it is for us. We need to acknowledge and ask for forgiveness, not because it’s going to change anything except us.
Mary Joyce sees the usual objections to #blacklivesmatter as a chance to teach and engage. She suggests answers to the seven typical objections that white people raise.
St. Matthew’s Church used to meet in a big church building in Westerville, OH. Now they meet in pubs and a storefront and is growing in unexpected ways.