On Love

Saugatuck Congregational Church, UCC
©Michael Hendricks
Sunday, November 17, 2019

Long Live the King

Saugatuck Congregational Church, UCC
©Rev. Alison J. Buttrick Patton
Sunday, November 10, 2019

Scripture: 1 Kings 12:1, 3b-15, 17 (NRSV)

There were 850 of us gathered in the main ballroom at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA last weekend – a whole crowd of assorted church-loving folks – all genders and most ages, from Boston, Newport, Hartford and many of the small towns in between. Variously dressed in t-shirts, and suits, hippy dresses and fashion-forward twin sets, we were the Body of Christ convened for an historic annual meeting. 

In our registration packets, we had two-sided voting cards – one side for votes taken by our state (yellow for CT, green for MA, blue for RI) and the other for votes to be taken all together, as members of the newly formed Southern New England Conference of the United Church of Christ. 

This meeting represented the final step in a multi-year long discernment process that has resulted in the formation of a new conference, combining the historic MA, CT and RI conferences of our denomination, the United Church of Christ.

The process involved hundreds of conversations, scores of people crafting pages of content: including a new vision and mission statement, bylaws and foundational justice commitments. It is a far cry from the kings of old, who could decide an individual’s fate with a snap of the fingers, or make an organizational change with a single decree. Our congregational process (the one to which our young people referred this morning) is messier, more labored, sometimes cumbersome. 

But let me tell you why I came home from the annual meeting all fired up. That gathering reminded me that we are not alone. We are part of a groundswell of amazing, creative, faith-filled people who are persuaded that the Spirit of God is on the move. We are surrounded by people and churches who are looking for fresh ways to respond to that Spirit, answering Jesus’ call to address human suffering; recognizing that the world is changing around us and we need to rise to the occasion. We are surrounded by people and churches who share our desire to love and serve God and neighbor (in the words of our own vision statement).

Yes, the churches of the CT, MA and RI conferences have been serving faithfully for generations. They have been extending hospitality to refugees, figuring out how to combat climate change and protect God’s creation by going green; learning how to dismantle racism; knitting prayer shawls, serving meals, going on mission trips, building interfaith bridges…The list goes on and on. Our joining forces means we get to learn from those efforts and inspire each other, collaborating more closely and intentionally across state lines, so we can have an even greater impact on our communities and in our world.

I realize that all of this may feel far removed from our life here at Saugatuck Church. The majority of us never attend a gathering of the wider United Church of Christ. Although many of you may attend an event that involves other local UCC churches – Greens Farms, Wilton, Norfield – as when we worship together on the beach every summer.

Many of us – maybe most – come to church not necessarily to collaborate across state lines, but to be a part of a local, close-knit community where we can find meaning and a sense of belonging.  Many of you have told me that you were drawn to Saugatuck Church because of the warm welcome. Over time, we make connections; forge friendships; we look forward to catching up during fellowship hour; we share our personal highs and lean on each other in times of crisis. 

And we do all of this across generations. Church is one of the few places where children, adults and elders all gather together; so that worship can feature a remembrance of beloved saints one Sunday, and a dramatic lesson by our young people the next. 

All of this is awesome and life-giving. Those relationships are the root of all we do, but they are not all that church is meant to be.

In the words of the Southern New England Conference mission statement, words you may have heard me invoke repeatedly in recent months: we are called to live the love and justice of Jesus – not just on Sunday mornings, not just in our interactions with each other, but in our everyday lives and in the world.  So our gathering here, our connecting with each other, has a greater purpose – and that purpose is to practice our faith, practice as in ‘rehearse’, and practice as in ‘live it out.’  

Here, we expand the tools in our tool box. We work at being more generous, more forgiving, more patient or passionate. We practice listening well, learning from those whose struggles are different than our own. We practice speaking up for change. We practice love in action – getting our hands in the dirt, grabbing a hammer, cleaning the riverfront, cooking a meal. Day by day, we cultivate the courage, wisdom, love and support we need to go out and make a difference in the world – individually and collectively.

THAT’s our reason for being. Yes!  It starts here, but the goal is not to maintain a church, it is to participate in a movement – 

Which brings me back to this new conference, and why it matters to all of us. There is a purpose statement included in the new bylaws – making them the first bylaws from which I’ve ever felt inspired to quote during a sermon! That statement reads, in part: 

“The historic [CT, MA and RI] Conferences seek to love our neighbors, children and all of creation through our collective work.” Doesn’t that sound a bit like the focus of our own covenant, the one we read together whenever someone new joins the church? – to love our neighbors, children and all of creation.

The statement goes on to say, “Inspired and guided by the Holy Spirit, the historic conferences encourage local congregations … to form covenant partnership with all who work for the common good in their local communities and throughout the world.” 

In other words, the kings of old need not apply. Not to pick on those kings. There’s been plenty of that already! But a single king was never going to be enough. We need to collaborate, to pool our collective resources and wisdom. To listen for God’s call together, compare notes, then work together to make  way.

This is what it means to be congregational.  It means more than just no king. It means WE  are the leaders of Saugatuck Church – all of us. Our gifts, energy, insight and passion are the driving force for all we do. It means believing that the more we collaborate, the more partners we find, the more faithful we can be.

So beloved in Christ, during this generosity season, I invite you to do TWO things.  First, look around. Ask yourself: how can Saugatuck Church participate in that movement to live the love and justice of Jesus? What are we doing already that feeds and energizes you? What more could we do to fulfill our purpose to love and serve God and neighbor?  With whom do we want to partner along the way?

Second: Help us to be and become that church, the one that embraces its purpose, the church that is working to make a way toward greater justice, hope, love and healing – for all of us and for our neighbors. Invest in that vision by making a pledge of financial support in 2020.   

We do this, knowing that we are not alone: there are others engaged in this work, ready to walk alongside us, and God’s Spirit in the midst of it all… so surely all our faithful efforts will be multiplied…

May it be so. Amen.