Shrine, temple, synagogue, mosque, chapel, abbey … by whatever name one calls it, our Christian endeavor has been anchored by an understanding of how we are in commonality, community, and more importantly in Communion. And this has been lived out as C(c)hurch. That is, Church as an overall understanding of our overarching Christian experience, with a capital C, and that of our individual meeting places, our houses of worship, perhaps best expressed with a lower-case c.
In scripture, the word translated as church comes from the Greek, it is ekklesia. In literal terms it means, “those called out”. Or more commonly, the “gathered assembly”. I always liked that term.
Since the late 1990’s we have known that much was changing, the ways people got together and communicated began to evolve into virtual platforms, social media and online communities. And with our year(s) long pandemic still holding its grip on our sense of community, yes, much has changed.
And now in 2023, we hear of churches, including our own worried over how we move forward. We hear of churches “in decline”, churches making efforts to revitalize, re-emphasize, re-organize, re-imagine, and find new ways … and frankly it can be dis-spiriting.
Yet all the while, these same churches are acting in faith, hope and with purpose. Good things are being done, people are nurtured and nourished, the spirit is here, even if in different forms.
I might suggest, if I was so bold, as to offer a new spin on EKKLESIA … perhaps we should re-imagine ourselves as those “called out” to be a “scattered assembly”. Scattered, not gathered, where we are out and about and able to do our faithful work in and among our peers and community spreading seeds of love, of hope and of liberation. And in turn, finding our sense of wholeness and blessings in one another in whatever ways we can. Amen.
The Rev. Mark Diters
