Incline Our Hearts

Community 

This week I've been at the annual retreat for the Order of the Ascension, meeting at the Episcopal Community of Saint John Baptist in Mendham, New Jersey. The nuns live, pray, and work together, and one of their ministries is a guest house for individuals and groups in a building that once housed an orphanage.

What makes a community? The sisters at the Community of Saint John Baptist spend many years together in the same place, living under a shared Rule of Life. The members of the Order of the Ascension do not live together, but we also share a common Rule, and we gather monthly by zoom in addition to our in person annual retreat. On retreat we do things that build community: we pray four times a day, share meals and social time, and spend intentional sessions in learning and reflection. 

Are our congregations real communities or just individuals that gather to worship and then go our separate ways? How do we welcome newcomers, and integrate those seeking connection into our common life? Do we have a sense of identity, and of mission? How possible is it to grow in friendship, and in discipleship? Healthy and vital communities don't usually happen by accident, but are nurtured by wise leaders, and formed through Christian practices.

This Eastertide, we've been reading about the early Christian community in the Acts of the Apostles. And this Sunday, we are reminded in 1 Peter that we are not just any people, but God's people. May our congregations continue to grow as faithful communities, gathered by God, encouraging one another to live Christ-centered lives, and reach out to others in love.