Since Jamestown and Plymouth Colony, our country has relied on a religious foundation. And for many years, Christianity was not only the majority religion of our nation, but -- for all practical purposes -- the state religion as well. Many yearn for a return to the days of Christian prayers in publicly funded settings and the nostalgic comfort of the assumption that every American was a Christian.
But those days are over. And although the Christianity we are familiar with might be slipping away, we need not despair. God is still God and greatly capable of doing magnificent acts of justice and compassion -- even through people like us. On the other hand, we no longer have to worry about Christianity being weakened by those who affiliated simply because of the social expectation to be a part of a church.
Magdalene Serenity House in Fayetteville is taking shape.
A house has been purchased and the organization holds no debt on it, according to the Rev. Lowell Grisham, rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Fayetteville, which started the Magdalene project as an outreach ministry. The house is currently undergoing renovations, with bedrooms, a kitchen, meeting rooms and recreational areas for eight people. The work should be completed this spring, and the board of directors hopes to raise the additional $250,000 to pay for the construction by the time it’s finished.
Amy Hardwick serves named the full-time executive director. She is a recent graduate of the executive master’s of business administration program at the University of Arkansas. Her previous experience includes writing and publishing, working as a chef, a small business executive and an actress. “She brings a lot of different talents,” Grisham said.
Hardwick and the board are working to create a support network for the clients, including therapists, dentists, life coaches and academic support. Several groups from Fayetteville have completed training with Magdalene in Nashville.
The Magdalene Serenity House currently serves one client, who is out of prison and trafficking, Grisham said. She meets daily with a support team, following a program from Find Your Way Home: Words From the Street, Wisdom From the Heart, written by the Women of Magdalene and Becca Stevens, Magdalene’s founder.
The board also works to create a sewing business to provide jobs and a living wage for local Magdalene clients. A prototype changing pad for babies bears the Magdalene Serenity trademark logo.
The board announces two campaigns to support the Magdalene Serenity project, Grisham said. “We are asking neighbors to consider giving a one-time capital gift and create a healing home for decades, or give $1 a day or $10 a month and support the programming to create love and healing. You can create a sanctuary or underwrite the healing process,” he said.
Information: lovehealsnwa.org.
These changes are a critically important factor in our religious landscape. Many congregations experience significant anxiety without understanding that church attendance, worship styles and ministry strategies are all deeply influenced by our current location on the religious timeline. And while some of these changes are obvious, others are less noticeable -- but still very important.
For example, as we move out of the Christian culture that was common in America for so long, we have an opportunity to recapture some beautiful features of our faith. Recently, one of the magazines to which I subscribe listed the best sellers from the 12 largest Christian publishing houses. Of the dozens of books listed, none of them were written about church life and relationships. It is as though everyone assumes we know how to relate to one another as Christians and church members. But assumptions like this -- especially as we come out of a time when Christianity itself was assumed for our entire nation -- can be especially egregious.
Let me put it this way: The New Testament -- the basis for our faith and practice -- includes 22 documents written to instruct believers in Christ how to be churches. Mostly epistles, these are generally two-part documents. Part one describes "Who you are as a believer in Christ," and part two says, "Because you are in Christ, this is how you should relate to one another." I estimate more than 40 percent of the content of these documents is telling us how to be in relationship with other church members.
So, if so much of our Biblical witness is devoted to creating the relational environment that church members should share, why is no one talking about it? I am certainly no expert in biology, but I remember a few things from eighth-grade science class. I learned the wall of a cell is permeable. Some things -- like oxygen and water -- can enter a cell, while other things -- like waste -- can leave it. Similarly -- just as Christianity spread out of churches into our American culture for hundreds of years -- some things from our culture seeped into our churches.
We lost our distinctiveness. Even as churches spread Christianity throughout the land, churches became places that absorb many things from the culture that surrounds us. Instead of being unique gatherings of people who demonstrated life-changing love, forgiveness and encouragement, we became people who behaved like everyone else.
I spoke with a friend recently whose daughter died. She said, "For two years, no one at my church knew I had lost my child." This is as sad as it is stunning. We let the isolation, conflict and social politeness of everyday "Christian" America permeate the sacred boundaries of our churches. While scripture calls churches to be extraordinary places of intimacy and growth, most churches and Christian groups have exchanged these opportunities for other, less potent experiences.
In the apostle Paul's letter to a new church in Corinth, he describes a visitor who experiences the interaction among the church members. It is the encouragement, comfort and thankfulness shared among those church members -- not lectures and lasers -- that compels the guest to exclaim, "God is really among you!"
New trends seem to encourage a passive church experience, while tradition assumes that "We're all good Christian people." But when we intentionally follow scripture's instruction to become communities of uncommon and desperately needed love and authenticity, lives are forever changed.
NAN Religion on 09/17/2016