September 10, 2014
At a Sunday service not long ago, I noticed myself feeling uncomfortable. Some people were praying “too long” or using prayer to ramble on about their problems; one person startled me by bursting passionately into tongues; our process for taking the offering felt muddled; some people needed to walk around during the service or walk in and out; someone else asked for money after the service; and so on. I suspect I’m not alone: not only uncomfortable but also a little embarrassed about being uncomfortable with these children of God who are different from me.
A number of people in our community (me included) have been worried about the lack of diversity in our church and have been trying to facilitate becoming a place of welcome where young people and people of color could move in deeper membership and leadership within the community. These are, it seems to me, legitimate concerns and we still have a ways to go.
After that Sunday’s service, however, it I realized that God has already given us a deep diversity. We are focused upon creating one kind of diversity that suits our preconceptions, yet we have, in large part, failed to move into deeper community with those we have already been given.
How could we respond? Lots of ways, I think. Some ideas off the top of my head:
- How about some revisions in the liturgy that might make it more accessible to those with intellectual impairment without dumbing it down?
- How about making sure that each person has at least one mentor who gets to know him or her and sits with them during the service, attuned to their emotional state and helping them to follow along? (Jimmy, for instance, is very receptive to being shown which of the three prayer times is most appropriate for his prayers.)
- How about finding ways to incorporate all of us into our weekends and retreats?
I’m sure there are lots more that will occur to us if we think about it.
By virtue of our continued attendance in the face of these “distractions,” all of us have at least taken small steps along this journey and a few of us already have those deeper relationships. The rest of us can learn from them.
There would be all sorts of problems, I suppose. If we were really welcoming, perhaps more people with special needs would join us. Perhaps some of us would begin to feel that the kind of worship that developed was not suitable for us and leave the community. How would guests respond? Could we move into more L’Arche-type relationships rather than getting caught up in “doing for”? Could we find a worship format that was indeed meaningful for all of us?
I’m sure it would take work, but I’m beginning to think that God has already given our community diversity, and our faith calls us to respond.
David Hilfiker
November 3, 2014