As some of you may be aware it is a strong desire of our clergy and program staff to work toward strengthening our parish community. When our program staff met to organize our programs for the new academic year, we talked about a focus for our ministry efforts. It was a unanimous consensus that we wanted to draw our whole parish into a shared fellowship that would build up our relationships with God and with one another. We all agreed that a focus on fellowship, small groups, prayer and study of the scripture were components of the concentration on community.
We are the Body of Christ when we gather together for Holy Communion on Sunday. But being the Body of Christ is not merely a once a week thing. As Christians we need to also gather for prayer and fellowship as often as possible. We can see the pattern for Christian living expressed in the lives of the very first Christians in Jerusalem. In Acts 2:42 it says, “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” In other words, being a member of the Body of Christ is an every day experience in learning, prayer and fellowship.
God exists in Trinity. For us this is an example of the way we need to live. We live in a Trinitarian way when we are in fellowship with one another and in fellowship with God. The community of Christ Church needs to look to the Trinity and to the first Christians as a model for Christian living. This is a way for us to grow into the people God desires us to be, to move from salvation into sanctification. While we can never become perfect we can begin to lead our Heaven-bound lives in the present moment.
As a practical matter, we will have events that draw the whole parish together in shared activity and fellowship. The first of these events is Rally Sunday, August 19, which will also feature a Ministry Fair and breakfast. This is a time to incorporate your ministry into the ministry of Christ Church by volunteering and by participating. It is a time for our youth and children to sign up for Sunday School. It will be a time of food and fellowship. The next big event will be in November when we have our combined All Saints’ service followed by our Annual All Saints’ Picnic and our Outreach Silent Auction. There will be other community building events that will be fun and formative throughout the year.
Your program staff and clergy hope that you will whole-heartedly join us in our community-building, fellowship and regeneration of Christ Church. We are calling this:
The Year of Acts 2:42
“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”
Living in the Trinity, the Community of Christ
