I don’t know about you but when I’m attempting to explain about church to people who haven’t heard of Community of Christ, these days I include in my explanation the word ‘progressive.’ Very broadly speaking Progressive Christianity is characterised ‘by a willingness to question tradition, acceptance of human diversity, a strong emphasis on social justice and care for the poor and the oppressed, and environmental stewardship of the earth.’ Or you might like this description of its core values .
Just yesterday I was officiating at a Funeral of a close relative. Unlike many funerals that I attend, at this life celebration there were only a handful of people I knew or who were from Community of Christ. In the best way I knew how, I planned a service that highlighted our care for each other, our connection to Christ and the honouring of the life of our loved one. It was a privilege to be involved, but it also meant a lot of work leading up to the funeral. I was happy though that the family trusted me enough to complete this responsibility - and that is a story for another day.
After the service and the burial many of us gathered at Towradgi Bowling Club on the NSW South Coast. There I was happy to meet other attendees, share memories of our dearly departed aunt and to talk over the shared experience of the funeral.
Naturally, talk about God and my church came up and I explained very briefly about our church’s values to a couple of attendees who were inspectors in the police force. I guess they were good at getting to the heart of the matter as after I had inspired them with the ‘progressive’ perspective of our church, given them a brief history and we had shared common theological perspectives they then asked me about how many Community of Christ congregations there were in Australia. I said not many and that like other Christian denominations these were becoming smaller. One detective looked at me and said rather reflectively - “Not many? After you have told me all these positive things about your denomination I’m surprised you are not growing.”
So of course this has me pondering why. Why, if given the wonderful message we have to share, do I think we are not growing?
If you are willing, I’d also love for you to contribute to the conversation by responding to the following questions:
‘Are we a progressive church? And, why or why not?’
‘When speaking with others, what do you share that’s most meaningful to you and the lives of those around you?’
You can email me at abonnefin@cofchrist.com.au and I will share some of your reflections in coming news emailers.