What's it all about?

Recently I read an article about an atheist looking at religion and found it fascinating. Here is a bit of what the author said: “The underlying ambition of religions is impressive to me. They are trying to locate the tenets of a good life, of a wise life, of a kind life. They are interrogating the greatest themes, and so I'm attracted to the aspects of religion that know that human life is quite difficult and that we are going to need a lot of assistance, a lot of guidance. And what religious life is trying to do is to provide us with tools for how to keep being the best version of ourselves... [Religious folks] are more interested in saying, ‘Where might I turn in order to look at questions of higher meaning and higher purpose?’ In terms of ethics, they’re asking, ‘What does a good life look like? What are my responsibilities to others? What is the community [we all are searching for?]’ ”

I think he has a lot right about who we are and what we are about. I think he does leave out the experience of grace given by a God that motivates us to look to the greater good and what the good life truly is. I believe it is the Gospel that actually leads us not only to ask these questions, but to begin to define what we are called to be. As followers of Jesus, we are challenged to love our enemies, to do to others as we would have them do to us, and become the love of God expressed in our world. These all seem to me to be the lofty goals which we take practical steps toward. I think these steps include gathering for worship, which allows us to hear the texts that speak to us of God’s will for our lives; to show our respect for that One that is greater than any one of us, God; and to be formed through worship into a family of faith, a community that trusts in God and lives according to this trust. Furthermore, we gather into a community that supports, encourages and feeds us. We gather to study and become more available to the wisdom of scripture and the revelation of God through scripture.

I came across another article recently that suggested that an increase in the experience of community can lead to better health outcomes in folks who are having health issues. This simply underscores the way we are social creatures that need to be in human community to be healthy and experience more joy in living. I believe faith naturally invites us into and provides ways for us to engage in community. That the faith community supports, encourages and feeds us is in part due to the fact that we need that community. We are communal creatures. In a society where loneliness is rising, and individuals are feeling more isolated despite digital media connections, we need the communal experiences faith encourages and enables.

I believe we at First Presbyterian Moscow, Idaho, are a church that recognizes these themes. We are a people that want to be the best version of ourselves. We pay attention to higher purposes and meaning. We recognize we discover these through the gift of God’s love in Jesus the Christ and through the life, person, and teachings of Christ. We know we want to be “growing in Christ.” We know our vision for our faith community, our church, is as follows: On our path forward together, to encourage: 1. Faith/ Trust in God, 2. Togetherness as the Body of Christ, 3. Spiritual Growth and 4. Embracing God’s love of all people. These are the direction and vision we discerned for our church over a year ago.

Our church life is full of opportunities for us to do these things. I find our Sunday morning discussion groups, our Wednesday evening worship, dinner and activities, our Sunday worship and the many other activities of our church are directly engaging our core needs as a people and embracing our core trust in Christ and the ways God works through Christ and in the movement of the Spirit in our lives. We have these activities not because we are somehow supposed to, but because they are essential to enabling our faith to grow and engaging us in being the very best people we can be, truly followers of Christ, experiencing the higher meaning and purpose we find in community and worship. I hope you, too, take advantage of the ways a faith community can feed and form us as followers of Christ, and thus become the very best people we can be. And Easter is coming.

Grace and peace,

Norman