Connecting

This past Sunday about 25 people gathered in the Lilly Room for a newcomer lunch. Other than a few members of the staff, everyone else was new to St. Paul’s. The longest someone has been active is about 18 months; the shortest about two weeks.

As the lunch started, we were a group of people with one thing in common: St. Paul’s. By the end of the lunch, we were transformed into a community, siblings in Christ. How did this happen? Not through any elaborate ritual or intensive orientation process. We shared a meal. We introduced ourselves. And Jesus showed up.

As the Rector of St. Paul’s, I had the privilege of introducing myself last. This gave me the opportunity to listen to each person’s story. No one spoke for more than three to four minutes, most for far less time. But as each person shared something about themselves, we discovered connections, common backgrounds and shared experiences. We realized we had far more in common than simply showing up at St. Paul’s.

Most moving for me was the way each person’s story was affirmed by the rest of the group. More than one person shared the pain of being rejected by the church of their birth and the joy of finding a church that accepts them. Others talked about their continued searching for a church in which they will find a God who loves them as they are. Our youngest participant, seven years old if I’m remembering correctly, felt affirmed by being included in the meal and invited to introduce herself to a room full of adults instead of silenced or exiled to another room for childcare.

When it was my turn to speak, I reflected on our experience as a form of eucharist. No, our lunch was not the formal sacrament of the Holy Eucharist which we celebrate in the church. But it was holy. We didn’t need the ritual, the vestments, the music, the altar and the bread and wine to make eucharist together. We gathered around a table, shared a meal, experienced transformation and Jesus showed up.

One of the clear and consistent messages to emerge from the reimagining listening sessions in the fall was the deep desire to be connected, to participate in a community in which we know others and are known by others. We want to be in relationship with each other and with Christ.

For this to happen in a parish the size of St. Paul’s, intentionality is required as we seek ways to experience eucharist together. It doesn’t need to be around a meal or take place on our campus or become complicated by guidelines and ritual. Experiencing eucharist can be as simple as the newcomer lunch or sharing coffee at The Avenue Coffeeshop in Broad Ripple or whatever other ways we create spaces to share our stories, to listen to each other and to affirm ourselves as siblings in Christ.

When we do this, God in Christ shows up. “For where two or three are gathered in my name,” Jesus said, “I am there among them.” (Matthew 18:20)