Thursday, December 13, 2012

The Church of the Future - the Future of the Church

The church of the future?
Saint Hilda's House in New Haven, Connecticut.
People living in community, with the community in which they live, serving Christ who is already there.

The priest of the future?
David of Wales.
It is said of David that he would tramp about the countryside visiting each farm in his charge. When he entered a house, he went to the kitchen and sat at the table with the family. Bread from the oven and wine from the cellar were put on the table and the Eucharist, the Holy Communion, was celebrated there with everyone sitting together.

The future of the Church?
God's mission is, and has always been, the reconciliation and restoration of all people to God, one another, and creation. This means God is at work forgiving us so we can forgive one another and so we can find God in one another's faces and live together in peace.

Between these two images, Saint Hilda's House and David of Wales, the Holy Spirit of God can rebuild the church as people seeing God at work around themselves and joining God in that work.

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