| At New Creation Lutheran Church, we affirm the
presence of god in all of life and in all life giving activities. Yet at
the same, time we affirm that we have been created to be in community,
both with god and with one another. The ancient Greek word ecclesia
(often translated as 'church') literally means "those who gather together"
in Jesus' name.
In the modern world there was this saying "I think
therefore I am," yet what ancient tribal societies have always known (and
we as post-moderns are beginning to realize), is that the deeper and more
human saying is "I belong therefore I am."
As beings seeking our humanity in God, we've
discovered that we come know who we truly are, and grow into the persons
God intends us to be, within the context of an authentic, loving and God
directed community... so this is the WHY of church, and our gathering
together.
Real community is not some weird cultish thing, like
being attached at the hip, or sipping grape Kool-Aid. Instead, authentic
Christian community is organic, networked, relational and attached at
the heart. It's about loving god above all things, caring for those in
need as we care for ourselves, pooling resources, doing justice, loving
mercy, sharing our gifts, and knowing we are all in this thing called
life together.
Our modern technologies can sometimes fool us into
believing that we can go it alone, and that a real life can be had in
point and click isolation, but our guts tell us something different... we
long to connect, to belong, to dialogue, to give and take, to get elbow to
elbow, roll up our sleeves for a great cause, even to holler, fuss and
disagree... things that only happen in the messy and chaotic world of
relationships and communities.
The kind of community we are about, is not something
achieved by our own efforts, but is ours as a gift from God to explore and
enjoy. We don't create community and we don't control community, instead
we live in community and become communal as we are directed by the holy
spirit.
Into this kind of community God invites all of us.
Into "the grace of our lord Jesus Christ, the love of god and the
communion of the holy spirit."
New Creation Lutheran Church's community is
"devoted to the apostles teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread
and the prayers." (acts 2:42)
We seek to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly
together with god, as we meet in home groups, gather for worship, express
spirituality, cry, mourn, heal, share meals, throw parties, tell stories,
and do life together in God.
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