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While sitting in church this morning, one of the points made during the sermon is that members of our denomination are afraid to invite people to church. Members of the United Church of Christ, tend to be liberal and progressive individuals. We are the type of people who are among the first to protest civil rights be it racial rights, health care for the poor, immigration situations, LGBT concerns and dozens of other issues. Fearlessly we stand for the welfare and rights of those who cannot stand for themselves. Yet, we hesitate to put ourselves out there for our own church.
Why, I wonder, is this so? Maybe because many of us came came to UCC through the side door. Perhaps over the years we lost our faith and began to explore church as a path to something we knew we needed but weren't sure what that something might be. Or maybe after hearing some of the atrocities performed in the name of religion we have a bad taste in our mouth for "organized religion" and going to church seems an oxymoron. Maybe after being hounded by others to be "born again" we are a bit embarrassed to be going into church. Or maybe, after being told by others that we aren't good enough and don't deserve the love of God, we are afraid to be caught slipping in where we don't belong.
Many of my friends have been turned away and turned off by conventional religion. They have been bombarded by conservative religion in the form of relatives, friends, televangelist, politicians and churches telling them how bad and awful they are for not believing the religious flavor of the month. Because we have been in the same place at different times in our lives, we dread the idea of becoming another one of "those" people.
How do I tell people that my church is different? We accept you just as you are, you don't need to change, you don't have to believe exactly the way I believe or practice religion exactly the way I do? How do you tell your friends that no matter who they are, no matter where they are on life's journey, they are welcome here at the United Church of Christ?
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The problem may be more of a self-image one. The liberal elite (not the everyday kind) have cast the liberal image as one that frowns upon the 'weakness of religion' and made religion a conservative crutch. Why not invite a friend? It feels hypocritical to identify with a group that frowns on church and then invite other liberals to church.
ReplyDeleteThe answer -- forget about group identity. So what if you're a proud liberal woman. A label does not define you; you are so much more than that. You are also deeply spiritual and enjoy your church. Shout it out from the top of the mountain and invite anyone you darn well please to church with pride.