Fitly Joined Together

Today marks the beginning of the 240th Convention of the Diocese of New York.  The theme is taken from Ephesians 4:16, "Fitly Joined Together."

From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. - Ephesians 4:16

We will spend the day electing officers and working on our strategic plan.  The goal is to come together and work toward a more unified future, one where all members of the Body of Christ support one another to further the work of spreading the Gospel and God's love of his people.

It will be a challenging two days, but we have the potential to emerge better and stronger, ready for what lies ahead.

The church, as defined as the people of God, has not acted like a body functioning as one, each member in concert with the others.  But that is understandable.

We are so accustomed to focusing inwardly, building up our local congregations in the hope of surviving while experiencing declining attendance and increased costs of maintenance of our buildings and grounds.

If we should succeed in gaining the support needed to keep the doors open, we look to do all we can to help those in the community who need the basic necessities.  The thought of supporting other congregations in their quest to be vital seems out of the question.

So, it will be interesting to see how our transformation as a church plays out.  Will we be able to look beyond the physical needs of each congregation to the bigger picture of functioning as a body focused on feeding the hungry, helping the poor, healing the sick, visiting the friendless and seeking out the lost?

I guess we have the same challenge as the church when it comes to our food pantry and soup kitchen.  We work hard to get donations and food drives so our local community may benefit, while other communities down the road have less or nothing.

What if we all worked together in a network, supporting those in need wherever they go?  How would that work?

Perhaps we need to take the same steps the church is taking, reassessing our abilities as members of one body.  If I know what you are doing and you know what I am doing, together we may be able to help more people.

It's a thought.

I will let you know how it goes at the convention.

More to come...