We are living in a time when faith is often talked about, but not always lived in ways that reflect the heart of Jesus. Too often, Christianity is used to divide, exclude, or harm. But the way of Jesus is different. It is rooted in love. In justice. In mercy. In community. This journey is about reclaiming that way—together.
Love Out Loud is a path for our congregation to meaningfully live their faith out loud and publicly in a broken world where hate and hurt should be challenged by love. It will take place over five sessions beginning Sunday, September 27. Learn more and RSVP here.
by Michael May
I grew up in a conservative, fundamentalist church. It wasn’t a politically active congregation, but the fundamentalist attitude was prevalent. There was a strong belief that we (and those who agreed with us) were right, and everyone else was at best misinformed, but probably willfully suppressing the Truth.
I say “we” because I was enrolled in the congregation, but I had big questions about that attitude even as a child. I’m a natural skeptic and constantly questioned why we did things the way that we did them. And why our way had to be the only, correct way. But I didn’t have the vocabulary to understand, much less express, what the root of the problem really was.
It wasn’t until I was older that I was able to see that the cause of that legalistic culture was a deformed vision of God. I’d always been told that the God I served was in some sense loving, but in practical terms he was almost always disappointed in his people (including me) if not outright angry at us. He graciously forgave sin through Jesus, but I got the feeling that it was an act of exasperation.
Thankfully, I eventually learned to take seriously the words of the Apostle John in his first epistle: “God is love.” It was revolutionary. It changed the way I thought about God. It changed the way I thought about myself. And it changed the way I thought about my neighbors. It also changed the way I talked about God to other people, because at last I had a vision of God that was worth sharing.
And it’s ultimately what led me to St John the Evangelist Episcopal Church, because I was looking for a place that took seriously the loving nature of God and his welcome to all of our neighbors.
This is why I’m so frustrated that this other vision of God – the angry, disgusted God – is what’s most being presented today in the public square. This vision of God is not just disappointed in humanity; he’s pledged his allegiance to the United States and authorized his people to enforce his legalistic will on the rest of the country and the rest of the world. This is not the God of Scripture, but it is the God that most of the country sees. And this must change.
As a Christian, I believe that God created us in his image to present that image to the world. And I believe that his image was most perfectly presented in human form by Jesus Christ, the true God who became man. So my responsibility is – to the best of my ability – to show this true image of the loving God to the people around me. I must show God’s love – out loud – to my neighbors.
This is why I’m so excited about the upcoming sessions in the Love Out Loud project.
I’m looking forward to exploring more about why it’s important that we do not keep silent. And about how Jesus and his Apostles were not silent about the importance of love. I’m excited to discuss how we can best serve and share with our neighbors by getting to know our neighbors. And I’m especially excited to plan together – as a congregation – something that we can do in public to share our vision of the loving, welcoming God with people who have only seen the angry, disappointed God of Christian Nationalism.
I hope you’re excited to and will join us. We’ll be meeting in the gym right after Sunday morning coffee hour, from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm, on September 27, October 4, and October 11. Hope to see you there!