Waaa Waaa Waaa
I
belong to a variety of closed Facebook groups that are church
focused. Two of them have discussions around the BCP, in particular
around the rubrics and possible revision. One of them has
discussions about the church in general, everything from liturgy to
lay employees. One is dedicated to classical, creedal, Christian
orthodoxy. And one of them is local, working to connect the clergy
of the diocese.
When
I first got connected to these groups, my initial thought was, “This
will be fun and/or interesting since all of these people seem to have
the same interests I do.”
That
didn't last long as it turned out that most of the conversations
descend rather quickly into a gripe-fest about everything wrong with
the church and the people who inhabit it. They complain about clergy
who break the rubrics. They complain about the people who wrote the
rubrics. They complain about budgets that don't address what they
see as important parts of the church. They complain about people who
don't pledge. They complain about what people name their dogs. They
complain about the people who complain about what people name their
dogs (yes, really).
Waaa
Waaa Waaa
It
makes me wonder not only if there is anything good in the church, but
why these people are even in the church at all.
Then
I look at St. John's.
We
have a variety of outreach programs. We have people who care about
our liturgy. We have people whose volunteerism in many and varied
ways make this place run. We have people who make working with the
Vestry a joy. We have people who give of their time and talent, and
do so joyfully. Things are not perfect, no place is, but the good
far outweighs the bad.
When
I read those posts, I can't help but wonder, “What would their
job/parish/vestry/whatever look like if they spent as much time
looking for and talking about the good as they do whining about
what's wrong?”
The
Epiphany season is upon us. Let us look for the good. Let us look
for the light. Let us look for those God moments that can open our
eyes and surprise us with joy. And instead of whining about what
isn't right, let us joyfully proclaim what is good.
We
are part of the church. Yea! Yea! Yea!
Blessings
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