August 20, 2025

Wednesday Word . . . Unity not Conformity

What is the mission of the Church?  The mission of the Church is to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ. – Catechism, pg. 855

Unity and conformity are sometimes used interchangeably.  For instance, anyone watching our Sunday service would see that we are in unity when we worship.  They might also deduce that we are in conformity by noticing that everyone stands, kneels, and sits at the same time.  But if those same people were to look at the wider Episcopal church, they would see that all Episcopal churches are in unity through their use of the BCP and liturgical practices while also noticing that we do not conform with each other based on whether it’s Rite 1 or 2, Eucharistic Prayer I, II, A, B, C, or D, which Prayers of the People are used, or any other specific differences.

This Sunday we have our joint Service in the Park with First United Methodist, St. Luke’s Lutheran, and Union Congregational.  I met with Pastors Anne and Audrey a few weeks ago as we planned the liturgy for the day.  There was some give and take as the three of us modified our various worship, insisting on what needed to be included and eliminating what we thought wasn’t absolutely necessary.  We were bound in unity, but none of us are conforming to different liturgical aspects.

And, in a nutshell, this unity vs. conformity might just be the major problem of our society.  Whether it’s religion, politics, or any number of other things, it seems we’ve lost the ability to see our unity because we’ve been blinded by the need for conformity. 

Unity can be messy because it takes into account individual free will . . . we are united with each other because we choose to be.  Conformity is appealing because it makes things easy, we don’t have to think, all we need to do is follow orders.

With that distinction, may we be unified in purpose without being forced to conform.

Blessings,