Donna M. Cole

Church

Who do we say we are? How we answer that question says a lot about how we perceive the world around us and our relationship in community. How we recognize the Christ living in us and manifest in others is based on this. The way we understand creation and our place in it depends on this. Asking the question “What is church?” is something we should do more often, and as something more than an academic exercise. Right now this question is of critical importance as we see different ways of worship, different models of community life, and different languages causing conflict to the very breaking point of the church. A sort of spiritual violence erupts and suddenly foundations no longer seem so firm. The late Cardinal Avery Dulles, SJ, spoke wisely of this, in words that might have been spoken today, “When paradigms shift, people suddenly find the ground cut out from under their feet. They cannot begin to speak the new language without already committing themselves to a whole new set of values that may not be to their taste. Thus they find themselves gravely threatened in their spiritual security” (Models of the Church, Exp Rei ed. [New York: Image, 1991], 31).

Feeling “gravely threatened” may explain some of the behavior we see today. That feeling may account for the sharp divisions among us or why so many arbitrary “rules” are being enforced in worship communities these days. Although Dulles’s now-familiar models of ecclesiology numbered six (institution, mystical communion, sacrament, herald, servant, and community of disciples), the “institution” model with its order and consistency of teaching seems to be the clear favorite among the hierarchy. Perhaps the “community of disciples” model, formed by Scripture and sharing in the mission and identity of Christ, is just too threatening. Of course, no one model was ever intended to fully describe the church; each reflects only one dimension. We go astray when we cling to one model to the exclusion of all the others. We are most complete when we journey onward in dialogue with one another, open to all possibilities of who we are and what we are called to be.

In 2010’s volume of Ministry & Liturgy, in dynamic dialogue with the people who are church, I propose to explore what “church” means in the context of today’s tension. I have asked a number of ML’s writers (and readers) to share what church means to them, and I’ve used those initial responses to help build the content of this year’s issues. I will continue to ask the question throughout the year from a continually expanding cross section of respondents in the hope of seeking out what is truth in this question.

In this issue we lay the foundation for this truth-seeking. In a special feature, ML provides a glimpse of some of the prose and poetry we’ve received in response to the question “What is church?” Timothy Backous and Bill Graham reflect on what it means to “grieve the Holy Spirit” when we find among ourselves more strife than serenity. In a companion piece, Bill Graham suggests that there may yet be hope for all of us if we can push on with good humor. In a very unusual presentation, Joni Woelfel has created for ML a special installment of her new work, Divine Adventures, to focus on “What is church?” Divine Adventures is an online fictional work whose characters address contemporary issues in the church (each installment includes questions designed for individual or small-group discussion).

This project of rediscovering church began because a dear friend and colleague said to me, “I don’t even know what ‘church’ means anymore.” It was part of a conversation, one of so many, about how discouraging trying to do the work of ministry had become. Not that the actual ministry had become discouraging, and that’s an important distinction, but the trying part is so wearisome. We were talking about what happens to those who for the best years of their lives offered every weekend, every holiday, and all those days in between to serve God’s people. Many who studied, wrote, practiced, taught, led, formed, and consoled are now being pushed away, questioned, accused, condemned. The transgressions are many: being overeducated, progressive in style of worship, proficient musicians or theologians, contemporary religious, or worst of all, lay women. It really is hard to see what “church” means in this context, but there is some certainty: God has not abandoned us, and God is very much present in the question.

This issue of ML also ponders “What if?” We consider new models of church, as Paul Mast compares current church identity to aspects of a dysfunctional family and explores what it would mean to become a community of caregivers. Mary Amore reflects on how we as church are called to live out the commandment to love one another through Eucharist. Aurelie Hagstrom links hospitality as a dimension of spirituality with new ways of thinking about God’s salvific plan. Paul Turner offers a fresh look at church identity focused on who we are as God’s people.

What church means now is something we must discover together. ML

We’re Still Green: ML remains a “Paper Hero” on Green America’s Paper Project website (www.coopamerica.org/programs/woodwise/publishers/heroes/index.cfm) because it is printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper.

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