I have been doing ministry in Reading, PA, for 30 years. When I just typed that, I shocked myself – 30 years! I spent almost 5 years at Albright College as Chaplain and am finishing up my 25th year at Calvary United Church of Christ. It has been a wonderful adventure, and I am not done yet! There is so much more to do for God everywhere, isn’t there? As with any work, there are successes and failures along the way, and while I have seen a lot of good done, I have also been frustrated by unnecessary failures. In my experience, most of these failures have come from people in different communities not being able to work together. I will not call them out by name, but these difficulties have run along religious, racial, and political lines. Too often, the reason is fragile egos at the leadership level. Too many people wanting all the credit, instead of lifting each other up. Some might say this is human nature; I think it is human pride.
Recently, though, I have seen a change. Two years ago, I was invited to participate in a community effort to change how things are being done. Dozens of non-profit organizations were invited to work together in a process led by the Harwood Institute. The United Way of Berks County and Centro Hispano were the driving forces to bring this together (and to find the funds to pay for it), but it has only worked because a lot of people, interested in working for the common good, said yes. During this time together, we have made great strides in early childhood learning, English as a second language, and after-school care. I think there is more to come; people are afraid in their homes and neighborhoods, and the best way to change that is to organically address violence in our communities. We can do that, but we can only do it together.
Another sign of hope is the 6261 Project being formulated by the Lutherans in our area. Put simply, it is an acknowledgement of the way the culture is changing when it comes to church. Fewer people and dollars and clergy have made it clear that things have to change. I might be working on this project, but even if I am not, it is clear that these churches understand that we are better together than apart. It has been clear to me for many years that while denominations have their role, denominationalism is dead. Most people who are interested in a faith community don’t care much about the label; what they care about is a community that is doing something meaningful. The willingness to care about our neighbor is a faith value that almost every religion touts. I think our working together might show our elected political leaders how to stop bickering and start working together. At least, I can always dream.
It is the failure of individualism that has brought us to this place. Shouting “look at me!” only makes people mad and isolates us. And sure, there is nothing wrong with lifting up our organization’s successes; I am my congregations’ biggest cheerleader. But when this turns to self-centeredness, it becomes toxic. When we only look inward, we implode. Generosity allows us to expand, because giving has a ripple effect. We need to be good stewards of our resources while, at the same time, living in the midst of hope. Working together is the only way to change the world for the better. Working in silos will lead to our slow demise. It is not right to be alone. We are always better together.
Prayer – God, You have created us to be together; to rejoice and mourn; to have victories and share defeats. Unite us, we pray. Amen.
Today’s art is “Sunrise” by Marc Miller.