I grew up listening to the music of Avery & Marsh in my little church. Their music was considered “contemporary”; a pretty rad thing at the time. It also helped that my mom not only knew them well but was their (in their words) “favorite singer in the universe.” I remember meeting them when I was around 11 years old; these two older men had been partners in ministry and life at a time when most of the world would have rejected them. Yet, here they were, serving a Presbyterian church in Port Jervis, NY; not a hub of progressive thought, but the place that love them dearly. The world is an amazing place sometimes.
One of their most popular songs was “I am the church”. It was simple in tune and message; “we are the church together. All who follow Jesus all around the world; yes, we’re the church together.” They went further with their radical message of inclusion; “The church is not a building – the church is not the steeple – the church is not a resting place; the church is the people.” This always made perfect sense to me, and it helped form my understanding of how we should live our faith together. We don’t just go to church; we have to be the church. “I am the church – you are the church – we are the church together.”
Simple; but not quite. I found out later in life that Don & Richard were rare in their ideas about inclusion. I learned that I wasn’t welcome at the communion table in many churches. I learned that I wasn’t even eligible for heaven in most, and neither were my non-Christian friends. At an early age, I learned these harsh lessons and wondered what kind of God wouldn’t let my Jewish and Muslim (among many other) friends into eternal life. Excluding bad people made sense to me, and I have met a number of those folks (mostly in church pews). But the beloved rabbi in the synagogue across the street from my high school? The kind shop owner who prayed five times a day and sometimes gave out food for free if you couldn’t pay for it? If excluding them meant I was “being the church”, I wanted nothing to do with it. The last 40 years have shown that many others have decided to take that route as well.
Of course, I figured out pretty early that people blame God for a lot of their biases. It isn’t God who excludes people; it’s people who do that un-Christian deed. It isn’t Jesus who keeps me from the communion table; it’s bigots in clergy robes. And all those people who go to church on Sunday and don’t live like they learned something for the rest of the week? They are missing out on the best part. I love leading and attending church, but that hour or so isn’t the main event; how we live the rest of the week is. Then we return to get recharged, ready to be the church every day. Going to church is important; it reminds us of our united faith and mission to love self, neighbor, and God. But if we think that this is all we need to do to fulfill their promise to God, we are sadly mistaken. Going to church is how we train ourselves to be the church. Like practicing a sport or a musical instrument, church trains us to be better. Together. “All who follow Jesus, all around the world. Yes, we’re the church together.” Well, done, Avery & Marsh; you were ahead of your time. I wish more people would pay attention to what you had to say.
Prayer – We are the Church together, God of all people and all faiths; all who love You and do good are part of the family. Amen.
Today’s art is a sketch of Avery & Marsh – I will continue to look for who the artist is, but can’t find it now.