never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. – margaret mead
i am very excited for our new saturday evening space for the refuge weekend gathering at the crescent grange hall! it really couldn’t be more “us”—the wrong side of the railroad tracks, in the old part of town where the aging houses next to junkyards next to nice office buildings. it’s definitely the right metaphor. a real unexpected, unlikely gem. a gift from God to our dear community. a lovely, worn farmhouse with charm & space & a sort of unspoken sign on the door that says “i am meant to be used again. fill me up with love & laughter & food & friends.” after our first gathering this past saturday night we could all feel the warmth and hope of what could be.
but i want to remind everyone, remind myself, that the refuge would have been perfectly fine without this space. you see, the church is always the people, not a building. and people committed to God & each other, no matter where they gather—houses, coffee shops, golf courses, apartment buildings, weird rented spaces—are what create the church, the beautiful, diverse, wild and wonderful body of Christ. the conversations that happen during the week, the phone calls, the emails, the prayers, the tangible help & hope that gets passed on in big & small ways, the neighbors that are loved, the scriptures that are shared, the words of encouragement, the serving, the giving, the learning, the growing, the falling down & getting back up, the grace, the truth, Christ’s love made real—that’s the church.
what can sometimes happen in moments like this is we start to think that all the action of the refuge now happens on saturday nights in a cool spot that will hopefully start to feel a lot more like home. that that is “church.” nah, that’s just a gathering. a wonderful beautiful gathering of other folks on the journey, sure. a time to soak in God & hope & love in a really intentional way, sure. a sweet respite from the craziness of our lives, sure. but real church, real community, real life will continue to happen the other 6 ¾ days of the week.
i love what God is up to & am so excited for our future. i hope we dream big dreams. i hope we try all kinds of crazy things. i hope lives are somehow changed because of God’s touch through us. i hope God stirs up passion for new ideas and gives us courage to give them a try. i hope together we learn more about what it means to be people & places of refuge. i hope the world’s a little better because of us. i hope we can keep bringing the good news to hard places. i hope for more and more Hope that could never, ever be contained within 4 walls once a week!
God, in this upcoming year help us learn more and more deeply what it means to be the church.