Where Else Could Sabbath be so Sweet?

As explained in an earlier newsletter, we are no longer able, as a congregation, to keep up with the bills, and the church property, including the manse, will be going on the market very soon.

It is a sad state of affairs for sure, but our best shot at staying together as a congregation lies in selling the property.

Many of you have gone through this before, some more than once. But you did get through it, and I hope you feel that you found a new home in SouthWest United, wherever you came from before. It is always sad to leave a church, but we must try to remember that a church is not the bricks and mortar; a church is the people who pray and sing and laugh and cry together.

Some may feel like turning away at this time. Not wanting to witness another church closing, the instinct may be to remove ourselves now, try to spare ourselves the pain. Instead, I hope each of us will ask ourselves what we get from being part of SouthWest United, what are the essential parts of the experience, and also, what might be let go? Because the one thing we know for sure is that we can’t continue on exactly as we are now, but if we can identify for ourselves what we get, and what we need from our church, that will make it easier to find those things again.

The pandemic showed us that a church community can exist even when in-person worship is not possible; but I think most of us would agree that meeting together in a space is an important part of our church life. So let’s assume we need to meet in a space: what kind of space? Is it important that it be a traditional church, with pews, stained glass and a high arched ceiling? Could we worship in a plainer setting and still feel close to God and our community?

And then there’s time. We are accustomed to meeting on Sunday mornings. At 10:00 to be precise, although many of us have worshipped at different times in the past. How much would our church experience be harmed by meeting at a different time, say in the afternoon? Or even on a different day of the week? I know it sounds radical but if God is wherever two or three are gathered, then surely that gathering can take place any day of the week, any time.

Do you ever look around your home and feel bogged down by stuff? A church can feel that way too. I love the sense of history in our church building, but I also know nobody gets through the eye of the needle with 20 centrepieces, 10 boxes of sheet music and a bunch of seat cushions in tow! Even if we weren’t selling, the church is in need of a good de-cluttering!

In the musical Fiddler on the Roof, the villagers of Anatevka are forced to leave to escape the murderous pogroms. It’s a situation far more dire than ours, and one that mirrors the current displacement of Ukrainians and many other peoples all over the globe. Walking single file, carrying bags over their shoulders, pushing wooden carts, the villagers sing:

A little bit of this,
A little bit of that.

A pot
A pan
A broom
A hat.

A bench
A tree
So what’s a stove? Or a house?

A stick of wood, a piece of cloth.

What do we leave? Nothing much
Only Anatevka.

 Church is supposed to be the place we feel the closest to Creator, to Spirit. Maybe our attachment to objects – even beautiful ones like stained-glass windows and a wooden pipe organ – can get in the way. Don’t get me wrong, I’m as attached to those things as the next person, and maybe we will find a way to keep them in our lives. But even more importantly, we need to stick together.

The villagers in Fiddler on the Roof go on to sing:

Anatevka, Anatevka
Underfed, overworked Anatevka
Where else could Sabbath be so sweet?
Anatevka, Anatevka
Intimate, obstinate, Anatevka
Where I know everyone I meet…

Soon I’ll be a stranger in a strange new place.
Searching for an old familiar face…

This is worse than leaving stuff, even leaving a home: it is the loss of Community. We are lucky; we don’t need to let that happen to us.

We will need to be brave, and to accept that nothing stays the same, that change is a part of life, and that We are the Church.

The friendships that have been formed over the years, the hymns sung together innumerable times, the baptisms and funerals, the memories of good times and bad: this is the church. So let’s get ready to pick up what is essential and carry it forward, together.

Amy