Day 5 and counting

So the reality of this is beginning to settle in for me! Planning for the trip is starting to come together, with the exciting addition of a cooking class in Tuscany!

I've begun reading a book entitled "Congregations in America" which looks at and processes data from a comprehensive survey done a few years back regarding congregational life in the US across denominational lines, and including synagogues (but I don't think mosques). It's the source of something I often site: that while the average congregation is composed of 75 adult participants (that's the median--half of the churches are bigger, half are smaller) the average MEMBER of a congregation is in a 400 member church.

The book goes on to chronicle various aspects of typical congregational life---finances (average budget for congregations is $56,000, 60% don't have full time leadership, only a very few have endowments or reserves equal to a year's operating expense.)

The strongest point the book makes is that the primary impact that a congregation has on the community around it is in terms of "culture", not social service or political influence. Most churches spend most of their resources on maintaining worship. Less than a 5th are actively involved in community ministry, and when a church does have this type of activity, it tends to be the work of a small group of committed volunteers (or the purview of a paid staff person) working on a very specific project--most often NOT involving extensive contact with people of need, and most often NOT incorporating people of need into the life of the congregation...chew on that for a while!

As a side light, we got a chance to view "Hotel Rwanda". Now here's a troubling bit of history, as the West stood by as literally millions were slaughtered. The key line in the film for me--when pressed as to why the West was not going to intervene, the UN commander said "They don't care. They'll see it on the news, say,'that's awful' and then they'll go back to their desserts."

I'm listening with my "how are we called to be the church" ears, and I know that the church had a VERY ambiguous role in the genocide. What IS it about group behavior that allows such horror to occur, and what is it about group behavior that allows you to hear about it, understand it on some level, but remain isolated from it?

What are the "mini-horrors" that are going on around us today? What does it mean that MOST congregations in the US have little or nothing to do with it all? Tough questions....but three months and 25 days left to forage for answers!

Keep in touch!