We Are The Church

Sermon “We are the Church”

Kathy Johnson, 2-12-2023

At the end of the scripture this morning, Isaiah speaks of rubble, rebuilding and renovating, and making community livable again. This makes a person think about the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, doesn’t it? I had a vision the other day. I was thinking about that situation, but instead of focusing on the buildings that were fallen, or the people who had died, I began to think about the entire world, how it had turned its attention to that area, how many people have traveled there to help, how people all over were collecting coats and blankets and money to send. And about those who survived, and their suffering, and the number of people who care for them.

This is church. Community caring for the people who suffer. Giving generously to the down and out, as the scripture says. Community walking in the way of Jesus, spreading light and love.

In August of 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and the surrounding area, causing the levees to break that held back Lake Pontchartrain, resulting in 15 feet of water covering the parishes around the city, since those towns were built below sea level. Seven months later, 4 of us from our church went down to help, thinking we were going to rebuild. This included me, my daughter, a friend’s son and another man from church. Instead, we were gutting 2 of the one million homes that were damaged by that hurricane. We were housed and fed and transported and given tools. 600 people from around the world worked hard until mid afternoon in groups of 10, then ate together and slept in tents. For a week, a community of love was created, giving time and sweat for people, many of whom we would never meet.

This was church.

6 weeks ago, I received a call from Pastor Kate from my home church in Saratoga. A friend from church, Dave, had a diabetic episode and was in the hospital. I knew Dave well, but he didn’t know many people. I called a mutual friend from the church, Rachel, and we visited him twice while he was in intensive care. We prayed with him and gave him energy healing.

Once he was moved into a regular room, getting stronger, we visited him, as did another friend from church. Pastor Kate did also. He then transferred to a nursing home in North Creek for rehab. Rachel and I visited him there as well. This past Monday he went home.

Rachel and I lead a prayer circle on Tuesday mornings, and Dave was usually a participant. So, since he wasn’t going to be there, we decided to visit him after. Except he wasn’t home, he was back in the hospital after having very low blood pressure Monday right after arriving at home.

So we went to the hospital to visit him. Dave doesn’t have much family in the area, only a son who has a disability, who can’t take care of him. When we were at the hospital, the nurse told us he was ready to go home, but there was no plan in place for his care until his daughter was due to arrive late Wednesday night. The nurse suggested he take a cab!

The crazy thing is, he was taken to the hospital in only his underwear, so he had no clothes. He had no transportation. He had no caregiver. And yet they still wanted to get him out of that bed. The nurse was obviously overstressed, as was Dave, who was not going to get the care he needed.

Thank God we were there!

We had his daughter’s phone number, so we started there. We could come back to pick him up later, but he shouldn’t be released until he had a short term and a long term plan for care set up. I suggested care.com, and then remembered a woman I met that helped a friend after surgery. I contacted her, and she was thankfully available to stay with Dave until his daughter arrived. And she only lived about a mile away from Dave’s home!

Rachel called the deacons at church to arrange for meals for the next several evenings. We picked him up late Tuesday afternoon and met the caregiver at his place. That night, for the first time in six weeks, Dave slept in his own bed. He could finally rest; he could begin his final phase of healing.

This was church.

My husband Gary and I frequently talk about changes we have seen in our lifetimes. One is how when we were young, if a person needed help, they would turn to family, who was frequently local. If there was no one, they could turn to the church. Church was there to help with a safety net, and church was following The Way.

Today, though, there are less churches, and churches are smaller. People instead rely on government, health insurance, hospitals, and social services for care. But the quality care and the resources are not always there. The money is not always enough. The people in these professions are often overworked and underpaid. Love is missing.

Perhaps, in the last 50 years, people thought that the government could be the safety net that we needed. And perhaps it was, for a while. Today, though, we need a community of loving people who feed the hungry, clothe the cold, care for the sick and rebuild homes. We need to do this together, as a church.

This church is necessary. Not just to come on Sundays and learn the stories of the Bible. Not just to find God in our individual hearts. Not just to pray for our friends and family.

We are a church. Our mission is to act out God’s word in the world. The church is necessary. Often, there is no where else to turn. The church is the hands and feet of God, just as we are.

Today after worship we have the congregational meeting. A perfect day to be discussing the mission of this church, the Community Congregational Church of Clifton Heights.

Right now, let’s each come up with ways the church in general has helped the community. Since this is brainstorming, think of any church, anywhere, any time in history.

Now let’s state what you are called to do from this church.

Isaiah said,

You’ll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew, rebuild the foundations from out of your past. You’ll be known as those who can fix anything, restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate, make the community livable again.

May we, as a church, work with our neighbors, near and far, to help rebuild the world into a global community of caring.