Mid-week gatherings for temperate Christians

Enjoy the food at Met Lounge side room!

A late-April Thursday, temperature stubbornly low, naturally there's a wind. A non-descript day all around. We only tolerate it as we move along in our routine. In the back of our minds: warmer days are coming. It's so cotton-pickin' belated. The window for pleasant weather is narrowing all the time. Remember, we start feeling a "nip" in the nighttime air in mid-August. About the time of the county fair. 

We cannot put pandemic fears behind us. Headlines remain worrisome. Somewhere in the world there's a "new spike." Our normal lives have rebounded only to a limited degree. Some of our new habits from during the pandemic have remained. We go online for some activities that used to be understood as communal. 

My church likes to have a little informal gathering on Wednesday nights. Let's clarify: it's my church along with the other ELCA church in town. The two churches we're talking about are First Lutheran and Faith Lutheran. We pause the Wednesday event during Lenten season. We wait until after Easter. An attempt was made to get it going last night (Wednesday). Three of us were present. The gathering was very pleasant for the three. I was joined by two members of Faith Lutheran. 

The ELCA has not been in great shape in the last several years. Now we're trying to hold our own in a situation we might describe as post-pandemic. Can we really be sure it's post-pandemic? 

For most of my life, First Lutheran was a most hearty mainstream church that had two services on Sunday. Finally we decided to have one but only in summer.

Morris sure slacks off in the summer. We expect renewal in the fall. We used to have a "UMM Sunday." That was wiped from the slate even before the pandemic. We used to have a big "pot luck" for that. The last year we had it, the number of people coming downstairs for fellowship was no more than the usual. So it was nothing more than a subdued "coffee hour." And there's nothing wrong with that, but in previous times this was a really big deal. 

Today First Lutheran has one Sunday service year-around.

Little by little the features of longstanding church life have eroded. A church needs a core of young adults to form a pathway to the future. A friend of mine refers to these people as "tweeners." And he notes: "'There aren't enough of them." I know some of these people well. And my friend is right, the numbers are not encouraging. 

A leader in my church has spoken of the future possibility of "lay leadership." The synod is preparing for orientation on this, as clergy numbers are thinning. This is what I remember being said from the front of the sanctuary, but it looks like I misremembered the speaker. Earlier today I attributed the quotes to Ward Voorhees. He says it wasn't him, so I retract the earlier attribution, sorry.

 

Politics hovers

A constant thread these days is that some will leave for a more "conservative" church. These people hear a sort of siren song that drives them to a church where I guess they feel comforted by hardcore conservative values. So last night I was informed that Faith Lutheran has lost people to Good Shepherd because of "mask" policies. Such a divisive issue these days. I'm happy to follow a mask requirement anywhere, but I find it uncomfortable keeping the thing on for a long time. We can get frustrated with the policy and be inclined to pooh-pooh it. But then we'll hear of a long-time friend or well-known face in the community who is lost to covid. 

And we can't even be sure we're past the whole thing. I told my friends from Faith last night that we just have to keep the Wednesday night thing going. Already it had a long up-and-down history. We had to leave the Met Lounge side room and go to the Old No. 1 for a time. That did not go well. We have had sessions where both our pastors were present and sessions with no pastor. 

We used to be able to sing but not any more. There was a time when the side room wasn't yet fully developed as a restaurant. We were treated like a private party and we could sing! That was nice. At present the doors there are open to all. I had an ice cream cone on my way out last night. 

My church of First Lutheran, Morris MN

If you're an ELCA church member anywhere, come and join us behind the little partition. I'd venture to say you're welcome also if you attend Federated. 

First Lutheran, Faith Lutheran and Federated could actually join as one - they attract the same kind of people. Maybe our defining feature is that we have not been drawn into the cult of Donald Trump. Other churches seem to have gotten sucked into the awful vortex. 

 

Why can't we assess?

We all should be profoundly scared, about how U.S. citizens have not coalesced around the basic idea that Trump was a dangerous force at the end. I would argue he was corrupt long before that, like from day one. But these days, late April of 2022, we are getting a stream of revelations about Trump. It's all over the map in a way not limited to January 6. And I feel exasperated perusing the news each day. Such a litany. Often it's a litany of sheer ridiculousness. Have we lost all our discipline as a society? Are we nearing a death knell for the very United States of America? 

Donald Trump did not even want to be president. He ran as a way of building his "branding." The greater the degree of celebrity, the better for him. He doesn't care about the rank and file masses of people. No point for me to elaborate on this. Obviously I could, but I'd be trying to persuade the many people who are cult members, who show actual traits of the cult phenomenon. Not the slightest bit of dissent or disloyalty is allowed. They take umbrage at any suggestion of criticism, for any reason. I have put my toe in the water with this. They have the wagons circled. And they populate the churches of Stevens County outside of the three I have given attention here. 

OK so what about the Catholics? That gets into different territory. Have you seen the movie "Spotlight?" Major national Trump supporter Marjorie Taylor Greene is in the news now for condemning the Catholic faith. Her words are so strong, she has gotten pushback from Bill Donohue of the Catholic League, who almost never criticizes Republicans. 

 

Abrasive language

Trump stooge Ms. Greene said recent efforts by Christian organizations and churches to help resettle undocumented immigrants and refugees in the U.S. are evidence of "Satan controlling the church." Donahue accused Greene of "slandering the entire Catholic Church." 

So, the Catholic League is contacting Kevin McCarthy about this? Kevin McCarthy? He has no more credibility than Greene. Been following the news? How is all this going to be chronicled someday? 

Will we still have a United States of America? The kind we all grew up with and once loved? Will January 6 turn out to have been a rehearsal? Are the forces for autocracy poised to win next time? What will this accomplish for you all? 

The fact that our reasonable, temperate churches are on the downslide may be the most discouraging thing of all. We welcome new people to attend the Wednesday night thing at the Met Lounge side room. Please arrive at around 6 p.m. and go to behind the little partition on the far end. Get a "waffle cone" before you leave!

The beautiful exterior of Faith Lutheran Church in west Morris

 

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com