The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions. One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place.  The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called Samuel. (1 Samuel 3:1-4)

Hallelujah!  Sing to the Lord a new song;  sing his praise in the congregation of the faithful. (Psalm 149:1)

So.

This week I ‘did’ a workshop for the Annual Theology Conference, around some of my thinking for my D.Min, as well as the remarkable Community that you all are.  I was so excited to start talking to other clergy leaders about the amazing and fun stuff you can do in Ministry, and how at this time of decline in adherence to the Christian Church in Canada, that there are places that are thriving, are profoundly faithful, and are serving the Community around them in Jesus’ name.  Yes, my dear Bethel peeps, I mean you!

The first part of my talk was about “Third Places”; a term coined by a sociologist named Ray Oldenburg.  I talked about how church used to serve as a third place for people; a place that isn’t home (first) or work (second) but is a place where people can belong, can feel like they’re at their ‘home away from home’ and can relax and regenerate.  This guy, Oldenburg, really believes that ‘third places’ are necessary for society because they provide a place for civil discourse, for community and, you know, just chat about life and all that its throwing at you.  After I finished talking about this I then talked about all of you; and gave a thorough description of Bethel’s history; where it came from, where it is now, and where its going.  The Chat and Chew crew had an advanced presentation of this part of the workshop and corrected some of the details for me.  Then finally, the third part of the workshop, I began talking about how us here at Bethel were starting to move much of what we do into being third places for not only those who are in worship on Sunday morning, but those who just come because they love it.  The best example of Bethel demonstrating the effectiveness of third places is Chat and Chew.  But I believe that UCW golf, bowling and volunteering at Jewels are also serving as third places for all of us.  I’d extended that to the Lions/Lionesses if they weren’t already pre-established!

You see, I personally believe, that the more we can embrace Bethel as a ‘third place’, and expand Bethel’s identity as beyond just worship on Sunday morning for an hour, the healthier we will be as a community.  (Although at this point, I’m not sure how much healthier we can get lol.  We are a lot of fun).

Anyway – long description of the workshop to bring me to what I actually wanted to tell you about.  You see, when I finished talking, I fully expected….well….a response.  Instead, I kind of got silence.  The person facilitating things for Churchhub got things going with some questions, but they were pretty lackluster.  I was feeling pretty deflated.  Then someone online asked me what we were providing for children and youth, with the follow up statement: “They are lonely, too”.

If I had a dollar for every time I was told I needed to provide ministry to children and youth, I’d be parking a Lear Jet at the Coutt’s barn.  So many people really believe that the only marker of ministry health is the presence of children and youth programming.  Personally, I think that not only is this belief incorrect, its frankly disrespectful and ageist.  If they had listened to the profile I presented about Bethel they would’ve heard that this is, by and large, a retirement community, not a community with a large cohort of families.  Not only that, but as Ruth Anne pointed out at Prayer and Share, the younger members of Bethel find their third places with their school friends; so in Perth or in Smiths Falls.

And, I have yet to find anything in scripture that says that faithful communities can only exist if they have children.  Or that the only thriving communities are multi-generational.

I tried to refer back to my profile of Bethel, but I’m not sure I got any traction.  I felt a little like I was singing such a new song that other people couldn’t yet hear.  The new song that says, “our eyesight is dim, but the lamp is still lit, and out of it people, even young people, can hear the Call of God”.  We are valuable.  What we are doing is faithful, is just, and is pointing our world towards God.  I’m so moved by what we do and where we are going.  I’m not sure that we are necessarily the solution to the social decline of the church, but last time I checked we were aiming to make disciples, rather than staving off closure.  So basically, aiming for Eternity rather than longevity.  Many of you have young people in your lives; grands, great grands, and so on.  And many of you are Eli’s to these young people; telling them how they can hear God’s voice for themselves.  And all of you love these young people and have respect for their faithfulness; even though they aren’t in worship on Sunday morning staving off what looks like inevitable closure.  Because I think you get the difference between Eternity and longevity.  And you also get that its Eternity that matters.

Come my friends and sing this song with me. Because, really, our eyes might be dim but the lamp is still burning. I am grateful that you continue to hear God’s voice, and continue to ‘show up’ for us.  You are a remarkable, faithful community.

Blessings today, and remember you are Loved,

~Rev. Lynne