This episode, # 5 in our Committed series, was published during Pentecost 2020, the festival of intended inclusion, just as America is rocked by racial pain that can no longer be contained, the reality of exclusion. We are are beginning consider how we will, sometime soon, de-shutter our churches - open them again,[but to whom?]. Perhaps it is time not simply to re-open, but to re-imagine.
We have, over the last few months, utterly transformed worship - moving in from in-person to on-screen. And somehow we have survived such unprecedented change. Given that, would it really be so difficult for us to open our worship patterns just enough that those who have come to our land as immigrants could also join us for worship? What reason could we have for refusing to make space for those who've arrived more recently than us, the differently accented, differently hued?
This is the first of a two-part series on de-shuttering worship. In this episode we focus on understanding worship as experienced by the hearts and minds of most of the people in the world - a deep dive into the collectivist experience - wisely and intimately guided into that world by Damber Khadka. He helps us understand what's happing in the hearts and minds of newcomers in worship, gives insight into why this connection so often goes wonky, and suggestions about we can do to open our circle wider.
If you want to see your faith community open, explore, welcome new folk, this episode might be just the thing to help!