Hospitality in the Churches of East Tennessee

The simple act of visiting a church of another denomination can be a wonderful thing to do. The Glenmary Home Missioners, the group I work with, has a long tradition of doing this very thing. As missionaries, they approach church worship services themselves as a mission field--not a place to convert others, but a place to reach out to one another, be open to what the other is saying, and build the kind of unity that Jesus himself prayed for. That all who believe may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you (John 17:21).  

Anyone can be an ambassador of the faith in this way. My colleagues usually recommend going to another church on the invitation of a member or the pastor. It is usually easy to get an invitation in a conversation around town, perhaps at the grocery store or restaurant. An invitation is not always necessary, but it helps to break the ice.

When I go, all I say is, "I'm Frank Lesko, I'm visiting my friends at the local Catholic Church for the weekend, and I would like to worship here this morning." It is that simple. You do not need a theology degree to be kind and open in this way. Folks are often extremely warm and quite pleased that someone from outside their congregation would take the time and effort to spend a Sunday morning in their space and hear what they have to say. Their hospitality is a gift that I do not take for granted--I appreciate it greatly as itself an act of Christian love.

Sometimes the journey toward greater harmony between churches only takes someone proverbially knocking on the door and asking to come in and sit for a spell. Your actions will speak much louder than words, and say, "I want to be in your world for a while. Let's listen to each other."

I visit churches regularly in my work. It only makes sense to share more of these adventures in more detail online!  So here goes . . .

Union and Grainger Counties are circled in red above.

I spent this weekend in and near the Catholic mission parishes in Union and Grainger Counties in east Tennessee. Visiting other churches is easy here, as there are few churches in Union and Grainger counties in which Br. Craig Digmann has not visited at least once. He is a regular face at many places. His current total is well over a hundred churches that he has visited at least once in his few short years in the area, and that number is steadily growing.

On Saturday evening, I attended Catholic Mass at St. John Paul II Catholic Mission parish in Rutledge, TN. I have featured this congregation in posts before, most recently here. What is noteworthy about this little storefront church is that right now it has been almost entirely converted into a distribution area for food commodities for folks in need. All the chairs, altar and podiums have been temporarily moved against the wall to make way for God's hungry people. Did they move Jesus out of the way to do this? No, this is how they make space for Him! Make straight the way of the Lord! (Isaiah 40:3, John 1:23).

I had the privilege of attending Beeler's Chapel United Methodist Church early on Sunday morning. I appreciated greatly Pastor Denver Davidson's deep faith and well considered thoughts. I like that they make Ash Wednesday ashes not just from bunt palms but also from notecards of prayer requests of members of the congregation. I repent in dust and ashes (Job 42:6).

I felt right at home in this congregation, which is located on a picturesque mountain road outside of Washburn, TN. While there, I got to connect to a number of people who live at the nearby Narrow Ridge Earth Literacy Center. They live off the grid and have a profound witness of environmental sustainability. I have been especially impressed with their natural burial cemetery which is part of their environmental witness and commitment. God saw all that He had made, and it was very good (Genesis 1:31).

Not too far down the road and just a few short minutes later, I found myself attending Mt. Eager Missionary Baptist Church. Br. Craig may have been the first Catholic ever to step foot in this and other churches in the area, but now it is somewhat easy for me to come along afterwards. I was impressed by the hospitality and vitality of the congregation, as well as the good natured presence of Pastor Gary Donehew. Be hospitable to one another without complaint (1 Peter 4:9).

My only regret is not getting a picture of the view from the entrance of the church looking out. The mountain panorama is something that can strike awe into the heart of any person and never grows old. I may be back to snap that picture, but I am not going back today. After an inch of snow and ice fell last night on those steep mountain dirt roads, I am sticking to the highways today! If you want a taste, check out the cover picture for this blog, because it was taken from this very same part of the country.

I headed back to Maynardville for Sunday evening service at Hines Creek Missionary Baptist Church. They operate a critical food pantry for Union County, which is itself an ecumenical effort. For I was hungry and you gave me food (Matthew 25:35-40).

This is also one of the most musically talented congregations I have ever visited. Members make up at least two different music groups. I especially enjoyed the country Gospel of the Beason family and look forward to hearing them play again in the future. Good food and good music, this is what makes this church a pillar in the community by all reckoning! Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation (Psalm 95:1).

The one word that comes to my mind after this weekend in east Tennessee is this: Hospitality. Each of these churches was so welcoming and gracious to this shy outsider who speaks in a very obvious northern accent. I would like to see these kind spirited people again. We do worship the same God. We may have different ideas about how to do that and sometimes even what that means, but we are all doing the best we can to make our way through the fog. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. (1 Cor 13:12). 

I am glad to have met these Christian brothers and sisters of mine in east Tennessee! Br. Craig has estimated that there are over 210 churches in these two counties, so these four are just a small sampling, but if each of us took a step to get to know just one other church, we would build quite a relationship.

If you would like this Catholic to attend your church, and you live in the rural US Southeast, drop me a line!  I would love to visit your church and celebrate our mutual relationship with Christ together!

God Is Keeping Us Busy With Joy

This is what I have seen to be good: it is fitting to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of the life God gives us; for this is our lot. Likewise all to whom God gives wealth and possessions and whom he enables to enjoy them, and to accept their lot and find enjoyment in their toil—this is the gift of God.  For they will scarcely brood over the days of their lives, because God keeps them occupied with the joy of their hearts.

-- Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 NRSV
 

It was a blessing that I began the day of the Rutledge Ecumenical Social at Sunday School at Rutledge Baptist Church. We studied the passage from Ecclesiastes above: Qoheleth is struggling on the brink of despair. He seems to fall into utter hopelessness only to spring back just enough to hang on to a little glimmer of hope. He sees people toiling and oppressed with little relief in sight. He is saddened about his short, fleeting life and all his accomplishments which he fears amount to only so much dust.

His story is very modern--like someone experiencing clinical depression and struggling to have any faith in God at all. Yet, Qoheleth finds a way to escape all that despair—as the above passage shows, it is possible find joy in the gifts God has given and to simply trust in God in that joy. He shows us how to navigate the dark, scary times of life when we do not know all the answers and when we flounder to find meaning. He offers a guiding light for some of the most difficult parts of the journey.

Baptist congregation member Sharon made this connection between the Ecclesiastes reading and the three church, three congregation ecumenical social that afternoon: “We can have joy together in our mutual love for the Lord,” she said. “We are celebrating that even though we go to different churches, we come together to laugh and for fellowship because we love the Lord, so we are all brothers and sisters.”

That same joy that Qoheleth ultimately finds is the same joy that three Christian congregations in the eastern Tennessee community of Rutledge have found: God is simply keeping them too busy with joy to be preoccupied with anything negative.
 

L-R: Patty, Fr. Steve, Pastor Chan and Chelsea

 

The Rutledge Ecumenical Social is the latest in a long line of activities between three distinct churches in rural eastern Tennessee: Rutledge United Methodist Church, Rutledge Baptist Church, and St. John Paul II Mission Catholic parish.

 

"We have prayed together, served the needy together, but we have yet to party together," said Catholic pastor Fr. Steve Pawelk on his Facebook wall.

 

Methodist Pastor Ryan Davenport described their process: "Fr. Steve, Pastor "Chan" (Chandler Vinson) and I meet once a month for lunch and for prayer. During those prayer meetings, we think of different ecumenical ministries."

 

Indeed, the three congregations have twice hosted three-day ecumenical revivals. They operate a year-round food pantry for the hungry, which features a turkey giveaway in November. This past summer, they hosted a joint Vacation Bible School. "We have just not sat down and broken bread together," continued Davenport.

 

That is exactly what the three congregations did this past weekend. The initial idea this time came from the Baptist congregation. Having graciously hosted the Vacation Bible School, the adults enjoyed themselves so much they looked for a way to continue the partnership. "The pastors texted each other to pitch the idea," recounted Chan. "The answers came back in less than 5-10 minutes--we were all like, 'we need to do this!'"

 

They picked a neutral location in the center of town. Tasks were divided up and flyers went up around town. On the day of the event, hot dogs were put on the grill and potluck dishes rounded out the meal with a mix of general American picnic fare and a robust selection of Mexican, Filipino and Southern dishes. The fiddler of the Old Time music band Possum Crossing belongs to the JPII congregation and brought his band.

 

Highlights of the event included a corn hole tournament and spontaneous dancing to accompany the music. The latter featured Fr. Steve, Pastor Chan, as well as some parishioners. One man raised the question whether dancing was itself a sin, which prompted a good-natured theological discussion--the only theological concern raised that day.

A serious game of corn hole.



Possum Crossing keeping the crowd toe tappin' to Old Time music.

Fr. Steve dances with Peggy. Photo by Chander Vinson.

 

Perhaps most noteworthy was what was not present. There was no noticeable awkwardness or coldness. A bystander such as myself would have had a hard time distinguishing which members belonged to which congregations, since people mixed so well. The few problems were not theological in nature. Rather, they revolved around the predictable logistical details of hosting an event--the normal hustle and bustle of getting the grill set up and working, directing the buffet line and organizing the clean-up. Baptist church secretary Chelsea and congregation member Patty held the nuts and bolts of this event together seamlessly.

"When we first started working together, I expected at least some backlash from the congregation," confessed Pastor Chan. "There was none. Our churches have ended up loving each other. It has been shockingly easy." 

"It is clear that Fr. Steve, Ryan and Chan really enjoy each other’s company," affirmed Patty. That spirit clearly radiates to their congregations, and perhaps it even ripples outward to the larger community.

"Working together [with he other pastors] is always really easy," affirms Pastor Chan.

Non-Competitive Relationships

A key to the success of this three-congregation, three-denomination partnership is the almost total lack of competition between them.

 

"Competitiveness is a huge hindrance to the mission of God," explained Pastor Ryan. "If we are so worried about how many people are on our rolls, if all we care about is just who we gain or who this building gains, and we are not for the greater good of the community of eradicating drugs, bringing people to Christ and loving 'the least, the last and the lost', then we are not doing our job."

Indeed, even churches that belong to the same denomination rarely get together for common activities in that region. Congregations huddle up and keep to themselves. That makes this three-church partnership a unique witness that participants hope will become more common in time: "I wish that this approach to the faith would be contagious and spread like wildfire everywhere," hoped Pastor Ryan.

"Partnership with the Baptists and Catholics makes the Kingdom of God come more to life. It’s a beautiful thing not to say: 'You’re over there, we’re over here, let’s keep it that way,'" said Pastor Ryan. "That’s not what the Bible ever teaches. What we are trying to do is be faithful to the Bible’s concept of unity.

Impact

I have visited these three congregations before and it is always such a wonderful, joyful witness. It is fascinating to ponder what impact this robust partnership can and will have in the larger community.

"I have seen greater friendliness on the streets--at the grocery store and bank,” said Fr. Steve. "There is a greater sense of community. We are constantly building relationships." He said that the congregations originally met as strangers, but through ecumenical events and joint ministry work there are now many lasting friendships that have formed.

"Denominational distinctions are on the outs," predicted Ryan. He used the lunch table where he was seated to illustrate this point. Along with Baptists, Methodists and Catholics were people with a background in the Quaker and Episcopal traditions, for example. Yet, they now worship together, study the Bible together and serve the community together. "There is a slew of different flavors of Christianity at this one table." 



"May I have this dance?"

Patty shared a compatible point: "I was brought up Catholic, but I am non-denominational now." Her church membership is not based on denomination but rather the draw of a particular pastor and the connection and acceptance of a congregation--"That's what drives my train now," she explained.

 

The overall sentiment is that in the larger community there has been too much focus on differences and not enough on similarities. "When I was growing up as the daughter of a Baptist deacon, there were very definite divisions between denominations," recounted Baptist member Peggy. "We forgot to focus on the fact that we all believe in God and worship God.”

 

Peggy told the story of her neighbor of 35 years who is a Catholic: “We decided St. Peter’s not going to ask us which denomination we belong to--he is going to ask us: 'Have you been a good and faithful servant?'"

 

She finds the technical differences between denominations tedious: "It is all very confusing to me, which is why you just have to take it on faith."

 

The spirituality of that statement is profound in light of the Ecclesiastes reading above, and it is a fitting way to understand the quest for Christian unity. Most groups do not get along as well as these congregations. Sometimes the obstacles between Christian denominations are so strong that it can be all too easy to fall into despair—the theological differences, history of hurt, misconceptions and prejudices can all pile on top of each other to create a multi-layered mess of epic proportions. We can be left not knowing what we could possibly do about it, wondering how these obstacles could ever be overcome.

 

Still, we can move forward in faith, at ease because we do not need to know all the answers but instead can trust in God's gift of joy, like Qoheleth.

 

"Some people around town are in such a shock that we do all these things," cited Sharon. They say, ‘You do something with that church?’ They lower their voice when they say that. But we all love the Lord, that’s our foundation… to me, it is a joyful thing to celebrate."

 

Sharon noticed a signal from the grill master and interrupted what she was saying to announce: "Hot dogs are ready!! Enough about all that," she playfully exclaimed and quickly left behind the talk of differences and negativity to go back to the party.

 

Indeed: God is keeping this group too busy with joy to dwell on differences.




L-R: Fr. Steve, Pastor Ryan and Pastor Chan.

 

A polka lesson.

 

 

Profiles in Ecumenism: Rev. Ted Beam, UMC

The quote that began an earlier post was by Rev. Ted Beam:  "If churches can work together to build a house, why can’t we get together to evangelize the world?" 

Beam is currently Pastor of Petrie Memorial United Methodist Church in Elkton, KY.  He has also been involved in many international missions.  He is known for being a strong supporter of ecumenical relationships, especially when it comes to joint evangelization efforts.  I had the opportunity to talk with him about his approach and philosophy this past July.  These are some of his methods and guiding principles for working together between Christian denominations.

Go and Make Disciples of All Nations (Matthew 28:19)

 

Pastor Beam takes seriously the New Testament call to go and make disciples of all nations. He sees that there is a limited amount of joint evangelization—which also results in less overall evangelization—because Christians disagree on some things. By not working together to evangelize, Christians are hamstringing themselves from realizing one of their primary commissions.

In Beam's view, "most of us disagree on secondary matters; we should want to work cooperatively on primary matters."  He explains further:  "Paul was not sent to baptize but to preach the Gospel—even baptism is secondary.  The death, burial, resurrection of Jesus is of primary importance." 

Creation as Model of Collaboration

As a young minster, Rev. Beam got involved in a group working as missionaries in Venezuela.  Quite unexpectedly, he was thrust into the spotlight and had to give a keynote address to the group strategizing how to unfold a missionary plan.  His plan, 'how to reach the city in 7 years," centered on ecumenical collaboration: "When churches work together, miracles, healings and conversions become commonplace." 

The Revelation of God in Creation provides the roadmap to follow for Beam:  "God has built creation to do that very thing:  A team of horses mathematically can pull more than the sum of it's parts; Canada geese flying in formation can move 70% further than flying alone."  Through teamwork and synergy, there is a compounded effect that otherwise cannot be realized except through a collaborative community effort. 

 

It may be worth pondering that both diversity and unity play a role in achieving this end result.  If a town is being approached by missionary groups from 5 different denominations, for example, it is understandable that the reception to the excitement of Christianity may be lukewarm when the people presenting it are themselves so divided.  However, when all these groups join together, they bring different charisms, skills and approaches that when combined intensify each other.  The strength is not either unity or diversity but rather unity in diversity.

 

Refreshing Realism

Pastor Beam offers this insight:  "I am Pastor of a Methodist congregation.  Some of our members are Episcopal.  Others are Lutheran," he said.  What he means is that the theological beliefs of his congregation's members would have them align with different denominations—that is to say, if church membership were solely a matter of doctrinal belief:  "They choose a congregation because that is where they connect to God and make meaningful connections to each other, not because they always agree with the doctrine." 

A common assumption in popular culture is that membership in a church denomination assumes that a person is aligned with the beliefs of that group.  That definition is woefully incomplete, as Avery Dulles pointed out in his groundbreaking work Models of the Church.  The congregation which Rev. Ted Beam pastors is a living witness to that, but his congregation is far from unique in this regard.  Many churches seem to go out of their way to disguise this fact.  They seem to circle the wagons and portray a monolithic image of the group's composition, seeing disagreement as a weakness instead of a testament to the robust diversity of the membership, their array of religious experiences and their creativity in describing what that means.

There are many reasons for this.  An individual may not feel like it is their place to promote their individual views, which could come across as disrespecting the longstanding tradition of their denomination to favor their own self-oriented universe.  Clergy may feel this pressure a lot.  One has to also wonder, however, if this could come across as either a form of dishonesty or unhealthy groupthink.  Pretending there is uniformity denies the vibrant diversity and personality of the members, a fact which could actually edify the stature of that group.  Uniformity may make the group less appealing to newcomers who find value in membership but who are not willing or ready to change some of their views.

I come across this stereotype a lot when I talk with non-churchgoing people.  I have a strong respect for people who refuse to join a church if it seems like they would have to surrender their personality or intellectual faculties to get a membership card.  While they may feel they have rejected Christianity, I hope they do not mind that I think that the Holy Spirit must be really strong in them to be so rooted so as not to bend just to join a group.

 

Two by Two

 

One of his favorite activities is to join together with other local pastors and go door-to-door through town spreading the Gospel.  They walk two-by-two on both sides of the street at the same time.  It conveys a powerful witness of the unity of the Body of Christ.  "There is a Nazarene and Church of Christ pastor on one side of the street and a Baptist and a Methodist pastor on the other side, knocking on doors."

Having a non-competitive stance toward Christian collaboration is central to Pastor Beam's evangelization efforts.  "After 23 years of doing this, I have not gotten even one new member in my congregation," he recounted.  "Other churches have received new members."  This is quite a track record to show he practices what he preaches when it comes to being uncompetitive with other Christians denominations.

Still, there is a lot of work to be done.  Out of 29 churches in his zip code, only 4 were working together in this way.

 

"When it comes to us pastors, none of us has a corner on the market.  To be faithful to our calling, we need to be faithful together.

Authentic Relationships

While he participates in joint ecumenical projects like the one above, he affirms that it always works best when it is the fruit of true friendship.  “Authentic ministries will come out of authentic relationships,” be says.  He prefers a dinner with a family than a common worship service, but he will do both.  He makes an effort to befriend other pastors.  He has participated in ecumenical gatherings of strangers and finds the talks "guarded."  They do "official" projects together such as write statements or lobby the government.  However, "when pastors are friends, it is less official but more effective," he believes.  A pastor gathering over pizza worked very well in this regard while he was living in another town in Kentucky.

He views Christian togetherness as not just the fruit of evangelization but also the means to get there.  Pastor Beam is committed to reclaiming community aspects of Christianity.  Community is not just the means but also the end of evangelization.  Pastor Beam finds evangelizing so much more difficult in the USA due to the individualistic nature of our culture.  "It's an uphill climb," he says.  "Competition, free enterprise and an overall feeling of suspicion are dominant.  In the USA, people think that everyone is a leader."

Historically, salvation was often seen as a community endeavor.  He cites Acts 16 (see above picture).  Beam remarked that it was not until Martin Luther that salvation was seen as a purely individualistic enterprise.  Community conversions still work very well in many non-westernized countries.  Tribal people often convert en masse when the leaders convert.

In fact, he underscores the importance of using the existing cultural infrastructure in other ways in missionary work.  He cites the books Peace Child and Eternity in their Hearts, both written by Christian missionary Don Richardson.  These books demonstrate that there are themes of Christianity and arrows pointing to the Christian God within the myths, stories and values of non-Christian cultures.  The job of a Christian missionary is not to forcefully eradicate a culture and replace it with another, but rather to show the people the God who has been revealed to them already—albeit in a less clear way, according to Beam.

Another way to tap into the existing community infrastructure right here in the states is this:  Before selecting outreach opportunities to help the local community, Pastor Beam first establishes key relationships of trust.  He networks with the police, school principals and the local superintendent.  He invites them to pray with him.  He asks:  Where should his church go?  Where is the need?  In one such instance, there was a community with increasing rates of domestic violence.  That begun a process which ended with his community teaching literacy to people in prison—ministering to the offenders and helping them build self-confidence and a feeling of self-empowerment.  These were key, as domestic abuse offenders often act out of a sense of powerlessness and a lack of self-confidence.

He concluded with a few thoughts on Pope Francis.  He appreciates that he is "not sweeping misbehaviors under rug."  This kind of leadership, combined with his overall charisma, are "making Christianity and Jesus look good again."