Greetings in the Name of the Lord, 

I spend a lot of time thinking about the role of church in society today. I am not the only one, I am currently reading a book by New York Times religion columnist and devout Roman Catholic Ross Douthat entitled Believe. In the book he takes the approach that in our increasingly secular world, the argument for Christianity can not even occur until folks understand why Religion is important in the first place. He sees himself as writing today's version of Mere Christianity, but instead of making the specific argument for Christian practice, he is offering an argument for Religious practice in general. In other words, our world has become so secular over the last 15 or 20 years that as a society we are starting to forget why any religion is important, let alone Christianity.  

I think Douthat's efforts are commendable, even if I disagree with a number of his foundational arguments (although I have not finished it yet, so I am curious to see where he is headed, and think that we might end up in very similar places in the end). I think they are commendable because for the most part I agree with his starting point, most people today do not understand the role of Religion, even inside many churches. People today are so quick to say they are spiritual but not religious, even though they can rarely articiulate what "Religion" means. 

Which is why I spend so much time thinking about the role of faith institutions (churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, etc) in today's world.  It is hard in a religiously pluralistic society to be meaningfully Christian if one does not understand the role Religion is more generally intended to play.  I say all this without having a great answer. My quick answer is that the word religion is from Latin and means "to re-connect". I like this definition, that Religion helps us to connect not only with God, but ideally with the wider world, our immediate community, our family members, our fellow practitioners of faith and even ourselves. This is a great definition, besides being quite narrow in focus, it still does not really explain the ways Religion is meant to practically play out in society.

I am always up to discuss and debate the practical aspects of religion, but sometimes the best way to understand the role of Religion is to see it in action. I mention this because this past Sunday I really believe we saw Religion at its best. As a faith community we were able to gather together and create space for not only the Forkell and Fisher families to mourn an overwhelming loss, but we were able to create space for the whole Victor community to come and gather. The Deacons, along with many other members of the congregation, were able to prepare the space and offer food and refreshments for so many to gather (by my count, somewhere around 300 people). It took quite a bit of work, but it all went seamlessly. It can often seem like such a little part of the larger process, but offering space to mourn and grieve and creating some structure to that process is so important for not only those closest to loss, but for the whole community when it is affected by a sudden death. It is in these moments where religion plays such an important role, regardless of whether everyone in attendance on Sunday believed the same thing, it is in the space and time to come together that allows the long process of healing and restoration to begin. Christians are not the only folks who do this, pretty much every religion offers something for the community at the time of death, and it is important. Humanity has always needed to rely on the community around them in its most difficult moments. Religion is a broad topic, one that is hard to define, but on Sunday, we saw Religion at its best. 

In Peace, 

Mike