Within Scripture there’s a community which is described in Acts 2 which is something we might want to emulate. They don’t go to a church or a synagogue primarily as their central focus, but the focus is upon each other. This isn’t Church Planting but something completely different. They support each other as they are as one – what a community!
Locked Churches
But – in reality – this community is very hard to be. Our focus has been predominately the Church building. But with national lockdown – is this #3 or #4, I have lost count of the sequels – the Church buildings have either been closed (as in Scotland) or the Government (for England) has suggested that they remain open, but the individual churches may have closed them due to the Virus. Then, the focus seems to disappear.
Let me tell you of one community which hasn’t need of a focal building.
Radical Difference
This group of people meets regularly, once a fortnight. They come together, to till the borders along a canal, along the road sides, by the shops. They remove the weeds, add fertiliser to the soil, they sow vegetables and herbs. These, when grown, can be picked by the locals – whom do not need to have been those that have sown the crops.
It’s freely given so all may receive.
Vegetables
This group of people meet up after this regular cultivation of their neighbourhood and have a meal. A team of helpers have brought food, spent time cooking it, laid a long table, and served plentiful wholesome food catering for all tastes. There’s pudding as well – what’s not to like? What a community!
Clothes/Toys
There’s a need for clothes and toys for those who can’t afford new things, so this community set up a place outside, freely available for people to come at any time and take what they wanted. Yes, it could be open to abuse, but they just wanted to release these items so that everyone could have that opportunity to be clothed, for the children to have something new to play with. So people have a space to give and receive, as they need.
Freegan Food
With this pandemic – but even before that – they set about receiving Freegan food and distributing it weekly to anyone who wanted to come down and collect it. No referrals, no red-tape, just come and collect.
Christmas
One Christmas, when people were often lonely and isolated they open up a building so that people could come together on Christmas Day – at no cost – and have a scrumptious meal with all of the trimmings. What a community!
And this wasn’t church: why not?