Rector's Blog: The Kingdom of God. Now.
"My aim in life, to the extent I can remember it and do it, is to help bring the Kingdom of God closer now.” These are the words of Mike Krug, a man who’s been a part of the Redeemer community for longer than I’ve been alive, as he reflects on his relationship to his church, and the impact it has on his life. Please read that sentence. And then read it again.
To help bring the Kingdom of God closer now. One of our goals in inviting you to share your story with us is to help us see more clearly the beauty and impact of this Beloved Community. I think Mike’s words do this powerfully – because he reminds us that our connection to the church has a purpose, that our belonging to this place and to one another is in service of something beyond mere affinity or comfort. We have been brought together in order to help bring the Kingdom of God closer. Now.
God is at work in this world. God is bringing love and justice, mercy and truth more fully into being every day. We believe the church exists to partner with God in that work. It is our reason for being. Our vision of a worshiping community that Knows Jesus and Grows in Love inspires and empowers us to serve the world right now. To roll our sleeves up and work alongside our Lord in the healing, reconciliation, and redemption of God’s creation.
We continue to engage in the work of Becoming Beloved Community at Church of the Redeemer. Becoming Beloved Community is the Episcopal Church’s long-term commitment to racial healing, reconciliation, and justice, and we are seeking a deeper understanding of what this work means for us locally, personally, as Redeemer, and as individuals.
There is a tension that emerges in this work. Indeed, there is tension in any work where we seek to move towards a vision of who we can become. The tension I’m talking about is the tension between loving ourselves for who we are and knowing we want to become something else, something different. As we worked to develop our Vision Statement, for instance, we sought to describe the church we believed God was calling us to be. But did this mean we didn’t love who we were? Of course, we did, and of course we do. We love this place. Our desire to move alongside God towards this Vision is rooted and grounded in the love we already have for God and for each other.
As we talk about Becoming Beloved Community, does this mean we are not already living into our belovedness? Does this mean we are not already beloved? Or a community? Mike Krug’s presence and faithfulness at Redeemer reminds me that we are already a community, that we are already beloved, that we are already finding magnificent ways to live into this truth. Mike shows me what being loving and beloved looks like in real life. His faithfulness affects everyone who calls Redeemer home – even those who don’t know him. His singing in the choir, his help with the strategic plan and with the creation of the Youth & Young Adult Ministry, and his ongoing care of the facility, all spring from a place of love for the people of this community. Mike is a gift to us.
And of course, he’s not alone - I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again and again: The people are the best part of this church. Y’all are a gift to me, to each other, to your community, and to the world. God loves you and is sending you out in love so that other people can experience belovedness the way you experience it here. The specific work of Becoming Beloved Community as a long-term commitment is not about finally making us beloved, about turning us into a community: It’s about expanding our very understanding of who “us” is. “Us” is not just meant to be people who look, think, act, and vote like the people who currently comprise Redeemer. The Kingdom of God is more colorful, more diverse, more expansive, more beautiful than many of us (myself included) have previously imagined. And the Kingdom of God is coming closer. It is the Church of the Redeemer’s conviction that we will roll up our sleeves and join in the work of bringing that Kingdom here. Now.
