"Sir, you wish to serve God and go to heaven. Remember you cannot serve Him alone; you must therefore find companions, or make them: the Bible knows nothing of solitary religion."--John Wesley, founder of Methodism
"We are family, I've got all my sisters with me." --1979 song by Sister Sledge, composed by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers
In the past month I've had the privilege of sharing in a joyful celebration and a time of sorrow with members of my Sunday School class. We had a bridal shower for the daughter of one of our families who remarked that we had all helped raise her. Just a little over a week later we served an after-funeral meal to the family and friends of other members who had lost their mother. In both instances, our diverse group of individuals came together in love and friendship to share in our friends' joys and sorrows. We are "family" to each other.
When I was twenty-something, I was helping out in the church kitchen and an older lady remarked that she had made more friends in the kitchen than in the pews. As I have grown older her words ring truer and truer.
Are you familiar with Toby Keith's song, I Love This Bar? (Stay with me, I'm not trying to corrupt anyone!). Here's the chorus:
I love this barEvery time I hear that song, I want to substitute the word church in place of bar. It doesn't rhyme, but it tells how I feel about my church and my church family.
It's my kind of place
Just walkin' through the front door
Puts a big smile on my face
It ain't too far, come as you are
Hmm, hmm, hmm I love this bar
If you don't have a church family I urge you to find one, otherwise you are cheating yourself out of one of God's greatest blessings, the gift of community.
Anita Gardner Farrell
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