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| A member congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America | ||
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September The well-known Church historian Martin Marty has written that “America likes megasuccess stories about megachurches with megaprograms and megabudgets,” but for him the truly “big story” of religion in America has to do with the role everyday members of everyday churches play in the lives of their families, churches and communities. They are the ones who are overlooked with all the emphasis on bigness and success, yet they are the ones who truly make a difference. He got to thinking about this when he read an article about four senior women members of a declining church in Paterson, New Jersey, who died in a tragic automobile accident. One of the women, age 80, brought meat pies three times a week to a 97-year-old. Another, age 73, phoned and other member daily after the fellow member had five heart operations. Another, age 69, helped the mentally ill former church member pay his bills. The fourth woman, age 62, made Sloppy Joes for 50 children every Saturday in their troubled neighborhood. The women were achievers on their own and as parents of corporate executives, publishers, and designers. They stayed on in their church as it struggled and declined, ministering and bringing life to their community. The son of one of the women said that his mother “always wanted to make sure that I stayed in the church, that I gave something back. She always told us, ‘Never forget where you come from.’” The son didn’t. But many others today often do forget where they came from, Marty concludes. If we remembered “where we come from,” Marty writes, if we remember the part such women as these and others like them play in our lives and the lives of churches and communities, we would know what are the truly important stories in American religion today. And I couldn’t agree more. To remember where we came from is to remember parents and Sunday School teachers and many others who taught us, guided us and gave of themselves to help us and others. It is to remember those who made a difference in our lives and the lives of churches and communities because they always gave something back. It is to remember not megasuccess stories but stories of everyday people who served and ministered in seemingly small yet truly great ways. And it is to remember that we ourselves can and do make a difference. So let each of us remember where we came from and what truly matters and how each of us can make a difference. Worshipping regularly, making the effort to bring our children or grandchildren to Sunday School, serving and ministering to one another and the community in some way, giving something back in terms of our time and abilities and money, remaining committed — these things make a tremendous difference! Indeed, right here we ourselves could be the stuff of a “big story” if we each remember that where we have come from is many people over the years who lived out a commitment to Christ and gave of themselves, and if we each do the same in our lives. God be with you, Jeff
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