June 2024

Greetings Siblings in Christ,

Driving on the Interstate this past week I was listening to a newscast about the loss of “third places” in our communities. What is a “third place?” Well, if the first place is home, and the second place is work or school, the third place is (cue the Cheers theme song) a third place is where you go to be in communion with others. A third place is where you socialize with other people, where you are known and accepted, where you are included, where you belong.

 In a time when loneliness has been categorized as epidemic, it seems like the “third place” concept is not only pertinent but perhaps detrimental to the health and well-being of our communities. Charles E. Moore wrote in his essay, It Takes Work, “Superficiality and rootlessness are diseases of our time. Shallow friendships and fragile relationships mark not only our society but also the church. By contrast, we read that the early Christians did not just occasionally fellowship (verb); they were a fellowship (noun). They didn’t go to church; they were the church.”

 Moore noted the abundant use of the reciprocal pronoun, “one another” (allelon) in the New Testament. “Do good to one another.” (1 Thess 5:15); “Put up with one another in love.” (Eph 4:2); “Have the same care for one another.” (1 Cor 12:25); etc.  It is one word that emphasizes the necessity of being part of a group that shares life. Psychologists have classified the importance of belonging as a human need, right up there with life’s basics: nourishment, shelter, and clothing.

 Jesus tells us to love one another. That goes beyond being polite, kind, and considerate. It means stretching outside of our selves to reach others. We must get-to-know one another through interaction and genuine listening. It is to be in communion, which means “to be with someone and to discover that we actually belong together.”  It is our hope and our calling as God’s missionary people to be in communion with our siblings in Christ as well as our neighbors; regardless of what they believe, or how they look, or the language they speak.

 Communion means accepting people just as they are, with all their limits and inner pain, but also with their gifts and their beauty and their capacity to grow.”– Jean Vanier.  By our attitude we reveal to strangers their value, beauty, trustworthiness, and capacity for life as children of God. We will see the light that is shining within one another. As we grow alongside one another each becomes more fully themselves, and the church can be a “third place” for all.

Deacon Kirsten Kessel

Ref: Called to Community; The Life Jesus Wants for His People, ed. C. Moore, New York, 2016 p.86-87,93-97).