A Word from Pastor Lisa: Finding Holy, Common Ground
Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.” 4 When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” – Exodus 3:1-5 (NRSV)
“Earth’s crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God,” wrote poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning. “But only [they] who see it take off [their] shoes. The rest sit round and pluck blackberries.” Barrett Browning invites us to experience the glory of God in ordinary places. For those who have eyes to see, even an ordinary bush is a place where God’s presence is made manifest. What’s more, burning bushes are not just a relic of the past, limited to the time of Moses, but very much alive for those who are open to the holy all around us today.
One of my passions is creating inclusive worshiping communities that encounter the Living God together. I want everyone to know they belong in the Body of Christ. When we gather, I hope the eyes of our hearts are open to experience Jesus through the songs, Scripture, prayers, the waters of baptism, and the ordinary bread and fruit of the vine. By God’s grace, we bless the common elements of our lives and embrace them as holy. When we come together, we are on holy ground.
I’m also mindful that people experience holy ground in a myriad of ways – in the sanctuary, with the choir and organ, in nature, or in gatherings with family and friends. One of the gifts we have at First Methodist is the opportunity to create holy ground for people who find passion and joy in contemporary expressions of worship in an inclusive Christian community.
That’s why on Sunday at 11:45 a.m., we’re preparing to launch Common Ground, which is an inclusive contemporary worship experience encouraging all to take the next step in faith and justice in Bloomington and beyond. In addition to being Christ-centered, open to all, a safe place to grow, and a servant community, Common Ground will be non-judgmental, friendly, relevant, and engaging. We hope to reach people who aren’t comfortable in more traditional worship or have been excluded by the Church. We will meet people where they are and encourage them to grow by putting their faith in action through service, justice, the arts, and other spiritual practices.
Since we’re in the pandemic with the Omicron variant on the rise, we have decided to make this a soft launch, similar to a restaurant or hotel opening. We’re taking it slowly for the first eight months. We will have inspiring worship once a month in the sanctuary with music from our Common Ground Band. On alternate weeks, we will gather in Great Hall to sing, study, learn together, explore the arts, host guest speakers, engage in conversation, build community, and take action in service and justice. Topics in the first few weeks include racial equality, disability theology, and setting our own service and justice goals for 2022. As we shape this new Common Ground community, our hope is to launch a weekly worship service in August. Stay tuned for more details!
If this is a community that interests you, we’d love to see you on Sunday. We hope you will invite others, especially newcomers, to join you. If you are drawn to our traditional Classic service, we would still appreciate your prayers for this new community. We are excited to see what will unfold as we partner with God to create holy, common ground.