Getting the church out of the doors is what church is all about. I mean that both literally and figuratively. On Rally Sunday we took our worship outdoors, but the challenge remains for us to carry church in our lives day in and day out.When the last softball was fielded and all the pylons were collected, the field where we held church returned to usual state. Nearly the moment we left the field a few of its regular inhabitants returned. I was coming in from the outfield when I heard the familiar cry of “ki-dee, ki-dee, ki-dee.” I turned to see nine Killdeer wheel in flight and then land in a tight group on the field. It was as if they were watching and waiting for us to get out of their way. Fields are their natural habitat and some of these nine were probably hatched in this very field. But seven offspring fledged and ready to migrate seems to be a good deal more than expected from a single pair of Killdeer. The likely explanation is that this was a community of Killdeer. Once the competition over territory ends (i.e. the end of the mating season), most birds see the wisdom of combining their efforts in the name of survival. The most common gathering of birds is in migratory flocks, the most dramatic of which are the huge numbers of hawks that soar south together over mountain ranges. This community of Killdeer was just a smaller example of the same.
I was struck by the fact that this field had hosted two communities on the same day, one avian and one human. The fact that both communities had use for the same resource reminded me of the importance of being aware of the many things we share within and between communities. This sharing makes defining where one community ends and another begins a difficult task. When we speak of our church community do we mean only members? Only active members? Only those who contribute time, talents and treasure? Only those who have at some time worshipped here? Or do we really mean community in the sense that we ought; those who gather to help one another? I pray that we mean the latter. I pray that when we speak of getting out into the community what really mean is that, like the Killdeer, we are prepared to gather with any and all who understand the wisdom of bearing one another’s burdens.
