I found a quote from the current pope {to whom I lovingly refer as " Papa Francis" for many reasons}that spoke to my soul .My Annual Convention for my Diocese is in February, and I am going as an alternate lay delegate.
Anyhow, here is the quote:
Amen and amen again! Although I am pretty sure that the Pope is speaking of the Roman Catholic Church, his statement SHOULD ring true for Christians of any & all varieties.
No one asks me of my opinion on such lofty matters: I am after all " merely a young woman" {sic} and " everyone knows that young people have nothing to contribute" { sic}
Too often the institutional Church is too concerned with maintaining status quo and keeping out "those who are not like us" than actually BEING Christ's hands & feet here and now.
I am sad about all the hard feelings that surround certain Church issues and I am even more saddened by the fact that these issues keep people away from knowing Christ & Christ's community.
I dream of a Church that is more concerned with BEING Church than DEFINING Church.
I dream of a Church whose Holy Scriptures are not used to justify hatred towards those whose lifestyles we do not understand. As long as some one's lifestyle harms no one, we should not justify our prejudices in the name of the Church
I dream of a Church that focuses more on empowering members to live out our Baptismal Covenants rather than playing politics.
I dream of a Church that is more concerned with doing ministry that will make a difference to the greater local area than placating members by playing up to prejudices of people with a lot of money.
I am 37 and one-half years old. It is my HOPE and PRAYER that I live long enough to see some of my dreams for the Church come to fruition.
Amen.
Christmastide 2014.
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