by John M.

Buchanan

Being C h r i s t s body
HEIDI NEUM A RK S article on tire state of the
church (p. 12) resonates deeply in my heart. I know what her
seminary intern was experiencing as she limped, inexperienced and with little confidence, tow ard the ICU and a young
couple who waited there with their dying infant. I also know
that years of experience d o n t ease the journey. Pastors and
chaplains feel terribly inadequate, wondering w hether helpful
words will come, and at the same time feel incredibly grateful
that the vocation allows us into such intim ate situations.
In B eyond Belief, Elaine Pagels tells of learning that her
tw o -a n d -^ a lf-y e a r-o ld son had a life-threatening medical
condition. A lthough she h ad n t attended church for a long
time, she stepped inside a church vestibule to warm up and
was startled by sounds of worship the soaring harm onies of
the choir, the clergypersons clear resonant prayer. Pagels said
to herself, H ere is a family that knows how to face death.
As I think about the viability of the church I think of this
statem ent about the church as family. Pastors and laypeople
know thisthat the church of Jesus Christ is big and deep and
resilient, bigger and m ore resilient than anything I m thinking
or worrying about doing.
W hen Im asked about the future of the church I think
about Glen. G len had AIDS. The church where his family had
been actively involved for years made no secret of its disapproval of G lens sexual orientation and practice. He somehow
found our church, joined it and becam e a devoted and active
member. His parents transferred their m em bership as well. As
his illness progressed, G len was adm itted to a hospice facility.
I visited him a few days before he died.

Although he was very sick, we had a good eonversation about

life, the church, Easter and death. I asked Glen what the hardest
thing was for him. n e answered that the most difficult time was
in the evening, when visitors had gone, the halls were quiet and
the lights dimmed, and he was alone with the awareness that he
was dying. But then his face brightened. Every night, he said, he
put his headphones on and listened to a recording of our churchs
Sunday worship service, ft settles me down, he said. Sometimes I fall asleep while the choir is singing. I d o z e off a lot of
times during your serm onI know f m not the only one, he
added with a grin. Thats how go to sleep every night, here in
my hospice bed but also in my church. Glen reminds me that the
church does what no one else doesand that people still turn to
the church in those singular moments of birth, crisis, and death.
Somewhat like the Earl of G rantham in Downton A bbey, I
have difficulty accepting the fact that something I love and to
which I have given my life is changing right in front of my eyes.
W hen I was ordained, the mainline church was a growth industry with shiny new corporate headquarters on Riverside Drive
in M anhattan. New churches were being planted and were
thriving in burgeoning suburbia. There was money to fund ereative mission. Church leaders were minor celebrities. Presbyterian stated clerk Eugene Carson Blake was on the cover of
Time magzine for collaborating with Episcopal bishop James
Pike on a bold ecumenical initiative. That era is gone now.
I have a proposal: lets call a moratorium on counting members,
b e ts consider that we are called to witness to G ods love in Jesus
Christ and to do everything we can to be Christs body in the world,
to do what we believe he would be doing and is doing through us.

1--.1

Carol Howard M erritt surveys the religious landsoape at her blog Tribal Chureh
Steve Thorngate blogs about public life and culture at In th e W orld
CCblogs higlalights posts from the Centurys network ofindependent bloggers
Various bloggers write for B logging Toward Sunday (on the lectionary) and
Then and N ow (on us. religious history)

Christian Century March 5,2014


Copyright and Use:

As an ATLAS user, you may priut, dow nload, or send artieles for individual use
according to fair use as defined by U.S. and international eopyright law and as
otherwise authorized under your resp ective ATT,AS subscriber agreem ent.
No eontent may be copied or emailed to multiple sites or publicly posted without the
copyright holder(s) express written permission. Any use, decompiling,
reproduction, or distribution of this journal in excess of fair use provisions may be a
violation of copyright law.
This journal is made available to you through the ATLAS eollection with permission
from the eopyright holder(s). The eopyright holder for an entire issue ajourna!
typieally is the journal owner, who also may own the copyright in each article. However,
for certain articles, tbe author o fth e article may maintain the copyright in the article.
Please contact the copyright holder(s) to request permission to use an article or specific
work for any use covered by the fair use provisions o f tbe copyright laws or covered
by your respective ATLAS subscriber agreement. For information regarding the
copyright hoider(s), please refer to the copyright iaformatioa in the journal, if available,
or contact ATLA to request contact information for the copyright holder(s).
About ATLAS:
The ATLA Serials (ATLAS) collection contains electronic versions of previously
published religion and theology journals reproduced with permission. The ATLAS
collection is owned and managed by the American Theological Library Association
(ATLA) and received initia funding from Liiiy Endowment !).
The design and final form ofthis electronic document is the property o fthe American
Theological Library Association.