God's Table

This is God's Table: Finding Church Beyond the Walls is Anna Woofenden's fascinating account of how she formed 'the garden church' in San Pedro, California. It is an interesting story of how a vacant lot was taken over and became both a garden and a church, making a meaningful impact in its community, gathering folk who, for the most part, would otherwise not have gone to church. She makes the point that, anew in every generation, we need to listen for what God might be saying to us: "The church has adapted from age to age to serve people in their local contexts. Monasteries, medieval beguines, prayer meetings, Catholic Worker communities—all were new ideas once. Innovative expressions of Christian community were, and are, part of a loyal response to God’s call to faithfulness."

We need to see past current models and look for what God is doing, recognising that church is not restricted to our traditional views of how it should be. "A building is not what makes a church. The heavenly city has no temple. Being there for fifty or five hundred years is not what makes a church. The Garden Church brought into focus the power and the essence of church, as people gathered together to love God and love neighbor, share in the sacraments, belong to one another, and serve together. Rooted in the rich gifts of the faithful who have come before, we found the body of Christ together in the garden. We came together around the table believing that we were being nourished in the same stream" of the water of life."

The church is always on the move, following God's exciting ways. "God is making church all over the place, beyond the walls, on the streets, in the soil, and around the table. Whenever we gather together, God is with us. Wherever we pitch our tents, she will pitch hers too." What might God be saying to us about being the church in our context?