City Of God 4

Church is a very wild card when it comes to understanding God's presence in the world. I often wonder why we even exist, we do so little that is of value and, especially in the case of Roman Catholic clergy destroying the lives of children, and fundamentalist sects wrecking things for everyone, not to mention the politically correct uselessness of Anglicans and other mainstream denominations I am often left wondering what we are really doing here. Even in the last couple of weeks in my home, or destination, parish, I have come against the monster of bourgeois conformity, very much a feature of Canadian Anglicanism. I seem to be the only person on a low income attending this upper middle class parish, so I am trying to keep my expectations on the low side. On top of this, during a recent workshop that I and other parishioners attended with the new minister about charting our future as a community, there was a minor incident that will not leave my attention. The new minister was trying to draw up a general demographic of who we are. It was determined that everyone drives their car to Sunday services from various parts of the city. The new minister already knew (I had told him) that I do not have a car, but walk and bus to church. I mentioned this during the meeting, to a bit of embarrassed laughter from the others. Then it was declared that this is a destination parish, which is to say that we have members living in far-flung neighbourhoods and suburbs, all of which were named, and some who live in the actual parish neighbourhood itself. It was not mentioned that I live downtown. I had previously mentioned this to new minister. So, I spoke up again. More nervous tittering. The new minister looked annoyed and I promised to stay quiet. So, we are not off to a good start, Gentle Reader. Here I am, in a church that is almost exclusively composed of upper middle class people, including the minister, all live in their own lovely homes, drive nice cars, have nice professions, or if they are retired, enjoy nice pension incomes and oh isn't their life just something wonderful. They have aboriginals on which to vent their guilt and regret and for whom they perform useless gestures of penance (oh, but this is also good optics!), but to actually be included as a full member in their communal bubble of privilege? Not so fast, folks. so, I am left feeling shut out, not by conscious intention, but by default. I am the only one who doesn't fit the demographic. So, of course, we will all pretend that I am invisible. At least they're nice to me when I'm at church. Close, but no cigar. So, I am sending this blogpost to the minister as a tool of education. And I am going to expect from this same minister an apology. Diversity is not just racial, it is not only ethnic, it is not just sexual orientation or gender identity. It is also economical. Part of including others involves acknowledging that we exist, without embarrassment and shame, and also with the willingness to be more aware of the homogenous privilege that separates the majority from the visiting minorities and to seek ways of bridging the gap. I have one word to offer for facilitating this effort: friendship. In the meantime there is still the question of what is the church doing here. Or maybe, what is the church? This past Sunday I was privileged to give the second reading during the service. We conclude each reading with the words "Hear what the Spirit is saying to the church." Instead, I said "hear what the Spirit is saying to God's people." Which begs the question, who are God's people, and what is our role here? See you tomorrow, Gentle Reader.