Today I learned: Faith Communities Matter

Although the majority of Americans identify with a religion, many fewer attend religious services or belong to a faith community. The reasons given for lack of involvement in a faith community include a lack of faith, practicing their religion in other ways, and failing to find a compatible church, temple, or mosque.

So, what are the advantages of belonging to a faith community? First, I’d like to say that it is a community of like-minded individuals, but that is not always the case. In my faith community, we have people who regularly attend our services and belong to another religion or no religion. We recently lost a member who attended regularly but did not participate in the sacraments because he considered himself a nonbeliever. So why come? Clearly, he found something meaningful here.

Growing faith communities are welcoming. They open their doors to everyone. We have a member who is probably unhoused. At the least, he appears to be down on his luck. He has found a home with us because he feels welcome. He used to ask if it was acceptable for him to have coffee in the fellowship hall with the rest of the congregation, and he was assured that he is certainly welcome. Recently, he stood up in the service and announced that he was celebrating six months’ sobriety. He received a warm round of applause, and many members of the congregation personally congratulated him. I heard one member tell him that she, too, is a friend of Bill W.

We welcome those who are different from us. We don’t all look alike, think alike, or share the same lifestyle. We had a lesbian couple visit and ask the priest for a blessing, as they were headed to the pride festival. Our priest decided on the spot to go with them, and now we regularly staff a booth at the festival. That couple has become an important part of our congregation.

Children come to services and are often loud and disruptive. We have a play area at the back of the sanctuary, and they are welcome. Dogs attend with their persons from time to time, and they are welcome. We have provided services in both Spanish and English in order to include more of our members.

In faith communities, members also look out for one another, sometimes by visiting or bringing food to those who are sick or grieving, sometimes by praying for one another. Even those who don’t believe in the power of prayer may be comforted by someone’s so obviously caring for them. Some congregations also provide basic nursing care through their faith community nurse. A friend of mine serves in that capacity.

Faith communities also serve the neighborhoods in which they are located. We frequently have events for the public, including film screenings, concerts, and lectures. We offer, as do many other faith communities, a place to discuss issues without hostility. We sponsor art exhibitions and welcome visitors into our building to enjoy them. We have solar panels and open our building during power outages so that people may come to have coffee, warm or cool themselves, and charge their cell phones.

Finally, faith communities provide moral leadership. Our faith teaches us compassion for all, and we are obligated not only to speak up about practices that are counter to our convictions but to act in accordance with those convictions. One congregation I belonged to provided sanctuary to a young mother who was subject to deportation and protected her until she was able to resolve her legal status and get her green card. My current congregation has a notice posted that immigrants are welcome, but ICE is not, and members of our congregation have been trained on ways to support our immigrant neighbors.

Of course, faith communities are not permitted to endorse political candidates and keep their tax-exempt status. However, we and other faith communities can and do take public stands against events and policies that conflict with our faith. We speak truth to power. We attend protests. We donate, as a congregation, to organizations that provide support to the underserved and to those harmed by government policies. Many of us also belong to interfaith groups that are active in public life.

Faith communities are important because they practice their faith, not only within their congregations but also in the community. They are important because they try to live out their faith in the public arena as well as at home. And they are important because they remind us of our core values and of what is right and just, especially when so many have gone astray.