Shirley and I attended a recent fundraiser for the House of Friendship . The guest speaker was Sean McCann, a former member of the musical group Great Big Sea. He introduced himself as an alcoholic. He told his story, and as soon as he mentioned the church, I knew it was not going to end well . He was sexually abused by a religious person, and he kept the secret for 37 years. That event when he was a teenager, affected the rest of his life, until he named to himself and to others.
It is so disgusting that religious leaders use their power and influence in the church, to wreck the lives of these young people. It did not sound like Mr. McCann ever returned to the church. The church is supposed to be a place of love and caring, and the these kinds of experiences happen to young and vulnerable girls and boys. When these kinds of things happen, I wonder if I would ever invite someone to explore God in the church.
I work for Mennonite Central Committee. It is the relief and development arm of the Mennonite and Be In Christ churches of North America. The group works to relieve poverty in Ontario, as well as around the world. It is respected by most people. We try to serve the “ least of these” following the words of Jesus of Nazareth. Within the last two months, I was invited to speak to a church group about the work of MCC. I am always excited to do this kind of event. I am passionate about the organization, because my parents were helped by MCC in Ukraine, and Shirley and I served with MCC in the early 1980’s . I am so happy to speak/preach about the life saving work of MCC.
Sometimes I get challenged in what MCC does. And that is a good thing. What if our aid does do what is intended to do ? What if our good intentions go wrong because we did not take in all the variables . We could not know everything about climate, economics or politics. For example , we “can” meat for overseas work , and that can when it arrives in a different country if might mean more than compassion. These are the difficult questions of development and for the church.
But, on the other hand, the church is the presence of God for many people. A woman I know has had a heart transplant in the last two weeks. The church has surrounded her with prayers, rides for her family, food for the family, and have cared for her and her husband and children in extraordinary ways. God is in the church. The church everywhere comes together every Sunday to worship and care for each other. MCC , the people of the church, have raised over 40 million dollars for MCC to help save the lives of Syrian people. God is in the life of the church.
Jesus said in a parable once, “… the King will say, ‘ Truly I will tell you, whatever you have done for the least of these, my brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me‘ “. All the world, including all of us, are the least of these in our lives at one time or another. It is when I love the church church most, when we love and care for all in the world.
Fred Redekop
Ponder Anew 