The Spirit of Religion and the Spirit of Freedom

Mission Moment

“The Spirit of Religion and the Spirit of Freedom”

In 1831, a French nobleman named Alexis de Tocqueville visited the United States, ostensibly to study our prisons and penitentiaries. But his purview soon broadened to include almost every aspect of American society, including religion. Indeed, as Tocqueville wrote in his classic, Democracy in America, "Upon my arrival in the United States, the religious aspect of the country was the first thing that struck my attention."

What interested Tocqueville was "the great political consequences resulting from this state of things, to which I was unaccustomed. In France I had always seen the spirit of religion and the spirit of freedom pursuing courses diametrically opposed to each other; but in America I found that they were intimately united, and that they reigned in common over the same country."

Tocqueville arrived in the midst of Andrew Jackson's first term as president, a period when the right to vote was expanded to include almost all adult white males, something never seen anywhere in Europe. Tocqueville found it remarkable that religion in the United States had significantly contributed to the widening of democracy. But, given the history of this country, Tocqueville believed it could not have been otherwise. America's first European settlers brought with them "a form of Christianity which I cannot better describe than by styling it a democratic and republican religion," he observed. "Americans combine the notions of Christianity and of liberty so intimately in their minds that it is impossible to make them conceive the one without the other."

During this election year we have heard a great deal about the influence of religion on politics. It is well then to be reminded of what a remarkable French visitor said on the subject long ago.

November 2012 God is still speaking, Mission Moment

We Shall Come Rejoicing

"Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves, We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves." Knowles Shaw (1874)

In older times (some say better times)—times when most Americans lived on farms—churchgoers gladly made their pledges in kind: the produce of their gardens and orchards, pigpens and smokehouses. Whatever they brought, members came rejoicing—not only for the bounty God had provided, but also for the opportunity to share it with God's church. And they didn't hold back; our forebears were as generous in their giving as in their thanksgiving.

Somehow, in the transition from barter to a cash economy, from rural to urban society, something was lost. Offerings of home-cured bacon and fresh-churned butter were personal gifts in which people took great pride: God's church deserved their very best. But, on the other hand, giving money seemed as artificial as the commercial marketplaces where it was exchanged. How could a dollar ever reflect the same devotion, the same labor, as a batch of home- canned preserves?

In our cash and credit economy, is it any wonder that the Sunday offering has almost become an after-thought—a brief pause in the worship service before the final hymn and benediction? How then can we recapture the sense of connection between the gift, the giver, and God's church? How can we renew the joy of giving and thereby revitalize our Sunday offering? Questions that merit prayerful reflection on this Stewardship Sunday, which falls in the season of harvest, when farmers are bringing in the sheaves.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving occupies a profoundly unique place among our holidays. While it is thoroughly American, it isn't patriotic. And while it is essentially Christian, it isn't sectarian.

Thanksgiving is Christian not only because the Pilgrims set aside the day in order to give thanks to God for their first harvest. But also because they understood that the Kingdom of God, which they intended to model in the New World, is like a banquet. And Jesus had made it clear that when you give a dinner party everyone is to be invited.

In the English and Dutch societies, where the Pilgrims had come from, everyone else looked pretty much like them. But at Plymouth they encountered people of color, the Wampanoag Indians. Still, that didn't make any difference to the Pilgrims. And so they invited them to the Thanksgiving feast.

That's what makes Thanksgiving so American. It's inclusive. When the Congress of the new nation adopted the motto, e pluribus unum, in 1782, they were not so much expressing a hope as stating a fact. For, from the very beginning, we have been a diverse people.

Today all Americans, of course, revere the Pilgrims—especially during the fourth week in November. But we in the United Church of Christ have a special bond with the pioneers who came over here on the Mayflower. So we especially owe it to them, our forebears, to make sure that the welcome to the Thanksgiving table is always extravagant and inclusive.

Supporting Young Adults in Mission

The Gospels are short on vital statistics, but we can safely assume that the women and men whom Jesus commissioned to spread the Word to the ends of the earth were young. And we know for sure that young men and women have answered the call to God's mission ever since.

Mission is a life-changing experience for everyone—but especially for young adults. "My faith grew as I had to open myself up to worshiping not only in other languages, but with a spirit of unity, when traditions were different from my own," says Carla, a former volunteer.

Some young women and men who would "open themselves up" to God's people in other lands and cultures need tangible encouragement and help to make a commitment to missionary service. That's why we in the United Church of Christ, along with our partners in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), have established the Global Ministries Endowment to Support Young Adults Engaged in Mission. Thanks to the generous gifts of donors from both denominations, this Fund ensures that young adults have opportunities to connect with the global church. Distributions from the Endowment provide mission opportunities for young adults to serve as Global Mission Interns, short- and long-term volunteers, as well as overseas travel opportunities and participation in events related to the advocacy efforts of our Global Ministries.

"I was deeply inspired by the local pastors and church leaders I partnered with in Sri Lanka," says former intern, Diane. "I hope that I can follow their example of courage, compassion and faith in my own work." We give thanks for this new Endowment, and the young women and men it empowers for mission.

November 2012 God is still speaking,