News

As we come to the end of July and move into August, the summer is winding down with the last summer camps at Camp Mack happening and the Elkhart County Fair soon ending for another year.  Soon the children from Rock Run, and those who are employed by local schools, will be returning to school.

For Missy and me, these last weeks in July and the beginning of August this year have meant family reunions. The Miller family gathered in July in New Paris for an afternoon of food, games, and reminiscing. While this extended family used to get together more regularly, there had not been a family reunion for the Miller family since the death of Missy’s mother in 2018. So it had been a while since this family had gotten together. It was good to see the members of Missy’s extended family and to reconnect with them.

Next weekend, the Erb family will gather in Columbus, Ohio. This family has a tradition of getting together every three years for a reunion of my mother’s remaining siblings and their children and grandchildren. There were nine children in my mom’s family; seven of them are still alive but not all the living siblings will be able to be at the reunion.

There are usually around 40 members of the family that attend these reunions. We gather from across the country when we get together. We lead very different lives. Some, though not many, live on farms and still make their living from farming. There have been a number of pastors in the family, although my brother-in-law and I are the only ones who are in pastoral ministry positions at this time. Many members of the family are college educated and have had successful professional careers, while others have not gone to college and have worked at various jobs in order to provide for their financial needs.

Some of us are involved in Christian churches, although not many of us remain in the Anabaptist tradition that the family was raised in. Others are not religious – or at least not actively involved in a faith community. Politically we are very diverse as well, with some being staunch Republicans and others strongly identifying with the Democratic party.

Yet wherever life has led us and whatever religious and political positions we represent, we share the love of being members of one family together. We as a family, and even my mom’s siblings, have had disagreements over the years. But those have been worked through and we continue to value getting together, sharing out of our lives together, and enjoying each other’s company.

Interestingly, I have been asked by my cousins who are planning the reunion to have the reflection during the morning worship service that is planned for Sunday morning. Since we are such a diverse group in many ways, knowing what to say in that setting can be challenging. I am grateful that I am trusted to be able to share in ways that people coming from various places in life and in their faith can find something helpful to reflect upon. (I hope that I am able to do that!)

In some ways, this is true for the Rock Run faith family as well. We have had different experiences in life and different career paths. When we talked last year about the “Five Theological Worlds” that W. Paul Jones describes, it was apparent that different people at Rock Run come at theological beliefs from different perspectives. It is also apparent that members of the congregation come at things differently in terms of how we view things politically, which can be challenging in these politically polarized times.

Hopefully we can continue to be a faith family that supports and cares for each other in spite of our differences. While this can be challenging, I think in these times where we are often encouraged by the media and by online algorithms to focus on our differences it is good to learn to relate in constructive ways with others with different views and beliefs.

In a family, it is our common heritage that unites us. In the church, it should be our common desire to follow Christ and to live out the mission for the church that you as a congregation have identified that serves as a unifying focus. The theme of the recent Church of the Brethren Annual Conference, “Faith Working Through Love,” also serves as a good reminder of what unites us as a faith community. We trust that it is our faith in God’s loving presence and guidance that can help us to relate to each other, and to the world around us, in loving and compassionate ways. May this be what we continue to strive to do as part of Rock Run Church of the Brethren!

Pastor John

http://www.nidcob.org/

http://www.brethren.org/