Church as Community Change
and
Renewal
in
American Parishes by Rev. Dr. MICHAEL PLEKON
I
n the scriptures, the Liturgy, and in the writings of the great teachers of the faith, there is a long list of names, some even descriptions or definitions of “church.” The term “church” itself stems from the Greek and Latin ekklesia/ecclesia, which in turn seem to be translations of the Hebrew qahal. All of these have nothing to do with a building, which for most, is the first way of understanding “church.” Rather, all of these refer to a gathering, an assembly, a group that regularly meets, that is held together by common purpose, aims, ideas. The Hebrew Bible itself is full of terms and images. The Temple, and before it the Tabernacle or tent, is a sacred place/ space, first portable as it accompanied the Israelites in their wanderings, then to some extent localized in the Ark of the Covenant’s residence with the priests at Shiloh. But the principal location of God’s house would be the Temple at Jerusalem. Many towns and villages, even outside Palestine, would have their own houses or gatherings in the form of local synagogues.
For the first disciples of Jesus, of course, there was still the Jerusalem Temple and local synagogues, but as in Judaism, the home was an important place of prayer and celebration. The first celebrations of the Eucharist were in homes, around a table where a supper would follow. These Christians would have known the many descriptions of their existence as God’s people—God’s flock, vineyard, God’s field, God’s tent, temple, and dwelling place. Israel was the beloved, the spouse of Yahweh. God was their shepherd, leader, ruler, and loving parent, invoking images of both father and mother. We are familiar with the terms introduced alongside these by the letter-writing Apostles: the body of Christ, the royal nation, holy priesthood, and the band of God’s spokespeople or prophets. Other Scriptures would use images of the bride, a mother, and a heavenly city of great beauty and delight. Paul speaks of the church that gathers or meets in the houses of Junia and Andronicus, Aquila and Prisca, and Lydia. The community
or fellowship—koinonia—lives and acts “as one, in the same place, for the same purpose,” united in “the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, the breaking of bread, and the prayers.” So the Acts of the Apostles tells us (2:4247). Paul tells the faithful of Corinth that they share the one loaf of bread and one cup that are the Body and Blood of the Lord, and this is their unity (1 Cor. 10:1618, 11:23-34). They become, as Augustine later would say, what they receive. They are the body of Christ in their community. They receive the bread of life and become like that bread: sustenance for the life of the world. We need to keep these images and understandings in mind as we examine what changes have come upon churches today, as well as what being “church” is today and what being “church” can be going forward. We know what being “church” has meant in the past: a gathering of those from the same oblast or province back in Eastern Europe, from the same region, the same
