Share a Story

5/18/17

Human beings are hardwired for community. We typically live in family groups and we function best with people we know. We feel most comfortable when we know and trust those who are around us. A huge part of what creates that kind of atmosphere is the stories which are shared. One of the reasons religious groups hold together so well through conflict is the shared stories of the Bible and tradition.

I would like to offer you a challenge. Now that everyone has their new directory (and if you haven't gotten one yet, there are still some in the church office), I challenge you to reach out to someone new in the next week. (Not someone you haven't talked to in a while, someone you really don't know at all.) Look through the directory, maybe there is a picture or a name that stands out to you as someone you couldn't list three things about.  Through a phone call, an email, reaching out to them before or after the church service, introduce yourself. Talk for a couple of minutes and share a story. An easy starting point would be, why do you come to church at St. John's?

Our community consists of amazing people. People who have been here a very very long time and people who are fairly new. We all bring wonderful gifts and stories to our community. Those stories bind us together through common sorrows, through empathy, through common joys. The Holy Spirit helps us share our stories and Jesus helps us enter into communion through the stories we share together.