"Wherever and however we gather"

Grant, O merciful God, that your Church, being gathered together in unity by your Holy Spirit, may show forth your power among all peoples, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 16 BCP 232)

A Prayer for the Power of the Spirit among the People of God

God of all power and love, we give thanks for your unfailing presence and the hope you provide in times of uncertainty and loss. Send your Holy Spirit to enkindle in us your holy fire. Revive us to live as Christ’s body in the world: a people who pray, worship, learn, break bread, share life, heal neighbors, bear good news, seek justice, rest and grow in the Spirit. Wherever and however we gather, unite us in common prayer and send us in common mission, that we and the whole creation might be restored and renewed, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

In May, during the festival celebration of Pentecost, Presiding Bishops Elizabeth Eaton and Michael Curry, of the Lutheran and Episcopal Churches respectively, asked Episcopalians and Lutherans to pray these words during this summer. Knowing the ever changing unknowns we are facing, these words bring comfort and discomfort, reminding of us of who we are and whose we are, while reminding of us of the work we are called to do wherever and however we can. As I have been praying them for the last couple of months, I keep coming back to those words, "wherever and however we gather." In reflecting  on the Collect for this coming Sunday, these words, along with the Collect's understanding of the Church being gathered, and the words of another common Morning Prayer supplication, "where two or three are gathered" have collided in my head. 

While we have struggled with not being able to gather together as a full church the last couple of months, we have been gathering in all sorts of ways. Two or three of us meet, intentionally or accidentally, at the grocery store, at the curb market, for food pantry box packing, on Liberty St., on Zoom. In all those instances, the church goes with us, Jesus is present, God is at work. The true Church of Jesus Christ has never been a building, but the interconnected people of God, wherever and however they have gathered. Together, in twos and threes, we are spreading the church everywhere we go.