| Church-going is down to about
three percent of the population, and declining. Often a church
member is the only one in a household who is churchgoing, and
experiences as much opposition there as from the society around
them, which is often not simply indifferent but hostile to the
church. The churches themselves, in a state of panic, often find
themselves gripped in retrenchment and torn by conflict. The situation
is overwhelming, and the darkness can get really dark. An important
part of mission is standing with people in this kind of situation.
We can easily shun those who are falling because they remind us
of our own vulnerability. Mission here has to be a sticking together,
travelling together even when you know there is not going to be
light at the end of the tunnel. I can’t see anything new
coming, unless it is grounded in this kind of commitment.
Well, City Church continues to grow slowly after many decades
of decline. I don’t know why. We can’t point to anything
that is really working. The people have thrown themselves enthusiastically
into publicizing what we do—booths at city festivals, even
co-sponsoring (with a local Italian restaurant) a grape-stomping
harvest celebration out in front of the church. We’ve produced
press releases and flyers and posters and Web sites and Internet-based
courses and all sorts of things. None of it seems to get us anywhere.
The only thing that actually seems to work is word of mouth.
We also have to keep reminding ourselves that we are more than
just a Sunday morning worshiping congregation. For World AIDS
Day, for instance, we hosted a service we organized in partnership
with Christian Aid, the Refugee Council, and the Terrence Higgins
Trust (an AIDS-focused group), with jazz music and African music
instead of hymns, which served a much broader constituency than
ever appears in “church,” and a lot of our ministry
is like this. The actual church-as-congregation is only a part
of our ministry here.
Celebrating Thanksgiving was a rather bleak affair here this
year, in large part because my mother died at Easter, and we sorely
missed the annual phone call to her on that day, with the phone
being passed around to brothers and sisters-in-law and nephews
and family friends all gathered there for the feast. She was the
glue that held us together and the uncritical welcoming hug when
life got hard. The celebration of her funeral at the Presbyterian
Church in Greenfield, Indiana, was a marvellous affair. Rushing
home for that week and all that had to be done in a short time
left no room for mourning, which is just now catching up with
us. But otherwise the family is OK. Tina and Mike are expecting
our second grandchild. Rachel has a new job working in a nursery
school. No news from James means he is OK. Marieke and I went
to the Netherlands to celebrate her birthday. Because I had been
making so many trips back to the States to see my mother, I hadn’t
been able to visit the Dutch side of the family since 1996, so
it was wonderful to see them all and capture all their smiling
faces in digital photographs.
We hope all is well with you. John and Juliet Bell continue to
send us Fanny May chocolates, worried that I am not keeping my
weight up. It’s always encouraging to hear from you. We
wish you all the best of everything for the new year.
Shalom,
Tom and Marieke Arthur
The 2004 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
333
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