Where Are We in all of This?

In the aftermath of my previous question "What Should St. Paul's Do?" and a lively adult forum discussion, I am reminded of an observation the renowned Southern preacher, teacher, social activist, Rev. Will D. Campbell made when asked what the Church should do in response to the racial conflict of the 1960s.   Insisting that the wrong question was being asked, Campbell answered,
      "Instead of demanding, 'What can Christians do to improve race relations?' we should
       be asking, 'What must Christians be?'   As the Body of Christ, the Church first of must
       be the redeemed community.   Then it will be empowered to redeem the world, and not
       before.   The sin of the Church of the Church is not that it has not reformed society,
       but that it has not realized self-renewal.   Without repentance there can not be renewal."
It is an observation that is particularly timely in both the context of what is going on in today's world and, also, in the ever evolving life of we Christians and our churches.   As relevant as it is to "What Should St. Paul's Do", it is equally relevant to what we, as fellow Christians, should be doing, both individually and through our churches, right here and now.

With the Season of Advent just around the corner, we Episcopalians are offered an ideal time to reflect on our own renewal, as well as the renewal of our churches.   In the course of that reflection, you might want to consider where you personally are, as well as where our church is, in terms of how we are responding to the various controversies that are swirling about us.   As always, consider 'What would Jesus do?'