Going to church (voluntarily) is pretty new to me - or, newer than most stuff in my life. Newer than my job. Newer than my newest dog. Newer than my car. I went to church as a teenager until I was confirmed only because my mother made me. This is the woman who would drop off my older brother and I, and pick us up after church and Sunday School. Hurmph.
I have lots of doubts and questions about God and Jesus and being Lutheran, and I have a plain old stubborn streak that makes me wrinkle my nose and roll my eyes about all things "church."
Nevertheless, this church-going, cross wearing thing has been just a little bit like learning a secret handshake. I know we say, "Love. Serve. Tell." at NECL. I'm all about the lovin' and the servin'. I could love and serve until the cows come home, (and then leave again). The "Tell" part makes me feel like those awful dreams where you've ended up somewhere absolutely naked, or (my personal favorite), it's the end of the Semester, and I have to take a final for a class that I never attended.
Consequently, the only place I'm likely to do much Tellin' is in another arena of my life - which is dog rescue. One of my most common refrains is that the love of a dog is the closest thing to the love of God that any of us is likely to experience on this side of Heaven. (I can evangelize about DOGS a LOT.) This tiny little statement, and the itty bitty cross I wear around my neck, have suddenly opened up a whole lot of hearts that I probably wouldn't have known before. People ask me to pray for them, or their dogs. People tell me about how they have prayed about adopting a dog. People send me their blessings, and call me an "angel" and a "saint." (I'm not letting it go to my head.... I don't think.)
I'm pretty sure that I haven't been sucked into an alternative reality inspired by televangelism - it's just that now people feel comfortable sharing this with me. They feel closer to me. They can identify something that they relate to besides just the dog. And it makes me wonder about the years between high school and when I started going to St. Paul's, and about how I missed out on this side of people. This very sweet, and well-meaning, and hardly-ever sanctimonious part of people. I'm pretty sure that it's not that I'm just suddenly meeting more Christians - I think it's just that now people tell me about it.
So - what does that mean? And isn't it interesting and hopeful that one little sentence and one tiny cross make people feel comfortable enough to share this part of their hearts with me?
It's very late - but I hope to hear what some of you might have to say about this.
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Your experience brings to light a question a lot of people are asking these days: What does it mean to be "the church?" Or at least a lot of "church" people are asking that question. And "going to church" is not the same as "being church."
All the terms you mention and identify with to greater or lesser extents - love, serve, tell, angel, saint, evangelize - are often assumed to be the province of the church as it exists in particular locations - i.e., within buildings called churches. I would suggest, however, that the experiences you describe about people asking for your prayers and telling you their stories are more "being church" than "going to" church could ever be.
Cathie, you are telling because you are loving and serving. Love/Serve/Tell are not categorically separated and individually functioning actions. They are responses to the divine within each of us that find expression in ways that are aligned with our gifts and passions - when we let those responses happen and are aware of them.
It would be interesting to know whether or not the people who are talking to you consider themselves "Christians." Maybe they are, maybe they aren't. Whatever the case, they obviously trust you enough to share something about themselves that they wouldn't just share with any stranger. Wow.
I hope you are not freaked out by this, AND I hope you do not let it go to your head! Enjoy it, and be blessed by it. I hope your little sentence and little cross keep opening doors.
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