Don’t go to church. It’s a statement that seems to fly in the face of self-preservation. Quite, the opposite, we are trying very hard to attract people to come to our church. However, we, at Norwood Church of the Nazarene, have decided that your attendance is not our only objective. Therefore, we told our churchgoers to not go to church, but to be the church. The plan is that we can be servants to the people that call Norwood home. So, in the tradition of the Back To School Bash, we have decided to develop numerous opportunities to encounter the community in which we live.
Therefore, October 12, 2008 was officially dubbed “Don’t Go to Church…Be the Church!” We planned three activities for our people to participate in: the Breast Cancer walk in Cincinnati, write letters of care to our Back To School Bash kids, or to help clean up city parks. Each of these events were successful. Check out Victory or Waterworks Park. Look in your mailbox. See the money raised for a breast cancer cure. Did our work touch your life?
The goal was to see people in Norwood’s life a little better because of the work done on this day. Perhaps your kids play in a cleaner Waterworks park. Maybe your neighbor is suffering from Breast Cancer, and a cure is coming. Maybe your niece or nephew was at the Back to School Bash and will receive an encouraging note in the mail. Remember how you felt when you got mail before you knew what bills were? It is that joy that we are hoping to provide to those that we serve.
Norwood Church of the Nazarene has decided that it does not exist for the sake of existing, it does not exist for itself, and it does not exist simply to be open on Sundays. No, this church exists for the people of Norwood. So, telling our people not to simply go to church was a risk that we were willing to take. Because, to us, is not about being bored, or singing, or listening to sermons. Church is about bringing something fresh to the world. It is about fellowship and community. And it is about demonstrating hope and love to those of us that could use a dose of either or both. Church is about being something, rather than simply attending.
We hope that through the many services that we are working to provide for Norwood that we can be something to you. Something more than a building taking up precious space, something in fact that makes your life better. Please feel free to drop by for a visit. We will be giving out candy, hot dogs, and hot chocolate on Halloween. We also have a wonderful new program called Angel Food that help you save on your grocery bill. Check out the Church’s web site for more upcoming events.
No comments:
Post a Comment