Indulge me for a moment as I revisit a few moments of this past week.
***
In the neighbourhood where I spend most of my waking hours, a group of local church representatives meet on a monthly basis. Technically I don’t work for a formal “church” so I’m an exception to this “Ecumenical Coalition” group but have been permitted to join regardless. We talk about community programming, church calendars and ministry opportunities. The most interesting parts of the meetings for me have been when I get to observe crazy church dynamics and denominational differences. (Who will the nominal Catholic community gatekeeper offend next? How will the Anglicans respond? Will the Presbyterians solve the problem by proposing another meeting? How much money will the United church put on the table?)
But this week, something switched. The group turned the corner and united on a common issue. One of the member churches asked for space on the agenda. The church rep is the likable wife of a local prominent politician. She has been a strong volunteer in my women’s Community Kitchen program, and I know her quite well. As she shared with a quiet voice what a difficult position the church was in, it occurred to me that the burden she put forward is the future of the established Caucasian church in Toronto. She voiced that she’d been a member of the evaporating congregation for over 40 years and in all that time, the church with over 20,000 broken, hurting people at their doorstep has never focused on “outreach.” What they have focused on is a massive gorgeous overhaul to their facility. This has allowed the wealthy from the community to the north to worship comfortably for 3 hours a week. Their congregation is dying. They have no money. They face being closed by their diocese. They are grasping at being relevant to the sea of faces all around them.
As my aging friend spoke, the Coalition nodded collectively, and for the first time in the 18 months I have been with them, came alive. All struggling with the same thing, all united in concern, all struggling to speak over top of each other with common stories. The remaining hope I’d placed in establishments vanished with the realization that they have failed to see the truth of living the story of the Gospel. So many have missed it. “How do we become a spiritual home to the community?” my volunteering friend pleaded.
***
I sat in my office with a woman who made the trip down to the Mission from Ajax. Bold, Egyptian Christine has been in Canada for 11 successful years. She gave up a strong career as a Financial Controller, called by God to serve the population of Arab women all around her. Working for no one and receiving no income, connecting with local pastors in the GTA, she is leading a movement. Passion and fire shone in her eyes as shared seemingly limitless stories of women from the Middle East living in Toronto, falling in love with the Gospel, finally seeing for the first time the truth of unconditional love… she couldn’t tell them fast enough and they spilled from her like living water washing over the whole room. This is the church of the future.
When I offered to pray for Christine, especially around her fundraising, she paused. “I know that my good father will provide, he always has and always will. But it breaks my heart when I see a brother or sister waste his kingdom money on a lottery ticket. Please pray for our big family to be obedient.”
***
A Tamil youth who I know very well has recently started to share with me about his home life. His mother is Christian and his father a Hindu father. My young friend struggles with concepts of prayer, the relevance of the gospel and whether or not suffering means God can exist in the world. We are walking together, engaging our souls, encouraging each other to read, pray and pursue answers to questions. The time I spend with him makes me feel alive. There’s no question that I am in the presence of greatness with him and he will be a significant Christian leader in this city as he grows older.
***
So will the white, wealthy, dying church get on board? There are enough financial resources. There is a wealth of spiritual power and passion. There is undoubtedly enough sacred longing and need. Who will facilitate the conversation and cross the cultural divide? I am convinced that life for the church in Toronto lies with the newcomers to the city. I am praying tonight for a shift and for the established of the city to start getting very uncomfortable in their comfortable, easy pews.