(7/1) Cherry pie., watermelon, fireworks, parades…

This list and many more are what we often think about when we celebrate the 4th of July. We celebrate that we live in a land of liberty, a land of freedom, a land of justice. We celebrate that our nation has helped send food and supplies to struggling people around the world. We remember that the people of our country gave up many things so that we could end the tyranny of Hitler and help keep people free. We remember all the times we have gave to others around the world from our excess so that they might be free to live life.

Yet, if are honest there are times when our nation has not lived up to our highest ideals. There are times where our nation broke treaties and forced those that lived in this land long before we did to move and relocate. We have at times not treated those who protected our liberty and freedoms serving in the military with honor and provided them the healthcare they deserve. We have at times enslaved people thinking it was acceptable to take away others freedoms while we celebrated our own.

This is not a harsh criticism of our nation but it is being real to our mixed history. I believe what our nation has stood for and that the good our nation has done far outweighs the bad. That we should celebrate all those times we have ensured freedom, liberty, and justice in our land and across the globe. We can celebrate the good and be real that we are not yet a perfect nation.

This leads me to thoughts on the Church. The Church has been one of the greatest forces of good throughout the last 2000 years. The Church cared for people when there was not government programs for those in need and distress. The Church has sent people into areas with plague to care for those that were left to die and everyone else was afraid to care for or touch those who were sick and dying. The Church founded many of the first centers for higher learning and started most of the first major hospitals in this nation. The Church has been a refugee for those that had no place to turn and a place that still spends lots of money and hours to help people in need around the world.

Yet, just like our nation the Church is not without blemish. The Church has committed awful acts and caused hurt to many people through the ages. There have been leaders of the Church who have failed to live up to the ideals Christ called us to and have turned a blind eye to people hurting and have made decrees that are not the way of Christ. There have been people who have been abused by the church and who have been violated by clergy.

Once again I believe the good done by the Church far outweighs the harm. In addition, if and when the Church is following the way of Jesus Christ it is the best institution or body the world has ever known or ever will know. Yet, that doesn’t take away the bad. That doesn’t change the apprehension people have about being part of the church because of what they have seen or experienced.

As a kid and young adult I always struggled with this. I saw the harm the Church had done, and some of the horrible acts and words people said in the name of Jesus. I looked around and told myself I could find a better way on my own. And while there was some truth in what I was thinking, I failed to see the need that I had to be part of the body of Christ. When I finally realized that I was not perfect, and the church is filled with people just like me, it allowed me to give it a chance. I have never regretted that decision, even with some not nice experiences along the way.

The Church is the Body of Christ left upon this earth to share the Good News until Christ comes again. The Church is supposed to offer a place for anyone who is turned away by the rest of the world to belong to and to experience wholeness. The Church is where we go when we realize we can not do it on our own and we need to belong to something larger than ourselves. The Church is where the people who realize they are sick and in need of healing go to receive love, to receive grace. If the church is filled with imperfect people that means that the Church is not going to be perfect just like this nation is not perfect. Yet, we see just like this nation at its best, the Church at its best can bring freedom, can bring peace, can provide hope.

If you gave up in Church long ago, especially if the church hurt you, I say to you, not all churches are the same. I say to you that churches are changing and many are starting to realize their call to be a place for those that need a place to belong. You will not truly experience freedom and be able to use all the gifts God has equipped you with until you are a member of the Church. Christ said that any who follow in his name and proclaim salvation and eternal life through him must be part of the Body of Christ, aka the Church.

I have the pleasure of starting my fifth year at Toms Creek UMC in July. I can tell you that the people at Tom’s Creek welcome anybody who comes through the door on Sunday morning for worship or Sunday School. I can tell you that they want to get to know you and to hear your story. The phrase that I have used since I started at Tom’s Creek is "Let’s Journey together". That means that we all fall short of perfection and we are all working on becoming more Christlike, aka learning to be more perfect in love and grace. So we do not judge the other, but share our stories together. That means that we each have something to offer the other, and the hope is along the way we become a better reflection of the true Church that Christ had in mind when he called the Church to be the voice of Good News to the world. It also means that we might become better people and through the Church be a beacon of hope, healing, and Good News to the world.

So if you are able to celebrate our nation on this 4th of a July and the timeless and noble ideals it was founded on, even though our nation has made mistakes and continues to make mistakes. Then realize that the underbelly of the church that has kept you away is not all there is. That the the ideals that Christ founded the Church on is even more powerful and transformative than that of our nation. That there are churches that this very day are trying to boldly live that out and long to welcome you back home. If you don’t know where to turn the door is open at Tom’s Creek UMC with an invitation to "come journey with us".

Pastor Heath Wilson

P.S. another reason we say "come journey with us" is because most have to drive a little ways to find and come to our church. We are in the country surrounded by farms and beautiful views of the mountains in between Emmitsburg and Taneytown. We have people coming from 4 counties, two states, and some who journey close to an hour to worship with us on Sunday mornings. It might be a journey to find us but we know that it is worth the journey.

Read other thoughtful writings by Rev. Heath Wilson