The First Baptist Church of Redlands
TA PE S T RY Woven Together In Love: Colossians 2:2 MAY 2015
ISSUE No. 5
The connectedness of our church
O
ne of my favorite stories is “They Call It Church.” It was originally told by the master storyteller Fred Craddock. In the early days of his ministry, he pastored a small church in a little village near Knoxville, Tennessee. It was the custom of the church at Easter to have a baptismal service. For the service, the church members would gather at a nearby river on Easter evening at sundown. Following the baptism, the congregation would gather around a fire on the shore, singing and cooking supper. Here are Craddock’s words: “Once all were gathered, there was a ritual that they followed. One of the men, would introduce the new people, give their names, where they lived and their work. Then the rest of us formed a circle around them while they stayed warm by the fire. The ritual was that each person in the circle then gave his or her name
and said this, ‘My name is... and if you ever need anybody to do washing and ironing…’ ‘My name is… and if you ever need anybody to chop wood…’ ‘My name is… and if you ever need any sewing done…’ ‘My name is… and if you ever need a car to go to town…’ and around the circle they shared. Then we ate and had a square dance and then I, with thumbs in my overalls, would stand up and say ‘It is time to go,’ and everybody left. I lingered behind and kicked sand over the dying fire. Folk don’t ever get any closer than this. In this little community, there’s a name for that. They call it church.” As I thought of that story, I thought of this church. Oh, the setting is different, the time is different, the people are different but the “church” is the same. One of the blessings I have received in being here is experiencing the connectedness of our church family. A sampling can be seen in the intergenerational relationship between the youth and older people, in the faithful service of our church volunteers, and of course, in the love and concern for each other during times of need and in celebration with each other during times of joy. This was also seen as we experienced the Lenten Season and greeted Spring together with many
“Folk don’t ever get any closer than this. In this little community, there’s a name for that. They call it church.” inspiring services and activities. On Palm Sunday and Easter, we were blessed with beautiful music and the special treat of the children and young people taking part in the service. On Easter, we had 350 people in the service. On April 19, we celebrated the ordination of our beloved Associate Pastor Deena Barwick. Yes, we have a name for all of our connectedness. We call it church and I feel so blessed to be with you to see it firsthand. Faithfully yours,
Richard Story by Fred Craddock, Christian Global Networks, Inc.