Sanctuary – Church Like It Oughta Be
In 1996, the St. Louis Cardinals had a slogan: “Baseball Like It Oughta Be,” a reminder of what we have always loved most about this great game, qualities that are focused less on profits, commercialism, and a superstar culture, and more on the unadulterated heart of the sport, the meaning of the game, and the pure joy of the fans in the stands.
What is “Church Like It Oughta Be”? I believe that when the church is at its best it is a “sanctuary”–ie, a safe place, a shelter, a refuge, a sacred place of peace where the first order of business is love one another, to “judge not,” and to do no harm. A place where we know when we walk through the doors we will be accepted just as we are in a atmosphere of grace where the soul can come out of hiding and thrive.
I know that Algiers UMC is not a perfect church (is there such a thing?), but may this always be our highest goal: to create an environment filled with the oxygen of grace and the security of unconditional love, to be for one another what God is for us all: “My refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust” (Psalm 91:2). For this, I believe, is “church like it oughta be.”
See you Sunday!
Callie
