United By What? Part 4

The question is: As an organization that embraces diversity of religious belief, what does it mean to say that we are “United by Faith?” Today's response comes from The Rev. Randy Bush, pastor of East Liberty Presbyterian Church.

If we're honest with ourselves, we're not truly united by faith because we've each developed patterns of faith "expression" (e.g., worship, polity, mission and stewardship spending priorities, fellowship and outreach programs) that are designed mostly to serve our own needs first. We maintain our own worship spaces to the exclusion of helping others; we publicize our own events over that of what others offer; we respond to needs arising from our own congregations before going outside our walls to assist others in need. In relation to ecumenical and interfaith efforts, we are not united by a shared faith perspective and common religious practices; at best, we come together despite our different perspectives and practices and occasionally have a shared sense of community during brief moments of interfaith worship or service.

From a two-dimensional perspective, (that is, considering our churches and synagogues only in terms of how we directly relate to one another), we are not as unified as we should be. However, from a three-dimensional perspective (adding God into the mix of how any two churches or synagogues relate), we are united in faith, in that the fruits of our best efforts do overlap and connect on a deep level. Think of it as ripples moving out from an array of stones thrown into a still pond. From one vantage point, the rocks never land in the same spot and are rarely even near to one another. But when seen from above, the cumulative effect of these stones (i.e., good works) does overlap and merge together into one intricate design. I believe that when people of faith do their work with integrity and conviction, as well as with an openness to similar ministries occurring all around them in other congregations, then we discover a broad unity of faith through God's grace and the "merging ripples" of our good works in the world.