Who can tell me the name of the area of this sanctuary you are sitting in; not where I am or the choir is, but where all you in the pews are sitting?… 

 

You are all sitting in the nave, a term which comes from the Latin word for “ship.”  Now, this might sound like a curious derivation, except that the boat has long been used as a symbol for the Christian church, with the mast representing the cross.  In fact, the logo of the World Council of Churches is a boat.

 

Boats are mentioned over 50 times in the Gospels.  As fishers of people, the disciples often used boats as their means of travel for sharing the Good News, and Jesus often preached from his boat, which he used as his vehicle for service and mission. 

 

In several of his books,[1] well-known devotional author Max Lucado also draws parallels between the church and a boat – a very big boat.  Lucado notes that when we first come on board, we assume that everyone on the ship is just like us.  But soon we discover that there are differences – not only of opinion, but also in what activity we think is most important and where we like to gather on the boat. 

 

There is one group on the ship, Lucado explains, that focuses on intense study.  They promote rigid discipline and wear somber expressions.  "Serving the Captain is serious business," they say.  It is no coincidence that they tend to congregate toward the back of the boat, the STERN.

 

On this ship, there is also another group, which is deeply devoted to prayer.  They believe not only in the power of prayer, but also in a certain posture for prayer – that you can only talk with God on your knees with head forward; that is why they can always be found on this ship near the BOW.

 

Then there is the issue of the ship’s weekly meeting at which the Captain is honored and his instructions read.  All agree on the meeting’s importance, but some want it loud while others want it quiet.  Some want ritual, others want spontaneity; some want to celebrate, others want to meditate. 

 

The result of all these differences is a rocky boat; there is disharmony on deck, and fights break out between sailors.  Most tragically, there are people who would rather not be on the ship; they say that although life is rough out on the choppy seas, they would rather be adrift, facing the wind and waves, than get caught in the middle of the conflict.  Some were once on the ship but got off because they got hurt or didn’t feel part of the crew; others weren’t given permission even to come aboard.

 

The Captain would like a ship on which everyone is welcome and where everyone gets along.  And in this morning’s Gospel lesson, the Captain says a prayer.  On the night of his betrayal, after his last supper with his disciples and on his way to the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prays to God, “I ask on behalf of those who would believe in me, that they may all be one.”

 

Unfortunately, it seems that from the beginning, the Christian Church has been anything but “one.”  As the gospel spread throughout the world and the church matured, Christianity evolved in a fractious way.  The Christian Church, and Protestantism in particular – which is made up of literally thousands of different denominations -- has long been defined by social, political, and theological differences about such issues as abortion, the authority of the Bible, divorce, homosexuality, physician-assisted suicide; salvation, stem cell research, and the ordination of women, just to name a few.

 

“That they may all be one” may have been Jesus’ prayer, but it has not been the reality of Christ’s Church.  However, almost 50 years ago, the Congregational Christian denomination and the Evangelical and Reformed denomination decided to do something radical.  These two denominations, with roots in a variety of Protestant traditions -- including German Reformed, Lutheran, Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, and Congregationalist –voted to join together into one denomination.  Perhaps even more radical was the name they settled on -- the United Church of Christ.  And what better motto for this new, unified denomination than Jesus’ prayer, “That they may all be one.”

 

Well, we may be one denomination, but the UCC is hardly a monolithic organization.  We are in the "covenantal" tradition — meaning there is no centralized authority or hierarchy that can impose any doctrine or form of worship on its members.  We believe not in tests, but in testimonies, of faith.  Perhaps the only thing we do agree on within the UCC is that Christ alone is Head of the church. 

 

We are a diverse group that makes up not only the United Church of Christ, but also this congregation.  But in these times of great individualism in our society, of increasing diversity in our culture, and of a widening gap between liberal and conservative, secular and sacred, rich and poor, we need now, more than ever, to remember that we are all in the same boat – whether we are Republican or Democrat, “born again” or not quite sure, lifelong member or newly-churched.

 

Relatively few of us are “cradle Congregationalists.”  Instead, most of you come from other faith traditions – including Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Methodist, and Baptist, to name just a few.  There are also those among us who were raised in faith traditions other than Christian, and maybe some who were raised in no faith tradition at all. 

 

But no matter what your story, somehow, you found your way on board this ship – whether it was 80 years ago, or just this morning.  And I suspect that only a minority of you came here the first time because of our denomination.  More likely, you first came because of your family, or because someone invited you, or you lived close by.  But what makes you return?  Maybe it’s the people; maybe it’s our ministries; or maybe it’s something intangible that you have found or you have felt that keeps you coming back. 

 

No matter how long you have been coming here, no matter what faith tradition, if any, you grew up in, we now have the opportunity to “be one” as we unite behind our new mission statement, which the gathered members of this church, inspired and guided by the Holy Spirit, unanimously approved at our annual meeting last Sunday.  “We are a Christ-centered family of God, reaching out to all in holy love and service; welcoming all who seek God’s love and grace; journeying together in faith, mission, and spiritual growth; and building up the body of Christ, the church local and universal.”

 

This mission statement is now the “north star” which will guide our decisions and actions in the future.  Every ministry and program we undertake in the future will, in some way, carry out this mission.  It will be on our church letterhead, on our newsletter masthead, and at the top of meeting agendas.  And at our annual meeting, as well as gatherings throughout the year, we will reflect on how we are doing in living out this mission.

 

If you look on your bulletin, you will see that this new mission statement has replaced the personal meditation, and I invite you to meditate each week on what this mission statement means.  How can we be a church that “reaches out and welcomes all?”  How do we reach out to those who would rather be adrift, facing the wind, than be on board this ship?  How do we reach out to those who tried life on board the ship but never felt they were part of the crew, or to those who never came aboard in the first place? 

 

On the ship of this church, we are to follow the ways of our Captain, who modeled inclusion, integrity, love, respect, and a faith in a God who loves us all even before we can attempt to do anything to justify ourselves.  It’s not just about saying hello or wearing your name tags or being friendly.  Yes, those things are important; but every dying congregation in North America thinks it’s friendly.  No, it goes deeper.

 

Most first-time visitors make up their minds about a church in the first four to eight minutes – before the sermon; they may be frightened or unsure or hurting and they want to know, “Is this a safe place?”  The late priest and writer Henri Nouwen describes a “safe place” as a “friendly emptiness where strangers can enter and discover themselves as created free, free to sing their own songs, speak their own languages, dance their own dances."  Being a “safe place” means allowing space for each one to find our own sense of humanity and worth.  It means trusting that by opening ourselves to new and different people, God will be present in new ways among us. 

 

All of us need a place of healing, a place of peace, of safety and sanctuary and welcome.  I pray that this church is such a place for you.  And we are called to be a place where everyone can find hope for new life, where everyone can experience God’s healing love and abundant grace, no matter who they are or where they are on life’s journey. 

 

In the Gospel of Luke [Chapter 15], Jesus tells us that all of heaven stops to rejoice when one person overcomes his or her alienation from God and finds a spiritual home.  May this church be that spiritual home to others.  May we commit ourselves to living out our vision of “Reaching out and welcoming all; journeying together; and building up.”  And may we respond to Jesus’ prayer, uniting our hearts with Christ and with all who seek him, that we may all be one.  Amen.