When I look at the church, what gives me hope?
St. Teresa of Ávila once said that clarity is freedom. The apocalypses of our own day can have a distilling effect for the Church, clarifying the Way: through justice, to liberation; through Christ, for all. Movements around the world for democracy, justice, and human rights have consistently benefited from standing in the gap, pointing to the massive disparity between the way things are and the way they could be. The Church today has the opportunity to bear clear witness in such a liminal space to the world that is God’s dream. I see a clarified Church coming into being, no longer willing to coexist with an empire that avails comfort to some while crushing the bodies and spirits of others. I see a wounded Body of Christ that knows itself broken for the world and is beginning, even now, in the midst of the mess, to participate in its healing.
The Rev. Lauren Grubaugh, Associate Rector for Formation and Discipleship, St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, Centennial, CO.
Twitter: @laurengrubaugh
Instagram: @lologroobs
Read what others are saying:
- Church + Boldness = Hope – Bridget Eileen Rivera
- Church + Latinx Millennial Christian Leaders = Hope – Alexia Salvatierra
- Church + Change = Hope – Darren Calhoun
- Church + Marginalized Voices = Hope – Soong-Chan Rah
- Church + Openness to Different Voices = Hope – Randy Woodley
- Church + Stifling the Spirit = Hard to Hope – Myles Markham
- Church + God’s faithfulness = Hope — Nikki Toyama-Szeto
- Church + Gracious Spirit of God = Hope — Al Tizon
- Church + Recognizing God’s Presence = Hope — Kristyn Komarnicki
- Church + Reformation = Hope — Erina Kim-Eubanks
- Church + Embodied Faith = Hope — Brandi Miller
- Church + God’s perfection = Hope — Shane Claiborne
- Church + Stifling the Spirit = Hard to Hope — Myles Markham
