The tag line is intriguing: “What if church wasn’t just a building, but thousands of doors?” That appears to be a motto for the United Methodist Church, which is running advertisements in Times Square through September. One ad reads, “What if church was a literacy program for homeless children? Would you come?” Another: “What if church considered ecology part of theology?”
Their web site reads,
We are doers. Committed to social justice, ending hunger, eradicating diseases of poverty, and being the healing faith community as God calls us to be.
We accept you for who you are, and guide others searching for deeper meaning. We respect other religions and welcome diverse opinions.
We offer thousands of ways to experience church so you can find a journey you can call your own.
We aren’t striving to be all the same, but we are striving to work together to make a significant difference in the world.
There’s a small discussion forum, which is nothing spectacular or novel, but the lead question is: “How do you think high profile deaths can connect people?”
The site allows users to locate places of need using Google Earth. Some of the topics are a little vague:
- Health & Well-being
- Breaking Ground
- Transforming Lives
- Advocacy
- Helping Hands
- Support Groups
- Disaster Response
I’m not sure what “transforming lives” or “breaking ground” might be. Still, a wonderful idea.
The site also incorporates Google’s Friend Connect, providing something of a sense of community, and one only has to read the book of Acts and some of Paul’s epistles to see how important community was in the early church.
It’s a promising idea, one that’s sure to make nonbelievers think, “Hey, now there’s a church that’s following Jesus’ example and helping people on an existential level.”
Source: Blogging Religiously.
I think this is a fantastic move for the Methodist church. I’m still not likely to go back — it doesn’t speak to me the way it once did — but it’s nice to see Methodism stand publicly for tolerance and focus on aid ahead of, say, a new fancy organ for the sanctuary.