Lisa and Bob Discuss... the WORD Group

Bob... I know the WORD/Women's Friday morning group is now reading and discussing The Faith Club. I'm reading it too. It's great. Three women, Muslim, Christian, Jew. They begin by conversing about their faiths and along the way they make a few discoveries about themselves.

Lisa... Yes, we are not quite halfway through the book yet and so far we have seen the three women go from cordial, yet apprehensive about each other – to butting heads a bit – to finally starting to understand each other better.  I am looking forward to seeing where the three women are in their relationships with each other by the end of the book.  The book has sparked a LOT of great discussion in our WORD group.

Bob... It does seem like these three women have moments when they are teetering on the brink of walking away from the discussion and from their fragile friendship. It makes me wonder...if these three women, with much in common save for their religious heritages, can sometimes barely talk to one another...what hope is there for world when life and death, war and peace are on the line?

Lisa... Good point.  It’s easy to wonder, what hope is there for the rest of us if these three friends can’t even make it work.  But they DO make it work, and I guess that teaches us that true “peace” has to start with one or two or three people at a time.

Bob... I have been thinking about the membership of this church. We have many different heritages. Indeed most are from the Protestant "Mainline" churches but we have maybe 20% Roman Catholic background in our newer members. There are Baptists, a Mormon, non-churched and formerly non-believers. We have a couple families that have a spouse who is Jewish. Our WORD Group has Muslim members. There is another family with Hindu background. This certainly is not my father and mother's day when everyone in the church I grew up in had German background.

Lisa... You are right.  Our church really does represent a very diverse variety of backgrounds and faith journeys and that is one of wonderful things about Dublin Community Church.  We respect each other and learn from each other and I really think it’s representative of the United Church of Christ’s commitment to “extravagant welcome”.  ALL are welcome in the United Church of Christ and all are welcome at Dublin Community Church.

Bob... So, does this mean we should keep the doors wide open and see who the Spirit leads to us?

Lisa... Yes, absolutely!