Dear Rose Park,
Today’s letter comes from the desk of our intern, Amanda Bunce…
“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness, come before him with joyful songs. (Psalm 100:1-2). The joy and worship this Psalm talks about is the type of relationship I had with both the Lord and my small town church growing up. Through high school, I loved going to church, I was very active in worship, and I felt extremely loved by my small (15-30 people) church. In looking back, I felt welcomed and loved by this congregation because I fit the mold and did what they considered was “good” and it was worth their praise. They only knew me as the girl who lit the candles, read scripture every Sunday, worked hard in school, and was no wild child. However, I wanted to do these things so the love and acceptance they gave me was still genuine.
The next part of Psalm 100 reads: “Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his, we are his people, the sheep of his pasture” (Psalm 100:3). When I left the pasture of my home church, the love and joy for church and God changed all the time. At college, there were people who actually knew more about me and still gave me love and grace. At the same time, the past 2-3 congregations did not give me that love as I did not fit their mold. In times where we are not accepted, reading Psalm 100:3 is difficult to swallow. Our contexts play such an important role on how we view the world and how we understand a God who loves and provides for us. If no one around us is providing that love and care, we wonder if God could still love us if we do not fit his mold. If the word love is used incorrectly and only used as a weapon against you, hearing God loves you will not be a comfort as you would not be able to understand what that actually means and looks like. But even in times when we do not feel like God could love us or when we do not understand how God could love us, it does not change that: “It is he who made us, and we are his” (Psalm 100:3).
And because that never changes but the finite things around us do change, we can be brought to the end of the Psalm in saying: “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise, give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever, his faithfulness continues through all generations” (Psalm 100:4-5). It has been through the ministry and fellowship at Rose Park that I have been able to enter your doors once again with sincere and real thanksgiving. I did not think I would ever be able to experience this joy and love I have once again, but Rose Park has made it possible. I do not know where you are on the ever-changing walk with God in new and different contexts you encounter, but I would certainly love to hear your story over coffee sometime!
Grace & Peace,
Amanda