Christian Unity

July 12, 2018

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is

For brethren to dwell together in unity!

For there the LORD commanded the blessing--

Life forevermore.” 

—Psalm 133:1 & 3

In a country that once prized political bipartisan cooperation but now seems polarized to the point of categorically refusing to work with anyone who fails to join lockstep with the party line, it is a delight to work with people who express their faith in Christ differently, but are eager nonetheless to join hands for the cause of Christ. There are still those elements of sectarian Christianity that seem to believe that heaven will be sparsely populated with only their own kind, but I’ve had the privilege of seeing a more expansive faith that reaches out simply because they can.

Saturday, our Dunkirk United Methodist congregation celebrates the 100th anniversary of the dedication of the building that sits on the corner of 6th and Washington. We decided to have a big birthday party in the park, inviting our neighbors for food, music, and activities for the children. The Dunkirk UM church building is a massive structure, but the congregation over the years has dwindled to a handful of mostly older faithful saints. So when we began planning for this event, I began asking others to pray for us. They have been doing so, but they’ve also been putting feet to their prayers.

Conduit, a non-denominational congregation from Jamestown, is bringing a team of six or eight people to staff the bounce house, sno-cone truck, their popcorn and cotton candy machines. One of the worship teams from Sinclairville Park church will be singing and using sound equipment loaned by the church. Park is also providing a commercial sized grill for the hot dogs, and has already contributed both financially and materially with supplies. Dunkirk’s Pillar of Fire church is staffing a prayer tent and has offered to help in any way needed, while the Spanish congregation that meets in our building will provide Spanish food and have their worship leaders singing.

John Wesley once preached a sermon from 2 Kings 10:13–“Is your heart right, as my heart is toward your heart? If it is, give me your hand." We are seeing this playing out as testimony to the unifying work of the Holy Spirit in our midst, and it is beautiful to behold. Any blessing that accrues from this effort will be in a large part due to these faithful brothers and sisters who themselves have absolutely nothing to gain by helping us, except for the smile and blessing of our Lord, and our deep gratitude.