This past weekend I had the privilege of officially becoming part of the SoulStream family. It was a beautiful and deeply touching ceremony full of depth and richness. It felt like a cross between a baptism and a wedding with a sacred declaration of following Jesus and the covenanting of journeying together for life. We even had a champagne reception! What a contrast to my last membership experience where following Jesus wasn’t enough. Our (former) church’s membership covenant required that we “love Jesus by: …” and listed a dozen or so ways we promised to show our love, and then another ten ways that we had to promise to “serve Jesus faithfully by: …” and then came a third list of required behaviours for participation in the church community. Every time a new member came into the church, the entire congregation had to stand up and read aloud the membership covenant displayed on the power point screen. But I couldn’t do it – I felt sick every time thinking that this was what the church said God is about. Thank God for the New Covenant!
The evening after our welcoming ceremony several of us gathered for dinner and SoulCare, and as we offered each other communion the phrase “The Promise of New Life” kept reverberating in my head. This is what Jesus is about and this is what SoulStream is also about – New Life. We are no longer bound by the old covenant of rules and behaviours. We are set free to live as we have been created to live – in Christ’s freedom and love.
I am profoundly grateful to have found a home in SoulStream. As we journey forward we will discover what dispersed community is like for us. My desire for this blog is to simply share my life with you, to invite you to join me as I search for God in the hard places and celebrate God’s presence in the joyful times. My prayer is that we will see Jesus in each other’s stories and be encouraged. May the ground that is between us, instead of simply being distance, become sacred.
Hi Katherine and all,
What a gift this is Katherine. Thank you so much for getting it up and running. I trust that we will all benefit from it. It seems easy.
Thanks also for your lovely description of what the partnership induction ritual was for you. I found both times very, very moving. It was something for Steve and I to induct our brother Mark!
I’m so glad you have begun to blog! I look forward to reading more good posts on this site and being challenged and inspired. Thanks, Katherine, for this first posting. Our church is dealing with this very issue (membership and the list of requirements) and what you said is timely and helpful!