Spirit In The Church

OCT. 29, 1980, 5:52 AM
W. WILLOW, STUDY

You have just completed this next month’s Church newsletter, o son, so let us muse about the spirit that is potential in the church… indicated by your writings. I shall reaffirm, of course, that, in addition to the spirit that is in each individual Christian, the church itself has a spirit, a synergistic entity that is greater than merely the sum of the other spirits.

There is, first of all, a spirit in the building. For most, this aspect of spirit becomes more evident with years of participation. The sanctuary, the classrooms, the fellowship hall, the narthex… these become associated with events that are remembered as spiritual. You remember the Christmas Eve service in the parlor from last year. Milton’s funeral and Peter’s Memorial in the sanctuary; you remember the wedding anniversary service and that before Thanksgiving at the Menlo Park Church. The spirit within a building grows and can be experienced by those more sensitive to the manifestation of spirit. The spirit of the building usually does not match the intensity of that experienced in human interaction (though, when enhanced with real beauty it can be powerful) but, still, certain interactions are more spiritual in certain places than in others.

There is also a spirit at work in certain groups of people. It may arise from the task or from the event but it then becomes evident as the group continues together. You have not felt this very strong in the classes you have participated in here. You felt it more strongly in the Cobden class. You felt it in the group at the Christmas Eve service. You sometimes feel it in the narthex after worship, but often you just are not aware of it at all.

The spirit within a group grows from what they have experienced together. It may be intense from the quality of a short experience, or it may grow and develop slowly from repeated experiences. It is more clear when the group stays relatively the same, but it does indere in the group, even in those of minimal personal spirit. It is something greater than the sum of individual spirits, though the greater the development of spirit in a person the more she is able to appreciate and benefit from the spirit within a group.

The nature of the activity can influence the development of spirit, but this is of minor importance. Some weddings have spirit, some do not. Some funerals enhance spirit, but some do not. So, too, with worship, study, service, work, Session… The actual activity is of minor significance.