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** Easier said than done
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As a pastor of a fully online faith community, I have a sweet gig. No physical property and none of the bills that come with repairs. No rent or mortgage. No arguments about the color of the carpet. And yet, even with a lower-stress milieu, I have had to face and accept the messiness of community, wherever it forms and gathers. Even in virtual space there are clashing personalities, shrinking budgets, and unfortunate miscommunications.

Of course, there’s also abundant joy, grace, friendship, and healing. But I feel seen when I read about the very real and human challenges that exist in churches around the world. This week we have two new articles I’m excited to introduce. Gerardo Marti describes the “inclusivity trap” that surfaced in his ethnographic study of churches in US and Canada. To be clear, he doesn’t conclude that inclusivity is bad—but that the type of inclusivity that works in one area (say, LGBTQ affirmation) simply doesn’t work when it comes to dismantling racism ([link removed]) . In a new column, Ben Dueholm discusses gossip; specifically, he considers the dilemma of being a pastor who wants to gossip but who must hold confidentiality ([link removed]) .

Plus more brand new content below! Our video of the week features Danielle Tumminio Hansen, who chats with me about the timing of vulnerability ([link removed]) and the relevance of mortality. And scroll down for a book review about who is allowed to bless and be blessed ([link removed]) , a poem from my favorite poet, Bonnie Thurston ([link removed]) , and more.

Jon Mathieu
Email me (mailto:[email protected]?subject=The%20messiness%20of%20community&body=Jon%2C%20) : What challenges have you faced within a faith community?
Schedule a 15-minute Friday lunch chat with me ([link removed])
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** The inclusivity trap ([link removed])
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“Unlike sexuality, which could be gradually disclosed in trusted relationships, race is always already public—marked, politicized, and inescapable. It implicates more than identity; it implicates power. It is not a difference to be embraced but a system to be confronted.”

by Gerardo Marti
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** Church gossip and a pastor’s double life ([link removed])
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“As a consumer of whispers, I want the supply to be fresh and constant. As a person in the rooms that are whispered about, I have to do my best to see that none of that supply comes from me or anyone else there.”

by Benjamin J. Dueholm
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** VIDEO: Vulnerability, mortality, and difference ([link removed])
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Danielle Tumminio Hansen chats with Jon about vulnerable speech, the relevance of mortality, and the challenges of relating over difference.
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** In the Lectionary (Ordinary 28A) ([link removed])
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Matthew’s version of the wedding banquet parable is unsettling. There is no second chance, no forgiveness.

by Kit Carlson
Ordinary 28A archive ([link removed])
Get even more lectionary resources with Sunday’s Coming Premium, an email newsletter from the editors of the Christian Century. Learn more ([link removed]) .


** Blessings for all ([link removed])
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“As both a spiritual resource and a work of contemplative art, this collection succeeds in what it sets out to do: to widen the circle of who can bless and what is worthy of blessing.”

Marissa Papula reviews Christine Valters Paintner


** “Cliffs of Fall” ([link removed])
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Sometimes wilderness
is not on a mountain
or in the desert,
but internal …

poem by Bonnie Thurston

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