Unity

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, ² with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, ³ making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.  Ephesians 4:1-6

Dear Ones,

                This past Sunday I went to Sunday School at the Cathedral of the Pentecostal Church of Chile in Curicó (a medium-sized city of 150,00 about two hours south of the capital, Santiago).   The night before I had been in the Pastor’s Bible Study where Pastor/Bishop Ulises (pastor of the Curicó church, bishop of the Pentecostal Church of Chile) covers the next day’s lesson for the people who will teach the class the following morning in the 6 or so Sunday school classes (that all simultaneously meet in various parts of the cavernous sanctuary) and the 70 or so “locales,” mission churches of the big church.  The Sunday school curriculum for this period has to do with the responsibilities of discipleship and church membership.  This week, the primary passage was the one I have quoted above and the theme was, “my responsibility in guarding the Unity of the Church.” 

                Since this is a subject with which I myself am dealing, not always with as much fruit as I would like, I thought I would attend Sunday School when no one expected me to, in light of my having heard pastor Ulíses the night before.  He also attends Sunday School as a simple hearer to one of the men who teaches a men’s class for 40 and 50 somethings.  Pastor Ulíses and I said very little (until the end when the teacher gave us each an opportunity to summarize), but one of the men in the class focused all the discussion of the previous two days (and much of the thoughts in my mind) with this simple question:  “Is being in communion the same thing as church unity?”

                I quickly made an analysis in my mind of this passage.  It doesn’t speak of guarding the unity of the church but of the Spirit.  What does that mean?  In my own journal that afternoon, I wrote this:  “Does that mean the unity of the Holy Spirit?  So how does that make sense?  Is not the Spirit one and indivisible?  Obviously, we do not lessen the unity within the Spirit, but we can very much lessen our unity with the Spirit.”  It seems to me that when Paul speaks of guarding the “unity of the Spirit” he is not speaking about guarding the institutional, organizational, organic, or systemic unity of the Church.  Instead, he is talking about what in ecumenical circles has been termed full communion.

                When I come to the Pentecostal Church of Chile, I enjoy full communion by virtue of my relationship with Global Ministries of the  Christian Church (Disciples) and the United Church of Christ.  What this means is that I am received as an honored guest with full privileges of participating in the life of the church, with pulpit privileges (no small thing in this context), and with the assumption that I have something meaningful to contribute.  This church administers the Lord’s Supper only once a year (August 15), and at the communion service I will not only be invited to partake but will be invited to assist the pastor in administering the sacrament. 

                We often and easily talk about brothers and sisters in the faith.  The truth is that for most Christians from most churches, we do not treat each other as brothers and sisters but rather as distant cousins—part of the same extended family but not eating at the same table.  For Pastor Ulíses and for many here, Disciples and UCC’s truly are brothers and sisters in the faith (maybe to a greater degree than Disciples and UCC’s consider each other in the States in many contexts).   There are plaques and pictures in many sanctuaries commemorating the relationship with some or other conference, region, or congregation in the US.  I have heard people in the intercessory prayer time mention and pray for brothers and sisters in the States.  People here treasure the visits from delegations from the States, and those who have been to the U.S. speak lovingly and often of the relationships they made there.  These relationships matter much more than the financial accompaniment that has been provided, because this is not a church that waits for money to come from Overseas before they undertake what needs to be done.  If money does come for something or another, it simply means that the project gets done sooner—but the project usually gets done.

                I think one reason that the Pentecostal Church of Chile treasures its relationships through Global Ministries, not only in the States but around the world, is because the church is somewhat isolated in Chile.  Roman Catholics and mainline protestants keep some distance from what they see as less-educated, lower-class, and evangelistically aggressive Pentecostals.  Because the Pentecostal Church of Chile supports the ministry of women (though a great majority of pastors and leaders are men), because the church participates in the World Council of Churches, and because they sustain a relationship with Global Ministries,  they are roundly criticized by other Pentecostals for being “liberal.”  Obiously “liberal” and “conservative” have a lot to do with context and the eye of the beholder.  In doctrine, standards of morality, and even gender roles this church is far from liberal by any measure in the US.  Every time the Bishop talks about the relationship with the brothers and sisters in the States, he points out that the relationship is built on mutual respect despite huge differences—like being nearly polar opposites in nearly every measurable category: social scale, educational level, liturgical tastes, theological emphasis, and even geographic location (north pole neighbors vs. south pole neighbors).

                It is sad to think that this special and unique communion is as fragile and threatened as our natural environment.  In a globalized world with instant communication, decisions that one church makes potentially affects all of its partners.  A decision that makes perfect sense and seems completely necessary in one context can be utterly incomprehensible in another.  And of course, when such decisions are made, it is the less-educated, less-influential, less wealthy partner that tends to be most at risk.  

                But I was also encouraged this week by a sign that communion tends to be more resilient than would initially be apparent.  In the 1940’s the Pentecostal Church of Chile was born from a split in the larger and more influential Methodist Pentecostal Church (which itself was born of a split in the Methodists).  This Methodist Pentecostal Church supported and benefitted from the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.  As you can imagine, there are ample reasons for a wide breach in communion between these two Pentecostal Churches. 

                As I left a worship service at a “local” in an outlying community, Abraham, pastor Ulises’ eldest son chuckled as we passed a couple of older teenagers.  “They will wait until they get 500 meters from the church before they start holding hands,” he told me.  I said, “Romance is good for a church’s youth group.”  “Yes, but it is difficult to carry on a romance within the fishbowl of our church,” he replied.  I then realized that both he and his brother had married Methodist Pentecostals.  “I now realize why it was that the Lord allowed for the Pentecostal Church of Chile,” I said.  “Why?” He asked.  “So that Methodist Pentecostals would have someone outside their own church whom they could date and marry,” I said.  He laughed but didn’t deny it.   He knows good and well that his parents and both sets of parents of the daughters-in-law were very happy to have their children matched with fine young people from the competing church. 

                And similarly, Disciples and UCC’s happily marry Southern Baptists, Charismatics, and Roman Catholics in the USA. 

                Simple people have a way of subverting the divisive decisions of their own assemblies and hierarchies.  They have a way of finding communion where there isn’t supposed to be any.  That seems to be a very hopeful note.  Despite our worst efforts to the contrary, God will continue to draw us into One Spirit, One Faith, One Lord Jesus, One Hope of our Calling.    Blessed be the Lord!