One Family in Christ

One aspect of the Church that draws many to Her is that the Church is One Big Family. It is a family composed of all flavors, stripes, and colors. We are conservative, liberal, traditional, progressive, orthodox, heterodox, single, married, young, old, singers, non-singers, hand-holders, non-hand-holders, weirdos, and straight-laced. Those we agree with, and those we disagree with. Those we like, those we otherwise would probably dislike. But although we may endeavor to be saints, we are all sinners.

We live in a time and place where there are many different divisions between people -- political, ethnic, and otherwise. There are times when it is all well and good to be with those people who share our interests and beliefs, but it is also beneficial to spend some time with those people -- those family members -- we otherwise would never have anything to do with. So, it is not necessarily a bad thing to go to and stick with some parish that might make you squirm a bit. Perhaps there is some benefit to a neighborhood parish system after all. We are all One Family in One Church. Those we disagree with are our brothers and sisters in Christ as well as those we agree with. And it is nice, every once in a while, after doing battle with them during the week, to be able to set aside those differences and come together as one family in Christ.