“There is a lot going on in the life of the church…” I’m sure you’ve heard at least one of the pastoral staff say this during the Life of the Community at the end of a worship service, I know I’ve said it a few times. We even talked with each other in a staff meeting one week about how to start the announcements without saying those words. Yes, there is a lot going on in the life of First on Fifth and it’s all good!
Whether it’s worship, Tuesday morning study, CareNotes, supper clubs or a Dash game, each event we plan is not just to fill the calendar. We hope that each gathering offers each one of us the opportunity not just for ministry but also for fellowship. That’s a word we use often in church life – fellowship. Translated from the Greek, koinōnia, it means partnership, sharing, a life of mutual cooperation. The word fellowship itself appears many times in the New Testament, including perhaps the most known instance in Acts 2:42, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” So why the emphasis on fellowship?
We know from scripture we are not meant to go at it alone. God gives us others to offer support and guidance. We read about Jesus spending time with his community and friends. It is in community that we often find the strength and support and love that help bolster us through our lives. And it is through fellowship that our communities are forged and strengthened.
One writer describes it like this, “You can think of fellowship…as a way of meaningfully communing with and connecting with others in a way that supports, builds and bolsters faith. Kind of like a “spiritual family”…that centers around a love of God.” Fellowship can take different forms and it is through these times spent together that we form that spiritual family that we know we can count on.
I hope that you have found a fellowship group or activity here at First on Fifth that resonates with you and allows you to build and strengthen your relationships with other church members. If not, join us for the Dash baseball game on Friday, July 24 or grab coffee in the Commons on a Sunday morning or join the board game group the first Friday of each month. In spending time together, sharing in laughter and fun, we build a stronger sense of community that can only strengthen our congregation’s witness to our community.
– Pastor Mary
