Freedom in Lent - Day 21

In my youth, Christians were not renowned for being joyful -  strict, disapproving, judgemental, these were the words which many of my contemporaries used, and are still words I hear used about churches. The impression the Church at large seems to give more often than not is that we want to have people conform to certain ways, that we are 'against' the way most people live, that we don't accept people for who and what they are. 

Within the life of the Christian communities I have been a part of and where I have ministered this sense of judgementalism and disapproval has been (mostly) absent. What I have often found in it's place has been joy - the joy of friendship, the joy of learning, the joy of celebrating worship, the joy of appreciating the created world, the joy of loving and being loved. 

Every time we gather at the Eucharist we talk of it as a 'celebration', rooted in God's love for us and for all humanity, we are welcomed into a community of faith, hope and love. We gather for joyful worship. We gather to rejoice in all that we have been blessed with, from each breath we take, to the love and comfort of friends. From this celebration comes our commitment to joyful service, of one another and the world around, in faith, hope, and love.