How did we Get Here?

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Isaiah 46:9-11

Good morning friends!

It is great to gather in worship with you all, I hope that this Sunday morning finds you well.

We're in week 3 of our summer sermon series about our common vision as part of the SLMF community, as we're trying to think about who we are, and where we are going.

Last week, you may remember, we talked about who we are as a congregation-

how we live out our calling to be disciples of Jesus Christ, in our own lives, in the church community, and in the world in which we live.

We had the opportunity to talk a little bit about what works for us at SLMF, and what works a little less well, and those conversations are already bearing fruit-you might notice a more significant introduction for our guests, Peter and Liz, and Ganesh and the Nepali praise group in the bulletin, which came from a request for more details and a warmer written welcome for the people who come join us in worship.

If you have other things you'd like to share, or particular thoughts that have sprung up, let me know!

Today, we're talking about history.

One of my two majors in undergrad was history, so I'm a big believer that it is in the stories of our past that we learn about where we should go in the future. The successes and mistakes that we make shape who we are, and are the best instructors going forward.

This is a deeply Biblical idea as well. The Bible is a history book-the story of God's relationship with the people of Israel over many generations. And we are all called to remember that history, to tell it well. To write it on the door posts of our houses, and on our gates, as our text this morning phrases it.

The question I will be asking you in a couple of minutes is this: how did you get to SLMF? And what stories do you want us to remember?

But before we get there, I want to tell the story of the Saint Louis Mennonite Fellowship.

Now I've only been here 7 years, so I don't have all the stories, but I've read Michelle Weaver-Kaufman's history of the congregation (It's fascinating, if you haven't looked at it) and I've talked with founding members and long time members a lot-actually, Leo and Mary Kay Kreider, two of our founding members are here today, and I think Mary Kay brought some pictures from the founding of the church if you'd be interested in some records of those first days after the service. But anyway, I'll do the best I can.

I'd like to start with Deuteronomy 26:5. My father was a wandering Aramean. We could start with the Big Bang, but I think it's better to say that the journey of SLMF begins with the history of the people of Israel-Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, coming to know God, and goes through Moses, the burning bush, and the ten commandments on Sinai, the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, and the history of the Jewish people through war and exile and return, up to the time of Jesus, when the teachings of a dusty prophet, and his miraculous resurrection on Easter sparked a global movement called Christianity, where disciples joined his original mission and spread the good news of God's love through the world. That is our community. Our somewhat more specific theological heritage comes from another group of ragtag misfits, who faced down dominate churches in Europe tied to the violent governments of their time, and insisted that God had in mind a different kind of kingdom, and started baptizing one another and refusing to go to war. After facing pretty intense persecution from those who disagreed, Anabaptists spread through Europe and eventually to the United States, where they found a home for religious liberty, and settled down to farm in rural areas around the country. But after some time, they began to move to the cities, where there was work to be done, and people in need of help.

And so, Forty-two years ago, Fern and Barry Heib came to St. Louis for Voluntary Service, and organized a book study of Harold Bender's Anabaptist Vision for people who might be interested in being Mennonite. Three years later, meeting in Edgewood Children's center in a small room with a big dog, the St. Louis Mennonite Fellowship was formed. Soon after, we called our first pastor-Leland Harder, and things were off and running. By the way, that first worship service was 40 years ago this January. We're probably going to want to do something nice!

So that's where we come from. What have we done since our beginning?

Well, we could tell a LOT of stories about the group of people called the St. Louis Mennonite Fellowship, and what God has done with us over the last 40 years. I'll keep myself to a couple that I think are important.

Our Mennonite identity is an important part of our story. We were founded by looking for people who 'grew up Mennonite' and came to St. Louis for work, or to get away from the restrictions of the farm, or to do service. When they arrived they wanted to form a comfortable theological and cultural home where they could be family together, creating a different kind of community, and this is both a great blessing, and a challenge to us as a congregation.

There are stories of family-a community to belong to when extended family is far away, a respite for people exhausted by the culture of the city. Our church song, which we are singing today, and which we wrote when we moved into this building speaks of our 'Fellowship Family journeying on”. So there are family stories-the Mennonite Moving company chipping in to help people relocate from place to place. Dancing at Cheeze and Peppy's wedding, annual retreat volleyball and soccer games, trips with fellow church members for service and play. I have so many stories of you being family to me-probably none more poignant than those who came to visit and celebrate Jonah's birth just over a year ago now. These are stories of building community, and sustaining and strengthening ourselves. Looking back, a large number of families in the fellowship have adopted children over the years, and this sense of creating and sustaining families on purpose I think has been an important part of our history.

And this common family strengthens us for our mission-

We have lots of stories of service in the city. We're celebrating our wonderful Voluntary Service Unit this morning. We give thanks for the joy that Allison, Justice, and Nick have brought to our community, and to our city! And this is a pattern that has held for many years. We were founded by VSers, and many people here this morning participated in those programs. Edgewood Children's Center, Habitat for Humanity, Plowsharing Crafts, the Peace Center, and many other agencies around St. Louis have been strengthened by our work. We have been a people of service, who care a lot about the work of God in the community.

But there is a shadow side to this focus on family-it can be hard to break into a family, sometimes.

We've worked hard to integrate 'new Mennonites' into our midst. From the beginning, there were members who weren't 'born Mennonite', though they were often married to people who were. Over the years, we've found many Catholic and evangelical people who found something new in our midst, but the hymns we sing, the missions we support, and the theology we preach reflects that founding DNA, and I've heard from many that the feeling of being an outsider can remain for a long time.

And our relationship with Bethesda over the years speaks to this dynamic as well, I think. Bethesda, our sister congregation, is older than we are, but many of the Mennonites moving to St. Louis were not attracted to their more conservative theology and the black church worship style, and the cultural differences that come with a largely African American congregation. We were founded with the blessing of Bethesda, but over the years the relationship has often been off and on, with many from both congregations considering it to much trouble, and we continue to struggle with creating and sustaining deep and faithful relationships that have the strength to combat our society's casual racism with our brothers and sisters in North City.

And that sense of family has led to a bit of a sense of us against the world. We've always seen ourselves as a little bit on the margins, both in the church and in the city. When I came to SLMF, there was a congregational story that it was hard to get pastors to come to the edge of the Mennonite world, to the big city. When conference leaders come, one of the questions for them is often what is the conference going to do because of our progressive theological positions? Did you know that SLMF, near the beginning, wrote it's own Confession of Faith along with the membership covenant? We wanted to know what we believed as a family. And we are also marginal in the city-a community that cares about peace in a world of violence, a small group in a big pond, and for most of our history we were a renting congregation-a pilgrim people, with no fixed abode, guests in someone else's building. This is not the land flowing with milk and honey, exactly, but it was a significant moment when we set down roots here, six years ago.

I could go on, but I'm sensitive that you have more of the stories that need telling than I do. I want to know how our stories intersect. Each of us has stories.

So what I'd like you to do now is break into small groups, and tell some of your stories. It would be great if you get with people who have been around for a different length of time than you-new comers and old timers, young and old sharing stories. And tell stories that matter-

What are your stories that you don't want to have forgotten? What do you remember about how you got connected to the fellowship, or when you knew you really belonged?

Guests and Visitors should talk about?

We'll take 6 minutes again, 3 per person, and I'll try to keep you moving. I hope you hear some tales you have not heard before, and learn something new about who we are together.

Alright, pick partners, and begin!