No Longer Strangers
Ephesians 2:19

It was 10 years ago this weekend that I took a plane from Pennsylvania to Indianapolis, rented a car to drive here to Camp Mack, and was introduced as your new District Pastor ... to begin my ministry among you a month later. While I knew some of you, having grown up in Northern Indiana, most of you were strangers ... even the concept of district ministry instead of congregational ministry seemed strange at the time. Ten years later ... we are no longer strangers.

This year also marks the 25^th Anniversary of a hymn written by Ken Morse (tune by Dianne Huffman Morningstar), "For we are strangers no more." The refrain of the hymn suggests:

For we are ... strangers no more, but members of one family;
strangers no more, but part of one humanity;
strangers no more, we're neighbors to each other now;
strangers no more, we're sisters and we're brothers now.

(Text © Church of the Brethren General Board; Music © by Dianne Huffman Morningstar
used with permission)

In 1979, we wanted to believe that was true for the Church of the Brethren - that we were no longer strangers to each other but members of one family, sisters and brothers. Twenty-five years later, we seem to be testing that premise: not about members of one family as brothers and sisters, perhaps, but whether or not we are strangers to one another.

Family members, brothers and sisters, are known to disagree with each other - sometimes strongly and even violently. That basic fact has roots in the Genesis accounts of Cain and Abel; Jacob and Esau; Joseph and his brothers. It is also found in our own church history with the division that took place only a few miles from here in 1882. It is not new to the 21^st century.

Some days, however, I wonder how church members have become like strangers to one another. Our divisions into theological and political camps threaten to divide the church. We've experienced our differences before in every decade but the issues of sexuality, including ordination and covenantal relationships, divide the church and lead us to feel more like strangers than brothers and sisters.

In Paul's Letter to the Ephesians, he addresses the theme of unity with the reminder that all Christians are one family in Jesus and they should act with love toward each other. He reminds Jews and Gentiles alike that Jesus is our peace and has made us part of One Body by breaking down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.

So then, writes Paul, you are no longer strangers, no longer insiders and outsiders, but you are all citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.

We gather in this place this morning as members and delegates from 48 different congregations.

• Some of us come from very small congregations and some of us from much larger congregations;
• some of us come from rural backgrounds and some of us from urban centers;
• some of us read our Bibles very literally and some of us pray for an open spirit to guide us in interpreting the text for living in our present culture;
• some of us were born and raised within the Church of the Brethren and some of us have been loved and adopted into a denomination different than the one in which we were raised;
• some among us have been friends for many years and some among us are friends we have not yet met.
• All of us are here because we have experienced the love and grace of Jesus Christ extended to us through the church.

Today we gather as members of the household of God, and as members of the Church of the Brethren within the Northern Indiana District. Our focus in our time together is not on our differences, but on our unity in Jesus Christ.

• We have gathered to listen to the reports and recommendations of district leadership.
• We have gathered to be in discussion as brothers and sisters in Christ.
• We have gathered, bringing our best wisdom and understanding, to discern the will of God and the mind of Christ as it applies to our common district ministry at this time.

Come ... for we are ...

Strangers no more, but members of one family;
Strangers no more, but part of one humanity;
Strangers no more, we're neighbors to each other now;
Strangers no more, we're sisters and we're brothers now.

Herman Kauffman, September 18, 2004
Northern Indiana District Conference