Dash of Thought - February 2023

Table fellowship
Here and there I am asked: "Stefan, as our new bishop, what is your vision for our Church? Bishop Zürcher, what is your image of the future of the UMC?" Of course, especially the people in our congregations would like to know, after all, what vision of church, of our church, their new bishop has.
 
For some time now, I have been accompanied and guided by an image, which I find not only in the Bible, but which also has much to do with our everyday life: Table fellowship! Church as table fellowship – an original Christian image that inspires me!
 
Many of our congregations regularly celebrate table fellowship with one another, perhaps on Sunday after the service, at church weekends and retreats, on outings, in small groups. Others invite elderly and single people, students or working people to their lunch tables during the week and let them experience hospitality and culinary delights. Church as table fellowship.
 
But I also like to turn the sentence around: Table fellowship as church. Church is, where people eat together in Jesus' name, where they experience God's presence, where heaven and earth touch. Didn't Jesus explicitly send the 72 disciples into people's homes with his shalom? "Go now! ... When you enter a house, first say: 'Peace to this house! ... Eat and drink anything they give you. ... Tell them: The kingdom of God has come near to you". (Gospel of Luke, chapter 10)
 
My image of the future of our church? Everywhere Methodists and their neighbors meet in their homes. They eat and drink together, they have time for each other, they share a piece of life and faith. In doing so, they experience that shalom is growing in their hearts, in their homes, and in their neighborhoods. This is how I imagine our church: as a multicolored community that means a lot to our neighbors, because in it they experience God and his shalom.
 
Bishop Stefan Zürcher