I stole this idea from RevGalBlogPals. I confess! Whew, that's over. Now, on to the idea. (Lure: There is a prize at the end to watch. )

If you could name 5 characteristics for your ideal place of worship, a place you would want to come to often and be in community with people, what would those 5 characteristics, be? The ideal church - temple - shrine - synagogue - spiritual meeting place. What would be the main 5 features that would matter most to you?

Many of you are "unchurched", "untempled", 'un-something" -- yet you describe yourself accurately as "spiritual". What kind of community might make you want to become "churched" or "templed' or "whatevered", so to speak? Speak your mind about what is "ideal" to you -- point to what you think is missing out there and establish it in your ideal fantasy spiritual community.

When I think of the most important 5 elements to me, I would have to say mine are these:

1. The community would have to be committed to walk what it talked, and it would have to talk faith and justice. In my case, a sacramental, non-fundamentalist Christian faith. I would not want the cognitive discord of a church that talked about feeding the hungry but had beggars on their doorsteps, or who "fed people only with the Word of God". I'd have to feel that the Gospel was alive and well, and that the community was not afraid to speak out and take action about injustice, and not afraid to speak of the faith that leads them.

2. The community would be diverse, inclusive, welcoming of differences. Old, young, all races, straight and LGBT, male and female, married, divorced, single, different national origins, different economic strata.

3. There would be something happening all the time, not just Sunday. If you had a spare evening, it would make sense to ask "I wounder what is happening at church tonight." The building would serve the community in which it was located. Scout meetings, AA meetings, PWP meetings, active elder programs, concerts, plays, art exhibits, jazz masses, pot luck dinners, lunch for the poor, neighborhood involvement.

4. People from all levels of the church would be involved in the ministry of the church -- visiting the sick and homebound, teaching, leading worship. Members would take ownership over the work of faith. The pastor would manage the whole ship of faith, as it were, but he/she would not be the center of ministry. The church would be known for its compassion and its devotion to the principles of faith. You'd know, as a member of this church, that if rough times came, the church membership would be with you, helping in whatever way they could.

5. The worship experience would knock your socks off. There would be two Sunday services - one traditional, one modern. There would be a solemn midweek laying on of hands healing and praying service. A great choir. Fabulous music. people might laugh out loud sometimes. In summer, there would be a Saturday night service. Full bells and smells for high holidays like Christmas and Easter. Pageants, parades, and drama. There would be such closness among the membership that when Sunday rolled around you would look forward to going to church to worship, because it just felt not only right, but good in a deep and abiding way.

It's been a while since I have felt excited to be at worship. I am new - 1.5 years - to this town, and I think I need to keep looking. I am not going to find my 100% ideal, but I need to stop settling for not being touched and moved and challenged the way I know I can be. The message of faith, any faith, is not a stagnant one. It is not supposed to make us choose between falling asleep and getting enraged at what is missing.

So tell me -- what would it take for you to feel that you had just found the perfect spiritual community that you could share a presence with on a regular basis? I like a building for worship. Not everyone may. I tend to have traditional roots with a radical expression -- again, not everyone's cuppa tea. What is it that would work best for you? What are the 5 elements that would make you feel spiritually at home with others?

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Arlene ws recently pondering this an said, in part that her ideal:

Works for justice:
for the under-represented in this country
for the marginalized around the globe
for the gay community who are denied basic rights in their relationships
Has full and equal participation in worship, in ministry, in service:
the only qualifying question is: who is most gifted to fit this role?
Has worship that is vibrant, dynamically current and engaging.
Encounters the Lord through the arts.

Lutheran Chik begins her list by saying:

In my perfect church we would have a comprehensive program for catechesis/spiritual formation that would include easy entry points for newbies as well as challenge and support for us long-haulers, and strong support for "the domestic church" -- for giving households the tools and support to (re-)sacralize home life. And our "Lutheran from home" members would finally shed the idea that one graduates from religious education/spiritual formation at confirmation.

Beach Walkin,herself a pastor, said in part:

The perfect church would be a multi-racial... multi-ethnic... church... where everyone of all ages would be warmly and sincerely welcomed. There would be ministries for people who are deaf. There would be ministries for people who are blind. There would be a place for people with mental illness. Folks in jeans would work with folks in suits. Tats and piercing would be just as acceptable as Gucci and big diamonds. Everyone would feel so comfortable... they would want to invite their friends... families... co-workers... classmates... everyone they meet to this church... because the gospel was preached... taught... and modeled in every way you can imagine.

Purple adds this item:

Has an active retreat center which is interfaith where all people from all faiths may gather to worship, learn about each other, and model radical inclusivity...
I don't think much explanation is needed here.

MPeriodPress says;

To me, the perfect church is a gathering of human beings who inclusively, lovingly, call one another to the full wonder and use of that gift. They do so in the interest of living authentically and communally the greatest commandment we have—to love God and our neighbor as ourselves. This living is born out by inclusively breaking open the common story, sharing sacramental ritual, and serving those in need. The perfect church does this in a spirit of humility and keen awareness that there is more to live, more to learn, more to be revealed than is ever known at a given moment. The perfect church says in the deeds done and spirit it generates together, “Welcome home, there is room for you here.”

Barbara says

I'm getting at this late, because I worked an extra clinic today. Rather than ponder 5 things, I'll just say that, for me, the perfect church would encourage more of this:

And I have to agree with her! Watch this one, folks -- laugh and cry with joy!