Our Fellowship Is:

The Adult Christian Formation Opportunity at Christ Episcopal Church Matagorda has prioritized the bullets from the Bishop’s list and we are working through them one at a time as a part of our exercises to be better able to share the faith.

The group chose 4th : “• our fellowship is:”

Try it for yourself:

Complete the following:

(extra credit for short answers using only terms a seeker would understand in their ordinary every-day sense.)

"This unique Episcopal witness is articulated through the words of our Baptismal Covenant:"

•  our fellowship is:

Materials reviewed:

Will you continue in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers?

People

I will, with God's help. BCP 304

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Acts 2:42

The group agreed that, fellowship is a relationship. In order to establish relationship we must begin by seeking the other where they are.

"Our Fellowship" is a web of existing and potential relationships.

These are broadly of two kinds ("orientations"):

            Horizontal - peer-to-peer relationships; and

            Vertical - Rabbi-Disciple relationships

Our exiting relationships, having come into existence organically, more often than intentionally, can benefit from reflection on their orientation, and the stresses that may have been put on the relationship by changes in orientation. 

Vertical relationships may have grown horizontal over time, and vice-versa.

Our Fellowship, modeled on the Apostle's Fellowship, is by its nature called to be a web of Intentional Relationships.

Jesus said, "For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."

So even our most natural and organic relationships must be brought to the foot of The Cross and transformed into Intentional Relationships. 

This was identified as a powerful image for the healing of dysfunctional relationships.

We then turned to the creation of new relationships to bring people into Our Fellowship.

There were several identified barriers to relationship that need to be overcome:

            The Otherness - we acknowledge that we are less comfortable engaging those who we see as less like ourselves. This is addressed by awareness that we are not drawn to the Other by our own affections, we are sent to the Other in obedience to Christ's commission. Matt. 28:19

            The Shyness - awareness of our own sinfulness and ignorance makes us reluctant to offer ourselves in the Rabbi role in a vertical relationship. This is addressed by seeing our role as guide toward a truth we are all seeking, not pretending to have possession of that truth, just knowing which way is going to get us closer to it.

            The need to initiate relationship- Those who are most in need of fellowship may be least able to articulate their need and we have to be alert to non-verbal expressions of need.

We ask: "Who do you have?" and "Where do you go?"

We answer, for ourselves, not for the Other, "When I am in need, I go ____________"

So our answer was Our Fellowship is:

• Our relationships with our rabbis who are helping us on the way;
• Our relationships with our companions on the way;
• Our relationships with our disciples who we are helping on the way.

All our relationships are called to be intentional and centered on the journey toward Christ.