Whither us at Glenelg

In her book “Christianity for the Rest of Us” Diana Butler Bass makes reference to our future as being bound up with our past. Just recently I’ve been re-reading, being in Glenelg the “birthplace”, as it were, of South Australia, some of the early history of the area but, more importantly, this history of the Glenelg Congregational Church now St. Andrew’s by the Sea Uniting Church.

As a church in the centre of Glenelg St. Andrew’s continues to be a church that each day not only opens its doors, but also its life, to all those who would pass by. And some days they are many indeed. A place to visit, a place to pause, a place to pray on one’s journey from and to.

But the area is changing, not only in its demographics, but in its shopping and recreational life too. We have spoken of ourselves as being “the church in the market place” and “the oldest trader in Jetty Rd and Glenelg”. And so we are. But profound changes are occurring around us and we need to quickly realize that new forms of life as a church are needed of us. What “worked” yesterday may not be the answer to our concerns today. The world about us is new and different. How will we continue to worship, witness and serve in the future? Sure, at times it all seems to be overwhelming, but God still calls us to be faithful people in this context. As Diana Butler Bass says “ .. Christianity is a sacred pathway to someplace better, a journey of transforming ourselves, our faith communities, and our world.”