No human mind pre-planned or brought the Inclusive community to life. It simply came as a gift from God.

And it flowed into being.

It came as a gift from God revealing the need for its life through an article about Catholics who were worshipping in Protestant churches. Although they liked the service they were feeling, spiritually incomplete without weekly Eucharist / Communion.

The article entitled “Undocumented Protestants” written by William Cleary, sparked an awareness among the members of the 100 year old, First Congregational Church of Passaic, NJ – UCC

It awakened their recognition that there were some Catholic / Protestant families within and around the church who longed for a community where the whole family could worship together. This would be a community where both traditions could be honored, shared and taught.

It came to light that First Congregational Church had all the ingredients to create such a community, and that these were already in place.

They had:
• A woman pastor who had taken part of her training for ministry in a Catholic seminary
• A married Catholic priest who was already leading a Protestant service at the church one Sunday a month. He was loved and respected by the community.
• An established format for coffee and discussion after Sunday services, which enabled the congregation and clergy to dialogue freely and exchange ideas and beliefs.
• A small friendly and open-minded congregation who had explored and experienced many creative ways of serving the local community in ministry.
• They were a UCC church in the congregational system wherein the local church is empowered to make decisions as to how they will worship.
• The most significant ingredient and the catalyst in the birthing of the new community was the church’s amazing vacation Bible school and the subsequent Sunday School.

This catalyst came to life through the work of a gifted former member who had, herself, grown up in the Church. It was she who brought to the Church a Vacation Bible School of 77 children.

She had walked around the City of Passaic, inviting parents to send their children to the school. The children came, and they stayed! The school was interracial and interdenominational which added its own special richness. It was from within the school that the need for the Inclusive Community became visible, and the possibility of the blessing of inclusivity began to emerge.

The congregation, members, friends, and clergy together began with looking at what if….. What if we had a Protestant minister and a married Catholic priest serving together every Sunday?

What if Protestants were willing to offer communion every Sunday, instead of once a month?

What if we don’t all hold the same beliefs?

Did we ever all hold the same beliefs, even within the same denomination?

During that incredibly exciting and energy-filled period, several married Catholic priests and their families came to experience and to help lead services in the church as did several Protestant ministers. They were experimental shared services, followed by meetings that involved deep questioning and frank discussions of personal belief. The community began to discover that our differences can be seen as divisive OR they can be experienced as wondrously enriching.

It was at the end of this time of birthing that the congregation voted to call their first married Catholic priest to serve on staff. And so it was that The Inclusive Community began its life, as a gift from God and a gift to each other.

Peace
Anne