Traditions and Denominations

Jeremy Sierra is a MFA student and lives in New York.  A congregant at St. Lydia’s, he blogs here under the category Jeremiah Speaking.

Recently, I have been having something of a denominational crisis.  My father is an Episcopal priest.  I own at least five versions of the Book of Common Prayer, and I took my first communion in a tiny stone Episcopal Church before I could walk (I think.  I was too young to remember).  And now, somehow, I am going to a Lutheran Church.  Maybe.  Sort of.

When I moved to New York I skipped church without a good excuse for the first time in my life.  I like going to church, and so every other instance I had a reason – I was traveling, I was sick.  When I moved up here I was living by myself and school and started and I was lonely and looking for community, but I was sick of standing around awkwardly at coffee hour (a special kind of torture that seems designed to alienate shy people and visitors).  I zoned out during the sermon and said the creeds and prayers half heartedly, believing only bits and pieces.  So I started skipping it altogether.

Then I went to St. Lydia’s one Sunday in January, and a few weeks later I found myself at a community meeting, then dinner.  I didn’t have to break into any coffee clusters. After church I could grab a drink and be honest about my doubt. I wasn’t worried about St. Lydia’s denomination (Wasn’t it Episcopalian, anyway, right?), as long as I could continue to work and worship and talk in the community.

A few weeks ago Pastor Phil talked about relationships, about how St. Lydia’s is dating the Lutheran Church right now, and in the best relationships you can tell each other your story, and refine each other’s stories.   I’ve been in relationships in which I could hardly get a word in and it didn’t work out, and I’ve even been in relationships in which I did all the talking and that didn’t work out either.  It only works when you can be honest about who  you are, where you are, and where you come from.  It only works when everyone talks and everyone listens.

It seems to me that the Lutheran church is listening to St. Lydia’s, though I have to admit that it’s a tradition I don’t know much about.  My story has always been a Episcopal story, but I think that’s a story I can continue to tell at St. Lydia’s.  I don’t have ot give it up here, and I don’t have to become Lutheran (Not a chance.  No offense, Pastor Phil).  That’s what tradition is, isn’t it?  A story we tell ourselves about how we got here, how we do things, and why we do them?

While I think St. Lydia’s is still developing it’s history, and the community is still growing, I also think St. Lydia’s already has a tradition.  We are intentional and conscious of this in a way that few other churches are:  we share a meal, we work together, we tell our stories, and this is the heart of our tradition.

Now, I’m not 100% sure I would have come to St. Lydia’s if it were called St. Lydia’s Lutheran Church but I doubt it will ever be that.  It’s St. Lydia’s Dinner Church.   Our identity is local and communal first.  I also think it’s important for a church to be connected to a larger community, formally and informally, to help us stay grounded and connected.   Of course there is danger in joining a denomination of St. Lydia’s becoming something else, but that danger already exists.  There is always danger in relationships, and danger in simply existing.  What I’m concerned with is that we, the community of St. Lydia’s, are able to tell our story and that we are able to let it continue to unfold out of the tradition we have already begun. If we can continue to do that, then I’m not too worried about whether I’m going to an Episcopal Church or a Lutheran Church.