A Broad Church

You, my wider family and friends are a broad ‘church’ of beliefs including Christian, other faiths, belief in God and secular.  This leads to many different ways of expressing your love and concern for me.  I enjoy the variety.  I greatly value the broadness of my wider family and friends.

I am writing this blog entry because I feel a need to make a request concerning what some of you are writing.  This is the most difficult blog entry I have written so far.

In my late teens and early twenties I was very black and white.  I believed things, such as, the Catholic Church was not Christian and the Pope was the antichrist.  Through the intervening decades seeing faiths and cultures operating in different countries around the world and being married and having a family my view has broadened.  I used to think you could control people but my children taught me you cannot control anyone.  You can influence people.  Today I am very grateful to our friends Bill and Fran and their family for enrolling me for a year of masses and prayer to Our Mother of Perpetual Help, Mary, and to be remembered daily in prayer by all Redemptorists.

Some of you are concerned for my salvation and I know you are concerned because of your love and care.  In the first week after I sent out my initial letter one of our visitors talked to me about my need of salvation.  Recently I received a letter from a friend that included a letter from one of his friends writing of my need for salvation.  One email on this theme was beautifully written and framed my salvation in the love of God.

It is interesting when we consider the three great monotheistic faiths that they have a strong tradition of ‘in or out’.  In Judaism, you are Jew or gentile.  In Christianity you are Christian or non-Christian, believer or non-believer, saved or unsaved and you can be a ‘lapsed’ Catholic or, like me, under a protestant view, a ‘backslider’.  In Islam you are a believer or an infidel.

I look to a broader more inclusive view of belief.  I see things like love, respect for people, seeking the best for people, trying to see the best in people, trying to be non-judgmental but realistic as worthwhile pursuing.

I have found the approaches about my salvation disturbing to my mindset.  Some of you may say this is God speaking to me and, perhaps, it is.  But I have decided I am adopting and living in a positive mindset in this phase of my life.  I do not want to be distracted by unnecessary negativity.  Hence, I am requesting that you do not email, write, phone or visit with me to talk about my salvation.  You are welcome to pray for my salvation and I hope such prayers are framed in a positive rather than a negative and judgmental way.

You, my wider family and friends are a broad ‘church’ of beliefs including Christian, other faiths, belief in God and secular.  This leads to many different ways of expressing your love and concern for me.  I enjoy the variety.  I greatly value the broadness of my wider family and friends.  In this inclusiveness I want to walk with you on my journey.  I hope you will allow me to do so.