By Pastor Nissa Peterson
Chatfield and Root Prairie
Lutheran Churches
This week is the first school field trip for both my kindergartener and my third grader! Kids get SO excited for a field trip! In my family we write them on the calendar and count down to the big day.
Much of the learning at school happens in the same building, so the chance to learn and explore beyond the school building is a huge excitement for our students. Even when the field trips aren’t to “exciting” locations (like the water treatment plant that the Chatfield sixth graders visit) students get excited about the opportunity to go somewhere else for that day’s lessons. They get to explore new ideas, meet new people, and learn in new ways.
As Christians, the same is true! Much of the participation in our faith happens in one building – the church. Worship, Bible study, youth events, and fellowship are all often in the same space. While it is wonderful to have the church building be a place to gather for worship, faith formation, and community, it’s also important to recognize that faith happens outside of these walls!
Much like learning doesn’t only happen in the school building, faith isn’t limited to the church building!
Sometimes we have official church events that happen outside the building. Kids go to camp where they worship and sing, learn and play outside in creation. High school students go on mission trips across the country to serve people and learn about a different community. We celebrate harvest worship on the farm or community worship in the park.
Faith also happens outside of the church building in everyday locations. Praying before meals or at bedtime, or having faith conversations with friends and family. Meeting a friend for coffee, or bringing a meal to a struggling neighbor.
Sometimes we live out our faith even in the times and places when we don’t even talk about faith at all! We live out our faith when we are honest in business relationships, when we are kind to strangers, when we help our neighbors. We live out faith when we participate in civic life.
What would it look like for us to live out field trip faith?
- Looking forward to chances to go on “field trips” to live faith in other places
- Seeking out learning and service opportunities in the community
- Seeing faith as something that happens outside of church
- Building relationships with new people who can teach us
I hope this week you can imagine your faith as BOTH something that happens in your church building, AND something that happens out on field trips and at home.
Let us pray: God, be with us when we explore our faith at home and away. Help us to see your loving presence wherever we are, whoever we are with. Give us curiosity to explore the world and share your love as we go. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
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