Conference Minister's Corner 7.23.26
- Matt Alighieri
- 4 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Conference Minister’s Corner
Conference Minister, Gordon Rankin, 7.23.26
Earlier this morning I recorded a video for the Faith, Freedom, and Common Good series that the New Hampshire Council of Churches has been producing. It was to be a two-minute-long, invitational video. My focus topic was the separation of church and state. That should be easily doable, right?
While I spoke unscripted, so I can’t provide a verbatim account, here is what I think I said:
The very first constitutional amendment in the Bill of Rights is a little clause known as the “Establishment Clause." It essentially says Congress shall not establish a state religion. Now, we often think of this as being for the benefit of our country. And that was the founder’s primary intent. But here is my hottest: I believe the clause also benefits the welfare of the church.
Faith is not meant to be competitive but rather collaborative.
As I travel the state visiting churches in my role as Conference Minister, one of the things that is my responsibility is to help teach about the United Church of Christ identity.
Occasionally, I have some folks in a church say to me, “Oh, you’d just like to see us be like the other UCC churches. ”That is absolutely, one hundred percent not the case. My response to the suggestion is: “I am really looking for two things out of our church communities: that you live out the faith that God is calling you to authentically and that give to all other settings of the church the grace and support to do the same.”
If there is anything I am convinced of from our scriptures, it is that our God is not a narrow God. Folks all throughout the Bible are having new experiences of God and learning new lessons about God. When one voice claims to speak faith for us all, it narrows our understanding of the Divine. It is when we welcome the diversity of experiences and learnings about God that we begin to understand the full breadth and depth of who our God is.
Yes, the Establishment Clause was put in place to help “protect” our country. But I believe it also helps all of us in the church to grow deeper in our own relationship with God.
Peace, Gordon