Foreign Service families move countries every few years, so that means we have to find a new faith community quite often.
Upon moving to a new country, one FS family we know asks these questions of a new faith community that they enter:
Is this a place where I can contribute? Is this a place where I can pour out my love, generosity, and experience?
If “yes,” they dig in and make it their home. If “no,” they move on and look for another.
Contribution is their criterion.
So obviously there is more to a strong faith community than that… but I would be willing to bet that this “more” would be there in a community strong enough that it seeks to involve everyone in a robust contribution party.
I love this family’s mindset and feel appropriately challenged by it. It is a proper antidote to how many, especially Catholics, have been habituated to engage (or not) in the church.
We are creators of culture, not merely consumers of it.
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