Church in the round

From our first breath at birth to our last breath before death, we are being formed. On this Back to School Sunday, we are reminded of this. Pastor Phil Kniss stated that the church is built in a circle. A circle is defined by it’s center, and the center of the church is Jesus Christ. We choose to be defined by Jesus Christ, around whom we gather. As we gather, we learn and orient ourselves to Jesus. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 contains a primary centering confession for both Jewish and Christian faith. Orthodox Jews use this passage daily to center their attention on God. In Mark 12:28-34 Jesus highlighted this practice as a way to stay properly oriented. Today there are many pressures which pull us from a properly oriented circle. Pastor Phil posed the challenge of finding ways today to put in place daily practices that will orient us to Jesus and provided an option for us if we wanted to try.