i belong to an interdenomial, county wide christian women's group. we meet every other month for a social gathering and to take care of the business of the couple of programs we sponsor. there are very few chruch's within our county who don't send representatives to the meetings and paticipate in the programs in one way or another.
it's a wonderful thing. we're all together, doing fellowship...getting to know each other, reaching out and still actually getting some work done...work we have decided is a part of our common goals as christians: not pentecosts, luterans, presbyterians, catholics or anything else. no christian denomination is excluded. our differences are irrelevant in this arena. last week our women's meeting was presided over by a catholic priest. i liked him, seemed like a great guy.
on sunday morning though, we all go to our individual churches. we worship in different manners and have different dogmas within the overall christian community.
bloomington, the county seat and the only thing in the county any bigger then a villiage, is not a large town, but is home to one of the country's larger universities. indiana u. we are, then, by nature a rather small community in numbers but with a very rich and dynamic diversity. the university dominates our landscape creating a real international flavor here.
there are some in the "towney" community who resent the university and the different people it's brings into our midst. they like things all the same. they like the part about us that is a small sleeply southern indiana town. no doubt that has it's charm and is one part of living in this area i really appreciate. that accounts for the west side of town. very lovely, quaint in alot of ways. good people who pretty much mind their own business. most there accept the university as it is the economic driving force around here, but...they like to keep their distance personally. there is always some resentment, some tenseness between the two overall factions...the towneys and the pencilheads.
one of the things brought into our community by the university is a large diversity of the world's religions. you can find gatherings of almost any religious or spirtual group here. as i think most of us will agree, religious differences account for far more chaos and plunder in the world then anything other then race or ethnicity. we have had to find ways to live together.
i don't think that anyone has come up with the idea that we should consolidate. that we should just have one....building...to serve as chruch, synagogue, temple, mosque...etc...that we all meet together and work out one service for us all to share. in the real world that wouldn't get anywhere at all. so, it seems what has evolved over the years is a general respect for one another and the beliefs of others .
we have a very large building right downtown. it started out here long before my time as a jewish community center..it's called the shalom center. over the years this place has evolved into not just a jewish or christian center, not just christian interdenominational, but an interfaith clearing house for services to the needy in our community without regard for any, or no religion at all. it's a wonderful and very needed entity and is widely supported thoughout the whole community. it is staffed primarily by volunteers. you're liable to run into anyone down there and it's wonderful.
susan's, to me, is alot like the shalom center. but there is still an agenda here. it's to support and educate people with gender related concerns in their lives. not necessarily people who have issues with their own gender, but those who may be affected by gender issues in those around them. we're sort of the clearing house for gender issues without regard to specifics or origins or anything else. as nichole keeps pointing out that's the focus of this group. a clear and concise agenda. groups, by definition, have agendas, and as nichole says, if you don't share the agenda of any specific group it might be better for you to find another more suited to your interests.
i share the mission statement of the shalom center, i volunteer down there myself fairly often, while still retaining my individual identity as a presbyterian. i share the mission statement of this group at the same time i retain my individual identity as a transwoman.
groups consist of individuals with a common interest or concern.
i have said this now in every way i know how. recognizing difference is not being judgemental...berating difference is. i hold everyone in esteem due their individual characteristics as i see them, not the general characteristic of their race, sexual preference, gender, age, ethnicity or religion.
now, many of you will be pleased to hear, that's all i have.
