What about Tradition?

Next year, Community Life Church will be celebrating 150 years as an organized church in Grand Harbour on Grand Manan Island.  Over that time many changes have occurred and a lot are still occurring.  Even the name has changed a number of times, but changed most radically recently from "Grand Harbour United Baptist Church" to "Community Life Church".

So we have much to celebrate in our 150 years, pioneers to honour, accomplishments to marvel over, a rich heritage of service to the people of our Island. Does our service today look different? Of course; but that should not take away from the celebration of our past.

No doubt some of the people who faithfully attended this church years ago might be astonished if they were to drop in on a Sunday morning now. Worship would look very different to them to be sure.  In fact some of them might feel we are wrong not keeping with the strong traditions of the church established by our forefathers.

So as we look back at our 150 years, how important is tradition and what role does it play?

One of the best quotes I have found on tradition is in McLaren's book "Naked Spirituality" in which he says (on page 189):

"Similarly, we must celebrate the rich heritage of our religious traditions, but those traditions are now the foundations on which we build, not the ceilings under which we are trapped".

Let's think about that as we reach forward and as we remember back.  Let's celebrate the rich traditions we have, lets build on these, but let us also be sure not to let them become ceilings under which we are trapped.