| Subject: More Americans seek God on their terms, and in their homes |
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Sandra Alzona
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Date Posted: 10:24:01 08/03/04 Tue
Headline: More Americans seek God on their terms, and in their homes
Byline: G. Jeffrey MacDonald Correspondent of The Christian Science
Date: 07/21/2004
The Rev. Tom Caiazzo calls it The House of Grace, but it's also the
house of Reverend Caiazzo himself. The congregants who gather in this
Boston-area residence twice a week for prayer and preaching hope to
someday establish their evangelical church in a more public space.
Meanwhile in Austin, Texas, the people who gather every other week at
the residence of internist Cecilia Schulte to talk about God generally
agree they'll never find a more suitable setting.
These represent two faces of a growing trend toward religious life that
occurs in the most humble of sanctuaries: the home.
In some cases, the groups are nascent churches, perhaps fledgling
global movements. In others, they're more akin to a book club where
informality is the glue that holds a group together for discussions of
divine grace.
But the bottom line is that for many Americans, worship is no longer
centered exclusively under a steeple. In an era of long commutes,
overloaded schedules, and made-to-order spirituality, religious
experience increasingly means venturing into someone's home for
refreshments and a taste of God on far more personal terms.
In the trend, some see the danger of renegade religion. Others see a
host of potential benefits - as long as the movement doesn't go too
far. "Home is a very comfortable, safe environment. It's not
institutionalized," says Diane Bennett, director of small group
ministries for Vision New England, an evangelical network. "People want
friendship and relationships. It makes sense to try to create it at
home."
Though religious life beyond traditional walls is too decentralized to
track precisely, some indicators suggest a rising trend:
* About half of the nation's observant Christians participate in small
group ministries that meet either at church or in parishioners'
residences, according to Gallup Poll research.
* Over the past year, followers of "Conversations with God" author
Neale Donald Walsch have launched 162 home-based "Humanity's Team"
gatherings nationwide.
* Organizers of the Alpha Course, an introduction to Christianity, are
currently recruiting hosts to offer an environment "less threatening"
than the institutional churches.
Reasons for religious pursuits in the living room range from the
practical to the theological. In some cases, home-based observances aim
to provide a complement to gathering formally on a holy day. Park
Street Church in downtown Boston, for instance, encourages suburbanite
members to discuss sermon-based questions, posted weekly on the
preacher's website, at a church member's house.
In others cases, groups become substitutes for other religious
affiliations. At least 15 Jewish fellowship, or "havurah," gatherings
in the Boston area have become independent congregations over the past
30 years, according to Mark Frydenberg, National Havurah Committee
Chairman. Although most havurah groups remain connected to an
established synagogue, he says, some have gone further to quench a
thirst for community.
"People have wanted a more participatory form of worship than they
could get at the synagogue" where the congregation follows a rabbi's
lead, Mr. Frydenberg says. For example, he said women who face
restrictions in Orthodox congregations sometimes find a home-based
congregation more accepting when they wish to take part.
Indeed, many seek refuge from organized religion in the safe confines
of informal settings, says Caiazzo, whose group meets in Danvers, Mass.
"You can have your pain addressed better in a small, familial
environment."
Seeking God in a private gathering is hardly a new religious endeavor.
For millenniums, Jewish families have joined over dinner tables to
begin Sabbath observances. Early Christians worshipped secretly under a
Roman Empire that regarded them as outlaws. And today in countries
where religious minorities face persecution, home-based worship is the
norm.
In 2004 America, devotion in the den reflects not so much necessity as
personal choice. The preferences of those gathered dictate the agenda,
whether it be to pray for loved ones, to hold one another accountable
to agreed-upon moral standards, to discuss philosophical questions or
to make music. "We're coming together and sharing our deepest beliefs
about who we really are and who God is," says Ms. Schulte in Austin,
whose group is part of Humanity's Team.
Churches ambivalent
For established churches, intimate meetings in private residences can
help members internalize Sunday messages by providing a setting "where
people are a lot more likely to open up and tell the truth," according
to Eric Reed, managing editor of Leadership, a journal for church
leaders. As an added bonus, he said, the gatherings keep costs down in
lean times. "Instead of spending on a second building that's all
classroom space, you can do that function at home and spend your money
on things other than tables and chairs," Reed said.
Despite their encouragement, established churches still watch closely.
House gatherings that break off altogether from established churches
can be become both unfaithful and unhealthy, according to Vision New
England's Ms. Bennett.
"People are [sometimes] disgruntled with the church for some reason,
and they decide they'll start their own. I don't think that's
positive," Bennett said. "Scripture calls us to meet together as a
corporate body for worship. Not every place has great teaching."
Breaking doctrinal bounds
Some who worship within the comfort of their own four walls, however,
have come to feel that righteousness actually depends on independence
from churches driven by rules. Paul Pappas founded a church in his
Methuen, Mass., living room after disappointment with the doctrines of
Greek Orthodox, Presbyterians, Baptists, and Pentecostals.
"We [in the home congregation] have a wide range of beliefs, but our
core is in Jesus Christ crucified," Pappas says. Many come to the group
from born-again backgrounds. "People can believe however they're led,"
he says, as long as they don't insist that only their
understanding is right.
(c) Copyright 2004 The Christian Science Monitor. All rights reserved.
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