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| Sanctuary..... |
Heidi Neumark is a mother. Grandmother. Daughter. Wife. Organizer. Mentor. Theologian. Author. Storyteller. Pastor…. All of these are present in Heidi’s new book, Sanctuary: being Christian in the wake of Trump. More than any, it is the voice of the pastor that stays with us after spending a liturgical year, moving through the seasons with the Trinity Lutheran congregation. And their pastor. (I was somewhat surprised at her choice to begin the book with Christmas and end with Advent, the beginning of the church year. When I finished the book, I understood. That is where we are.) Using the term “Sanctuary” in its current usage as a holy place of refuge, primarily for refugee migrants, Heidi used the word as well as a metaphor for the the broadest and most basic call in what it means to be a Christian congregation.
Each chapter begins with an actual quote from the President. Then instead of engaging in rhetorical or didactic debate we are shown, not told, through concrete examples, stories, of what an alternative reality looks like. What an authentic community of faith in practice looks like. What lived faith looks like. As a pastor, Heidi understands that one of her responsibilities is the ongoing exegesis of the daily lives of the people of God. Her theology is expressed not in systematic development, but emerging from the stories of the lives of her community
This has been one of the best gifts of Heidi Neumark as an author. In Breathing Space: A spiritual journey in the South Bronx, we come to understand how mysticism and old school community organizing work together. And in Hidden Inheritance: Family Secrets,Memory and Faith we learn through her discovery of her own family’s Jewish roots of the darkness of the long history of Christian anti-semitism and the deep connections between the sibling descendants of the ancient faith of Israel. In .Sanctuary…, we learn how a small but widely (and wildly) diverse Christian community can be a counter cultural community of resistance challenging the status quo just by its existence, its presence. We see the social exegesis and theology expressed in liturgy and celebration, learned through the experience and reflection. The social witness of the church emerges out of and is an expression of its ministry, not ideology.
Perhaps most powerful statement comes in her critique of the Lutheran project, Golden Rule 2020, intended to increase civility in the US through "understanding." Heidi says:
"To my mind we desperately need to overcome injustice and to relieve suffering-- even though doing so might lead to increasing polarization. When the Trump Administration has held nearly seventy thousand children in detention facilities, civility is not what's called for."
One comes away from “Sanctuary..” with respect and appreciation not only for the pastor, but also for the people of the congregation. For their willingness to grow and stretch and love more, honoring cultures and traditions but being brave enough to go beyond them into uncharted territory as well. Certainly the historic church in its current form is in crisis. The model as it is cannot long survive. Certainly, many well endowed tall steeples will survive as examples of “Church Classic, ” but many of our mainline smaller church will just be gone. If there is a future for congregational ministry, I suspect it’s going to look a lot like this, the Trinity we encounter in Sanctuary……
Thank you Heidi Neumark for your contribution to our understanding of urban pastoral ministry.
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