Church as a Co-op: 3rd Principle
3rd Principle: Member Economic Participation Members contribute equitably to, and democratically control, the capital of their co-operative. At least part of that capital is usually the common property of the co-operative. Members usually receive limited compensation, if any, on capital subscribed as a condition of membership. Members allocate surpluses for any or all of the...
Church As A Co-op: 2nd Principle
I will start by stating what will be obvious to some: we don’t control the Church. We are co-workers with Christ, but it is not ours, it is God’s. In this way, the 2nd Principle for Co-operatives is not universal for Christian faith communities. But I still believe that these principles are worthy of reflection…...
The Body, The Blood, The Border
“[T]he Eucharist does not simply tell the story of a united human race, but brings to light barriers where they actually exist.” - W. T. Cavanaugh, “World in a Wafer”, Modern Theology (download article here) Yesterday, we gathered with many others at Friendship Park to celebrate communion with sisters and brothers from both sides of...
Church As A Co-op: 1st Principle
A while ago, I wrote about looking at the structure of co-operatives as helpful for understanding church. Back then, I wrote: I have recently been interested in co-operatives as a model for understanding the Church. More specifically, local, geographic expressions of the Church; a congregation. I’ve been reading through the website of the International Co-operative...
A People’s History of the Church
I’ve always loved history. Since elementary school it was one of my favorite subjects. But when I read Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States, I was introduced to a perspective on history that had never occurred to me until then: History is written by the winners. And the history of Christianity is...