3^rd Annual

Waterfront Family Picnic

Sunday, June 26^th

12pm-4pm 

^{FOR MORE INFORMATION CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW:}

Waterfront Picnic

The songs (never to be confused with hymns) were intended to be sung with an acoustic guitar around a campfire.  At our church, they were sung with a full throated organ, the only concession being to add a piano (that only the pianist could hear).  The result being that the song, “They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love” sounded remarkably like, “Onward Christian Soldiers”.  Probably not as intended when written but I still remember it so perhaps the point was made.  Anyway, I was in my mid teens and mumbled along with the song book.  I didn’t really think much about the words and, in retrospect, I’m guessing most of us were in the same boat. 

So I recently began thinking again about that song.  If you don’t know it, the words are:

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
And we pray that all unity may one day be restored
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love

We will work with each other, we will work side by side
We will work with each other, we will work side by side
And we’ll guard each one’s dignity and save each one’s pride
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love

By our love, by our love

And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love

We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand
We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand
And together we’ll spread the news that God is in our land
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love

By our love, by our love

And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love

And it struck me that this song is a summation of the teaching of Jesus.  So I began to wonder, how are we doing?  Do they know we are Christians by our love?  Are we the shining city on a hill that can’t be hidden?  When the world thinks of Christians, do they think of people that love?  If someone acts in a loving way, do people think that person is a Christian?  Is it likely that that person is a Christian?

To break it down further, how are we doing loving other Christians?  “We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord.  And we pray that all unity may one day be restored.”  Best I can find, this song was copyrighted in 1966.  Forty five years later, are we closer to unity among those of us who call ourselves Christian?  Catholic, Protestant (pick your denomination), independent, are we all on the same page?  Is the teaching of Jesus central and the rest just points for style?

How do the media portray us?  Are we ridiculed because of our naïveté and our propensity to love when the world tells us to judge?   Do prosecutors try to object to Christians on a jury because of our reputation as people who forgive and are quick to provide second chances?  Are we the ones who are looking to educate the poor, provide health care for the sick and reach out to the forgotten?  Are we the ones who seek peace?  Are we troubled in our spirit when we consider big picture issues like illegal immigration, homosexuality, AIDS?  Do we recognize that our sin is the same as their sin in God’s eyes?  Do they know we are Christians by our love?

How am I doing?  If I were to ask those who work with me, “do you know that I’m a Christian?”  What would they say?  If they said yes and I followed up with, “how do you know?” would they say, “I can see it in the way you treat people.  I can see it in the way you try to quietly turn conversations away from gossip and tearing people down.  I can see it in your peaceful disposition when everything is going wrong.”?  If you were to ask my family, would they say, “he builds into us.  We know he loves us even when we aren’t loveable.  We know that we are his priority above all else but God.”?  When I see someone that looks different from me, what is my first thought?

I think it is clear that we are not there yet.  While some of us may be able to say that yes, they do know that I’m a Christian by my love, I don’t believe the Church (all the world’s Christians) could say the same thing.  My prayer is that we, as the Church, can work to the point where we can all agree to embrace the goal that they will know we are Christians by our love.  Perhaps this needs to happen one church at a time. 

So, as one church in the big Church, a fledgling church whose mission is to Love God and People Well (so that they’ll know we are Christians by our love), Waterfront, how are we doing?

So, how do we do that?  Is it a miracle, like the loaves and fishes?

Well, yes and no.  The people of Waterfront Church take seriously the command of Jesus to “Love God and People Well”.  Therefore, we want to use the resources provided to the Church to do just that.  Loving may happen in person-to-person relationships, holding each other accountable, providing a meal for someone who is hurting or by providing resources through money or a gift card.

To be able to do this, the leaders of Waterfront Church do all in their power to keep expenses down.  Waterfront does not own any real estate or the church building in which it holds services.  There are no church offices.  A very reasonable rent is paid to use another church’s building.  The people of Waterfront Church agreed to move its services from the traditional Sunday morning to Saturday night in order to share this building.  All utilities are included in the rent and Waterfront Church volunteers help maintain the building by cutting the lawn, making repairs and assisting with the landscaping.

So who pays for the church?

At the beginning of the Church, the decision was made that all money collected during the services would be given away into the local community and into the world to help those with needs.  Also, at the beginning of the church, a few committed people agreed to pay for a portion of the Church’s expenses.  Some pay for operations, some pay for staff, some both.  Church staff find their own support.  Some of their financial support comes from Waterfront attendees and other support comes from those outside the Waterfront family who believe in the mission of the Church.  No money from the offering plate is ever used to pay for either operations or staff.  All money from the offering plates is given away.

So, is it some kind of miracle?  Whenever people look outside themselves and place others first, we believe it is a miracle.

“We had the opportunity to drop off the gift certificates today.

[she] is the young woman who had brain cancer surgery three weeks ago. We brought them dinner for tonight, but most importantly we were able to bring them a taste of God’s love from Waterfront CC.

I handed them the first envelope filled with [pizza restaurant] certificates, and their smiles were priceless. They were in amazement as they saw “several” opportunities to enjoy this family experience.  It’s their two daughters favorite family night spot. The restaurant manager added another $20 to this as a “special offer”.

As they opened another envelope with the certificates for [grocery store], their jaws dropped to the floor and they started crying.  Overwhelmed by the generosity of Waterfront is an understatement.

They asked that we pass on these words to everyone:

Your love for us in unbelievable. We cannot thank you enough.

Please continue to keep them in your prayers. [she] was seeing an oncologist today, to plan out her chemo treatments. She is nervous about what is ahead with intravenous chemo. She said this scares her more than the surgery did. Up until now, she has been able to take chemo orally.

Thanks for asking us to be along for this wonderful ride!”

Well done Waterfront. Thanks for being the church.

On January 25th NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams visited Waterfront Community Church to see our service, and to do a story on us.

And on Wednesday night, Greg Eichelberger is beginning his first Waterfront small group.  It’s a small group of musicians and artists meeting every Wednesday eveing at 7:00 in Hanover Park.  I can’t wait to hear how that goes!  Small groups are happening at Waterfront!

A great article showed up in the Chicago Tribune today, you can see it here.