We the People (and the Church)

     Long have I hoped for the church in our country to actively speak to the ebbs and tides of social life and concerns in the United States in ways that are effective and public.  Though we do a pretty good job of being active in the ELCA, there can be little doubt that in the U.S. the freedom of religion clause in our constitutional law has been understood as meaning 'prohibition of religion' from public spaces.  I was struck by the truth of this last year when then Interim President of Wartburg Seminary, Dr. David Tiede, pointed out that people in America are more offended when you say 'God bless you' than 'God damn you'.  This contrast, which I agree to be true, illuminates the reality in our country that religion has been so relegated to private space that publicly pronouncing the blessing of God on others is offensive.  Such blessings confront the secularization of our public space to an extent that causes outrage.  Sad, but true.
    Iceland is different.  Shortly after Iceland's conversion to Christianity bishops here rose to levels of public leadership that were comparable with the kings of the day as well as later presidents to follow.  For the last hundred years, in exhange for use of the land that church leaders previously relied on for sustenance, pastors' salaries have been paid for out of taxes of localized municipalities and, most recently, from the national tax system administered by the Icelandic government.  Pastors are, essentially, under the employ of the government while the Bishop of Iceland continues to be a major political figure in the country.  Very different from in the religious systems in America.
    The distinction has some key implications for the church in Iceland.  Interestingly, since the church is supported by national taxes, there is little to no practice of taking an offering during worship.  People are forced (though seemingly not unwillingly as there has been little resistance to the practice) to pay for needs of the church through taxes payed to the government which is then returned to the churches.  I think that if I were a pastor here I would miss the generosity that the offering plate allows for and fosters.  Yet, a practice which I think is more beneficial for the church that is made possible by Iceland's nationalized system is the determination of parish membership based on where a person lives rather than by where one chooses to attend.  This makes for a very different understanding of the community of the church.  Here, the community of the church coincides with the communities in which one lives more intentionally and conspicuously than our system in the states.  Their neighbors on their streets are their neighbors in church.  Their system resembles voting districts in the U.S. more than membership lists determined by who has attended church and communed this year.
       I think there is valuable theological reflection that can come from thinking about the church as community in which one lives rather than having church defined by one's participation. Indeed, I have a suspicion that we have not adequately moved our Lutheran confessional theology into a church world constituted by participation over and against locality.  When one's membership is constituted, at least in part, by one's participation in the church, it is difficult to get away from the temptation to think of oneself or others as prototypical members for participating more than others.  Though I doubt this temptation is absent from churches in Iceland, there seems to be a clear understanding by those with whom we have met that those who live in one's parish are members regardless of whether they have ever attended there or not.  Pastors here respect the difference of those who choose to not participate in the religious life of the church while simultaneously welcoming all who come to them for help, even if only once, whether they have ever been to church or not.  The overlap of community and church here is a beautiful thing that I hope does not go away any time soon.

Drottin, help us to see the church where we live.  Bless those around us that they may be the community to whom we unshamefully proclaim the good news and with whom we confidently live in the gospel.  Be with the church in Iceland that they may continue to thrive in public life in the land where they abide.  Be with the church in the U.S. that we may continually live out our calls to faith in all aspects of our lives and not simply on Sunday mornings, however we may be tempted to do so. Amen.