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Archive for Saturday, March 29, 2008

New church encourages dialogue on social issues

Four-year-old Lilly Meier, left, performs a song with other children during services at the River City Church's first public service. The new church, which focuses on issues such as social justice and environmentalism, is now having services at 5 p.m. Sundays at Camelot II, 1117 Mass.

By Sarah Henning

March 29, 2008

Photo by John Henry

From left, Austin Quick, Lloyd Morgan and Caleb Baker perform Feb. 24 at Centennial School during the River City Church's first public service.

Starting a church is no easy task, and River City Church began with a false start. After years of planning, raising money, blogging, networking and research, it was the one thing Pastor Justin Meier couldn't plan for - the weather - that brought the church's big day to a standstill.

On the day of the church's first public service, Feb. 17, the sky opened and dumped several inches of snow from morning until noon.

"It crushed us," he says of canceling the initial service.

In some ways, a false start brought Meier and his family to Lawrence in the first place. But he's confident he's found a home in Lawrence with his new River City Church, an interdenominational church that was planted with the help of the Churches of God, General Conference.

In 2006, the 27-year-old Meier and his family - wife Laura Beth and children, Lilly and Eli - tried to plant a church in Alaska.

"We were first sent to Seward, Alaska, and we spent two weeks there and really felt like God wasn't calling us there. And while we were in prayer there, we felt called to Lawrence," Meier says. "Laura Beth, my wife, and I, who are originally from Kansas - we grew up in Salina - we really felt like that's where we were supposed to be."

The Meiers moved to back to Kansas and spent a year putting together funds to start a church as Meier taught at Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina. During that time, they spent time in Lawrence making connections the way any businesspeople would - meeting people, getting their faces out there and talking about their product: The River City Church.

To create these relationships, Meier tried out for a guest host position on 105.9 FM, held Bible studies in small groups, began a Web site (www.rethinkfaith.org) and set up private "discussions."

"A lot of people call it the sermon or the message. We call it 'the discussion' because people are allowed to ask questions or make comments or agree or disagree with what I'm saying and kind of add to the ebb and flow of things," Meier says. "In a way, it's an open forum - it's a structured open forum."

Among the ideas the Meiers spent getting out there in their discussions and other activities are the church's core values - among them social justice, the environment and interfaith dialogue. Meier says the church is liberal socially, adding there are plans in the works for the church's members to work on social projects after the late afternoon Sunday services, like cleaning up parks and other community-minded activities.

Getting started

After the word started to get out, River City began attracting anywhere from 30 to 70 people to its private discussions - everyone from Christians to Hindus to Buddhists.

"We are a Christian church, but a lot of people come from different groups at least to just hang out and discuss," says Meier, who says he is ordained by the Christian, Baptist and Churches of God, General Conference denominations. "We have one gentleman who is a Buddhist who comes every once in a while, and one of his comments is, 'I don't think Jesus was the son of God, but he was a really neat teacher, and if you're going to teach what he said, I'm here to talk about it.'

"And to me, that's exciting."

Noel Blythe, a pastor with The River in Columbia, Mo., knows a thing or two about how difficult it is to start a church. Blythe is the co-founder of The River, which began in November 2006, and which he says has yet to have a public service. He says he believes Meier's approach and the church's values are reasons his friend was able to take River City public - the first public service took place the following Sunday, Feb. 24, and it now meets every Sunday at 5 p.m. at Camelot II, 1117 Mass. - and attract a wide variety of people.

"I think most people today don't like being preached to," Blythe says. "And being interactive eliminates some of that, and it allows people the chance to ask questions, to express doubts, to express fears."

The idea of people of different faiths and backgrounds coming together to discuss religion is what attracted Joann Qandil of Lawrence first to the church's private discussions, then to River City's first service.

"I like his idea of all-inclusive. That's what I like about my other church - I belong to Unity (Church of Lawrence). I think too many people are stuck in their own way and say ... 'You ought to believe what I believe, and if you don't believe what I believe, you're going to go to hell,'" she says. "I think it's great, I hope it grows.

"Anything that tries to help improve the world and people - I'm for it."

That's why the Meiers felt called to Lawrence in the first place. According to his statistics, Meier says Lawrence has a highly "unchurched" population. The Association of Religion Data Archives says 33.1 percent of people in Lawrence are religious adherents in 2000, the last year data was collected. This compares to a 56.8 adherence rate for the entire state. Meier thinks he knows why and believes he can introduce residents to another way to attend church.

"I think a lot of people feel the church exists to proselytize or to just make converts. Our opinion is that if God is as powerful and strong as we think or say he is, then, it's his job to do that type of stuff. It's his job to reveal himself. It's his job to change people's hearts. It's his job to help direct people on the path they want to go," Meier says. "We're just here to help people connect with God, to create an environment where people will feel safe to search, where they feel safe to discuss and express their ideas and not feel like they're going to be smacked down or told they're wrong or made to feel bad.

"We believe that people's spiritual issues are between God and themselves and we're just kind of guides along the way."

Discussion

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29 March 2008
at 8:06 a.m.

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Damian666 (Anonymous) says…

Perhaps the snow was a message from God
29 March 2008
at 10:52 a.m.

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Uhlrick_Hetfield_III (Anonymous) says…

In most circles I think this is called a sociology class. Why bother pretending, go take a class on the hill.
29 March 2008
at 1:36 p.m.

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igby (Anonymous) says…

Nostradamus' Quatrains, says something about the “Black temple from the Black Forrest”. He mentions this strange verses in 6:16. You may have to scroll down to 6:16. Also look at the following Quatrains. Lombardy, a well know football coach, the Inn, the Hawk's.

http://www.nostredame.info/6.html

The Black Forrest is the area between Kasold and Clinton Lake. FYI.
29 March 2008
at 3 p.m.

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situveux1 (Anonymous) says…

If this was the kind of church I wanted to start, I would have come to Lawrence too instead of Alaska. Much better chance of being successful here than there.
29 March 2008
at 3:07 p.m.

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LiberalDude (Anonymous) says…

I agree Uhlrick_Hetfield_III, why would I go to a church to talk about social justice or the environment? I much prefer a coffee shop or my living room.
29 March 2008
at 3:54 p.m.

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jumpin_catfish (Anonymous) says…

Can you say gimmick
29 March 2008
at 4:32 p.m.

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yourworstnightmare (Anonymous) says…

Just what we need, another den of religious ignorance and fairy tale belief. In other words, another church.

I wish God had asked me first before calling these yahoos to Lawrence. I would have advised that he not.

29 March 2008
at 5:31 p.m.

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muffaletta (Anonymous) says…

I think it's refreshing.
29 March 2008
at 10:52 p.m.

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Uhlrick_Hetfield_III (Anonymous) says…

Ah, two choices. Go to church to get a sociology lesson, or thumped about the head. I'm betting attendance in the head thumping congregation is soaring.
29 March 2008
at 11:11 p.m.

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beobachter (Anonymous) says…

ignorant, simply prove to me there is a god? Have you seen or touched him? Can you show his physical presence anywhere, that can be validated?
29 March 2008
at 11:35 p.m.

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aginglady (Anonymous) says…

Bands at church. It's just not right.
Ever listened to Paul Gray's church band, (ON TV even)with a charished young person who is guaranteed to never be removed from the band, singing off note painful leads with a microphone? I wouldn't be able to attend another service in good faith with that kind of guaranteed performance in my future, week after week.
Churches are supposed to be accepting, but that doesn't mean bad singers should be given a mic.