How will we Build Back Better? (a personal blog / reflection)

How will we Build Back Better? (a personal blog / reflection) by Lee-Ann Matthews

We are in a liminal time that is both strange and uncertain. We can never go back to the “before” and we have no idea what the “after” will be. So now we wait, we wonder, we pray, we worry. Naturally, there is some real fear and anxiety in this space. But, we are God's people and as such, we are given explicit permission to dream, hope and wonder about a brave new future.

People around the world are addressing this sentiment using the slogan Build Back Better (originally used in 2015 by the United Nations then more recently adopted by Joe Biden). I am hearing it used by popular culture in marketing campaigns, politics and sports describing the post pandemic reality. It got me wondering about the Church.

How will we Build Back Better?

I am the host of a dinner church called “Supper Club”. We recently met to debrief this past year of pandemic and to dream about its future. Through this process, I learned that this ministry has been an important place of connection, friendship, formation, safety, freedom, support, rest, meaning, prayer and spiritual nourishment to its members. I am struck by these testimonies as well as the caring and generosity that is exchanged here. It is both humbling and inspiring to be a part of a Christian community that is capable of all this and at its heart, such genuine relationship and deep care.

And now we too are wondering about how Supper Club might build back better…

The pandemic has taught us so many lessons. How will we apply them?

Our roots are in an experimental dinner church model fostered by food & hearty face to face interactions. In the past 17 months, however, we have once again pioneered something new. A vital online community that expanded to serve participants from across Canada. So, when I dream of the future now and wonder how we will build back better, I am committed to launching something that has been shaped and inspired not only by what we have learned and who we have gathered, but honouring our roots in shared meals and face to face conversations too. We have no idea how this hybrid experiment is going to look but I believe that now is the time to be bold, imaginative and courageous. Even if it is just in your thought process or in small groups, now is the time to embrace possibilities and to be fearless!

I am genuinely excited and energized to be on this journey alongside this spirit led community. As I am listening to the voices around me, I feel a sense of call to host a new season of Supper Club that is rooted in unlimited possibilities. God continues to show up and remind us that our gatherings are holy, our time together is holy and our members have a sacred role to care for each other. I trust what God has done among us. Maybe the new “build” won't be bigger or even better, only God decides that, but there will be an abundance of unobstructed love, intention, energy and hope in this new ministry.

I wonder what build Back Better might look like in your ministry context?

1 Chronicles 28:20 David also said to Solomon his son, "Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished.

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