CANCER, THE DISAPPEARING CHURCH AND HOPE

A very savvy woman I know is the leader of a mutual help group for women with cancer at our church.  She was clear from the beginning, some 18 months ago, that she wanted to start such a gathering in our church – the place was important to her.   There are other support groups for women with cancer in town, one of the most popular is at our hospital.  The other day this woman-leader asked me why would some people that she knows prefer the hospital support group?  My response was basically what she already knew, that there were lots of reasons for such a choice, from the ease of parking at the hospital to the presence there already of personal friends.  But I knew that she was asking about something much deeper.  What is the role of a belief in God in such a mutual help group where the emphasis is on the healing power of shared expressions of ones feelings and personal experiences with cancer? 

I thought to myself that of course some people who come to a mutual help group like hers already understand from experience that their belief in God adds to their sense of well-being as they struggle with cancer.  But perhaps others simply don’t really know how they could in a sense, double the healing power from that mutual help group if, not only did they notice and listen carefully to the stories of others and share their own, but that they also believed and acknowledged that God’s ability to aid in their healing was important to them.  

Then I realized that this was, ironically, the flip side of the issue that I have been addressing in this blog as being important for discussing our concerns about the disappearing church.  As I have said before, it seems to me that most people who focus on the disappearing church issue argue for an increasing emphasis on the spiritual side of the people/God equation.  They tend to minimize the human relationship side of the equation as an equally powerful force for bringing people to church.  

Academic research in the areas of positive psychology and neuroscience (especially social-cognitive neuroscience) over the last 20 years has been nicely advancing our awareness of the potential healing powers from a belief in God as well as the critical importance of friendships for well-being.  So I decided to address these human+God  dynamics of daily life in a manner that can take into account the healing powers of humans+God for people with cancer while focusing on the God+human “understandings" for addressing the disappearing church.

It seems to me that Hope, as a renewable resource, can serve as a cross-over focus that, if discussed in a way that makes sense to people, could be helpful.  So I am in the process of writing some short pieces on Hope, all built around the magnificent photograph above taken by Mr. Scotty Shaull.  Four, tentative, forthcoming segments are:

            HOPE I: Your Body and Spirit

            HOPE II: Friends AND God

            HOPE III: Faith, Hope and Love

            HOPE IV: Vulnerability, Commonality and Hope

I write these segments with an open mind.  I am aware that for some, what I say may be divergent from the way you think about your engagement with God.  Yet I hope that everybody can remain open enough to these comments so that they can think of these healing perspectives as gifts from a grace-filled God and love-centered friendships. 

Bruce