I posted on FB yesterday that a party had broken out on the Metra Electric Train heading home at the end of my work day on Wednesday. Cupcakes and chardonnay were served as we – some strangers and a few friends – celebrated Amy Jo’s 48th birthday party in Car #8 on the way to the southern suburbs of Chicagoland. It was the first time that some of us ever met Amy Jo.
In a matter of minutes I got several comments on FB about The Search for Community and how the church is not the place people usually consider in their search.
Ugh.
People seem to want to have fun. People seem to want to connect in meaningful ways. People seem to want to love each other. The Amy Jo party on the train reminded me of Agnes’ birthday party as told by Tony Campolo. Amy Jo appeared to be a 50-something woman who worked in Chicago and was loved by random people who took the same commuter train home every day.
My friends, this is church. Or at least, this is the church the way I imagine it to be.
A Church for Starving Artists 
Not quite the same thing, but this makes me think about the great community that has sprung up among the moms during 3-4 year old ballet class. We hit it off so well I went out on a limb and suggested we try to have a ballet class book club. We’re all going to read Lifted by Kelly Corrigan. I’m pretty sure I’m the only non Catholic.
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While my husband was commuting from Geneva to Chicago, I often thought that some sort of Metra fellowship group was a missed opportunity for our congregation. Maybe the bigger missed opportunity, though, is remembering that there is so much potential for community on those trains where some commuters spend up to 2 hours every weekday. Maybe we need a few Presbytery Metra chaplains to get busy!!!
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