Why Gather?: The Hope and Promise of the Church

by Martha Tatarnic

Overview

As the COVID pandemic began to shut down the world, even within the church we found our busy hamster-wheel lives grind to a halt.

In the midst of a global crisis, the author found herself in a crisis of vocation, wondering whether or not there might be something else she could do with her life, other than serve the church. The church as a whole began asking questions of a similar and urgent nature. Why be together in Jesus’ name? Does any of what we do as the church in gathering, in proclaiming, in serving, in being together, in not being together, does any of it matter?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781640655515
Publisher:	Church Publishing, Incorporated
Publication date:	06/14/2022
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	560,813
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

The Rev. Canon Martha Tatarnic is a priest in the Anglican Church of Canada and rector at St. George’s Anglican Church in St. Catharines, Ontario—a large urban church that reaches thousands through their online presence. She writes a blog for the Canadian Anglican Church, Ministry Matters and is a contributor to Bearings Online, The Porch magazine, The Anglican Journal, and Christian Century. She is the author of The Living Diet: A Christian Journey to Joyful Eating. She lives in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.

Table of Contents

Introduction ix

Part I Everything Is on the Table 1

1 Stuck 3

2 A Bad Body Image 13

3 Urgent and Essential 19

4 The Songs That Are Too Big 27

5 "Martha, We Are the Church" 37

Part II Not Another Hypothetical Version of What the Church Could Be 47

6 I Had Another Plan 49

7 The Church Is a Bad Mother 53

8 Why I Didn't Start My Own Church 63

9 The Flaws Are Kind of the Point 75

10 Jesus Looks Like Dirty Feet 83

11 God Will Cut You Down (and That's a Good Thing) 89

12 Truth Will Not Remain Unseen 97

Part III Acceptance-How the Community of Faith Reveals the Power of God 107

13 Maybe Time Running Out Is a Gift 109

14 "We Didn't Choose This" 117

15 God Is Not indifferent to Our Sin 129

16 Does God Answer Prayer? 143

17 I Don't Trust God 151

18 God Is Not Helpless among the Ruins 159

19 God Doesn't Magically Show Up, but God Shows Up 169

Part IV The Gathered Church: Embracing Who We Really Are 177

20 Change Is the Constant 179

21 Embrace the Infection 191

22 Embrace No Walls 203

23 Embrace Our Prayer 213

24 Embrace the Story We Share 221

25 Embrace Apocalypse 233

Acknowledgments 243

Editorial Reviews

"There is much to ponder in this insightful work, and the message will resonate regardless of the reader’s circumstances."
—Anglican Journal

“In this powerful and insightful description of the church, Martha Tatarnic is both honest critic and appreciative jeweler. . . . For those who love the church, and for those who don’t but wish they did, this is the book to read.”
—Thomas G. Long, Professor Emeritus, Candler School of Theology, Emory University, and author of The Witness of Preaching

From the Publisher