One of our values at Peachtree Presbyterian is Unexpected Togetherness: Because the Gospel brings everyone to the table.
When God brings disparate people together in particular moments in time, amazing things often happen. Sometimes the people God brings together don’t seem to belong together at all, like Ruth and Naomi. Ruth was a young Moabite woman, and her mother-in-law (cue the jokes!) is a Hebrew woman from Judah named Naomi. Their lives became intertwined through a marriage, one that was generally frowned upon by Scriptural law as Hebrews should not marry Moabites, people who were outside the family of faith. But despite their differences, these two women bonded, and when it came time to part, Ruth would not give up her love for Naomi.
The deep bond of love and loyalty these two women formed led to a bright future for both of them—and also for us because it is through their family line that King David is born and, eventually, our Savior, Jesus.
The Bible throws together unexpected groups of people to accomplish God’s purposes. Think of the disciples, who were a varied crew: fishermen, a tax collector, a Zealot, a doubter, a betrayer. But God used their lives and efforts to spread the good news of the Gospel everywhere. The early church was full of unexpected togetherness: Jews alongside Gentiles, staid and law-abiding people with former pagans, people of high estate and the enslaved, business people with beggars—all kinds of people together in church.
One of the best things about Peachtree is that we have all generations here. Some churches have members all about the same age. But we have older adults, babies and children, students, young couples, families, singles, retirees, elders—all ages. And everyone is valued and welcomed. We have unexpected togetherness in our styles of worship, too, everything from classic traditional to what I sometimes call Groovy Church (that’s contemporary). I love them both!
We have young pastors and, um, “seasoned pastors.” We have both women and men in our clergy, staff, and elders. We now have a Black pastor—a delightful and unexpected blessing for which we’ve been praying. We have international members who bring fresh perspectives to us. Because of the pandemic, we have had people worship with us from across the United States and all around the world. There are many ways that we can and will reflect more unexpected togetherness in the days to come, bringing us rich fellowship, new perspectives, and the joy of growing great in soul together.