THE INCLUSIVE COMMUNITY
James 2:1-9

A sermon given by the Rev. Richard H. Taylor
January 15, 2006 / 2nd Sunday after the Epiphany

The apostle James teaches us God's extravagant welcome in his epistle. James has already noted a tendency in the early Christian Church – and, admittedly, is society in general, to notice and pay attention primarily to the rich and the powerful. James condemns this favoritism. Being the Church means ending this favoritism, this focus on the rich, this conforming to the prejudices of society. James says that God has "chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him."

Therefore all should be welcomed equally. Conforming to society's tendency to pay more attention to the rich is wrong. The extravagant welcome is for everyone.

Beneficent's history is bound to extravagant welcome. This is one of the last opportunities that I will have to remind you of this congregation's history. It is a history of extravagant welcome.

In 1743 there were three religious congregations worshipping in the village of Providence.¹ The First Baptist Church was at that time a "Six Principle" Baptist Church, insisting that everyone must be immersed, everyone must have participated in the laying on of hands, and imposing other requirements. Its rigidity around its rules gave it the feel of a closed community, as we might think of the Amish today. The Anglican King's Chapel served mostly the agents of the King of England: magistrates, military officers, tax officials. The First Congregational Church was pastored by a Harvard graduate, and was somber, erudite, formal, intellectual. Religion was not touching the common people.

Itinerant evangelists came through the town, holding outdoor worship services, and inviting everyone to come to God. Their meetings were emotional, noisy, musical, they got the attention of the common people. Many found this helpful. A group then left the First Congregational Church to keep this open door to faith available for all kinds of people. Beneficent Church was founded to extend an extravagant welcome.
Indeed Beneficent was early looked at as a Church for the underclass. The fact that the first pastor, Joseph Snow Jr., did not have an ivy league education led many to look down their noses at the social position of the Church. Indeed, under Snow's ministry the Church reached out to the poorer sorts. Since Rhode Island had no public education, a school for west side children was begun. Samuel Hopkins also got Pastor Snow involved in the anti-slavery movement. Beneficent's endeavors to reach out to oppressed communities began early.

Beneficent's second pastor, James "Paddy" Wilson, was a native of Ireland, so he was a foreigner with an accent. That sent a clear message new immigrants coming here to participate in the growing mill and tool industries. Wilson had also been a disciple of and co-worker with John Wesley. Much of Wesley's fame came from his valiant concern for the poor being oppressed by the rise of the factories and industrial revolution in England. Wesley was concerned about the squalor, poverty, unhealthy working conditions, child labor, and destitution of the growing capitalist society. Wilson brought Wesley's reformist ideas and compassion to Beneficent's pulpit. A big building like this was necessary to announce an extravagant welcome to all.

The book Piety in Providence studies the social realities to the religious congregations in this City in the early nineteenth century. Beneficent was not the Church of the rich. First Unitarian, St. Stephen's and St. John's Episcopal Churches, later Central Congregational, and many others outranked Beneficent in the average wealth of their members. Only Beneficent and First Baptist – which had a lot of poor Brown students to balance its business members – continued to have broad cross sections of the community that drew significantly from every class.

Indeed, it was during that period that Beneficent became most involved in the antislavery movement, with the old coal cellar most likely being used as a safe stop on the underground railroad. This was indeed an extravagant welcome.

In the latter half of that century the jewelry industry and other industries powered Providence into becoming one of the wealthiest cities in the country. Under Pastor James G. Vose, Beneficent participated in the gilded age. It was the time of crystal chandeliers. And yet, under Dr. Vose, Beneficent reached out to immigrants, beginning English classes and starting a Swedish congregation.

But more was also going on. A young man growing up here, Charles M. Sheldon, was encouraged to become a minister. Sheldon sat in one of those pews, maybe the one you are sitting in. Sheldon was also impressed by Vose's mastery of the English language, and set out to be a writer as well as a pastor.

In the 1890s, while Vose was still here, and Sheldon was in his second pastorate, Sheldon gave a series of evening sermons that he then had published as a book under the title, In His Steps. Next to the Bible, that book has been the best selling religious book in American history. You can still buy it in stores all over the country. If you haven't read it, I encourage you to. When you do read it you will sometimes chuckle; it includes a lot of Victorian tastes and assumptions. In the book Sheldon describes a large wealthy urban church. He puts the Church in Kansas, where he was living then. However, I think a lot of his details were based on memories he had of his youth here. In Sheldon's fictional Church the pastor asks the congregation to begin to try to live by the asking the question, "What would Jesus do?" When you hear that phrase thrown around in our culture, "What would Jesus do?" remember, it all began here.

In the book, what happens to Sheldon's wealthy Church is that they begin to break with the culture. Some people resign their lucrative jobs because of ethnical issues. The Church's programs move outside of their big building and prestigious location, to reach out the slums and the poor. The Church becomes focused on those in need. What would Jesus do?

Asbury Krom, our pastor in the first third of the Twentieth Century took the lead in getting rid of the pew rent system that had for far too long socially stratified the congregation. A new Armenian Church was also begun. But Dr. Krom was particularly concerned that the Church understand the needs of the poor and oppressed. He sponsored lectures by organizers for the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. Speakers discussed the merits of socialism. The pastor promoted and hosted the founding of the local NAACP.

Then there was Arthur Wilson in the middle of the last century. Our Chinese ministry really took off. Way ahead of his time, Dr. Wilson wanted a truly multi-cultural Church. He went to playgrounds and invited poor children of all races to come to programs here. The church hosted refugees from around the world. Church members went down to the docks to welcome and help new immigrants from around the world.

In his unfinished autobiography Dr. Wilson celebrates the fact that Beneficent's membership had become truly multicultural, but he bemoans the fact that the Church's leadership was still white European. He looked forward to the day when the Church would have leaders from all races, from all social backgrounds.

Extravagant welcome is the heritage of the Beneficent congregation. An inclusive community was the goal of our leaders. Do not let this heritage be whittled away by the prejudices of our modern materialist success oriented culture.

All of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke² tell the story of a rich young man who comes to see Jesus seeking the way to eternal life. Jesus tells him to obey the commandments. But he wants more. He presses Jesus. Do you want more? Do you want a truly meaningful life? Jesus offers the young man the most extravagant welcome ever offered. Jesus invites the man to join his crew, to become a disciple, to walk with him daily through Palestine. I think many of us would be overwhelmed to be offered such a welcome from Mother Theresa, or Gandhi, or Dr. King. But this is Jesus! Imagine! Jesus says to him, "go and sell all that you have and give to the poor, and come follow me." It is the most extravagant welcome ever offered. And he turns him down. He turns Jesus down.

"Go and sell all that you have and give to the poor, and come, follow me." This extravagant welcome awaits you.

Amen.

1 – The Providence Quaker meeting was not in the village at that time.

2 – Matthew 19:16-30; Mark 10:17-31; Luke 18:18-30.