Reflection of faith

 

 One of the problems we have in language is that we want to treat “Faith”as something that one has; “Do I have enough faith?” Or, we tend to see “Faith” as the acceptance of a group of theological propositions. However, the Wilsonian definition of “Faith” is a verb not a noun and is how we act; or “Faith is not what you think or feel but what you do.” Act first and then feel or think later. Harry Stack Sullivan, the founder of Interpersonal Psychoanalysis reminded his patients and students: “It is easier to act yourself into a new way of feeling than to feel yourself into a new way of acting.”

I saw a wonderful demonstration of faith this last week. I agreed to give the invocation at the County Board of Commissioners meeting and on the agenda was a presentation from the Monarch Lighthouse Club Bell Ringers, a group of Intellectually Disabled adults who ring bells. 

These people have been told all of their life by the larger society that they don't quite measure up. Yet here they come, armed with their sets of different colored bells and under the direction of their leader they ring their bells together to make a wonderful sound. As I looked in their eyes, I saw that in thanksgiving, they give their best, joining with others as part of something greater than their own agendas, to create something beautiful for the benefit of somebody else. That is faith as a living verb. I have invited them to come to my church to show faith in action.

This is an excerpt from their latest newsletter:

The Monarch Lighthouse Club Bell Choir performed during the 2012 Veteran’s Day Luncheon hosted by the American Legion Post 26 and the Unit 26 Ladies Auxiliary. The event was held to honor and celebrate local veterans for their service in the U.S. Armed Forces and was held at the Dare County Center in Manteo on Nov. 9. A photo of the group appeared in the Coastal Times, a local newspaper. The choir also performed at the Outer Banks Health and Wellness Expo 2012 this month. These recent performances are two of many public performances by the group.