Been thinking a lot this week about "not belonging". Last weekend, when we had to explain in a short time slot what the work in Austria was and why we were going, I said that Dietmar and Brigitte had vision for a church for people who don’t belong. 
Perhaps they are immigrant workers, asylum seekers or international students, or perhaps Austrian’s who find they don’t fit with a culturally shaped idea of what it means to be a Christian, whether in the ancient Catholic Tradition or in the 40 yr old independent evangelical churches. Dietmar and Brigitte’s aim is to demonstrate and teach that God’s grace overrides man-made traditions for belonging and enables us to belong even where we otherwise wouldn’t. We would be joining them as foreign folk who don’t belong either to share in that work and that vision, to teach that message and help the church become a place that sends folk back into their villages and towns with confidence in God’s acceptance and ongoing enabling to lead and encourage new churches all over Austria.
I’ve known that I’ve often struggled to feel like I belong in any place, even though I’ve stayed in the same place and been in the same church for years, because I’m often more aware of the differences between me and others than the similarities, yet I often feel so aware of similarities among those others that gives them a connection I long to share. So this Austrian International church makes so much sense to me!
Then this week, we had call from a friend who had spent several years seeking a church where he and his wife could belong. Its been unsettling for them, but along the road they have made a number of friends in churches in East Lothian and Midlothian, churches that have kind of been off our own radar. So we’re hoping that through our friend’s contacts we can develop a new network of support partners. We can thank God for our friends’ period of not belonging.
In the sense that we are pilgrims in this world, I guess we’ll never truly belong, but in the sense that God has placed us here for an average of 70 years or so, that pilgrim nature is in tension with our need to belong. So I’m thankful that God has given us this desire to belong, and yet has led us, and others we know, to places where belonging has not come naturally, so that belonging to Him shapes our belonging in any other way.
Sadly our car’s injuries incurred on the way home from Orkney have proved terminal for the engine… So we’re having to replace the engine. So our decision is to fix the old car and sell it to recoup the cost of repairs and other recent outlays. Kristine’s dad has helped us find an engine at a good price and someone to fit it, also for a good price. We’d have had to sell the car eventually and try to time it with leaving the country which, in January, might have been stressful. But as we were considering how to afford this, friends called us and said they’d like us to use their old car which they’re replacing this week. They also had thoughts on how the car could best be used once we leave for Austria, so we wouldn’t be left with a car to sell. So its sad to say goodbye to a faithful friend…. but we’re very grateful for the timely replacement.
