From Pastor Biar’s Pen 

Becoming a Third Place

            The sociological concept of the “Third Place” refers to the area where primary socialization occurs outside of the home and the workplace (the other “two places”) as a community is formed. Think of the bar Cheers “where everybody knows your name” and the regular cast of characters that would hang out and share their lives together at the end of the day before going home to get into whatever shenanigans they would share with their fellow barflies the next evening.

            Now, perhaps this is all fantastical musings and wishful thinking, but what if St. John’s could be a third place? What kind of measures would it take for our congregation to strengthen our sense of community and gather regularly to socialize and – forgive the buzzword – “do life” together with more regularity than just the 30 minutes after the Sunday service and Bunco twice a year? I know life is busy and it can be hard to free up an evening on any kind of regular basis beyond what already fills our schedules, but just as a thought experiment for this month, I’d like to crowd-source this a little bit and hear if anyone has any suggestions. What kind of regular meet-up might be beneficial to you to strengthen your sense of belonging within this congregation? What sorts of activities/events might be feasible to do that we could use to invite those outside the congregation to come in and get to know us in a non-threatening manner? How can we as a congregation become a “home away from home” for each other for more than an hour on Sunday morning? How can we better live out what it means to be brothers and sisters in Christ to each other throughout our day-to-day lives?

            Just a thought I wanted to float out there. If anything comes to mind while you think about this concept, I’m open to hearing it. Thanks.

God’s Blessings,  Pastor Biar

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