The Restore worship service | Photo: All Saints’, Lakeland
The Diocese of Central Florida values beloved community. Since 2022, the diocese has had a task force of clergy and lay individuals who have been reflecting upon the challenges we face in our churches and communities in Central Florida regarding racial diversity; they are prayerfully encouraging us toward transformational practices.
All Saints’, Lakeland, began an intentional process of working on beloved community in 2018. A relationship with the Dream Center of Lakeland opened doors for participation with a ministerial association of historically Black churches and their pastors. An invitation to attend an annual breakfast in memory of Martin Luther King Jr. became a welcome entree into meeting brothers and sisters in Christ in the city. Clergy and members of All Saints’ have attended each year since the initial invitation.
Participants in North Lake Wire Outreach, March 25, 2023, including Deacon Bob Johnson (R), who has been a driving force in building relationships there. | Photo: All Saints’, Lakeland
The Dream Center also presented the opportunity to adopt an underserved neighborhood in the city for year-round projects. These have included yard work; alley and vacant lot cleanup; large trash pickup, exterior painting; and the distribution of food, clothing and flowers. All Saints’ designates a Saturday morning each March and September to invite the church and community to participate; three or four smaller workdays take place in other months during the year.
Moving From Transaction to Transformation
What began as transactions moved toward transformational relationships. Sitting at an MLK Jr. Day breakfast table to hear Black leaders in Lakeland was a transaction until relationships began to form. That event has since become a place of welcome where networking and blessing have taken place.
In addition, the neighborhood partnership has moved from transactions of working for others to forming ongoing relationships with the residents. The dynamic has changed the way clergy and outreach committee members prioritize their time and energy; they have attended neighborhood association meetings and local events as guests of these newfound friends. Fellowship meals have also taken place simply to share life together.
Through networking at the MLK Jr. Breakfast in 2023, a local pastor and bishop of the North American Outreach Fellowship shared his interest in partnering with other churches in Lakeland for ministry. This open offer from Bishop Joel Brown and Faith Celebration Church prepared All Saints’ for another new approach to beloved community.
Taking Another Step Forward
When All Saints’ invited Brown to attend a Sunday afternoon healing service in March, he came and brought 20-plus parishioners with him. The experience was powerful for the 65 in attendance, and plans commenced to invite them back for a June healing service.
The Restore Planning Team meets to discuss the service. | Photo: All Saints’, Lakeland
Within the week, a planning team for the next service was formed with members of both churches. To build upon the beloved community theme, a Pentecost scripture from Acts 2:42-47 was chosen for a teaching from Brown, and the team also chose to include four testimonies, giving two people from each congregation opportunities to share a personal story of how they had seen God at work. Plans also included worship teams from both churches to work independently and together, as well as prayer ministers from both churches to work together. A meal fellowship was planned to follow the service with both churches contributing.
When the churches met for the Restore worship service on June 4, 155 people attended, and multiple people from both congregations expressed a newfound joy through what God did in bringing the churches together. The Holy Spirit was evident throughout, and it was clear that this would not be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Clergy and members from both churches are ready to enter an ongoing partnership. God is leading the way.