One of my favorite aspects of the Outdoor Church is the “doing” aspect. We physically do a lot of things: we drag the cart with Communion supplies down the street, we set up an altar, we roll coolers with sandwiches, we walk to visit people, and we drive to 240 Albany Street and other places our congregation might be. As someone who comes out of the United Church of Christ and the Congregationalist tradition, I know that the “talking” and “thinking” aspects of a church are important too: we trust that the Holy Spirit moves us toward truth when the Word is preached by a person and heard and responded to by a congregation. We locate truth in reading, interpreting, hearing, thinking, and responding to Scripture. 

       But it gives me cause to worry when all we do is talk and think about Scripture, instead of acting on it. One of the most beautiful things about the Outdoor Church is our attempt to both think very carefully about Scripture and then to act on what we have come to believe is the meaning of Scripture in a given time, place, and environment. For me, having a church so focused on action is a bit of a relief. Although I’ve attended a number of churches that felt a religious imperative to social or political action, it often ended up that only a portion of the congregation was active in this kind of effort. At the Outdoor Church, however, the “doing” aspect is integrally related with our identity as a church and as a congregation. This feels right to me and is an identity I will seek to recreate in congregations I may pastor in the future or at chaplaincy programs with which I may work.