For several years after I was betrayed by church leaders, I actively and passively struggled to find another faith community. Much of that time was spent in what I called "Green Church." Experiencing God's "big book" was restorative and an invitation to solitude and silence, something my previous mega-church failed to provide. Slowly, as my wounded spirit began to heal, I recognized my need and longing for human/spiritual companions again. Without going into all the subsequent details, I tethered myself to a group of three like-minded friends, associated with Saint Meinrad Abbey in southern Indiana, and eventually found my way to The Table, an unconventional Anglican church plant. I was searching for what I now name as "sacred community."

A few years ago, a question I would frequently ask our guests went something like this. What do you need from your church these days? Many who stop to rest at Fall Creek Abbey have been well-traveled in the church world. They know the acceptable "right answers." However, they often paused, uncertain when asked the question; there seemed to be a conflict between what they once needed and whether they had permission to expect or want anything for themselves. Or there was a resigned ambivalence, placing them between a lifelong sentence of faithful service and a gnawing sense of longing for something vague and unfulfilled.

During my journey beyond Evangelicalism, I had lightened my load. My spiritual life seemed lighter, more authentic, more loving, more relevant to my life's experience. So, when I was asked the question, 'What do I need from my church?' I found myself answering simply: I need to be reminded of Jesus. I still need that. During the ups and downs, the inner and outer convulsions of my week, I need a sacred community that reminds and recalibrates my heart, head, and hands to Jesus. The Table and my neighbors now serve me in that way, and I pray I do the same.

Listen to these words of Parker Palmer in his book A Hidden Wholeness, and then ask yourself., "What do you need from your sacred community?" "How, in the last six weeks or six months or years, has your sacred community served in your becoming a more authentic and loving person?" If you have no relationships that fit this description, how might you ask God to lead you out in search of "your people?"

"The journey toward inner truth is too taxing to be made solo: lacking support, the solitary traveler soon becomes weary or fearful and likely to quit the road. The path is too deeply hidden to be traveled without company: finding our way involves clues that are subtle and sometimes misleading, requiring the kind of discernment that can happen only in dialogue. The destination is too daunting to be achieved alone: we need community to find the courage to venture into the alien lands to which the inner teacher may call us."