This past Sunday I was at the Marble All Church Retreat. I was very moved with the morning worship service... the prayers, thoughtful comments by Kim and David, and by our sharing together at the Lord's Table.

But what impressed me even more was the diversity of this Marble Family. African American, Asian, European backgrounds; age spread from 10 months to 82 years; kids, adults, swimming, sack racing, canoing, talking together, and in worship, a request that we sing together, "I Need Thee Every Hour"... someone seeking support at a difficult time.

There was a wonderful oneness within a diverse group of God's children. This, in many ways, is what we pray every Sunday, "Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will be done..."

There is a part of us that resists diversity. We like to stay with the familiar, the look alike, the think alike. That is comfortable. In fact when the inner circle is too tight, we start to become suspicious of people on the outside. I grew up on a farm in western Pennsylvania. It was a small, very tight community. We all went to the same church.

There were a few folks that went to a Russian Orthodox Church and they were seen as simply different. Three new families moved into the community who had a different ethnic background and were Roman Catholic. The community did not know what to do with them, but were quite sure these "statue worshipers" were something less than Christian.

This problem with diversity goes back to the Bible. There was a vigorous discussion between Peter and Paul whether the Christian message should stay with the Jews or extend to non Jews. Paul "won out" and the Gospel quickly spread throughout the Greek-Roman world. Think what might have happened or I should say what would not have happened if Peter had "won."

Diversity helps move us away from we/they kind of thinking. The Catholics who moved into my childhood farm community became second class citizens while we "white church on the corner" Christians were "superior."

Diversity brings humility. We/they; right/wrong assumes that my way is not simply the "better" way, it is the "right" way. And this includes so many of the realities of our lives... how we worship, clothes we wear, music we like, family customs, and on and on.

When we can worship as we did on the Retreat... coming from such a variety of backgrounds, views, styles, traditions; and sing TOGETHER, "I Need Thee Every Hour," we are God's family.