We may have seen the meme on social media: “God does not call us to go to church, but to be the church.” We can see that as an important reminder. The overwhelming majority of church members attend worship and do nothing else. They do not attend religious education, take part in mission work. They only go to church. This meme serves as a prompt to take our faith more seriously.

            Then, however, we can ask what it means to be the church. At a minimum, we carry on the ministry that Jesus started. Do we feel adequate for the job? How do we know what to do? Where do we find the resources?

            In the movie from the 50s, The Inn of the Sixth Happiness, Ingrid Bergman portrays a young woman named Gladys Aylward, whose life’s ambition is to become a missionary to China. She lacks education, support or financial resources. She finds a job with a wealthy British man who has the connections she needs. With his reluctant help, she secures the name of a missionary to China who nears retirement. Because of her meager financial resources, she takes a long train ride across China to the mission post of Mrs. Lawson, a kindly but tough missionary.

            Mrs. Lawson has purchased a building that she wants to convert into a kind of hotel for mule train drivers. As Mrs. Lawson explains to Gladys, if they can influence the mule train drivers, they will take the message far and wide in China. Gladys throws herself into her work, helping to clean up and restore the hotel, learning Chinese, and becoming familiar with the culture and ways of that part of China. At first, Gladys thrills to the seeming success of the work, as the mule train workers shush her so that they can hea

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