World Cup Joy as Way to Celebrate the 250th - A Pastoral Letter

“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ... If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’ On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable... God has so arranged the body... but the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is 
honored, all rejoice together with it.” 1 Corinthians 12:12-26

 Dear siblings in Christ,
         As a nation we are celebrating 250 years since our founding, relatively young compared to many nations of the world. As we celebrate our 250th I also want to remind you all, that we are not an island on our own, but that we are also a part of a global community. One where things our country does has impacts across the world, just as how other countries actions impact us as well. And so often when we think of the world, we tend to have a way of continuing to divide or set ourselves apart from the rest of the world. And so one of the ways I am finding myself celebrating our 250th is that of enjoying the FIFA World Cup (soccer) that is currently taking place with countries participating from all over the world. I know technically the World Cup isn’t a part of the 250 celebration, but I can’t help but feel that since we are one of the cohosts, that it is actually one of the most beautiful ways to celebrate our 250th. I grew up playing soccer, so when it is World Cup season, I always enjoy catching whatever games I can, although I do prefer to watch the Women's World Cup because our women's national team has historically been more competitive on the world stage than our men’s team.
        Even though this is a men’s World Cup, I have still not only been enjoying catching various World Cup
games when I can, I have also enjoyed seeing the fans from all over the world coming together, learning together, having fun together, and enjoying seeing the sites and experiencing the cultures and cuisine that Canada, Mexico, and the USA has to offer to those who have made the trip to come and support their teams. My social media feeds have been filled with soccer fans from all over the world discovering so much of the culture and joy that can be found here within North America. There has been much joy from seeing all the international soccer fans post about their cultural experiences going to various of our grocery stories and gas stations, seeing just how big some of them are, like Walmart and Costco, and seeing just what all you can get from one store and how large some of our products are. It has also been a joy to see just how much people are enjoying all the various types of cuisine we have to offer, and honestly thinking about our cuisine it self, we are unique here in the states since, much of our food has its roots from all over the world, and here we have been able to meld so much of the various flavors and types of food together to create more unique flavor combinations and food to enjoy and it's a joy to see people from all over the world now enjoy this benefit of being a “melting pot” as well.
        And then there have been the various videos and stories of the beautiful interactions between international fans and our own local communities. Like how the “Tartan Army” (the Scottish fans) are being embraced by Boston, even while they were drinking them out of their beer, and putting traffic cones on any and all statues they came across, and the city welcoming this kind of “sleepover shenanigans” is beautiful, or how the young fans from other countries are enjoying dancing to the sound and music of the bagpipes being played by the Scottish fans. Or the beautiful story of how the residents of Lawrence, Kansas have made such strong and enduring connections, and memories with the Algerian national team and their fans as they use the University of Kansas as their home base during the games. The U of K band learning the Algerian National Anthem to welcome them as they started to train there on campus, as well as welcoming all the kids down to the field to kick the ball around with the team, (check out this article to read more about the Algerian team in Kansas here). Those residents in Kansas fully embracing and welcoming the Algerian team, even though they come from a Muslim majority country in northern Africa, is a beautiful representation of welcoming the  ‘stranger’, loving our neighbors, and not being afraid to learn about the world from people with differing experiences and perspectives. And then it has also been a joy seeing fans from all over the world come together to share their own traditions and cultures to make something new and just as beautiful, like how the Norwegian fans have been ‘Viking rowing’ wherever they go and have even ‘Viking rowed’ to the beat of sabar drumming by some Senegal fans, joining forces together as a beautiful show of global connections being made.
        I have seen others describe this World Cup as the ‘Great American Sleepover where all the cousins who
don’t get to see each other often, because the parents don’t get along, are finally together having the time of their lives. And I can’t think of a more apt analogy, other than the analogy from 1 Corinthians as being a body with many members. This World Cup helps to remind us that we are a global community made up of many countries all filled with their own beautiful customs, foods, and traditions, that together create such a beautifully diverse global masterpiece. This global masterpiece being a beautiful reminder of the beautifully diverse masterpiece that is the USA as well, that over the past 250 years people from all over the world have come to call it home bringing their own traditions, cultures, and foods that make it the country that it is today that we celebrate on its 250th anniversary. I pray that we continue to see and feel the joy that is the beautiful blending of our diversity within the global sphere as well as within the country we each call home.
God’s Peace,
Pastor Tamara Siburg