August 18, 2020 (Tuesday)
“The City of New Orleans” is the name of a passenger train. Steve Goodman (1948-1984) created a video of the train as it moved from Chicago to New Orleans. He wrote the song and performed it, but it was Arlo Guthrie whose recording made the song famous. I watch the video every now and then. I like watching the train and listening to Arlo sing. *
Woody Guthrie (1912-1967) was a famous folk singer and Arlo (born 1947) is his son. Arlo bought an old church building in western Massachusetts where he grew up, in order to have a building that could be used as a community center to meet human needs and also a place of worship once a month. It is considered to be a church and has a pastor. It is supported by donations.
I was watching a tv interview with Arlo Guthrie when I heard him inviting a friend to come to his church. He said something like, “Our church has a logo, BYOG.” Then he explained BYOG to mean, “Bring your own God.” As I continued to listen and found materials on the internet about what is now “The Guthrie Center (at the old Trinity Church),” I began to understand that his church is an “interfaith” organization. It is different from what we commonly call an “interfaith” church, going beyond Christianity and including other religions and no religion at all.
A quotation from the church’s web site explains, “The Guthrie Center is dedicated to all those around the world who believe that there is one truth and infinite ways to approach it. As the world becomes smaller we must find ways to embrace the spiritual journeys of those whose traditions are different, without abandoning our own. We must also seek ways to preserve our greatest cultural heritage and find ways to support one another in difficult times. The skills needed for a healthy future are different from the ones needed to preserve the past, and both are required to live in the moment.”
The logo, “BYOG,” is a popular way of thinking among many people these days. Most of us conservative Christians would find this idea unacceptable yet it seems to be an influential concept.
I have spent my adult life proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ as the One we worship, as He who died and rose from the dead, as He who lives today and He who is coming again. I stand on the Rock of Ages. I’m neither commending nor denigrating anyone’s ideas and beliefs. I just found Arlo Guthrie’s ideas very interesting.
As I understand it, in Arlo Guthrie’s church, “BYOG” is jut another way of saying that people with different beliefs can get together to help people. It is more of a call to unifying compassion than a statement of faith.
*Meanwhile, enjoy the train ride:
Listen to the writer give his own performance: