Creating Ripples in the Lehigh Valley

Elisa Yager, Ripple

What began as a missional “experiment” in January 2007 has created “ripples” in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley. Pastor Tom Albright and his wife Carolyn could not be happier.

The experiment, posed by Franconia Conference 2007, challenged pastors to think outside the box to connect with people in the community regarding faith issues. Encountering many unchurched people who had questions about God but would not set foot into a traditional church building, “Ripple Effects” began in the living room of the Albright’s home in Treichlers, an Allentown suburb.

At that first meeting, fundamental questions about God arose. A discussion ensued. For Pastor Tom, his personal challenge following that meeting was to re-think everything that he believed and move away from the language, traditions, and mindset of “Churchianity” in order to connect with those outside the traditional church environment. It seems to be working. “Ripple has grown from four people at our first meeting to a gathering of about 50 people last Christmas,”explained Carolyn. The group moved from the Albright’s living room to other members’ larger living rooms, to the fellowship hall of Whitehall Mennonite Church.

New attendees are encouraged to share their story regarding what brought them to Ripple. For many, the ability to delve further into the Bible, to ask questions about faith and what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ, to not be ridiculed for asking what others might consider “eyebrow raising” questions are the reasons people came initially and the reasons they remain.

Some refer to Ripple Effects as “emergent Christianity,” which moves away from the traditional style of worship found in churches today to a more experiential, participative style of worship. At one Ripple gathering a song was written. Another gathering included a memorial service for deceased loved ones, providing closure for those who never had an opportunity to say goodbye. The reverence for life from a “wholeness” perspective is the under-girding philosophy that encourages self-disclosure.

This same reverence for life has brought Ripple to inner-city Allentown. Ripple will begin meeting in September at “The Caring Place,” a youth development center located in the heart of the city. The Caring Place provides after school, evening and summer programs for at-risk, inner-city youth who might otherwise be out wandering the streets.

“Every time Carolyn and I walk through Allentown we, make connections with people,” notes Pastor Tom. It was during one of these walks in February that they met the Executive Director of The Caring Place, Mary Griffin. They struck up a conversation about Tom’s upcoming ordination and “Miss Mary,” as she is known to all, offered her facility for Tom’s use. An unlikely place for an ordination, it brought those who gathered to celebrate Tom’s achievement face-to-face with urban ministry.

“If Jesus walked the earth today, he would be in Allentown. That’s where Ripple needs to be,” Pastor Tom states. Apparently, the rest of the “Ripplers” agree. The group unanimously agreed at the last business meeting in June to begin meeting at The Caring Place beginning in September. Their desire is to be able to offer hope through Jesus to people in the community by meeting the physical needs of the people first, and then the spiritual needs, as Jesus did.

“If you throw a rock into the water. it creates ripples,” notes Carolyn. “Those ripples go outward. That’s what we hope our lives and our actions in Jesus do – create ripples affecting other’s lives in a positive way just as Jesus did.”

Yet this is not where the ripples end. Volunteers from within Ripple are working with The Caring Place to gather food for their community food bank and assist with administrative tasks. more volunteering is planned once Ripple begins meeting there in September. Parenting classes, music programs, and Bible studies are in the planning stages for September.