This past week in New York City a large group of people gathered in Union Square Park concerning the building of a religious structure.

Actually many different structures, and no, they were not mosques–and no one was protesting.

They were sukkahs, and they were built in celebration of the Jewish festival of Sukkot, or the Feast of Tabernacles, which began last Thursday and will run through this Wednesday. Sukkah is the Hebrew word for tabernacle and Sukkot is a festival that remembers the 40 years of wandering in the desert that the ancient Israelites endured after their escape from Egypt. Scripture tells us they lived in temporary structures, sukkahs, during this time of transience.

The festival of Sukkot remembers these years of wandering and absolute dependency on God’s provision, but in a modern setting also explores the greater issues of impermanence and homelessness. During the fesitval Jewish families and communities construct sukkahs and “live” in them for the length of the festival, taking their meals there and even entertaining guests.

This event, dubbed the “Sukkah City,” was centered around a contest involving hundreds of designers–some of them Jewish, many of them not–who were asked to design some sort of avant-garde sukkah structure that would take the traditional elements of the holiday and expand upon them architecturally. The finalists constructed their sukkahs in Union Square Park and were judged by a panel of celebrity judges from within the design community, with Mayor Bloomberg announcing the winner.

I think this event is great for many reasons, not the least of which is its public nature (Here is a religious ritual that is relatively unknown outside the Jewish community turned inside out and put on display for all to see and even participate in. What a great model for interfaith education and dialogue!) But what struck me most was a quote from one of the participating designers describing the challenge of making a structure “transparent enough to be inclusive, but dense enough to create a sense of belonging.”

This unique perspective on re-imagining an ancient Jewish ritual might actually be just as helpful for thinking about Christian worship.

So many churches today are seeking a way to practice worship that is at the same time familiar enough to sustain longtime members of the community, and welcoming/provocative/exciting (?) enough to attract guests. These goals are often approached along the spectrum of “traditional to contemporary,” or any number of spin-offs. By and large I think these outlooks are well-intentioned but ultimately misguided.

Speaking in terms of “inclusivity” and “belonging” seems to get at something important: the need for accessibility while maintaining identity. I like the language of worship being welcoming enough for folks to feel included, but spiritually and theologically rich enough for them to feel they are experiencing something worth belonging to.

When you think about, the sukkah really is a nice metaphor for what worship should be: a temporary shelter where people of faith gather to remember God’s grace and provision…and even entertain the occasional guest.

SHD

For more reflections on the Sukkah City, click here and here.