Companions on the Way: Creating and Discovering the Congregational Subject

lark Williamson pictures the church as a movement of “companions on the way.” Through this image he wants us to see the church as a communion of persons “in the presence of Jesus Christ” seeking to extend the love of God and neighbor throughout all creation. Williamson’s imagery is evocative: the church is a communion of companions headed toward a goal, a goal defined by the presence of Jesus Christ among us. I want to take my lead in this essay from Williamson’s image in order to reflect on certain aspects of the concrete, historical communion that constitutes congregations. In particular, I want to examine briefly one of the effects of the process of “companioning” in congregational life and its theological significance: the emergence of a “congregational subject.” Congregational members talk about – and exhibit in their behavior – feeling any number of different things about their congregations. They may feel “at one” with it, excluded from it, stifled by it, comforted by it, bored with it, challenged by it, longing for it, afraid of it, disappointed with it, angry/guilty/shamed/joyous/sad/jealous in relation to it. But what is the “it” in these cases? What is the referent for the intense and complex feelings people can have toward