Bringing Church to the People

Lauren Canary is quite Methodist. Not that United Methodist belonging can be quantified but, if it could, she’d be running up the score. After a childhood in the church, she began attending the Wesley Foundation at Central Michigan University before working there for three years and subsequently serving on its board. In the year between college and seminary, she began doing marketing and communications work for Nardin Park United Methodist Church, ministry she has continued for the past three years. Now on the ordination path to be an elder and waiting for a call in the Michigan conference, she’s excited to take that passion into the parish. That longstanding dedication, however, reflects what she feels she’s been given—and what she hopes to give back to the world. “I’ve been so fortunate to have a very positive experience when it comes to queer inclusion, empowering women in the church, uplifting the voices of the marginalized and youth,” she says. “Those foundations propelled me forward on this path and made me Methodist for life.”

Reflecting on this trajectory as she prepares to graduate in May, she knows that not everyone shares the glowing relationship she enjoys with the church, yet still believes the gospel holds power to nurture life wherever it moves. “Church has so much community to offer, but understandably many people aren’t willing to walk through the doors,” she observes. “So many folks are afraid, they have church trauma or simply no desire to be part of church life. But everybody needs community.”

Part of what she has been doing in her digital ministry is trying to create pathways for people to be part of that abundance in ways that feel approachable and safe. “You reach people where they’re at,” she notes. “Everyone’s online—on social media, TikTok, whatever it may be. They’ll see your videos and can see a whole variety of events—both secular and religious—and before they know it they say, ‘Huh, that looks interesting.’” When videos offering local events are repeatedly surfaced by the algorithm, there’s bound to be something that sparks joy. “The church has a community to be cultivated for everyone,” she says. “Whether you’re passionate about your local ecosystem, or you really like food, or you want to hang out with kids every once in a while, there’s a program here for you.”

In her time at Garrett, she didn’t just believe this to be true—she lived it. Wanting to organize more community outreach among students, she started Seminarians in Service—an opportunity for classmates to volunteer throughout Chicagoland. “We painted the back porches at Northwestern’s University Christian Ministry, we wrapped Christmas presents for children at Kids Above All, we spent some hours talking to people with dementia at CJE SeniorLife,” Canary offers as examples. “It was a great way to bring our class together while deepening our faith.”

She’s also grateful for the opportunities she had at Garrett to nurture her call, sometimes in ways she never expected. “I was able to go to Greece and Turkey to follow Paul’s journey through that part of the world,” she shares. “Moving around Ephesus, Corinth, and Thessalonica, we got to see where his boat would have docked and follow in his footsteps. It brought the Bible to life—made it more than a story.” She also had the chance to visit Ireland with Garrett’s Young Adult Initiative and take part in a retreat focused on how storytelling can seed peacemaking. “I didn’t know much about the Troubles before I went, but we learned so much—and particularly the power of words to speak something into being,” she says. “There’s one quote we learned that I love: ‘The stories we tell shape the possibilities we can imagine.’ That’s been so impactful for me lately, as I think about the stories I hear—and the stories I hope to tell in congregations—so we can imagine differently.”

For now, all those possibilities lie in front of her, as she prepares to graduate. But, wherever the road leads, she’ll take lessons from Garrett with her. “We need to lean into community, more than ever,” Canary concludes. “The world is not just a hateful place—there are leaders working every day to make a change.”