Describing the Practice of Celebrating

Through the faith practice of celebrating we delight in circumstances, relationships, and occasions that help us remember and anticipate God's abundant goodness, creativity, faithfulness, beauty, and love.

The Practice of Celebrating: Delight in Action

by Chris Schoon, Director of Faith Formation Ministries

At a conference I attended, a Christian speaker told a story about an in-flight conversation she had with the person sitting next to her. When the person asked the all-too-familiar conversation starter “So, what do you do?” she decided to change up her typical response. Instead of explaining that she was an evangelist who traveled the country talking about God with university students and church leaders, this time she simply answered: “I party for God.”

That line has resurfaced in my thoughts many times over the years, and inevitably I end up smiling when I remember it. I often wonder how our public witness as Christians would change if we were known as people whose lives are characterized by celebration—people who “party for God.”

Celebrations are commonplace in the North American context. We celebrate all sorts of defining moments in our lives: birthdays, graduations, and weddings being the big three. We also celebrate civic holidays, sporting events, grand openings of new stores, and groundbreakings for new buildings. We like to celebrate, and almost any occasion will do.

But the spiritual discipline of celebrating, which both expresses and forms our faith, is different from simply throwing a party.

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