It’s one thing to believe you should live simply; it’s quite another thing to make the everyday, practical decisions to consume less and give more—especially in a world that continually distracts us with demands for prosperity and hurriedness. Cedra Washington, pastor of evangelism and outreach at Harrisburg (Pa.) Brethren in Christ Church, knows firsthand the challenges of fleshing out a life of simple living.

“I had a multi-faceted background,” Cedra explains. “As a young woman, I always wanted to be close to God.” With experience in Methodist, Church of God in Christ, Baptist, and Catholic congregations, Cedra accepted the Lord in 12th grade. After she married, she and her husband Stanley attended Shiloh Church of God in Christ congregation for about 20 years and went on to minister at a non-denominational church.

Cedra Washington serves as the pastor of evangelism and outreach at Harrisburg (Pa.) Brethren in Christ Church.

Feeling a strong call to ministry, but not yet able to be ordained in her church, Cedra joined the staff of Harrisburg BIC in 2000.

“At the time, I did not realize the vast difference in cultures,” Cedra remembers. As an African-American woman from an African-American church, Cedra facilitated and discovered the meeting point between cultures. In her seven years at Harrisburg BIC, the church has grown from its predominantly white roots into a multiracial, multicultural congregation that better reflects its urban surroundings. “Black people don’t have to become white and white people don’t have to become black, but there’s a time to celebrate a gray area, a new thing, this is what we work toward as a church family.”

And for Cedra, the Brethren in Christ concept of living simply was certainly what she would describe as “a gray area, a new thing.” While her new congregation focused on living with less, her previous churches had always emphasized God’s abundance and blessing in moving out of oppression.

“A lot of [the abundance they talked about] was in material things, because African-American people are just beginning to really understand that they can have the material things that weren’t available to them because of injustices, discrimination, and a lack of access and funds for formal education.”

Cedra explains that, in her previous church experience, biblical promises of blessings were often considered promises to her community, which encouraged believers toward goals like higher education and owning businesses. But sometimes, Cedra feels, these biblical promises also promoted materialism and did not allow for a more global view of God’s Kingdom.

“There are biblical principles for [the idea of abundance], but I think the interpretation of these promises is what sometimes can get a little confusing. For instance, simple living is a concept most applicable to wealthy and middle-class people. It is for those who have more than they need. The question then, in an urban or ethnic setting is, ‘how do people who have historically gone without deal with materialism?’ To some Europeans who have historically lived in abundance, it may mean stewardship, or giving back. For someone who has not lived in abundance or who is just beginning to possess, it may mean something different,” Cedra explains.

Coming from this background, she equates her acceptance of the idea of living simply as braking a fast-moving 18-wheeler on the highway: she quote couldn’t slam on the brakes, but experienced a gradual slow-down in parts of her lifestyle. And very soon, she began to see the benefits of living simply.

”We should not seek so much to get things or be known by the things we possess but to live a lifestyle that frees us to do things for other people, so that all our efforts aren’t so internally-based but are more outwardly-focused, and more hands-on.”

Cedra says she’s cut back on the amount of Christmas gifts she gives her grandchildren, who understand her reasons. She serves more simple meals to guests so that the focus is not on the extravagant food, but on connecting with each other. And she’s also cut back on the amount of clothes in her wardrobe—a significant change for Cedra, who loves to express herself through fashion.

But, as Cedra points out, she negotiates a balance between her two cultures.

“When I’m teaching my children and my children’s children, I teach them to reach for the top. To always do your personal best. And I have lots of girlfriends that are very entrepreneurial and I don’t tell them not to be or not to pursue their dream or destiny. But then I also tell them about what it means to have an uncluttered life and how to take what God gives them and give back to our community, to help empower and to mentor others.”

Cedra celebrated that balance when she and her husband purchased their swimming pool, something for which they’d saved for many years. Right before they installed the pool, Cedra went to a meeting where church staff discussed how, as ministers, they should live simply.

"So it came to my turn and I was already in deep thought. I understood simple living through the pain of my ancestors when we came in on the slave ships with shackles on our arms and feet, stacked up like sardines, then having to begin a new life with four acres and a mule. I said, 'If God is blessing me right now, and you can't celebrate with me, then you just don't come to the party. Because it's a time of celebration for me, that God has blessed my life.'"

Cedra built her pool, and people from the church, her neighborhood, and family all use it frequently. During the summer, the church holds baptisms there and Cedra holds an evening vacation bible school in her backyard. She celebrates and shares her time and her blessings with everyone.

“If we can’t bless other people, than what is wealth for?” Cedra exclaims. “I try to make sure that I’m doing with the blessing what God designed.”

Andrea Saylor is a 2005 graduate of Messiah College. She spent much of the last year with MCC in Egypt trying to speak Arabic, and now lives in Harrisburg, Pa., where she attends Harrisburg BIC Church.

Photos by Irene Saylor

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