The last few weeks have been a roller coaster of emotions. My nephew and his wife welcomed their first baby, a boy, on December 30th. Of course I think he is adorable. My niece set her wedding date. Another niece is due to have her second baby in a few weeks. My son was granted a second interview for a job that he really hopes to be offered. My husband is finally recovering from a month long upper respiratory bug. All good things. Emotions were in a good place. Not that there aren't any challenges in life, but it was great to have so much good news.
What goes up, must come down. There was a tragic helicopter crash off of Virginia Beach this week. Two sailors died and one is still missing. One of the deceased sailors grew up in my community. The community is reeling. Friends who also have sons in the military are struggling with this news. It hit too close to home. Some friends found solace in gathering with others. Some needed to sort this out in private.
This brings me to a the place that I decided to write about today. My church is sort of off the beaten path, so it fits in with my blog theme. We are an old church, in existence for over 200 years. We used to be a rural church. Our community landscape is changing, just like that of many communities. This forces all of us to adjust. The church is no different. Some people love change and welcome the fresh ideas that it brings. Some people detest change and dread the thought of discomfort that it brings. Both types attend the same churches. Sometimes people complain about things that bother them. The same things bother some other members but not all members. There is a constant need for compromise, requiring lots of give and take. This occasionally causes turmoil. A church leader leaves. Some are happy about it, some are sad. A new person comes in. Some are happy about it, some are not. Youth participate in service as readers, singers, etc. Some love to see their fresh, young faces and endless energy. Some still think children should be seen and not heard. I guess you can guess which side of that fence I stand on! A music director combines old, familiar music with contemporary and world music. Organ music is combined with drums, guitars, trumpets, harmonicas. The old choir robes are gone. Some people love it. Some parishioners think that the only type of music sacred enough for a worship service is the type found in the hard backed hymnals sitting in the pew racks. There are lay people who enjoy writing and sharing their poetry from the pulpit with enormous emotion. Some people relate to that, others don't. Church leaders share their artistic talent by painting banners to hang from the ceiling. They incorporate famous and not so famous paintings into the multimedia displays. Some people enjoy that. Others do not like it. The minister preaches what he feels led to share. Some people think he should simply read scripture and explain it. Others appreciate him (or her) relating God's words to today's world. Church leaders and some members are very interested in mission work and spend much time, effort, and money on various missions. Others think that we should be worrying about what is in our own back yard and nothing more. It is so hard to get everyone to agree on anything. I remember a time when congregants used to argue over whether the shutters should be left open or closed during worship. Now we have stained glass. That settles that!
How could the church leaders possibly begin to please everyone? The answer is that they can't. Why should we continue to attend churches if "church people" aren't always nice? The reasons are many. First of all, worship is designed to be communal. Second, churches are filled with sinners. They are supposed to be. If only perfect people went to church, the church would be empty. We go there because we want to worship God and because we need help, comfort, forgiveness, company, and many other things. We need to hear the Word. As parishioners, we can either sit there and focus on all the things that are wrong with the church, or we can focus on fixing ourselves. We can look at the big picture. We can appreciate all the good that is around us. We can stop concentrating on how things will benefit us and start looking for ways to make life easier for others. We can stop bellyaching and start forgiving. We can stop looking at our watches to see how long the sermon is or whether service is going over the agreed upon time limit. Many members already to those things and do them beautifully. We can strive to be more like them.
What the heck does all this have to do with the title of today's blog? I'd like to share what I experienced in church this morning. This is purely MY experience. The people sitting beside me, behind me, or up in the choir would all be able to tell you a different story. That's okay. Every Sunday is different. Every person in the Sanctuary is different.We all come to service with different baggage from the previous week. We all need to hear and see different things. Our perception of the service differs depending on our experiences and opinions.
My husband and I arrived a few minutes late, as usual. We missed the greetings and part of the announcements. I love saying hello to people, but sharing our germs at this time of year can be dicey, so I was okay with missing the handshaking. There was a flag up in the front of the Sanctuary. It was there to honor the memory of the sailor that I mentioned earlier. We were encouraged to remember him and to honor all those who serve. There are two wooden stands in the front of the church that were built to hold candles. At the end of each service, we are invited to light a candle for someone in our personal lives who needs prayers. Today, at the beginning of service we were all asked to use that final portion of the service to light a candle for the same person. Lt. J Wesley Van Dorn. He grew up in our church, and then left to pursue his military career. Our congregation was asked to come together to pray for him and his family. One congregation, one cause. Cool.
An announcement was made that we would have a guest minister today. I saw a friend carefully make his way to the podium. Our guest minister was a member of our congregation. He is an 80 year old, retired minister. I will refer to him by his initials, ETT. ETT is a hoot. He is also the father-in-law of my minister. His daughter is a delightful woman whom I am honored to call my friend. His granddaughters are bright, gorgeous young women. His wife is a saint. ETT shows up to church in all kinds of outfits, ranging from cycling clothes, to work out gear, shorts, crocks, jeans, and handsome suits. He says anything that comes into his mind. He starts out in one seat, and at every opportunity, he moves to a different seat so he can say hello to someone else. Up until a few years ago, he could be seen literally climbing over the back of the pew to get to someone. ETT is a dog lover and has been known to bring his daughter's dog into the Sanctuary during church. If I didn't know him so well, I would call him the irreverent Reverend. I know better. He is a brilliant man, well versed on the Bible. He is a good friend and confidant. ETT also likes to push the envelope. When I saw him step to the lectern, I wasn't sure what to expect. You never know what he will say. He called the children up to the table for the Children's Sermon. It was based on the story, "Where the Wild Things Are". Very appropriate. The kids loved it. As the children were being corralled to head down to their own special time with one of the church leaders, a little boy fell. In a split second one of the parishioners was at his side, lifting him up and holding him closely until his mom could make it to the front. Very cool. Kudos, MBP.
ETT proceeded to do all the churchy things that ministers do. His scripture readings were carried out with great expression. Now for the sermon. Oh boy, what's he gonna do, I thought. He did great. His sermon was easy to follow and meaningful. They were words we all needed to hear. He had invited a couple "of color" that he met at his gym. They were kind enough to come to this, oh so very white, country church to hear him preach. I smiled as I listened to him, standing there in his newish blue jeans, black and blue Nike tennis shoes, white golf shirt and brown jacket. He claims this is his last sermon. We'll see. If so, I am so glad that I made it to church today.
As I stand up and sit down, I feel sore muscles. It reminds me that I exercised with friends yesterday morning. The church allows us to gather there six days a week for no charge. We have a free place to exercise. Yahoo! Young people know that the "church ladies" are trying to stay healthy. Sometimes someone's daughter will join us when in town. They are always surprised at how hard we work and report to our husbands that we are definitely not a bunch of pansies. We like them. Several community members are faithful attendees. My hamstrings tell me how blessed I am to have these women in my life. It has become a small group that supports and encourages each other. Laughs and groans are shared. Friendships grow, bodies stay strong. Come on, you know that is cool.
Our Director of Music is leaving to pursue a new adventure. The congregation was asked to wish him well. Everyone stood and applauded for a very long time. We were all invited to a reception in his honor. Elders were invited up to lay hands and offer words of prayer as a send off. The very, very, cool thing that happened was that one of the young men who grew up in our church was called to his side. This talented Director has mentored the young man. The talented college student has decided to pursue the same career. He has interned at our church in the summers. Last week he sang a solo that was so awesome that I had to grab my phone and record a few minutes of it to send to our son. The boys (okay, they are men now) grew up together, played in the school band together, attended Youth Group and trips together, etc. Our church has decided to offer this young man an interim position as our Music Director. Good for us, good for him! Now that's what I'm talking about !!!
After church, even though my hungry husband was stomping his feet for me to hurry up and go, I spent time chatting with friends. Many of my friends are dealing with aging and ill parents, family problems, health issues, job issues, etc. The few minutes I get to give them a hug and ask how things are going are priceless to me. Staying connected is so important. Church is a great setting to stay connected. Lots of people in one place at the same time. A thank you, a smile, a hug, a tear shared in just a few minutes. So cool!
My church has a food pantry on Saturday mornings. It is funded in several ways. One way is pretty creative. A local grocery store donates perishable food that is about to expire. It is picked up on Sunday mornings. The food is placed on a table in our Gathering Room on Sunday morning. Members take the food and drop a donation in the basket on the table. Many of the elderly members take advantage of being able to "buy" these foods at a huge discount. The children love to check out the desserts. College kids grab what they can use. My husband gets veggies for his tortoise. The donations are used to buy food for the pantry. Win, win. How cool is that?
I pick up a copy of the Celebrations and Concerns list so I can email some names to this month's Cookie Ministry member. I drop off a prayer shawl and some chemo caps so that the coordinator of our Knitting Ministry can distribute them. I watch people hugging our Director of Music and wishing him well. I leave, smiling.
Why is church a cool place to be on a Sunday morning? It brings out the best and worst of emotions. God offers us grace. We in turn can offer that to each other. Its members watch over one another. We laugh, cry, pray, worship and play together. People here care about one another. Now THAT is COOL!
*disclaimer: this writing is my personal opinion. I fully respect all faith backgrounds. As always, I make no claim to perfect or proper grammar and punctuation. Teachers, put away those red pens, please.
