While trying to decide where I would be attending worship, I realized that the evening service worship leader would be preaching this week. Though I had attended the service she led (which is not meeting any longer), I had never heard her actually deliver a sermon. The worship services she led had been more of a sharing time by a long list of guest speakers or consisted of readings from devotionals.
Her sermon was based on the good shepherd. She gave the normal sermon about sheep being stupid what with them eating in one spot until there was no food left and being afraid of moving water and the many uses of the staff. She shared a lot about how we need someone to have our back and to be there for us. How we are never alone and we need to listen to the voice of the shepherd. If we will just let Him make a path for us, we would be so much better off.
I enjoyed her message and then being able to catch up.
Monday, March 9, 2020
Catch Up
Well, it's been a few weeks since I posted!
1) We went on a spring break trip. Flying into LAX we went to Joshua Tree, then drove north. We went to the tidal pools in Half Moon Bay, drove up the Avenue of the Giants, and scooted through Oregon. We spent a day on the north and east sides of the Olympic Peninsula before flying out of SeaTac. Did not attend worship on this trip.
2)
3) Preached at the church I've been preaching at. Nothing new to report.
4) Attended a family funeral in Erie and due to a schedule conflict did not attend church this weekend either.
:)
1) We went on a spring break trip. Flying into LAX we went to Joshua Tree, then drove north. We went to the tidal pools in Half Moon Bay, drove up the Avenue of the Giants, and scooted through Oregon. We spent a day on the north and east sides of the Olympic Peninsula before flying out of SeaTac. Did not attend worship on this trip.
2)
3) Preached at the church I've been preaching at. Nothing new to report.
4) Attended a family funeral in Erie and due to a schedule conflict did not attend church this weekend either.
:)
Saturday, February 8, 2020
Communion
Since I haven't had communion in a while, I decided this would be the Sunday to return to hear my colleague and mentor preach. I got there just before worship to find that the heat was not on in the sanctuary, so they had set up the social hall for worship.
Several people from the choir introduced themselves. They didn't seem to recognize me even after I introduced myself. That's okay, most of our interactions would have been through special services sponsored by the ministerium.
The pastor decided that even though they were not in their normal worship space, they should process in. She was wearing her robe and stole over a dress. I'm not used to seeing the pastor in a dress, but I think it is her normal Sunday apparel.
The scripture was Matthew 5...the beatitudes. The children's message involved making trail mix. The message was recipe. Matthew 5 gives us a recipe and when we follow recipes, even for trailmix, things work out well. When we don't follow a recipe then the outcome is uncertain. Some of the kids seemed to get the message, others were more concerned with the ingredients they were given and what would be in their bags of trailmix when the message was over.
The actual sermon didn't focus so much on the actual beatitudes, but again focused on the recipe Jesus wants us to follow in our lives and what that looks like.
Communion was served in the pews, not my most favorite way to receive. I'm not sure if this is their normal way of serving or if it was a concession to the location of worship. The wooden floors were very loud; they squeaked and echoed whenever any one walked.
It was quite distracting through out the service that people felt the need to walk around the space when it was so obviously loud. Also, the communion stewards had some confusion at the back of the room and burst into laughter as they tried to agree on what they were to do. I would be tempted to have some additional training.
Next week, I'm preaching again.
Several people from the choir introduced themselves. They didn't seem to recognize me even after I introduced myself. That's okay, most of our interactions would have been through special services sponsored by the ministerium.
The pastor decided that even though they were not in their normal worship space, they should process in. She was wearing her robe and stole over a dress. I'm not used to seeing the pastor in a dress, but I think it is her normal Sunday apparel.
The scripture was Matthew 5...the beatitudes. The children's message involved making trail mix. The message was recipe. Matthew 5 gives us a recipe and when we follow recipes, even for trailmix, things work out well. When we don't follow a recipe then the outcome is uncertain. Some of the kids seemed to get the message, others were more concerned with the ingredients they were given and what would be in their bags of trailmix when the message was over.
The actual sermon didn't focus so much on the actual beatitudes, but again focused on the recipe Jesus wants us to follow in our lives and what that looks like.
Communion was served in the pews, not my most favorite way to receive. I'm not sure if this is their normal way of serving or if it was a concession to the location of worship. The wooden floors were very loud; they squeaked and echoed whenever any one walked.
It was quite distracting through out the service that people felt the need to walk around the space when it was so obviously loud. Also, the communion stewards had some confusion at the back of the room and burst into laughter as they tried to agree on what they were to do. I would be tempted to have some additional training.
Next week, I'm preaching again.
Monday, January 27, 2020
Hearing Someone Else
I attended the church where I have been doing pulpit supply to hear their lay leader speak. This was the first time I attended a regular worship service at this church. The lay leader I believe also holds the title of Sessions Chair.
The message was a very good one based on Colossians. The sermon began talking about how, now that it is the end of January, most of our resolutions for changed behavior have been broken already. He talked about the things that we need to do that are biblical. He had three points (I did not take notes, so just know there were three of them) that the Bible in Colossians calls for us to adhere to. He did a very nice job tying scripture to scripture to support his points. I was not surprised to see that this church uses a biblical based model for their sermon/teachings.
After the service, the speaker said to me, "way to put the pressure on, having a pastor in the pews". I took this moment to say, "do you might if I offer a suggestion?" He said, "sure." I then proceeded to tell him that I thoroughly enjoyed his sermon, that he had all the points, and that it flowed from topic to topic. The suggestion I made was to be sure to write to speak. I noted that we do not normally speak in the same way that we speak and that the places he stumbled were very good sentences to write, but they did not flow off the tongue. In the future, after he writes what he wants to say, go back and read it for speaking. He may need to actually read out loud the sermon, or just read it slowly (rather than a quick reread before entering the pulpit) in order to find those awkward to say sentences.
I hope he understood this as a help, not a critique.
His mother would love for him to take courses to become certified in their tradition to carry credentials as a pastor (like a CLM or LP in The UMC) and embrace what she sees as his call. He himself is dedicated to seeing this local church survive and even thrive, but does not want to take on the role of pastor.
I will continue to pray for this congregation as they struggle with determining their long term future.
The message was a very good one based on Colossians. The sermon began talking about how, now that it is the end of January, most of our resolutions for changed behavior have been broken already. He talked about the things that we need to do that are biblical. He had three points (I did not take notes, so just know there were three of them) that the Bible in Colossians calls for us to adhere to. He did a very nice job tying scripture to scripture to support his points. I was not surprised to see that this church uses a biblical based model for their sermon/teachings.
After the service, the speaker said to me, "way to put the pressure on, having a pastor in the pews". I took this moment to say, "do you might if I offer a suggestion?" He said, "sure." I then proceeded to tell him that I thoroughly enjoyed his sermon, that he had all the points, and that it flowed from topic to topic. The suggestion I made was to be sure to write to speak. I noted that we do not normally speak in the same way that we speak and that the places he stumbled were very good sentences to write, but they did not flow off the tongue. In the future, after he writes what he wants to say, go back and read it for speaking. He may need to actually read out loud the sermon, or just read it slowly (rather than a quick reread before entering the pulpit) in order to find those awkward to say sentences.
I hope he understood this as a help, not a critique.
His mother would love for him to take courses to become certified in their tradition to carry credentials as a pastor (like a CLM or LP in The UMC) and embrace what she sees as his call. He himself is dedicated to seeing this local church survive and even thrive, but does not want to take on the role of pastor.
I will continue to pray for this congregation as they struggle with determining their long term future.
Thursday, January 23, 2020
Another Message
This week I was scheduled to bring the message to the Presbyterian Church again. I knew what I wanted to say and, again, I found someone else had already said it. Rather than paraphrase or pick and choose lines, I managed to mash three writings into one coherent thought with my own reflections thrown in. I enjoy that this congregation seems to get a more intellectual train of thought and is open to an exhortation to do more as Christians than the average church goer.
I knew the elder who coordinates the speakers and normally leads worship was not in attendance this week as he needed to drive his daughter back to college for the spring semester. What I didn't expect was that the two women who were tasked with doing the opening portion of the service and reading the scripture would ask me to do the entire service.
I was not opposed to doing this as I have done this for fourteen years. However, I did let them know that one of the things I was realizing during this sabbath year is the need to have lay involvement. I shared that I usually lead the entire worship service though I appreciate the need for and help of lay leadership. I also shared that one of the church's I attended had fourteen people helping with the service between announcement and lectors and ushers and acolytes. I think it also included special music, etc. I let them know that although I was willing to do the entire service, I had goals for my next appointment to involve the laity in worship.
After worship the coffee hour included what I thought was a nut filled dessert. I didn't take one, but the hostess insisted that it was a layered pumpkin dump cake and the nuts were whole and only on top so she removed them for me! It was actually very good, although it was sweet in spots. I ended up sitting and talking to her for over half an hour about this, that, and the other.
I also realized that I had never actually attended a Sunday morning worship service in this church. The coordinating elder is bringing the message next week. I will be attending in order to hear what message he is given for this congregation.
Sunday, January 12, 2020
Baptism of the Lord Sunday in an Anabaptist Church
I hadn't really planned ahead to which church I would be attending this week. I had though I might attend a nearby UMC congregation, but then decided I didn't want to drive 1/2 hour each way to attend a congregation of 14. At ten o'clock, I started googling congregations in the other direction to find out who was meeting at 11:00 or at a time I would still be able to make. Imagine my surprise when I couldn't find times for those congregations on either find-a-church or facebook. Some had no details listed at all on find-a-church; others had some information but no worship times listed. On facebook, if there was access to the "about" they didn't have a worship time listed. Oh, there were nice paragraph long invitations to join this very welcoming congregation for worship (if you can guess what time we meet!).
Finally, I decided to see if I could find information on the Mennonite Church that my neighbor attends. I found them on facebook and immediately saw posts, the second of which, told me they meet at 10:45. As they were less than ten minutes away and it was now 10:35, I made my decision, grabbed my coat and put on my shoes.
When I arrived I was greeted by two greeters and an usher who handed me a bulletin. I did not make it in without having to share my name and where I was from. Worship did not start on time. There seemed to be a discussion regarding a church meeting that week and if it was going to happen. The greeter was able to leave his post and he came to gather more information from me.
Worship started nine minutes late with announcements and a call to worship. We then sang a medley of three worship songs accompanied by the piano and a husband and wife team on accoustic guitar and bass.
We then heard some information on the mission focus beginning next week and the upcoming denomination wide gathering for mission. It was interesting to note the picture showing the larger gathering showed all the women on the stage wearing long dresses and hair coverings. In this congregation, there was only one woman wearing a "mesh basket" and I didn't notice if anyone was wearing dresses. There were a lot of jeans. This wasn't surprising as this is a community church attended by a lot of farmers and other rural people.
I knew the church did not have a regular pastor and had a rotation of speakers who had been with them for a very long time. Today the message was brought by a Catholic nun.
Since this was Baptism of the Lord Sunday, she spoke on baptism. She began her message by sharing her own story. She had been baptized as an infant as is the norm in the Catholic Church. She was a practicing Catholic, if not a Christian. When she was twenty, she had a tangible, visible encounter with God. She had a conversion experience that lead her to acquiring a Bible for the first time. Up until this point, Bibles were those giant coffee table books with pictures. She started reading the Bible for the first time in her life. She was particularly drawn to the verses on baptism.
She then began a quest to be baptized by immersion. She shared a very detailed and humorous story, culminating in her being baptized at a Pentecostal church.
She then informed the congregation that as Mennonites (the name on the door), they were Anabaptists. She asked the congregation if they knew this. Some didn't. She then went on to explain in detail the differing beliefs in baptism from the early church and into Augustine and Luther and the development of the anabaptists and their persecution. She shared from the Anabaptist rites of baptism and shared from scripture three or four verses on baptism. She also did a side bar on the eunich and Philip.
I thoroughly enjoyed the message today. The geek in me was thoroughly geeking out!!
It is worth mentioning that in this congregation, all visitors are introduced. The information I shared with the greeter was then relayed to the congregation during this time. There was no greeting time, for which I am thankful. However, several people made sure to talk to me as I tried to maneuver my way out after worship.
I am sure that this experience will not be repeated as I would not know ahead of time who the speaker would be or what the message might be. I am thankful that God saw fit to lead me to this congregation on this Sunday, but I will not be returning.
Finally, I decided to see if I could find information on the Mennonite Church that my neighbor attends. I found them on facebook and immediately saw posts, the second of which, told me they meet at 10:45. As they were less than ten minutes away and it was now 10:35, I made my decision, grabbed my coat and put on my shoes.
When I arrived I was greeted by two greeters and an usher who handed me a bulletin. I did not make it in without having to share my name and where I was from. Worship did not start on time. There seemed to be a discussion regarding a church meeting that week and if it was going to happen. The greeter was able to leave his post and he came to gather more information from me.
Worship started nine minutes late with announcements and a call to worship. We then sang a medley of three worship songs accompanied by the piano and a husband and wife team on accoustic guitar and bass.
We then heard some information on the mission focus beginning next week and the upcoming denomination wide gathering for mission. It was interesting to note the picture showing the larger gathering showed all the women on the stage wearing long dresses and hair coverings. In this congregation, there was only one woman wearing a "mesh basket" and I didn't notice if anyone was wearing dresses. There were a lot of jeans. This wasn't surprising as this is a community church attended by a lot of farmers and other rural people.
I knew the church did not have a regular pastor and had a rotation of speakers who had been with them for a very long time. Today the message was brought by a Catholic nun.
Since this was Baptism of the Lord Sunday, she spoke on baptism. She began her message by sharing her own story. She had been baptized as an infant as is the norm in the Catholic Church. She was a practicing Catholic, if not a Christian. When she was twenty, she had a tangible, visible encounter with God. She had a conversion experience that lead her to acquiring a Bible for the first time. Up until this point, Bibles were those giant coffee table books with pictures. She started reading the Bible for the first time in her life. She was particularly drawn to the verses on baptism.
She then began a quest to be baptized by immersion. She shared a very detailed and humorous story, culminating in her being baptized at a Pentecostal church.
She then informed the congregation that as Mennonites (the name on the door), they were Anabaptists. She asked the congregation if they knew this. Some didn't. She then went on to explain in detail the differing beliefs in baptism from the early church and into Augustine and Luther and the development of the anabaptists and their persecution. She shared from the Anabaptist rites of baptism and shared from scripture three or four verses on baptism. She also did a side bar on the eunich and Philip.
I thoroughly enjoyed the message today. The geek in me was thoroughly geeking out!!
It is worth mentioning that in this congregation, all visitors are introduced. The information I shared with the greeter was then relayed to the congregation during this time. There was no greeting time, for which I am thankful. However, several people made sure to talk to me as I tried to maneuver my way out after worship.
I am sure that this experience will not be repeated as I would not know ahead of time who the speaker would be or what the message might be. I am thankful that God saw fit to lead me to this congregation on this Sunday, but I will not be returning.
Friday, January 10, 2020
Christmas Eve
Actually convinced my mother to attend Christmas Eve worship at her church. She hasn't attended in over a year and was resistant at first. This church was also my church when I was a child and is in my hometown. I've been gone for over forty years, but there are still some people I remember who remember me.
Walking in, the greeter was a woman who was ahead of me in high school but we were in marching band together. She greeted me by name and I actually immediately recalled her name, a bonus for me!
The acolytes came in to light the candles. There were the altar candles and the chancel candelabra that were fine. The extra candelabra at the front of the rail must not have been checked. Both inside candles did not light and another candle on the left did not light. The head usher came forward to try to get them to light but couldn't. In that moment, I truly appreciated my last altar guild member.
The special Christmas music vocalist was running late so that piece was dropped from the early service that we attended. Two young people provided other special music, but it was not particularly Christmas music. We heard "Hallelujah" on trumpet. "Hallelujah" other than the chorus is not appropriate for Christmas. The second piece was a very nice piano piece that was not Christmas at all.
The service was formulated as a regular service. We sang a hymn, we had special music, there was a pastoral prayer and an offering. There was a children's message and a sermon. The sermon wasn't so much about Christmas and the birth of Christ. In fact, at the writing of this post, I couldn't tell you what the message was about.
During greeting time (yep, that was a thing), I said hello to a classmate who I only had one class (gym) so we didn't really know one another. I didn't recognize anyone else in the congregation. Later, as we were leaving one of the choir members who I know but was never really friends with came up to make sure she had talked to my mother. She didn't even offer a hello to me and stood at a distance from where I was standing so that it felt awkward to butt into the conversation. I was a little upset that she didn't even offer a hello.
The service did end with communion and candle lit "Silent Night". It was a little awkward which the pastor attributed to this being his first Christmas in this congregational setting.
All and all, it was a nice Christmas Eve service to attend after participating in/leading as pastor the last fourteen Christmas. My mother even said she might attend church again at some point. She liked this pastor. She did not like the previous pastor and wasn't really taken with the one before that. Hopefully, she will attend again.
Walking in, the greeter was a woman who was ahead of me in high school but we were in marching band together. She greeted me by name and I actually immediately recalled her name, a bonus for me!
The acolytes came in to light the candles. There were the altar candles and the chancel candelabra that were fine. The extra candelabra at the front of the rail must not have been checked. Both inside candles did not light and another candle on the left did not light. The head usher came forward to try to get them to light but couldn't. In that moment, I truly appreciated my last altar guild member.
The special Christmas music vocalist was running late so that piece was dropped from the early service that we attended. Two young people provided other special music, but it was not particularly Christmas music. We heard "Hallelujah" on trumpet. "Hallelujah" other than the chorus is not appropriate for Christmas. The second piece was a very nice piano piece that was not Christmas at all.
The service was formulated as a regular service. We sang a hymn, we had special music, there was a pastoral prayer and an offering. There was a children's message and a sermon. The sermon wasn't so much about Christmas and the birth of Christ. In fact, at the writing of this post, I couldn't tell you what the message was about.
During greeting time (yep, that was a thing), I said hello to a classmate who I only had one class (gym) so we didn't really know one another. I didn't recognize anyone else in the congregation. Later, as we were leaving one of the choir members who I know but was never really friends with came up to make sure she had talked to my mother. She didn't even offer a hello to me and stood at a distance from where I was standing so that it felt awkward to butt into the conversation. I was a little upset that she didn't even offer a hello.
The service did end with communion and candle lit "Silent Night". It was a little awkward which the pastor attributed to this being his first Christmas in this congregational setting.
All and all, it was a nice Christmas Eve service to attend after participating in/leading as pastor the last fourteen Christmas. My mother even said she might attend church again at some point. She liked this pastor. She did not like the previous pastor and wasn't really taken with the one before that. Hopefully, she will attend again.
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