Jenna
31st July 2005, 03:50 PM
My daughter and I attended a new LCMS church this morning. I just thought that I would share my observations. :)
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Normally, our family attends church in a congregation that is a nifty little drive from our house. It's only about 25 minutes on the expressway, but half-broken cars just don't travel well. Ok, so add to that the fact that my husband didn't want to go, and things get even more complicated.
Well, since my dearest husband did not want to get out of bed, I actually left him behind. This morning, DD and I put on our dresses and comfortable shoes, and we walked to a nearby church. Ok, well, the church was kind of nearby. It was about a 3.5 mile round trip. Is it any wonder that DD is zonked out on the couch right now? lol I'm sleepy too. I was fine until DH decided that we needed to watch a movie. ....zzzzzZZZZZZzzzz.....zzzzzzZZZZZZzzzzzz......
Anyway, the church that we went to this morning was another Lutheran church (LCMS). Actually, it is the only one in the area that is within walking distance. We really hustled to get there on time this morning, and I even carried DD part of the way to speed up the process.
I was a little nervous when a note on the door said that worship was going to be held in the Fellowship Hall, only because I had no idea how the building was set up. But, thankfully we were not the last people through the door, so DD and I followed a couple as they made their way into church.
Wow, I'll tell you, things were hugely different. First, there were as many people there for church as we normally have during bible study on Memorial Day Weekend, at my regular church. For our regular church, it doesn't seem like much because there are usually so many people there. Ok, so it still didn't seem like too many people, but it wasn't a bad thing. Here are some of the things that I noticed...
First, the room was plain, with only a few small flower arrangements to soften the atmosphere. Because of the plain room with the white walls, your eyes were readily drawn right to the alter, your attention focused there. Again, not a bad thing. Beside the alter was a standard wooden podium, and that was all.
Out in the seating area, chairs were plain. Some looked as though they were purchased years ago for a fellowship hall. To fill in the gaps, they had plain folding chairs. You would think that maybe this would be a little uncomfortable, except that no one sat very long anyway. DD surely didn't mind her chair, though she used it as a table while she drew on the little booklet that an usher gave her. That was very nice, and it kept her occupied.
Instead of the huge $$$$ sound system that I am used to, we were given simple worship folders, blue hymnals, and a small organ sat at the back of the room. Things definitely were far from flashy, but I believe that was part of the charm, and it did nothing to detract from the experience.
As I looked around, I noticed that the seats were filled mostly with older people. There were a few younger people with a handfull of kids, but the rest were all older folks. One thing that was very strikingly different was that everyone was modestly dressed. The gentlemen looked well-kept, though they were not over-burdened with jackets & ties. Still, each man was well-groomed and presentable. Every woman that I saw was dressed neatly, nothing flashy, but certainly not the lowrider jeans and tanktops that I am used to seeing. All clothing was pretty and respectable. To be honest, I was the most dowdily dressed lady in the room. No one seemed to mind at all though, and I definitely didn't feel bad about the running shoes that were peeking out from under my long skirt. Hey, it's a long walk! lol
The only way that I can really describe the service is....... mass-ish. *laughs* Again, not a bad thing. The pastor was easily distinguishable, as he was wearing a simple robe. I'll admit that maybe he wasn't the most beautiful and flowery speaker in the world, but he made up for it in content. After so many "Christian-lite" services, it was downright refreshing to hear the simply told gospel. The sermon was concise, without being snooze-inducer. The worship folders were full of unrelentingly biblical prayers and confessions. You know, I had never recited the Nicene Creed during a worship service before. That was great.
I will tell you that the only area that I found a little difficult was singing from the blue hymnal. It isn't that I am stuck on sensational praise songs, or have problems with older hymns. Actually, it was the page turning! *laughs* I will have to remember to bring little bookmarks with me from now on, so I can mark my pages before the service begins. It is so frustrating to be flipping pages while everyone else is singing.
One thing that made a huge impression on me was that, I don't think that I have ever been in a service that has had so much prayer incorporated throughout. I wasn't joking when I said that we hardly used our chairs. Whether it was because of the large amount of elderly believers, or the lack of kneelers, we did not kneel today. Instead, everyone stood whenever praying, reciting, hearing the gospel reading, and sometimes while singing. Good. I don't like to just sit back and feel like I'm watching a show anyway.
Communion was definitely different. In our regular church, whole rows of people circle the altar for communion, and then the blessing is said over the whole group. One group returns to their seats, and the next is ushered up. At this other church, a single line is formed for communion. One lay-minister places a communion wafer in your hand and proclaims it the body of Christ. I am used to store-bought flat breads, kind of like pita. The wafers are different, but it doesn't bother me any. Next, you stand before the pastor to recieve the wine, as he proclaims it the blood of Christ, shed for the forgiveness of our sins. He does this over EVERY person, and each person waits patiently in line until their turn comes. There is no rush, like I see in many Catholic parishes. One thing I did notice though, and got a chuckle out of.... the pastor never takes his hands from the cup. At our regular church, lay-ministers will hand you the cup, and take it to clean before handing it to the next person. It was different, to tip the cup while it remained in the pastor's hands. It felt a little weird, but was no big deal. After the pastor was done speaking to me, he reached down and made the sign of the cross on DD's forehead and said a blessing over her.
All in all, the impression that I take away from visiting this church is a pleasant one. Before I went, I had heard some pretty negative comments about how the church is a "dead church", because they do not have the numbers (and therfore- income) of some other churches. While they were right to say that it is a small congregation, I saw two things that really spoke to me.
#1 God's Word was strongly preached, with the fullness of His message. Nothing was watered down, neither lesson from the law, nor salvation by God's grace through faith in the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus. Awesome.
#2 The heart of the people is big. I was not overwhelmed by anyone when we showed up, but was made comfortable. It was shown that they appreciated my worshipping with them.At one point, the lady who was sitting near DD and I, she gave DD her hymnal when she saw that DD was having a hard time finding a firm surface to put her coloring page on. That was so nice of her. After service was completed, an usher came up to me and thanked me for coming, and expressed that they hoped that I would come again. More than his words, his bright smile made me feel welcomed.
So, DD and I have made a date to go again next week. She asked me prettily if I would make her a yellow sun hat, to keep the sun out of her eyes while we walk. We may well be armed with sun hats, or possibly raincoats. But, we will make our walk again next week. We will just have to remember to leave more time for the trip. lol
---------------------------------------------------
Normally, our family attends church in a congregation that is a nifty little drive from our house. It's only about 25 minutes on the expressway, but half-broken cars just don't travel well. Ok, so add to that the fact that my husband didn't want to go, and things get even more complicated.
Well, since my dearest husband did not want to get out of bed, I actually left him behind. This morning, DD and I put on our dresses and comfortable shoes, and we walked to a nearby church. Ok, well, the church was kind of nearby. It was about a 3.5 mile round trip. Is it any wonder that DD is zonked out on the couch right now? lol I'm sleepy too. I was fine until DH decided that we needed to watch a movie. ....zzzzzZZZZZZzzzz.....zzzzzzZZZZZZzzzzzz......
Anyway, the church that we went to this morning was another Lutheran church (LCMS). Actually, it is the only one in the area that is within walking distance. We really hustled to get there on time this morning, and I even carried DD part of the way to speed up the process.
I was a little nervous when a note on the door said that worship was going to be held in the Fellowship Hall, only because I had no idea how the building was set up. But, thankfully we were not the last people through the door, so DD and I followed a couple as they made their way into church.
Wow, I'll tell you, things were hugely different. First, there were as many people there for church as we normally have during bible study on Memorial Day Weekend, at my regular church. For our regular church, it doesn't seem like much because there are usually so many people there. Ok, so it still didn't seem like too many people, but it wasn't a bad thing. Here are some of the things that I noticed...
First, the room was plain, with only a few small flower arrangements to soften the atmosphere. Because of the plain room with the white walls, your eyes were readily drawn right to the alter, your attention focused there. Again, not a bad thing. Beside the alter was a standard wooden podium, and that was all.
Out in the seating area, chairs were plain. Some looked as though they were purchased years ago for a fellowship hall. To fill in the gaps, they had plain folding chairs. You would think that maybe this would be a little uncomfortable, except that no one sat very long anyway. DD surely didn't mind her chair, though she used it as a table while she drew on the little booklet that an usher gave her. That was very nice, and it kept her occupied.
Instead of the huge $$$$ sound system that I am used to, we were given simple worship folders, blue hymnals, and a small organ sat at the back of the room. Things definitely were far from flashy, but I believe that was part of the charm, and it did nothing to detract from the experience.
As I looked around, I noticed that the seats were filled mostly with older people. There were a few younger people with a handfull of kids, but the rest were all older folks. One thing that was very strikingly different was that everyone was modestly dressed. The gentlemen looked well-kept, though they were not over-burdened with jackets & ties. Still, each man was well-groomed and presentable. Every woman that I saw was dressed neatly, nothing flashy, but certainly not the lowrider jeans and tanktops that I am used to seeing. All clothing was pretty and respectable. To be honest, I was the most dowdily dressed lady in the room. No one seemed to mind at all though, and I definitely didn't feel bad about the running shoes that were peeking out from under my long skirt. Hey, it's a long walk! lol
The only way that I can really describe the service is....... mass-ish. *laughs* Again, not a bad thing. The pastor was easily distinguishable, as he was wearing a simple robe. I'll admit that maybe he wasn't the most beautiful and flowery speaker in the world, but he made up for it in content. After so many "Christian-lite" services, it was downright refreshing to hear the simply told gospel. The sermon was concise, without being snooze-inducer. The worship folders were full of unrelentingly biblical prayers and confessions. You know, I had never recited the Nicene Creed during a worship service before. That was great.
I will tell you that the only area that I found a little difficult was singing from the blue hymnal. It isn't that I am stuck on sensational praise songs, or have problems with older hymns. Actually, it was the page turning! *laughs* I will have to remember to bring little bookmarks with me from now on, so I can mark my pages before the service begins. It is so frustrating to be flipping pages while everyone else is singing.
One thing that made a huge impression on me was that, I don't think that I have ever been in a service that has had so much prayer incorporated throughout. I wasn't joking when I said that we hardly used our chairs. Whether it was because of the large amount of elderly believers, or the lack of kneelers, we did not kneel today. Instead, everyone stood whenever praying, reciting, hearing the gospel reading, and sometimes while singing. Good. I don't like to just sit back and feel like I'm watching a show anyway.
Communion was definitely different. In our regular church, whole rows of people circle the altar for communion, and then the blessing is said over the whole group. One group returns to their seats, and the next is ushered up. At this other church, a single line is formed for communion. One lay-minister places a communion wafer in your hand and proclaims it the body of Christ. I am used to store-bought flat breads, kind of like pita. The wafers are different, but it doesn't bother me any. Next, you stand before the pastor to recieve the wine, as he proclaims it the blood of Christ, shed for the forgiveness of our sins. He does this over EVERY person, and each person waits patiently in line until their turn comes. There is no rush, like I see in many Catholic parishes. One thing I did notice though, and got a chuckle out of.... the pastor never takes his hands from the cup. At our regular church, lay-ministers will hand you the cup, and take it to clean before handing it to the next person. It was different, to tip the cup while it remained in the pastor's hands. It felt a little weird, but was no big deal. After the pastor was done speaking to me, he reached down and made the sign of the cross on DD's forehead and said a blessing over her.
All in all, the impression that I take away from visiting this church is a pleasant one. Before I went, I had heard some pretty negative comments about how the church is a "dead church", because they do not have the numbers (and therfore- income) of some other churches. While they were right to say that it is a small congregation, I saw two things that really spoke to me.
#1 God's Word was strongly preached, with the fullness of His message. Nothing was watered down, neither lesson from the law, nor salvation by God's grace through faith in the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus. Awesome.
#2 The heart of the people is big. I was not overwhelmed by anyone when we showed up, but was made comfortable. It was shown that they appreciated my worshipping with them.At one point, the lady who was sitting near DD and I, she gave DD her hymnal when she saw that DD was having a hard time finding a firm surface to put her coloring page on. That was so nice of her. After service was completed, an usher came up to me and thanked me for coming, and expressed that they hoped that I would come again. More than his words, his bright smile made me feel welcomed.
So, DD and I have made a date to go again next week. She asked me prettily if I would make her a yellow sun hat, to keep the sun out of her eyes while we walk. We may well be armed with sun hats, or possibly raincoats. But, we will make our walk again next week. We will just have to remember to leave more time for the trip. lol