Ways of Worship

I find it fascinating to visit other churches from time to time.  Why?  Because God never fails to show me something new about Himself or His people.  Of course He teaches me things in my own little pew at my own little church - but being in a new environment, out of my comfort zone, has a way of opening my eyes and pricking up my antennae.

This past Sunday morning we had the opportunity to worship in a big old brick church built in 1907 that lies just over the hill, literally.  If you go up to the top of our southern fields and walk down through the neighbor's field, there you are.  We often hear its lovely bells chiming on Sunday mornings.

Anyway, we were there at the invitation of our dear friends.  They are missionaries to South Africa, home on furlough, and they were making a presentation during the church's Sunday school hour.  In addition, our friend was asked to preach the morning sermon.  It's been several years now since we've seen the whole family, and though we knew we'd be seeing them later in the week for supper, we couldn't pass up some extra fellowship.  So . . . we killed two birds with one stone and spent time with old friends and time with "new" brothers and sisters.

My desire in sharing this post is to make a little list of some things I noticed and appreciated about our time at a different worship venue.  Perhaps something will set you thinking or planning or putting into action some new blessing for your own place of worship.

* The church we were in followed a liturgical method of worship.  In other words, it's a prescribed way of worship, following a particular arrangement or order of service.  Some people find great comfort in a liturgical format of worship - they know what to expect, what to say, what to do when.  Others find this type of worship can become ritualistic if you aren't careful to engage your heart and mind.  As a child, I attended a church that followed a liturgy, and it became very ritualistic for me as I didn't understand the principles and reasons behind it.  And although I wouldn't desire to participate in this type of worship every Sunday, I have come to appreciate the beauty and order of it - making sure that I engage my heart.  (Though I can't say that reading a prayer feels very comfortable to me!) 
I appreciated this note in the beginning of the bulletin:  "If this is your first time (or first time in a long time) in a liturgical service, don't worry.  Everything is printed for you in order in this bulletin, so keep it in hand for our service.  And remember, like anything else, the more you do it the easier it becomes.  In addition, when reading things aloud and singing familiar songs, it is easy to mentally "check out."  So ask God to help you to participate with all your heart and mind."  Wise words for any worship service!

* This church was one that celebrated All Saints Sunday - a day in which those saints (believers in Christ) that died the previous year were remembered.  I was excited to see how this took place in a Protestant Evangelical church as I've recently done a little research on All Saints Day.  Unfortunately this day has morphed into some unbiblical practices.  However, there are many Protestant churches that do continue this tradition that began long ago when the early Church came together to celebrate the lives of martyrs of the faith.  As found in my research, this church read the list of believers that had passed away over the past year, along with their birth date, date of membership, date of death and their age.  After each name was read, a small candle was lit at the front of the church and the church bell tolled.  The pastor said a prayer of thanks to the Lord for the lives of those remembered and for their faithful service to God.  He also asked that the Lord would help us to be faithful examples of His love to those around us.

* As a little outreach to visitors in the church, the pastor stood at the end of the greeting line after the service with a basket of mini loaves of bread.  When a visitor greeted him, he handed them (and us!) a small bag which contained one of the loaves.  Attached to the bag with a ribbon was his business card with a hand-written note on the back:  Cranberry-Orange Bread with Pecans - Enjoy! - John 6:35  The pastor called this Welcome Bread, and we found out that various women in the church take turns making these little loaves each week to pass out.

* And one last little note of housekeeping - on a rack outside the sanctuary hung a dozen or so cloth bags that were marked "Quiet Bags."  Each one contained several coloring/activity books, crayons and a chocolate.  They were for children to use during the service if so desired.