So last Sunday, Drew and I attended yet another church. This one is a church that is attended by a dear friend of mine. I had heard raving reviews from her, and also from one of my (ex) customers at Redeye. I found out that my customer (Colin) was preaching this particular Sunday, so I told Drew I wanted to go.

So we did. We almost drove right by Kingsway Christian Church, as it’s small and easy to miss.  As we walked into the small sanctuary, I was almost immediately greeted by my friend Courtney. She ran back and enveloped me in a big hug. Always a good way to walk into church! She hugged Drew as well, and then Colin came around the corner and greeted us both.

After those greetings, we were of course accosted by the rest of the congregation. Okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but I’m finding that as a newcomer, it often feels like that.  Like I’ve already talked about in a previous post, I appreciate the warm welcome, but please don’t pressure me into joining your church yet. Just let me worship with you. Drew whispered to me as we ducked into the back pew, “We need name tags that say, ‘Give me a bulletin and leave me alone.’ ”

After we got through the overzealous welcomes and the several apologies for how small the congregation was because of Spring Break (I don’t care how many people are filling your pews. I’m not here to judge you by your numbers.), worship began. Courtney and Colin were the only two leading worship. Courtney on keyboards and harmony (with a special solo on one song) and Colin on guitar and lead vocals. Their power point man was not with them, so there was simply no power point. Period. No words to the songs. They picked easy songs that people would know so they could worship easily. My first reaction was, “Great, how well is this going to go over?” Then they started with Sanctuary, a song that is pretty special to me. Okay, good way to start.

The rest of the songs were good too. I knew all of them (Drew didn’t, and was struggling to try to figure the words out to some as we went) and found it refreshing to not be focused on the words on the screen. I wasn’t so worried about what words were coming next. I just relaxed and worshipped. It was refreshing. And with only two of them leading worship, it was simple. I liked that.

Communion came rather abruptly, with no intro and no indication of how to take it. It was delivered to us in the pews, and Drew and I looked around, wondering how they were going to take it. Did they take it together? Was it a take as you feel led kind of deal? As the new people, you don’t want to do things the wrong way. You wait for instructions. And they never came. I was tempted at first to not take it, as I was somewhat struggling with the worship and the other church crap that often creeps up during services. However, Drew took his wafer and little juice cup, and I thought to myself, “If I need to hold these until the end of the service until I feel ready to take this, I will.” So I took it, and clutching my wafer, prayed the best prayer I could. I was shedding a few tears, mainly out of frustration at the feelings that I can’t seem to feel anymore in worship: peace, warm fuzzies, contentment, conviction. So I simply offered that to God. I asked God to take the frustration, cause it felt like it was all I had to offer. And in that, there was some peace. I opened my eyes, and Drew whispered to me, “The body of Christ, broken for you.” Then, “The blood of Christ, shed for you.” And we had our own special communion service as husband and wife, in the back pew of this little church.

So the service went on. Colin stood up to preach. He spoke for about 40 minutes, and both Drew and I were focused the whole time. It was one of those sermons where you look at your watch and think, “Wow! How did 40 minutes pass so fast?” I was especially encouraged at the fact that he TAUGHT from the Bible rather than PREACH at us. I feel that so many sermons I’ve heard lately have some short Bible verse or verses that the sermon is loosely based around, and they talk for 20 or 30 minutes with some somewhat inspiring message and that’s the end. I often leave feeling a lot of disconnect. Colin didn’t do that. He had us open our Bibles (which made me wish I had brought my own) to Numbers to the story of Balaam and his donkey. He spoke about the choices we make in life, and challenged us to make the right choices, the choices that God would have us make. Balaam made some pretty poor choices. Then he used his “weak hinge” and tied it into the story of Jesus riding the donkey into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. He spoke of how Jesus had choices and didn’t need to go through what He did. I was engaged the whole time. I loved being able to read through the Bible and learn from it and be able to relate it to my life.

We walked out that morning feeling refreshed and fulfilled. It was so encouraging to be able to focus during an entire sermon and not drift all over the place. Drew made a comment that it was probably the best service we’ve been to yet. I had to agree.

Drew and I took another Sunday morning to visit another church. There was a church that Drew had heard about called “Church at the Movies.” It was a Baptist church that decided that it wanted to reach out more to younger people. So, rather than meet in a church, they decided to meet in one of our local movie theaters. Drew checked the website and we found that the service started at 10, with the coffee bar opening at 9:30. Coffee bar was all I needed to hear.

We got to the theater a bit early, so we sat in the car and read the paper for a bit. When we got out of the car and walked toward the theater, there were people greeting us before we even got to the door. “Welcome! There are coffee and bagels inside!” Two more steps. “Welcome! We’re so glad you’re here! Coffee and bagels are right over there!” Three more steps. “Hi! Welcome! I’m *insert name.* Are you new? Coffee and bagels are right there! Help yourself!” I kept thinking to myself, “I SEE the coffee! I want to GET to the coffee!” I’m always thankful for a warm welcome, but this was borderline excessive. Since Drew and I aren’t looking for a new church, just simply trying to participate in different worship services, we’re not anxious to check the “First time visitor” section of the sign in pad. I do appreciate a warm welcome and a church that is genuinely glad that you are there, but there is a fine line between that and smothering. I can understand that struggle. It’s hard to find a good balance. How can I make you feel welcome without making you want to run screaming for the car?

So we finally got to the coffee (I was relieved that it wasn’t Maxwell House.) I was fixing my coffee when yet another person was greeting me (this time not in a smothering way, just a genuine smile and “welcome.”) and then I heard, “She’s cool. I know her.” I looked up and saw the bagel and muffin man (why yes, I do know the muffin man) who often delivers the muffins and bagels to the coffee shop I work at. He and I have had many lovely encounters in the wee morning hours at 6 a.m. We chatted for a bit, and he introduced me to his fiance (they get married THIS Saturday!) and I introduced him to my husband. It was nice to see a familiar face.

We headed into the theater and found the band ready to begin worship. They started with a David Crowder song and then a Charlie Hall song. I enjoy both of these worship leaders/songwriters, so it was an enjoyable way to start. I didn’t recognize the rest of the songs, but they were enjoyable, and it was nice to hear some new stuff. There was only one vocalist, and I found I enjoyed that. It was simple. He wasn’t a “trained” vocalist, which I found refreshing. He kept it simple and didn’t do any crazy vocal aerobics like us vocalists are often tempted to do.

There was a movie clip they used in the middle of the service. I think they do that every week (hence the whole church at the movies thing). I can see how it would be hard to find a clip that fits in each week. The clip we watched didn’t really make sense to me. I couldn’t see how it fit in. I guess they can’t all be winners.

The pastor was a good speaker. Drew and I enjoyed his speaking. He spoke on the blood, and why it’s so crucial to Christianity. He acknowledged that talking about blood is weird and not many of us want to hear about it, but that it is so important. He was funny, and I liked how he actually taught from the Bible. He referenced back to Scripture a lot, and tried to explain it as he went. I feel like so many sermons I’ve heard lately don’t really teach much from the Bible. I miss that.

He did start to get a bit long winded toward the end. He had four points that he wanted to leave us with. I can’t remember what they were. He spent so much time explaining the first one that by the time he got to the second one, I couldn’t remember what the first one was. But overall, he did well and I enjoyed listening to him. It was the longest I was able to focus during a sermon for a long time.

He finished with a prayer, and it was a typical Baptist prayer. With our heads bowed, he led us in prayer, then started addressing the audience about accepting Jesus, without closing the prayer. A bit later he closed the prayer. I realized this is a pet peeve of mine. I don’t like to combine the prayer with the “altar call.” Pray if you’re going to pray. Talk to me if you’re going to talk to me. But don’t combine the two. Don’t start talking to me when you’re praying to our Holy God. It just doesn’t work. I never know if I should open my eyes or keep them closed. It’s awkward and… annoying.

Other than that, the service was enjoyable. Drew and I walked out refreshed, which was… refreshing. And passing the popcorn bucket as the offering plate was fun.

Drew and I have taken a break from church duties, and in our new found free time on Sunday mornings, we’ve tried some different ways to connect with God. We’ve taken some time to ourselves, at our Church of the Loveseat (as Drew so aptly named it…) and shared some music and thoughts with each other. We also decided to spend some time visiting other churches. We didn’t want to be searching for another church or “church hopping,” but simply wanted to experience some different worship experiences.

This morning, we went to St. Peter’s Anglican Church. I wanted to try something traditional, and Drew was willing to go along. I guess I didn’t think about the fact that Anglican means “high” church (A term I really don’t like). I didn’t think about all the “smells and bells” that would accompany the worship. The incense gave me a headache, and reminded me of those “new age” stores. Incense is never something I associate with worship, and it sort of threw me at first. I mean, I hear about it and read about it, but just haven’t experienced it in worship often. When they processed by us, swinging the incense ball to and fro, I fought back the urge to cough.

I can appreciate the imagery of the incense representing our prayers wafting up to heaven though, and once it dissipated a bit, it was bearable. After that, the symbolistic and ritualistic side of the worship fascinated me. I was intrigued by the processional, and wondered why the bearer of the cross was holding one hand to his forehead. What’s a Verger? Or a Thurifer? It was all very interesting.

The rest of the the service was followed word for word out of the bulletin. Part of me loved the flowing and poetic nature of the prayers and the texts, and the other part of me resented having to keep my nose buried in the bulletin. Drew commented later that he had to focus so much on the order that he missed out on what was happening.

The classical musician in me loved the music. Traditional worship is refreshing some days, and other days it can honestly just be boring. Today it was refreshing. I especially loved singing the Kyrie. It was printed in the bulletin and looked like the Gregorian chants that I studied in my music history classes. Music without stems and measure markings is way too cool. Singing it was mystical and (to me) fulfilling.

I enjoyed hearing all the Scriptures read (an Old Testament, Psalm, and New Testament reading) rather than the selected text that we were focusing on. Unfortunately, the preaching left something to be desired, at least for me. I tried to focus, but spent more time bringing my drifting mind back to attention then actually paying attention.

Communion was also intriguing. The words spoken were somewhat familiar and comforting. Watching the motions gone through during the reading was interesting. Again, lots of ritual. We opted out of taking communion, knowing that we’d be more focused on taking communion correctly; nervously watching our neighbors to see if we’re doing it right, than focusing on the true meaning of Holy Communion. One thing I love about my husband is that he doesn’t take communion lightly. He won’t take it simply because he’s expected to. He takes time to mentally and spiritually prepare himself, and if he doesn’t feel ready, he won’t hesitate to not take it. He’d rather not take it than take it flippantly.

We had an ending hymn, and then a dismissal, and then the recessional, complete with the swinging incense ball. (I wonder if they have a class on how to swing it… seemed like there was some technique behind it.) We said hello to a couple of the pastors (several of which I know because they are regular customers at the coffee shop I work at) and then were on our way. Drew made a comment about needing to use the Neti Pot when we got home to clear the incense out of his nose.

All in all, I enjoyed the experience. The biggest thing I appreciated was the fact that there seemed to be real reverence in the worship. I know many people probably go through the motions without really thinking about it, but there was a sense of holiness and respect for the God we were there to worship. I think in many churches, there is such a sense of making church “comfortable” (which is very important, don’t get me wrong) that we lose the sacredness of it all. I don’t want church to be boring and rote (the boy across the aisle from us appeared less than impressed with the service… made me wonder if he has any way to really engage during worship) but at the same time I don’t want to lose sight of how holy God is and how puny I am. Maybe I don’t incense for that, but it was a good reminder…