Worship Service

            I’ll admit it.  Being new to the whole thing, I was sorta startled that FCCI relocated worship the weekend of the Feed My Starving Children MobilePack.  Marcie Bishop mentioned that the sanctuary was used for group orientation, which does sorta bump into our regularly scheduled program!  In fact, I wandered around considering other places in the building we could hold a simplified worship service, but a few people reminded me that the whole facility is filled with activity, and even if a room would work, it might be hard to hear anything.  Duh, David.  But I felt a little strange about relocating.  That was probably the preacher’s proprietary feeling about the primacy of worship in the life of the church.  And maybe a bit of unconscious, reflexive territoriality that goes with the job!  Momentarily.

            But then I realized that the other side of my theology was really happy!  Worship is important, but not the only priority for a community of faith.  Mission is, too.  I’ve always known that and pushed for that… duh, David.

           My flitting feeling that the building is being invaded supposes that our facility is a refuge from the world, or, as some congregations and some architectures show, a fortress protecting it from the world.  A healthier perspective is that a church’s facility is a launching place into the world, a base of operations, a recharging station to have the energy to work the rest of the week for our neighbors’ well-being.  It is the garage, the workshop, the warehouse, the central depot from which the employees in their service trucks go out to do the job of faith.  The doors swing out.

            On this particular weekend is it much clearer to see that spiritual impulse to pack and mobilize for the good of others, but this congregation has it all year long.  I think that is a good thing.  Duh, David.

            I’ve seen a few church sanctuaries where over the doors is inscribed, “Our worship is over; Our service begins,” as people leave the sanctuary on their way out into the world and the rest of their weeks.  I’ve always kind of liked such theology.  This Sunday, First Congregational really does that!  Sure, I hope to see a handful of you at Cass Park for our outdoor worship, but I hope a lot of you support or participate in our literal service feeding Christ’s starving children.  Work and worship.  They go together.

                                                                                       In Christ,
                                                                                     
                                                                                               David

Texts For Sunday Worship:
From the Hebrew Bible     Jeremiah 18:1-11
From the Gospels             Luke 14:25-33