If you have never gone to church, what do you think happens there on a Sunday morning? If you have not gone to church for a few decades, do you imagine anything has changed over the years?
The local churches are having an outdoor service at Gibson Park at 10:30 this Sunday. We invite everyone to come out for the worship service. After we are done worshipping God, we will have time for conversation, coffee and some snack food. I think we expect that only church people will come to the service. It is a community event for those who experience and understand the church. If you have never gone to church, what would you want to happen there on this Sunday in Gibson? Maybe we should all just play on the playground equipment at Kate’s Kause. Or maybe we should talk about the things we deal with at work, or with our families, or real issues in our lives?
So, what will happen on Sunday If church has not been part of your experience, it would feel weird. We welcome everyone, we sing, we pray, we listen to a sermon and then we invite God to go with us into our week. It is important to me to meet with the people of God. I feel I am responsible to the rest of the church for my actions and attitudes. I am also responsible to the rest of the world for my actions and attitudes. If someone knows I go to church, they might watch my activities very closely. As they should. I should be no different in church as when I am at work, or when I am watching a Woolwich Minor hockey game.
I have been told that I am a mystic. I see and hear God in silence. I have been influenced by people outside the Mennonite tradition. I have had a Jesuit Catholic spiritual director who told me many times, that I really do not live by the grace of God. I am always trying to do the right things all the time. Henri Nouwen, a Catholic priest, has shown me grace in new ways. Frederick Buechner, a Presbyterian, has shown to me what God is telling me through my life story. I have done three, five and eight day silent retreats. Faith for me is never about logic; it all about mystery. So, I do not need the church as much as others.
This is precisely why I go every week. I need, want to be with them, and they might need me as well. If you have never gone to church, this is hard to explain. I do not need the church to relate to God, but I need them to help me experience God in different ways.
So, back to this Sunday’s service. To remind you, it starts at 10:30. You could stand in the woods if you want to observe us. You might want to stand on the sidewalk on First Street West. At the end of the service we are going to have free food. Come for the coffee and drinks. Ask the people who were at the service, did you meet God? Can you explain it to me, this God thing? What might be your other questions?
I am biased. I have gone to church all my life. I have never left the church. I have had my doubts, and crises of faith. Some of the bible makes no sense to me at all. But the community of God, the church, has always been my community. It has changed me and changed the world. Come out, and sing and pray with us on Sunday; or at least have coffee with us.