Showing posts with label Episcopal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Episcopal. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 28, 2018

Mindy goes to church alone

The Episcopal Church of St. John the Baptist in the Admiral District of West Seattle, Seattle, Washington
The Reverend Kate E. Wesch was describing the impromptu use of the church building as a smoke sanctuary when air quality made it dangerous for children and those with breathing challenges to spend time outdoors. The families and children who came weren’t there for a worship service, she said, they were “simply enjoying this holy place.”

She talked about the meaning of the word sanctuary: a place of refuge and safety.

I appreciated hearing how members of the congregation and the community had come together to provide a place of refuge. Like most others in the Seattle area, I’d spent a good deal of the previous week concerned about the smoky air from distant fires. It was good to hear how the church had responded.

Then Kate talked about the Gospel reading for the morning, John 6:56-69. She said it was the end of the “Bread of Life” passage, and mentioned the connection with Communion. Then she quoted Take This Bread, a book that Dean and I refer to frequently, one that inspired a visit to another Episcopal church.

In that book, Sara Miles described her sudden and unexpected conversion to Christianity, a description that Kate (who said she was a “cradle Episcopal;” she'd been part of the Church her whole life) said, “has always stayed with me because it was so foreign to my experience.”

The congregation would be sharing communion -- good bread and wine -- together as the culmination of the worship service. In preparation, as she closed her sermon, Kate said that as the author of Take This Bread “found sanctuary that morning...I pray that we find it here together. I pray we find it here in this holy place of refuge.”

The smoke had, for the time being anyway, lifted outside, but inside, the sanctuary of the church was still very much present, even after the worship service when I joined others for a time of fellowship (and snacks).









Wednesday, January 17, 2018

We Go to an Early Service

St James Episcopal Church, Fresno, California
Saint James Episcopal Cathedral, Fresno, California
To be honest, we went to Saint James because it was nearby, and the service started at 7:30 am. I’d worked 11:00 pm to 7:00 am the night before, so an early service meant I’d get to bed earlier -- which sounded very good. Many churches don’t offer an early service, but I didn’t feel like I could stay awake for an 11:00 am service.

There are plenty of other reasons people choose early services: those kids’ soccer leagues that play on Sundays, or Sunday work schedules (next Sunday morning, Mindy has to be at work by 10:45), not to mention (though I guess I’m about to) the NFL playoffs -- after church I heard a few guys discussing whether that afternoon’s games would make an Eagles - Patriots Super Bowl matchup. (I’m hoping for Vikings - Jaguars myself.)

The Reverend Canon Keith Brown acknowledged during the service that there was something different about the 7:30 crowd from 9 and 11 o’clockers. He mentioned that those who attend the early service tend to arrive early, while people at later services tend to come late. That was true the morning we visited; a number of people were already seated, all quiet, when we arrived around 7:25. A moment later, Keith said, “I’m sorry to interrupt you while you meditate or pray,” but he wanted to encourage worshipers to ponder the calls of Samuel and Nathanael in the morning Scripture readings. “These two important calls are your homework for the next four minutes,” he added.

Keith referred to those who come to that early service as “active contemplatives,” people who want both to be Mary and Martha, to be still and to work simultaneously. Keith said that's his own tendency as well, and that by looking at the faces in the congregation, he could tell that many could relate.

A little later, during the sermon, Keith did talk about those calls to ministry, which are found in I Samuel 3 and in John 1. He discussed the importance of listening to God’s call and also answering God’s call. He also talked about the importance of having other people in our lives who help us discern God’s call.

We noticed another distinctive in the earliest service of the morning (called the Contemplative Eucharist): it had no accompanist. Later services include hymns and songs, but this one doesn’t. Even so, the service isn’t without music. As it says in the liturgy, “A proper preface (to the Eucharist) is sung or said on all Sundays.” When Keith leads the service, it is sung, because he loves music.

After the service, I asked Keith how the other morning services differ from that first service. He said that people in later services tended to be more involved in social activism, and that the later services have a younger crowd.Most at the service we attended were roughly our age(that would be “not young”) or older. No children were in attendance at the 7:30 service, but we saw several arriving for the 9:00 worship.

We mentioned our project of visiting churches and bars, and he kindly said he hoped we’d be back at Saint James more than once a year. He also sent a very nice email the next day, which
is the kind of personal follow up we’ve really come to appreciate.

The saying is the early bird catches the worm. Frankly, I haven’t gone fishing for a very long time, so my interest in worms is minimal, but being early has other benefits, such as an encouraging time of worship at churches like Saint James.

Friday, November 25, 2016

We Go to 2 Church Thanksgiving Dinners in Wyoming

Cooking in a motel room requires a little creativity
Yesterday, we were thankful for churches that open their doors for feasts that welcome all comers. We found that two churches in Casper, Wyoming, celebrate Thanksgiving with a meal together, and since one began at noon and the other around 2:00 pm, we were able to spend time at both.

College Heights Baptist Church and Saint Mark Episcopal Church, we're very grateful for you. Thank you for making us feel like family.
Thanksgiving meal #1











On our way to dinner #2






Games before the meal 

Ask Dean if you want to know how to play Telephone Pictionary





As we sang before the second meal: "For health and strength and daily bread, we praise your Name, O Lord."


Wednesday, August 17, 2016

14 Maine churches from the outside (and one from the inside)

United Baptist Church, Saco, Maine
United Baptist Church, Saco

St Paul's Episcopal Church, Brunswick, Maine
St Paul's Episcopal Church, Brunswick,

Berean Baptist Church, Brunswick, Maine
Berean Baptist Church, Brunswick



Monroe Community Church, Monroe, Maine
Monroe Community Church

Grace United Methodist Church, Bangor, Maine
Grace United Methodist Church, Bangor


St Thomas Anglican Church, Ellsworth, Maine
St Thomas Anglican Church, Ellsworth

St Savior Episcopal Church, Bar Harbor, Maine
Saint Savior's Episcopal Church, Bar Harbor

Bar Harbor Congregational Church, Bar Harbor, Maine
Bar Harbor Congregational Church

Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, Bar Harbor, Maine
Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, Bar Harbor

St Andrew's Lutheran Church, Ellsworth, Maine
St Andrew's Lutheran Church, Ellsworth

Congregational Church of East Sumner, Maine
Congregational Church of East Sumner
Bible Baptist Church, Hancock, Maine
Bible Baptist Church, Hancock

Ellsworth Community of Christ, Maine
Ellsworth Community of Christ
as promised: inside St Thomas Episcopal Church,
Camden
Windows inside St Thomas Episcopal, Camden

more windows, same church
St Thomas Episcopal Church, Camden, Maine
And the outside: beautiful stone tower, beautiful half-timbered walls, beautiful pointy steeple. all in one building.
St Thomas Episcopal Church, Camden