I love my church!!

[dsdrane]

I'm absolutely head-over-heels in love with my church. I still shake my head in disbelief that it actually exists and I'm now a part of it.

Last Sunday was our first service in the parish hall, where we will be while work is done to the altar area of the sanctuary. We'll probably be out for a month or so. The parish hall is smaller than the sanctuary and, for reasons that are still unclear, average attendance is up, which meant the congregation was spilling out onto the lawn and other outside areas adjacent to the hall. (This being Florida, this is actually possible in the middle of January.)

There was a fun energy in our new surroundings. People flubbed their readings; the priest flubbed some of his "lines"; people laughed; jokes shared about being "in exile"; communion was a traffic jam, etc. Then, after reminding us (with a laugh) that flexibility was a virtue, our priest said that people so often confuse their church with the actual building with the altar and steeple, when the real church was the congregation and the worldwide Body of Christ.

Whoa.

Today, we were really in exile, forced to meet "off campus" because of multiple baptisms as well as a dinner later and annual meeting. There we all were, in a completely different building, in a different town, with a different organ, etc., and yet I was in my church. All of the people who've become so important to me in such a short amount of time were there. I got and gave all the hugs I normally do; I shared smiles with everyone I normally share smiles with; I met new people and got to know others already met just a little bit better. My church was all around me...miles away from our sanctuary.

I look forward to getting back to that sanctuary. I love it. But I'll never again confuse it with what is truly my church.

So...how about the rest of you? Are you in love, too? How so?

Discuss.:)

[frankandcathy]

I am also in love with my church. I was thinking today about the one word I'd use to describe it: "Available."

I've lived in many different cities, attended many different churches, and been in leadership in most of them and I've never had as much connection as I have at my church now.

When we arrived there 2 years ago, people were immediately available to me. I'd call people...they were home. They'd come over for dinner. We'd meet for coffee. They weren't too busy with their lives to have time to minister to me.

My husband and I were having some issues in our marriage and with our kids and within weeks we were able to meet with different couples on a regular basis to help get it straightened out.

Heck, our pastor even met with us before we decided to part from our old church. He gave us wise counsel that we weren't getting where we were and pastored us even though we weren't his "flock" yet.

Anyway...awesome question. It is heart-breaking to me to hear people say that they love God but hate church.

~C

[Zerbie]

Both your churches sound lovely. I especially liked the description of dsdrane's service this morning - I would have connected with that.

[Pablo Rafael]

David,

It is great to find someone else who loves church as much as I do. I love my church because there is a reverance for the Lord, His Word, and the sacraments. There is a real sense of worship. At the same time there is a light and joyous feeling; that is due a lot to our priest who is a great guy who is always overflowing with joy.

Being a musician it is always great that I have a chance to join into the service. Sometimes I play for more than one mass. (That should get me some bonus points from whoever is keeping track of such things. Hmm...I wonder, just what good are those bonus points? :confused:)We are traditional in style but also have quite a bit of contemporary music. And it is a Catholic parish where people actually sing! That is not always the case in Catholic churches.

Our parish is fairly large (about 1100 families) with 4 masses a weekend. It is primarily Hispanic and has a LOT of children. My greatest obstacle is that my church is not in my hometown and is a fair drive away. Distance keeps me from getting involved with a lot of the "extra" activities.

Tu Amigo, Pablo

[dsdrane]

We had our annual meeting tonight, which was so much fun for me as a new parishioner. And, again, the "in exile" thing made it that much more poignant.

My priest was inches in front of me tonight. Who knew he took such incredibly skillful harmonic license with the hymns? Who knew he was a tenor? I was blown away!

I met people tonight I hadn't met before. There was a laid-back attitude about it all (maybe because we were away from our usual space?) I felt such a joy about being a part of a family, despite the fact that I still didn't know the majority of the people seated around me. But I knew, even if I didn't know them personally, they were still part of my family. What a blessing is that? At this same meeting, our church also invested the new members of the vestry. I couldn't be happier with the lay leadership in our church (at least as far as I know). Based on what I've seen so far, I'm so giving them the benefit of the doubt. Soon, I'll stand for a position myself, but I've got stuff I need to do first. I want to prove myself worthy first.

Enough about me. Tag, you're it. Why do you love your church? Testify, y'all! Let's hear it!

[HarmlessEccentric]

I love my church.

During advent, each week a family lights the advent candles. This year, it was:

Week 1: A gay male couple
Week 2: A straight couple
Week 3: A lesbian couple and their son
Week 4: A pair of friends

This is only a symbol of all the things I love about my church, of course.

[BenL]

David,

I share your experience in my church. What are the externals that make it so good for me? Music, liturgy carried out with reverence but not stuffiness, excellent preaching, a beautiful worship space.

A few Sundays ago the boiler that served the church went on the fritz. Now, this is not Florida but New England, so we couldn't move outdoors to the garden. We crammed ourselves into the Guild Room, so-called. We sat on folding chairs. The music was led by an electronic keyboard instead of our gorgeous pipe organ. The liturgy was necessarily less formal. But I still felt the same warm enveloping of good will that the gathering of God's people provides for me.

What do both services have in common. The people, of course, but, more, what happens when the people gather in God's name: wherever we are, that becomes sacred space. For me our ho-hum existence gets transformed. Just my experience. It's something like the comfort level I experience when I'm in queer space, but on a different level. In both cases, I'm at ease because I feel accepted.

BenL