June 5, 2011
Church #6
I chose this church the old-fashioned way – it sits on a corner near my house, so I walked to worship. Another mainline Protestant congregation, with a more friendly and accessible feel to it than the last church. The priest welcomed me with a little chat before the service.
This was an interesting 1-1/4 hours for me, as I only knew one hymn, went to the rail for communion and intincted rather than sipping from the cup (eww!!), and endured another lengthy passing of the peace. (Why do people feel they need to shake hands with everybody in the sanctuary?)
Very special, there was a brief healing/annointing gathering (not noted in the bulletin), where people who wanted healing prayer were invited to come up, people of all ages did so, with varying issues. This was the moment that brought some emotion to me. The priest was very kind and indeed was channeling some sort of healing power to these people as he used the oil to make a cross on their foreheads.
Here is my personal “moment of Zen,” as Jon Stewart would say. Before worship started I began to noodle with a couple of questions I had run across in my journey, as follows: “What do I have to let go of and what is it making room for?” The priest noted this was the Sunday after the Ascension of Jesus, and recreated one of my favorite scenes in the New Testament, where the disciples stand, watching Jesus (or the space where he had gone to), their eyes focused up to the heavens. And the angels appear and say “what are you doing, you have work to do here on earth” (basically). And then the priest went on to talk about letting go. Hmmm…..
I was glad I went. I told my husband when I got home…..I actually felt like a Christian there. He asked, what do you mean by that? I mean….I felt that who I am would be accepted there, with all my doubts and questions and opinions.
I have been thinking that having an impactful experience at a church is not the same as choosing a community. But it is a wonderful thing to walk through.
