Today I spied on my own church - I went to Bethlehem!
I have been trying to get different church experiences, and it is definitely an different experience for a pastor to attend worship and sit in the pews, but what really made this experience different from normal for me was that I didn't have to rush out right after worship. The longest I have ever been able to stay at coffee hour at Bethlehem is about 10 minutes - so what a gift it was to stay until the very end! I didn't leave until almost 11:30!
My original plan today was to go to Browncroft Community Church. This is a large church near my house that I hear a lot about, and I really wanted to check it out, see what the buzz is. But the more I thought about it, the more I just really needed to go to a comfortable place to worship, to receive communion, to sing hymns I know and love. (The hymns were particularly good at Bethlehem today... even though I learned later that we accidentally sang NEXT week's hymns! I'm sure no one would complain if we sang them again.) I have never really had to church shop in my life - a little bit in seminary, but not much. It gets exhausting going to a different place each week, and I only did it for a few weeks. Sheesh. Today, I needed to feel like I was home.
But I didn't want my usual rushy-rushy Sunday morning. So I had to choose one church - oh dear! Actually, the choice wasn't that hard. As I said, I never get to go to Bethlehem and not be rushed after worship. I never get to just sit and shoot the breeze with people at coffee hour. Today was a perfect opportunity to do this. The more I thought about it, the more I looked forward to it.
I came a little late, despite my best efforts. (Why is that?? My family jokes that we always have to do confession in the car because we so often miss it in church. I wasn't late to any of the other churches I've visited, but when I go to my own, I'm late. Doggone.) I slipped in and sat next to the council president, who was conveniently near the back and in a pew alone. And then I just worshipped, with a familiar liturgy, familiar people, familiar hymns. So nice. I loved watching my people do their thing, helping the supply preacher for the day, stepping up to cover for people's jobs who couldn't make it today, just being their wonderful selves. I loved that people greeted me so happily, but didn't put any demands on me. I loved how happy they were to see me looking and feeling so well. I felt so much like a part of that congregation, like just a regular member of the Body of Christ. I felt so happy.
Then of course today was Sunday School Teacher Appreciation Day - so there was ice cream after church! Woo-hoo! I sat around and chatted with a couple groups of people. They asked about my wedding plans, and I showed them pictures of my dress, and of our new house (PS - I just sent in my mortgage commitment! This is really happening!). I learned some things I didn't know about my parishioners, like that one guy works with wood and enjoys restoring old furniture. I saw pictures of a new grandbaby. Perhaps my favorite moment of all was sitting with some of the ladies and talking about my future surgery plans, and how perhaps at this time next year, we could start trying to get pregnant, and one lady said to me, very seriously, "You'll need lots of practice." I was confused, so she clarified: "You'll need to practice - making babies. It takes a lot of practice to get it right!" and she smiled, and everyone giggled. Someone else chimed in, "Practice makes perfect!" I said we might need to practice every day, and they said, "Yes!" Ah, I love them.
I stayed at coffee hour for over an hour! They were clearly delighted, and several people said how nice it was to have me there. I'm sure it was even nicer for me! :)
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