Try a New Service Next Week

On Sunday we attended a new-to-us worship of sorts. My friend Matt invited us to their "Gospel meeting." I thought what better way than to use this medium and write about my reflection.

First a little bit of background. Matt wrote about his church, and rather than try to re-explain it, here's the link to that entry.

Since my year in LVC, I have been more open to attending and participating in different religious services. Not just Christian. Baha'i, for example, and Jewish. I am not searching spiritually for a new religion, but I appreciate a better understanding of how other folk live! A tenant of LVC is to grow spiritually, and to do that I feel we must have an understanding of where our friends and community members are spiritually rooted.

I decided not to ask many questions about the meeting and to arrive and go with what happened. These are fellow Christians, after all, how different could it be? I enjoy attending different churches also (Presbyterian, Baptist, Catholic, etc), but somehow I always end up back in the Lutheran church. I entered with an open mind.

We arrived at the house where they meet, just a few minutes from our house in fact. Since doing my LVC year and learning more about diversity, I have been more in tune with race in different situations and noticed that every soul (about 20 couple) in the room was Caucasian. Nothing good, bad, or indifferent about it, just an observation.

Before the meeting started, everyone was very quiet. They appeared reflective, and some were reading their Bibles. I didn't bring mine, so I prayed. This was very different for me as I'm accustomed to fellowship and sharing before service. Then promptly at 1000, meeting started with an a cappella hymn, followed by the sharing of prayers, communion, general reflections about the week, and another hymn. (I hope I didn't leave out a component.)

Throughout the meeting, I felt that I missed so many parts of a Lutheran service. I found myself trying to remember the Apostle's Creed, a piece of liturgy we say almost every week. I came home promptly to look it up and recite it. I also said the Lord's Prayer to myself a few times. I actually yearned for the rhythm, cadence, flow, liturgy, and responsiveness of the traditional Lutheran service. (A reader or minister calls out or sings and the congregation reads or sings a response.) This tradition has very old roots, I believe dating back to the Catholic church, pre-Luther. Even with communion, as the bread and wine were passed, I said to myself, "The body of Christ, given for you" and "The blood of Christ, shed for you."

Also I missed the message, the sermon, a leader. In the Lutheran church we stand for the Gospel reading out of respect for the Gospel, and afterward the pastor gives a message, or sermon, that relates to that week's reading. I feel that is where I "get something" out of service. Along with the music. I love the musical component of a Lutheran service.

What I learned:

• While it would be ideal for us to find a church closer to home, I'm really happy with the leadership, fellowship, and various ministries that Muhlenberg has available.
• The Lutheran service is "comfortable" for me, but I am able to enjoy it even more now as an adult and reflect on each component the more I get to study each one. The more I enjoy a service, the closer I feel to God.
• I was especially impressed with the thoughtful scripture reflection that the members made. I hope this is my "boost" and inspiration to make time for daily scripture readings.

So try a new service next week. You might learn something!