Yesterday (Sunday), I conducted worship and preached in the St.Peter's Ecumenical Church (Lutheran, Anglican, United) in Slave Lake Alberta. That's roughly 4000 kms north of where I live. Last year, Slave Lake experienced the trauma of being caught in a forest wildfire. It was a huge blaze, covering many hundreds of square kilometres. Over 405 of the town was reduced to ashes. Many families lost everything they owned. The Ecumenical Church was affected by the fire, and as a result, a new Church has been erected over the past year.
More about the community another time. This time, I want to share my excitement about the church, both building and congregation. From the outside, it looks completed. Inside, it's another story. The huge narthex/hall is an open space with a fireplace in one corner. The Nave is reached through an arch which will hold a glass door. Part of the floor is tiled with cushy plates. The rest is bare plywood. The altar, pulpit and reading desk are all movable. The chairs are serviceable, but temporary, waiting for the interlocking chairs which will be serviceable and also beautiful.
People on the design team kept telling me, with great excitement, of the next addition, the next project, the next step forward. The congregation is a trefoil. Some weeks, they use Anglican liturgy, on other Sundays, Lutheran liturgy prevails. United Church liturgy is added. Same congregation, with additions and subtractions, same pastor each time. In some ways, they make it up as they go along, because few groups have ever done it quite this way before. The whole thing, while moving ahead, is unfinished, incomplete.
To me, that seems just right, and wildly symbolic of the call of God on the Christian community in our age. 'Come together, make a commitment, start something, make it up as you go along, design together, but practice the faith in the midst of incompletion, because, even when the church is all built, we should remember that it isn't finished! We need to keep on making it up.
Too many church buildings and church congregations are complete…they are finished. And many of them, as well as being 'finished,' are also FINISHED! Remember that old saying? "He's still walking around because he doesn't know that he's dead." It makes me incredibly sad to see churches and congregations that keep walking around, dead, without knowing it. I keep trying to think of ways to raise these places and people from the dead, but I guess only God can do that. And perhaps only God can lay some of these places to rest, in God's good time.
In the meantime, standing in the midst of an unfinished church, with an unfinished congregation, was exciting and life giving. I led the worship, but I also was a worshipper, and I came away having been touched by God.
More about the community another time. This time, I want to share my excitement about the church, both building and congregation. From the outside, it looks completed. Inside, it's another story. The huge narthex/hall is an open space with a fireplace in one corner. The Nave is reached through an arch which will hold a glass door. Part of the floor is tiled with cushy plates. The rest is bare plywood. The altar, pulpit and reading desk are all movable. The chairs are serviceable, but temporary, waiting for the interlocking chairs which will be serviceable and also beautiful.
People on the design team kept telling me, with great excitement, of the next addition, the next project, the next step forward. The congregation is a trefoil. Some weeks, they use Anglican liturgy, on other Sundays, Lutheran liturgy prevails. United Church liturgy is added. Same congregation, with additions and subtractions, same pastor each time. In some ways, they make it up as they go along, because few groups have ever done it quite this way before. The whole thing, while moving ahead, is unfinished, incomplete.
To me, that seems just right, and wildly symbolic of the call of God on the Christian community in our age. 'Come together, make a commitment, start something, make it up as you go along, design together, but practice the faith in the midst of incompletion, because, even when the church is all built, we should remember that it isn't finished! We need to keep on making it up.
Too many church buildings and church congregations are complete…they are finished. And many of them, as well as being 'finished,' are also FINISHED! Remember that old saying? "He's still walking around because he doesn't know that he's dead." It makes me incredibly sad to see churches and congregations that keep walking around, dead, without knowing it. I keep trying to think of ways to raise these places and people from the dead, but I guess only God can do that. And perhaps only God can lay some of these places to rest, in God's good time.
In the meantime, standing in the midst of an unfinished church, with an unfinished congregation, was exciting and life giving. I led the worship, but I also was a worshipper, and I came away having been touched by God.
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