Sunday Happenings, October 2

Sunday, October 2, we attended Messiah Community Church in Denver, www.messiahdenver.org  Pastor Wolfgang Stahlberg

When we look for churches to attend on Sundays, we narrow it down by looking at the Lutheran churches and then the ones closest to wherever we are staying. Sometimes there are choices and this Sunday we had more choices available to us because we were in such a big city and also because we still had our rental truck that we didn't need to return until Monday. We still chose close by so that if we had a load opp we would be close if we were dispatched. We put our cells on silent and if we can, we talk to the Pastor before to let him/her know what we do and that we may have to leave. So far that hasn't happened.

We scoped out a couple of churches' websitess and decided on Messiah since it was close by and we also liked their statement on the front page. It stated that they were progressive Christians in a traditional environment. They also welcome the participation of people of all ages, racial and ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientations, gender identities, educational backgrounds, abilities and economic conditions. Talk about an inclusive, welcoming church, this sounded like it was a church meant for anyone. They also quoted St. Benedict, "All who arrive as guests are to be welcomed like Christ, for He is going to say, 'I was a stranger and you welcomed me.'"

Worshipping in different styles and congregations is a wonderful part of being out on the road. The progressive part intrigued us and we weren't sure exactly what that meant, so off we went to find out.

We were instantly greeted with smiles as soon as we pulled into the parking lot. The woman who was greeting at the door noticed that we were visitors and welcomed us and of course asked us to sign the visitors' book. We made our way into the sanctuary and noticed that some people in the congregation were wearing name tags. One of the ladies introduced herself to us and welcomed us and asked us where we were from. I think she was expecting to hear a street name and we said Ohio. Then of course the discussion goes on from there about what we are doing in Colorado. She was very interested in what we did  and thought it was interesting that we had visited churches the weekends we were able to attend church while on the road.

We were told by a couple of different people before the service started that they did things a little differently and the service might be different than what we were used to. Now, as I looked at the bulletin, I really didn't notice a whole lot of difference, it seemed pretty usual to me. There were songs, there was a sermon, some liturgy, readings and communion. I thought all were pretty normal at least compared to our traditional Lutheran worship. Then worship began...

Worship began with silence...not the traditional 1-2 minute silence that always seems a little too long in our congregation. I wasn't timing it but it was noticeably longer than 1-2 minutes. I, personally love the silence of centering myself in worship and this congregation was obviously used to the silence,  because even the children lasted through it.  Silence is one of those places where I get those hairs standing on ends kind of feelings. I've come to realize and understand that the feeling is the Holy Spirit moving through, just taking the time to say, hey, guess, what, I am really here. I know everything about you, every little hair, see I can make them dance:)

Maybe it was just the day, I don't know, but the service from the silence on just seemed to lift God up as what was first and foremost in our lives that morning. The music was played on the piano and God had truly blessed the pianist with a musical gift because you could feel God's presence as he played just like magic on the keyboard. He reminded me of a young man who played during our contemporary services. These musicians show God's love everytime their hands hit the keyboard.

The service also included a children's sermon. I always enjoy these because kid say the darndest things and I really enjoy it when they give the Pastor a hard time. This group of kids included quite a population of boys who really liked to move around. The premise of the sermon was the 10 commandments and the Pastor was talking about older and younger siblings and taking toys away from the other one. I think that is what got the boys started, they were acting out taking away toys from each other. Jim and I both tend to be entertained by the younger kids in church and that was definitely the case that morning during the children's sermon. The parents were probably ready to strangle them and all the pastor was trying to do was to get his point across and all Jim and I could do was to sit and snicker. Ahh...to have the faith of a child, to go back to that feeling where all you had to worry about was your sister taking a toy away from you and the trust that you had in every person, not knowing that there were such things as ulterior motives.

The sermon itself was based on the gospel which was about the parable of the vineyard. Pastor Wolfgang talked about women in Africa who had won the Nobel Peace Prize. He also shared a story about putting out a forest fire and animals carrying water to help put it out. He compared an elephant to a hummingbird. The elephant had asked the hummingbird what it was doing and the hummingbird expressed, "I am doing the best that I can with what I have." He talked about the women in Africa who started out caring enough about their portion of the world and believed that planting one tree at a time would eventually bring peace to the world and to the women in their country. He explained how some of us really don't understand the impact we have on others and small things can make all the difference and when it all boils down, love God and love your neighbor. Make a difference by sharing with others the love you have in Christ and it can make all the difference in the world, just like the hummingbird, do your best with what you have. The women in Africa had no idea the impact they would have on women around the world just by trying to speak out about peace in their own portion of the world. They were beaten, thrown into jail for what they believed and were inspirations to others. How many of us are willing to go through that kind of torment for something we believe in? We all know that Jesus did and the funny thing about it, here in the United States the worst part about sharing your faith with others is that you might get made fun of, none of us have to really worry about the government putting us in jail or beating us for telling others what we believe. Why is it so hard for us? Very good question!

After the sermon, there was time for reflection, in other words silence.  Another blessing of the day, quiet, time to spend understanding what God was trying to tell you through what Pastor Wolfgang had spoken. My understanding was, it is all right to put yourself on the line to share your faith with others, God is with you every step of the way, through the good the bad and the ugly.

We had communion this Sunday. Every congregation has their own traditions with communion.. This congregation did communion by intinction which means you dip the bread in the wine. Communion for me is spiritually fulfilling and helps me understand that God is a loving and forgiving God and going to the table for communion helps me reflect on my relationship with Him and with others. This church had something unique that you were able to do after you received communion. They had a corner that had small candles set up (similar to our Catholic brothers and sisters) that you were invited to light one as you prayed. Not everyone lit a candle which I think was the beauty of it. Not everyone had to go along just because everyone else was doing it, there was something personal about the lighting of the candle.

After the service, we were invited to go to the back of the church for coffee. There we were able to talk to other people and tell of our adventures and we were able to learn about their congregation. We talked to Pastor Wolfgang for quite awhile and he shared with us that the congregation was dying when he got there. He explained that it was in the literal sense, all of the members that were left in the congregation then were 75 or older and they wanted their church to continue. He didn't go into detail with us about how the congregation grew but he did share that it took getting out in the community and welcoming everyone and that it wasn't the work that he did, it was the work of the people in the congregation, he just helped with the direction and God of course does wonderful things in a community of faith.

We shared with him that our home congregation was part of a coopertive ministry which he found interesting. The weekend before in their community they had an interfaith worship service that included Muslims and Jews and he spoke about how powerful that service was and the welcoming of all people in the presence of God. The leaders of each church came together to plan a service for all faiths in the community. I would have loved to have been there to witness the wonder!

Once we left church, we decided that we needed to go to Walmart to replenish our stock in the truck. After going to church, walmart just continued our experience. There were so many people from so many different races, ethnic and religious backgrounds. Different languages were spoken, I think maybe I counted five different ones that I heard. Of course truth be told, I can tell you English and Spanish differences but the others I wouldn't be able to tell you other than I know that they weren't English:)

The cultural differences were apparent as you walked through the grocery aisle. First of all, in northwest Ohio, you would never find an item like lard in the middle of the main aisle. This wasn't just one display but two, one for bulk containers and another display for the pound size. Now at our walmart it is usually on the bottom in the aisle with the vegetable oil. There were so many different types of foods that I can't even remember because they were foods that we don't have at home. There were meat parts that even this country girl didn't know how to fix. Once you noticed all of the differences in people you understood the vastness and uniqueness of the groceries available, this walmart had something for each of their customers and had grown to stock the items that many different cultures use. Who ever thought you could enter a Walmart that would include people from so many different ethnic groups. Walmart a little piece of the world and an example of the melting pot of the U.S.

As we were leaving, we unintentionly walked in front of a woman and I stopped and said, "Excuse me." She looked at me and said, "I wish more people would take the time to say excuse me." She said that no one seems to care anymore if they walk in front of you or walk into you, they just keep going. In a way I felt sorry for her, thinking to myself, I hear what I consider manners from lots of people and like her,  I really appreciate it that someone takes the time to care enough about someone else to stop and say so. I had just witnessed it more than once just inside, a gentleman and I almost ran into each other and I said I'm sorry, he said that's ok they weren't in any hurry and to go ahead. It makes me wonder, do some people just not notice or is it that for some reason others don't respond the same way to her as they do me?

Since we've been driving and I will probably say most of my life, I try to always see the good in others. Others will tell you probably that sometimes it is to the extreme and that I would probably see one good thing in what society would consider the worst person in the world. There is so much good in the world, so many people who are trying to make a difference in their small portion of the world. There are many, many people who aren't just out for themselves, take time to notice those people. I also like to take time to wonder what it would be like if we all noticed the wonderful things that people do for each other instead of pointing out and noticing the mistakes and bad things others do to us. There is good all around us and God smiles when we notice his creative handiwork!

Take the time to show others your shining side! God loves us all and nothing we can do will change that, love others for who they are and for who God made them to be!

Peace and God's blessings,
Judy