Worship at St. John's Presbyterian

Alan's writing this one, because he wants to geek out about church stuff for a bit.

On Sunday evening, we made our way to downtown Wellington to join the gathered faithful at St. John's Presbyterian Church.  Thanks to Lisle Gwynn Gentry for recommending the evening service to us. Generally, we tend to gravitate toward more traditional worship services...yes, we like high-fallutin' liturgy and hymns with five or six theologically informed verses...and we also love the tight knit community that can occur in smaller congregations. Well, on Sunday night, we kind of had the best of both worlds.  For the evening service, the folks at St. John's set up their version of a fellowship hall with tables and chairs, a stripped down "chancel" area with small pulpit, projector/screen, and music setup.  We had a bulletin, but it was more for announcements and such.  All the liturgy was displayed.  Before we even walked into that space, though, we were greeted by a young woman named Rose, who happened to be walking in at the same time we were.  She warmly introduced us to other folks, made sure we had coffee or tea, and took the time to get to know us.  In fact, throughout the evening, she hosted us in a very welcoming way.  In the end, I'd say about 30 folks gathered around tables that evening to pray, sing (praying twice), encounter scripture, hear the world briefly proclaimed, and engage in conversation around the week's scripture passage ("render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar"). I had never sung any of the songs, but they were easy to pick up, and the theology was good, if not great (only one reference to the blood).

Worshipping communities like this really fascinate/call to me for some reason.  I truly believe there are places where threads of various worship styles are being woven together to create something deeply connectional...connectional with God and connectional with one's fellow human beings.  And, in my limited experience with such worship services, there seems to be an intergenerational draw.  The room wasn't full of hipster young adults, although there were a few, but rather people of various ages.  It is my hope that I will have the opportunity to be a part of such a worshipping community in the future, whether I'm in a leadership role, or as a participant (not that leaders don't participate in worship...nobody call the worship and sacraments ordination exam police).

After the liturgy concluded, we shared a simple meal of pasta and bread with the our fellow worshippers.  As everyone began walking out into the night, we were made to feel welcome anytime, and invited to worship with them again when we come back to Wellington at the end of the month.  If we were moving to Wellington, I feel quite certain that St. John's Presbyterian Church would be our community of faith.