Sabbatical, Day 57

This morning we attended worship at a nearby Lutheran congregation. I supply-preached there a little more than ten years ago and remembered it as a warm welcoming congregation... much like their pastors at the time. They have since called another senior, and recently an new assistant pastor.

The entrance was clear. There was an entrance to the nursery just off of the narthex, but the functional entrance and check-in was around the bend from their fellowship hall; we just followed the young family in front of us. The nursery attendant seemed very sweet; I think she held Trevan the entire time he was there.

The sanctuary is attractive...not overly crowded, 'tho I would have used fewer banners. They made good use of natural light which also emphasized the simple wooden cross in front. The altar was up a couple steps behind the altar rail, a simple table with clean lines. The font was at the foot of the altar and held a shell with water. A few people used it to remember their baptism as they came up for communion.

This was their "contemporary" service. The liturgical parts (confession and absolution, prayers, etc.) were drawn from several settings from the new and older hymnals, but arranged in a different order. The song choices included everything from "Just a Closer Walk with Thee," to "Here I Am, Lord," and "Lord, Reign in Me." (We also sang "Face to Face" one of my favorites written by Steven & Jill Olson.)

If there was any energy, most of it came from a group of teens who had just returned from a trip. Everyone else, leaders and congregation, all seemed a bit tired, but polite, and not entirely cold. The 25-minute message almost had a couple strong images and points. Mac lead our little family up for communion and held out his hand for the bread; they didn't know what to do at first, but--after learning from Pauline that "Yes, he communes," they did give him the bread and wine. A couple people said a few welcoming things during the greeting and after the service, but no one asked whether we were visiting, or who we were...

hmmm...

Later, Mac and I took his tricycle down by the waterfront. As we went, I tried to keep him on the path, "Look at that, Daddy! See that bird? Look at that funny puppy! Look at that boat go; Wow!"

We pulled over for a long break to throw pebbles in the water. Mac got into it and Katy was relieved that none of them landed on her. As Mac preached and presided, this was my true worship and communion for the day.

Tomorrow, I head to the Grunewald Guild (http://www.artfaith.com/) near Leavenworth for a week. I will be taking a beginners class in oil painting. I am looking forward to the retreat time. I'm a little nervous--to be honest--about learning to paint. I've enjoyed sketching, but haven't really done any painting since acryllics and silk-screening in high school. I better like it, besides the class, the supplies already cost me quite a bit.