First Baptist Church
building an inclusive family of faith
Summer of Renewal
May 29 - I'm just now getting a chance to post to this page. It has been a busy month. Statistically, I have:
- heard 12 sermons, 8 lectures. 3 concerts and 1 storyteller
- attended 3 workshops
- attended worship at 7 different churches
- received communion 4 times
- visited 4 libraries and 4 bookstores
- visited 6 cemeteries (it would have been 7 but after driving around for awhile on gravel roads in a forlorn corner of White County, Illinois searching in vain for Macintosh Cemetery, we decided it was time to head to the Cracker Barrel in Mt. Vernon)
- attended 1 major league baseball game
At the end of the week, we went to a baseball game in St. Louis. On a rainy night, the Cards lost in 10 innings to the Pirates, 8-4. A disappointing game but Pujols did hit a home run, and we got to see the new ballpark.
I was in Minneapolis May 17-23 for the Festival of Homiletics. Over 2100 preachers from every state, several countries, and most all denominations were there - there was an overflow crowd at Central Lutheran Church and Westminster Presbyterian Church. It was a phenomenal lineup of speakers, preachers, and musicians and the best event of this sort I have ever attended. If you are interested you can check their website .
While in Minneapolis I went for a walk with some friends near the collapsed I-35 bridge. We walked across the 11th Avenue Bridge to get a closeup look at construction on the new bridge - it is pretty amazing. Crews worked nearly 24 hours a day all through the winter and they are ahead of schedule. Here are two photos I took, the first of the south end of the bridge (downtown Minneapolis in background) and the second of the north end:
While in Minneapolis I went for a walk with some friends near the collapsed I-35 bridge. We walked across the 11th Avenue Bridge to get a closeup look at construction on the new bridge - it is pretty amazing. Crews worked nearly 24 hours a day all through the winter and they are ahead of schedule. Here are two photos I took, the first of the south end of the bridge (downtown Minneapolis in background) and the second of the north end:
While in Evansville and then in Minneapolis, I visited some interesting churches. I went to a "U2charist" in Evansville. This is a worship service that is based around the music of U2, begun at an Episcopal Church in Maryland, I believe, which has become fairly popular. Then in Minneapolis, I attended two "emergent" churches. It's hard to define what this means, but basically these are churches that are attempting to be culturally relevant, as "contemporary-style" services might be, but are at the same time very interested in Christian tradition, the arts, and ritual and symbol. Rather than downplaying tradition and symbol in order to be "seeker-sensitive," they embrace it. For example, the sanctuaries (or auditoriums) of many "contemporary" churches look a lot like a junior high auditorium, with few if any religious symbols. The churches I visited were filled with religious artwork; at one, artists in the church were painting or sketching portraits of all the members, which were displayed all over the walls. There was a huge goose (yes, a goose) that was hung high in the air at this same church. (The Wild Goose is a symbol of the Holy Spirit in Celtic Christianity - I loved the goose.) I noticed that one of the churches had an art studio and a little shop for local artisans.
Both churches celebrate communion every week and use resources from both contemporary and ancient Christianity. While quite different in style from "traditional" worship, the emergent church is in some ways a reaction against "contemporary" worship, seeking both a deeper engagement with historic Christianity and an authentic worship that arises from the community. In one service, all of the music was written by folks from the church. Ancient and modern existed together: one service included readings from ancient Christian sources - read in unison by worshipers who sat in used couches and love seats arranged in a big circle while the pastor or worship leader sat on a stool in the middle and spun around in order to face everyone. (I kind of liked the couches.)
When we renovated our sanctuary a few years ago, we considered various possibilities but nobody thought of that option!
One of these churches was started 10 years ago by 20- and 30somethings who now have children, and this is changing the dynamics of the church - they are figuring out how to do children's ministry and how to have a youth group and the congregation is now quite a mix of ages (and species: dogs are welcome, and there was one canine in attendance the day I was there, which was cool.) The other church I visited has not been around quite as long and the majority of attenders were in their 20s and 30s. Which may be a good thing, because I tried several upholstered couches before I found one that was suitably comfortable for this (young) baby boomer. (I guess the advantage of not-so-comfortable couches is that folks are less likely to fall alseep...)
Blessings,
Dave
Both churches celebrate communion every week and use resources from both contemporary and ancient Christianity. While quite different in style from "traditional" worship, the emergent church is in some ways a reaction against "contemporary" worship, seeking both a deeper engagement with historic Christianity and an authentic worship that arises from the community. In one service, all of the music was written by folks from the church. Ancient and modern existed together: one service included readings from ancient Christian sources - read in unison by worshipers who sat in used couches and love seats arranged in a big circle while the pastor or worship leader sat on a stool in the middle and spun around in order to face everyone. (I kind of liked the couches.)
When we renovated our sanctuary a few years ago, we considered various possibilities but nobody thought of that option!
One of these churches was started 10 years ago by 20- and 30somethings who now have children, and this is changing the dynamics of the church - they are figuring out how to do children's ministry and how to have a youth group and the congregation is now quite a mix of ages (and species: dogs are welcome, and there was one canine in attendance the day I was there, which was cool.) The other church I visited has not been around quite as long and the majority of attenders were in their 20s and 30s. Which may be a good thing, because I tried several upholstered couches before I found one that was suitably comfortable for this (young) baby boomer. (I guess the advantage of not-so-comfortable couches is that folks are less likely to fall alseep...)
Blessings,
Dave