What Page are We On?

One of the greatest distractions for a newcomer to a church is in trying to figure out just what is going on during the service. Many of my church services were in the Roman Catholic tradition which requires patience because until you have been to a number there is no way of knowing what you are supposed to be saying.

They give you a little book to follow but I give up trying to figure out the right response.

Going to church in the CRC was interesting as it was mostly laid out for you in the liturgy. The only fumbling comes from finding the hymn in the hymn book and looking to see if you sit or stand.

Now going to a prestigious Presbyterian church I figured it might be a bit more difficult but it isn't. The crowd is younger so Powerpoint is used for all of the song lyrics - we don't pick up a hymnal at all. Most people don't even use the bulletin. And there is little ceremony to what is going on.

So imagine my surprise when visiting a nearby Presbyterian church for a Christmas service to find that I was lost, confused and frustrated! I've preached, served communion, presided over communion, led readings, sung...all of the churchy things - but this service completely threw me.

There was a book for hymns, a book for responsive psalms and a liturgy that was pages long with mysterious bits written in along the margin for communion. I still don't know what the bits of carols in the margins were for. As we went to respond from the psalm book I quickly realized what was happening and found it - poor C (who is very familiar with Catholic services) could not figure out how people knew how to respond. The language was very "stained glass" - maybe it was poetic and touching - but I'm not a huggy kind of person so it just sounded odd to me. I leaned in and told C it was the most Roman Catholic service I had ever been too!

Then it was onto communion. We lined up for it. They use communion wafers. You take it with you back to your seat which makes me wonder why we don't just hand it out down the pews. But to get back to my seat (and to get into line for the communion) I had to go out the door at the back aisle and through another one a few aisles over - because the shape of the church means you either do that or shuffle past everyone seated who is not going up. So on my way back to my pew with my juice and wafer I have to leave the Sanctuary and go down the hall. This is the stuff that bothers me. Spending all that time on "stained glass talk", a hired tenor, candlelight carols but a communion that has lost the community feel as I leave the sanctuary and then reenter it carrying my meal with me. The whole point of communion is the community - its not some fast food drive through.

I didn't go for a show, I went to worship and take a memorial meal with a community of
believers. I generally don't like to complain about worship experiences because it is not about me and what I like but about God. It is hard to worship God when trying to navigate the culture of a church - something we should all make much more accessible during Christmas.