Just in case you were wondering what sort of wacko Christian outfit would sign me on as a member...here it is; the li'l white church next to the hayfield. This photo was taken on Pentecost Sunday, after the service...by the time I remembered to get my camera from my car the kids had made off with our festive red and white balloons, so you'll just have to imagine them. Also imagine more red flowers...we had 'em all over. And imagine congregants...Lutherans being the shy persons that we are, everyone fled at the sight of my Mavica.
Yes...this is where LutheranChik gets together with friends for our weekly staff meeting with The CEO, and have Sunday dinner with him too; this Sunday I'm going to be a waitron, as a matter of fact. You'll usually find me on the right-hand side of the aisle, third row back.
LutheranChik's church roost 
10 comments:
Cute church, T! Reminds me somewhat of my Dad's church (waaaay different denomination, of course)
Is that the Communion rail along the wall, in the back? If it is, how do you do the Eucharist?
Spook
Um, LC, maybe this is already an entry on this blog (part of your personal FAQ?), but why do you call . . . God (I was going to say "whatever it is you call The [ineffable] One") "The CEO"?
I have to admit, it kinda creeps me out.
("CEO" is certainly not an abbreviation I intuitively have warm feelings towards!)
M.O.: We do continuous-line communing except during Lent, when we bring the rail out in front of the altar steps. We have a number of members with mobility issues that make kneeling a problem; and we have so little room up at the front of the church that without a continuous line it gets a bit like that scene in "Ferris Buehler's Day Off" where the marching band runs into the wall.;-)
J.C.: Just a bit of ironic affection for the One to whom, as we heard this past Sunday, all authority in heaven and earth has been given...a.k.a., depending on my mood, my Brother (when I'm feeling brothered) and Rabbi Yeshua (when I'm feeling bothered, in a good way, by his making me work stuff out);-).
Hey, what happens to the Paschal Candle, does anybody know? I know they get a new one every year - so where does the old one end up?
Or is this none of my beeswax?
We don't get a new paschal candle every year. We use ours until it gets down to the picture/decal part then replace it. I don't know about others but that's our practice.
"Waitron" -- is that a Holden Village reference?
Bls: You know, I've never seen ours burn down...I wonder if we have an amazing trick candle with some sort of refillable reservoir on top.;-) (This is one area of churching that I've never had much of a hands-on role.) I couldn't find any info in my Manual on the Liturgy either. I'll have to ask someone.
We have such little kids acolyting...we have a few dramatic seconds every Sunday morning where the kid reaches up to light the Christ candle...and reaches...and reaches...the congregation holds its collective breath, and when we finally see the wick burning there's a group sigh of relief.;-)
Mark -- I'm as old as dirt;-), but I seem to remember us using this word back in college. Although some of my friends were indeed Holden Village alums.
Hmmm. Sounds like this is different in Lutheranism. You call it a "Christ candle"? And does it burn all year long?
In Episco-world, it's called the "Paschal candle"; it has the year printed on it, so you kind of have to get a new one; it gets put out for good either on Ascension Day or on Pentecost (this is actually a source of controversy).
So maybe apples & oranges, then.
Anyway, nice little church, it looks like. Little?
bls: I believe it's the same diff. But...well, now I'm really intrigued by the thing with the date. I'll have to find out about this.
Anyhow, we light the candle (with difficulty, as noted) during non-penitential seasons of the Church year.
Yes, our church is tiny...no narthex, no choir loft; you walk up a stairway, and there it is. (Back in the 50's they raised the building to add a basement, which functions as our all-purpose activity space.) It was built by some German-Lutheran pioneer types moving north from Ohio back at the turn of the century. On any given Sunday we have 70-85 or so people attending...on festival days like Easter, it can get pretty claustrophobic.
We have just launched a building project -- our pastor, who himself thinks that the Church as a whole is moving back in a "house church" direction, finds this quite funny -- our congregation zigs when everyone else zags -- that's going to add some very needed worship and fellowship space, and make the building handicap-accessible as well, which is also very important. (My mother herself has been a casualty of our present handicap-unfriendly layout.) The architect just sent us a 3D project mockup, and it's kinda neat...the old building is integrated into the new in an interesting way that's going to preserve our history while making us more user-friendly.
Mark: I just had occasion to refer someone on Beliefnet to your congregation...looking for a "non-hate-based" church that worships like they did in NT times in your fair city. (I re-read the Didache and thought, "Hey, we're pretty darn New Testament!";-)...although I'm not sure that that is what s/he meant.;-)) We also directed the person to St. Mark's, and Grace Cathedral and Glide Memorial, just to cover the bases.;-)
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