So, I'm a few weeks behind, but I wanted to share thoughts on the lectionary verse from a few weeks ago: Peter's vision of the sheet coming down from heaven.
Rough summary of the scripture is that Peter was dealing with an inner (and outer) conflict about whether gentiles should be included in the early church. He was walking and thinking when he saw a large sheet come down from heaven filled with every type of animal known. God said, "Peter, go eat." Peter rebuttaled that the animals weren't clean. God assured him that it was ok. They went back and forth until Peter yielded and agreed. Just then, some Gentiles came and asked Peter to join them for dinner. Peter got God's point. He ate with them. He realized that the church was for everyone.
Over the past 5 months, I've been leading a worship service at our church once a month. The service is designed to open and accessible to kids, babies, parents, teenagers. It is an attempt to worship together. A dream I have had in my heart since I gave birth to Eddie. We go to a wonderfully open and accepting church that allows people to act on dreams and visions like this and so, after chatting with some of the staff we decided to give it a go.
The first service was a bit of a train wreck. It was packed as people wanted to check out what we were doing. It was chaotic and disorganized. But it was a place where people could be themselves. I was disheartened to hear that attendance had been so high because parents thought that they were required to come to the service rather than send their kids to Sunday School. Some people didn't even come to church that week because they didn't want to go to this new worship thing. And they had no where else to send their kids during church. The following month, there was clarity in the bulleton. Parents didn't have to come. Based on feedback, I oriented the message towards the teenagers who had sat in the back and more or less been annoyed with my singing "If I were a butterfly" So, I had the youth pastor speak and we did music more oriented towards teens and young adults. Of course, there were a lot less people. And so it continued, numbers dropped. Participation and excitement waned. And yet, the experience got better. The services better organized.
A week and a half ago, I led service again. It was, this time, mostly older kids and teenagers. We told the story of this verse. I didn't have much of a sermon planned. But I was struck by a bit of inspiration when I got up. After the telling of the scripture lesson I played this Stevie Wonder song:
Humanity hasn't changed much over the course of the last thousands of years. Peter wrestled with who to include at the table and in the church. Rosa Parks decided that white people and black people should be able to sit together on the bus. I struggle to create a place where small people and big people can worship together. In big ways and small ways, we cling to opportunities to divide ourselves and distance ourselves from people who are in some way different. We don't want to deal with the discomfort that comes from facing the complexities that come from diversity.
But God, left us that way. The church was not built by Jesus but by Peter and Paul who wrestled with these issues of division and inclusion. By Luther and Wesley, by Marin Luther King and mother Theresa and St Francis. By every believer who has decided to follow the call to bring God's light into the world and live out a life shaped by the gospel. Do we hide in sameness? Connecting with people in similar situations as our selves? Do we eat with gentiles? Different people that we don't understand. The light has been passed to us. What shall we say?
Over the past 5 months, I've been leading a worship service at our church once a month. The service is designed to open and accessible to kids, babies, parents, teenagers. It is an attempt to worship together. A dream I have had in my heart since I gave birth to Eddie. We go to a wonderfully open and accepting church that allows people to act on dreams and visions like this and so, after chatting with some of the staff we decided to give it a go.
The first service was a bit of a train wreck. It was packed as people wanted to check out what we were doing. It was chaotic and disorganized. But it was a place where people could be themselves. I was disheartened to hear that attendance had been so high because parents thought that they were required to come to the service rather than send their kids to Sunday School. Some people didn't even come to church that week because they didn't want to go to this new worship thing. And they had no where else to send their kids during church. The following month, there was clarity in the bulleton. Parents didn't have to come. Based on feedback, I oriented the message towards the teenagers who had sat in the back and more or less been annoyed with my singing "If I were a butterfly" So, I had the youth pastor speak and we did music more oriented towards teens and young adults. Of course, there were a lot less people. And so it continued, numbers dropped. Participation and excitement waned. And yet, the experience got better. The services better organized.
A week and a half ago, I led service again. It was, this time, mostly older kids and teenagers. We told the story of this verse. I didn't have much of a sermon planned. But I was struck by a bit of inspiration when I got up. After the telling of the scripture lesson I played this Stevie Wonder song:
Humanity hasn't changed much over the course of the last thousands of years. Peter wrestled with who to include at the table and in the church. Rosa Parks decided that white people and black people should be able to sit together on the bus. I struggle to create a place where small people and big people can worship together. In big ways and small ways, we cling to opportunities to divide ourselves and distance ourselves from people who are in some way different. We don't want to deal with the discomfort that comes from facing the complexities that come from diversity.
But God, left us that way. The church was not built by Jesus but by Peter and Paul who wrestled with these issues of division and inclusion. By Luther and Wesley, by Marin Luther King and mother Theresa and St Francis. By every believer who has decided to follow the call to bring God's light into the world and live out a life shaped by the gospel. Do we hide in sameness? Connecting with people in similar situations as our selves? Do we eat with gentiles? Different people that we don't understand. The light has been passed to us. What shall we say?
