Having "mattressed out" on Sunday, I sought out a worship service for Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. City Church came up on a google search for "Ash Wednesday services near me". Their by-line of being "religion free" and their story of being a contemporary Anglican church growing out of a dinner conversation in London was intriguing, so I braved the predicted storm and set out for Plaza Midwood (see the last bullet under Outreach and Observation).
WHAT TO KNOW IF YOU WANT TO GO
City Church is located at 2300 McClintock Road at the corner of Westover St. in Plaza Midwood, between Commonwealth and Central, just East of the big "Teeter". Parking on Wednesday night was not a problem but from their website, I would plan a little extra time to find a place if their lot is full. On-street parking is limited and restricted on some streets. Dress was very casual, several folks were even barefoot (or took their shoes off!). This is a very young millennial-dominated congregation with a few "gray hairs" sprinkled among them. As with millennials, it was pleasantly diverse.
REFLECTIONS ON WORSHIP
MOOD
When I walked up, "rock and roll" music was being played on a speaker, and my first thought was that I was going to have a "rock and roll Ash Wednesday." Pulling this off seemed an interesting exercise. I was welcomed by several people and Barbara asked my name. During the latter part of the service, two people approached me and offered to pray with and for me. I found this awkward, but I think that speaks more to my Lutheran background. This was obviously part of their tradition.
MUSIC
The music was more "contemporary or praise" rather than rock and roll. And, as I've mentioned a few times on this blog, this is just not my favorite type of church music. They had a band that consisted of 2 guitars, a keyboard, violin, and singer. There were drums on stage so I assume they use those on Sundays. Though the hymns were unfamiliar to me, folks around me sang with gusto, and the music obviously spoke to them which is great. My problem is, to me it all sounds like variations of the same song.
MESSAGE
Above is a quote from their website about being "religion free" and fun to be at. The pastor was obviously struggling a little with the seriousness of repentance at Ash Wednesday and what the congregation expected in a message. He even voiced this. However his message of repentance to begin the season of Lent was powerful and very religious (sorry, Al). For his texts he used the confessional Psalm 51 (Create in my a clean heart, O God) , and James 4: 1-10 on repentance. His basic message was that we need to confess our sins and reject the devil in order to receive God's endless grace. This can be transformational in our relationship with God. We prayed a Prayer of Repentance which I recognized from the liturgical tradition.
After the sermon he had us write down on a pad of paper under our chairs the sins we wanted to confess and work on during Lent. We then came forward to receive the ashes and put our papers in a vase at the foot of a cross (to be burned later). I found this fairly powerful, much more so than just receiving the ashes. Communion was "self serve" in the back as we returned to our seats. This, however, was a little too casual for me.
Following this ritual, there was an altar call while the band played several songs. We were asked to remove the chairs and "enjoy worship" while folks came forward for personal prayers and others walked around asking folks if they wanted to pray.
THIS WEEK'S EXTRA:
MESSAGE
 |
| Rev. Al Hardy |
Following this ritual, there was an altar call while the band played several songs. We were asked to remove the chairs and "enjoy worship" while folks came forward for personal prayers and others walked around asking folks if they wanted to pray.
OBSERVATIONS AND OUTREACH
- Their facebook and website lists several outreach events such as a fundraiser for refugees, building a handicap ramp for a house, and a Haitian fundraiser and mission trip.
- The liturgical elements and the altar call was a unique blend of structure for a worship service.
- It was nice to see about 70 millennials spending their Wednesday night in church.
- A powerful thunderstorm complete with lightening, thunder, and the lights flickering a couple of times came through right as the pastor was talking about the Devil! He asked a guy on the front row to check and make sure we were safe. The guy replied, "Well, yes I think so, but I'm not sure about you holding the mic right now."
There were PLENTY of cartoons for Ash Wednesday in Google.... Here are some favorites!
The praise band felt only slightly like this. A quiet violin or piano solo would have been great.
This isn't about Ash Wednesday, but I often wonder who's pew I'm sitting in when I visit... LOL
THE BULLETIN:
No comments:
Post a Comment