#51 COMPLETING THE CIRCLE

WHERE I WENT AND WHY
I have no intention of revisiting all 50 of the churches I went to last year, but today I was at Isle of Palms and close to the first church, First United Methodist in Isle of Palms, SC.   I thought it would be fun to revisit it and let Pastor Smith know that I had actually completed my 50 church journey.  







WHAT TO KNOW IF YOU WANT TO GO
First United Methodist is on Palm Blvd where it makes its first turn toward Wild Dunes.  Traditional services are at 8:30 and 11.  A Praise service is at 9:15.  There was plenty of parking and dress is casual.  They also have a food drop off on Saturdays so that vacationers can donate unopened packages to the local food pantry.  For my Lutheran friends, it is just to the left of the Lutheran Retreat Center.

REFLECTIONS ON WORSHIP

MOOD

The mood continued to be very friendly.  We were easily identified as visitors and made to feel welcome.   The acolyte was a very young girl who made everyone smile as she brought in the light of Christ (helped by Pastor Smith's bic!).  Children were made to feel welcome with fidget bags and a Children's Message.

MUSIC

The choir sang a much improved offertory this time:  "Lamb of God".  The hymns were very traditional, and the tempo a little uneven.

MESSAGE
The Children's message delivered by the director of Spiritual Development, Kristen Lesesne, had the children salivating over snacks only to be given a bag of flour, raw eggs, oil, etc.  Her point about combining the ingredients to make a cake was immediately guessed by the children.  Then she made the point about how God can take each of us and transform us through combining our talents with others into something wonderful.

Pastor Smith was again in the middle of a sermon series, this one entitled Broken - Good News for Tough Times.  This time the reading coordinated with the sermon, Romans 8: 26 - 39.  In this familiar passage Paul tells that "God works all things for good." And "If God is for us, who can be against us?"  Rev. Smith began by asking the difference between being and doing; and characteristics and essence.  We may change our outward appearance, but we are still the same person inside.  However God's love changes our essential being.  For though we may turn away from him or have bad things happen to us, his love will never fail us and we are His though our faith and Baptism.  He related a great story of watching a Braves game with his children and getting into a faith discussion as a result.  His son asked if he would always be a Braves fan.  Yes!  Just like God always loves you, and just as he with all of his brokenness he as a father will always love his children.

OBSERVATIONS AND OUTREACH

• In "in-reach" they put a rose in the chancel for a newborn, a custom I know about but haven't seen in quite a long time.
• The women of the church are also exploring racism and Christian discipleship.
• They are also sponsoring a Mother/Daughter with a national speaker  and collecting items for a youth room and adopting college students to keep them connected to their home church while they are away.
• Outreach included the food collection for Loaves and Fishes and school supplies.
• My daughter accompanied me  this time, and we commented how when you worship at the beach, you get a sense of what the permanent community is like (vs. vacationers).
• Somehow at the beach, it seemed appropriate for the acolyte to be in flip flops. (Though I'm sure Emily was thinking Mrs. Noel (Petrea) would be turning over in her grave, as she ran a tight ship with acolytes in the 80's when she and her brother worked so hard to please her!)
• This is still one of the most social media savvy places I've encountered.  Today the pastor asked us to post our presence on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter!

A "BEACHY" EXTRA

#50 And the 50th Church Is....

This concludes my blog entries of 50 churches.  I may continue to visit new (to me!) churches on a more "occasional" schedule.  Should I continue to write about them?  Let me know.  I know that I intend to worship in my "home" church for the next several weeks.  I do plan at least one more blog post that will be a summary of what I have seen and learned.  I'm not sure when I will post it.  I need some time to think about it and let it all "come together."  This has been one of the most rewarding projects I've tackled and I thank everyone who encouraged me, especially my husband, David.

Deb at her first church on Isle of  Palms, August, 2016

Deb in front of Steel Creek Presbyterian, her 50th church visit
July 16, 2017

WHERE I WENT AND WHY
Deciding on church #50 was a hard exercise.  Several folks thought it should be my "home" church, but I had already  written about Advent twice (once un-numbered).  There were truly about 50 possibilities, but I settled on Steele Creek Presbyterian.  As the second oldest church in the county, (Sugaw Creek Presbyterian is the oldest, both older than First Presbyterian.) Steele Creek is facing a merger with another congregation within the next three years.  Soon to be surrounded by a business park and the airport, they are losing their neighborhood to "progress".  The sanctuary and cemetery are on the historic registry so the original historic building will be preserved, though it may be re-purposed.  It will be bought by the Airport Authority and the city.  I felt that the window on visiting this church  may be closing.

WHAT TO KNOW IF YOU WANT TO GO
Steele Creek Presbyterian is located at 7407 Steele Creek Road.  From the center city, it is easy to reach via West Blvd.  Worship is at 10:30 am.  Dress was church casual, and there is plenty of parking. 

Give yourself some time before or after the service to walk through the historic grave yard. Most or all of the graves have been cataloged and there is a map on 2 different kiosks. Bob Freeman, a member of the cemetery committee saw us wandering around before the service and greeted us. The church dates back to 1760 and the oldest "resident" of the graveyard was actually not a member of the church but an unlucky chap who fell off his horse while riding by and was buried there.  Billy Graham's parents are buried there along with many folks from the Revolutionary and Civil Wars.  I asked Mr. Freeman if there was a slave graveyard and he did not know of one (and had obviously researched much of the history.).  He said that because of the airport expansion, the church has had to purchase a separate sound system to use outside during funerals to combat the airplane noise.  

Airplanes fly low over the cemetery.  We could read stones from the 1840's, but those in the 1700 were not legible.

MOOD
Meeting Mr. Freeman first, definitely set a friendly tone.  The bulletin was easy to follow and this church had solved the architectural dilemma of incorporating power point technology into the chancel area well.  They also did not reprint the songs in the bulletin, but just referred to hymnal pages and then used the projectors, a great saving of paper!  A beautiful very young girl served as the acolyte and the bulletin referred to the lighting and extinguishing of the candles as "Bringing in the Light of Christ" and "Taking the Light of Christ into the World."  They welcomed children and had "God's Word for Children" after which children from the 1st grade and younger left for Children's Church.

MUSIC
Walking in and seeing their magnificent pipe organ, I had high hopes for the music.  The music director used both the organ and 2 different pianos and both a praise choir and small chancel choir  sang.  Unfortunately, the grand piano overpowered the praise choir and they could not be heard very well.  They used at least one mic, perhaps the audio could be balanced better.  The congregation did sing "For the Beauty of the Earth" with gusto and it took me about half of a verse to recognize "Open the Eyes of My Heart, Lord"  I am used to hearing it with a contemporary arrangement, and the music director played it very slowly and traditionally with the organ.

MESSAGE
The director of Family Ministry, Lorie Lewis gave the children's message.  She equated the recent middle school mission trip that had just ended with Jesus washing the disciple's feet. She emphasized that when we become servants, we become closer to Jesus and often receive more than we give.  She showed a short video of the trip to Wilmington which included the youth painting and working in a clothing and food bank, planting an urban garden, and providing a VBS experience in the neighborhood.  One project I thought unique was they painted a large outdoor open air gathering space for the homeless to gather for worship.  She explained that often the homeless do not feel comfortable in a "closed" church with folks in their "Sunday best", so this gives them an alternative place to gather for worship.

Mr. Hunter Roddey, a a chaplain for Novant Health, supplied the sermon, while their pastor is on vacation. His message entitled Rested and Refreshed, used Matthew 11:25-30 as the main text.  In this familiar text Christ says, "Come to me all of you who are weary and with heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." He talked about how essential rest is for the body.  We need REM or dream sleep to charge our creativity and problem solving.  God uses dreams in the Bible to bring special messages (Jacob's ladder dream, Joseph and the Pharaoh, and Joseph, the carpenter's dream about the Virgin Mary).  Just as we need physical rest, we also need the Spiritual rest (prayer and/or meditation), that Jesus is offering us in Matthew for our spiritual health.  With prayer and meditation, we are able to make creative judgments and decisions to honor God.  God calls on us to BE in prayer so that we can later DO His work.  With prayer comes a peace and tranquility that lets us know that we are not alone as we "bear our heavy burdens."  It was a good message for recharging during vacation times and I hope it is one I can remember when I am in crisis and overwhelmed.

OUTREACH AND OBSERVATIONS

• Here are links to 2 articles from The Observer that alerted me to the dilemma Steele Creek is facing which will result in their ultimate move or merger with another church. The first one includes a 30 second video that gives you a sense of the noise they face from the airport expansion.  David and I both commented on the planes in the cemetery, but did not hear them in the sanctuary. 
•  http://www.charlotteobserver.com/living/religion/article151516217.html
• http://www.charlotteobserver.com/living/religion/article151847397.html
• The bulletin offered 3 "in-reach" opportunities:  the congregation is organizing a "Tables of Eight" event so that folks can have fellowship with members in small groups during a meal in folks homes, and they are going to a Grizzly ballgame.  Folks were also encouraged to apply for "Ben Brown Scholarships" for post secondary education, based on need.
• They are collecting toys for Levine's Children's Hospital as part of a mission outreach in their summer VBS.
• This was one of the more organized churches I have visited.  I was especially impressed with they way they had updated their historical building to accommodate technology and they had one of the best websites I have seen, especially for visitors. 
• I hope as they find a new home, they will be able to take their sense of history with them.  And as God closes this window, another opportunity to grow in God's Grace will present itself.

Screen shot of their homepage.  The portals at the bottom made visiting easy.

The "New Here" Portal gave you even more information

They were able to add screens to the front without compromising the chancel area.

THIS WEEK'S EXTRA:

As we were leaving the cemetery to go into worship, Mr. Freeman encouraged us to read the following gravestone.  Death is a part of life, and shouldn't always be viewed as tragic.

THE BULLETIN:

AND ON THE 50TH WEEK...

DEB RESTED!!

Even God took every 7th Day off!!!

Check back next week to read about #50!!

#49 A Little Country Church in the Heart of the Big City

WHERE I WENT AND WHY
When I asked for suggestions of where to visit for #50, my friend Rev. Nancy Kraft rattled off about a dozen churches.  This was just about the only one I hadn't visited.  She called it a "hidden gem" and spoke highly of their work in social justice.   Also, this statement was on their webpage:  "Sardis Baptist is a congregation where women are pastors, children lead worship, theological diversity is valued and people are welcomed as they are."  I was intrigued.

WHAT TO KNOW IF YOU WANT TO GO
Sardis Baptist is at 5811 Sardis Road close where Rama turns into Sardis and  before Sardis becomes Fairview (Charlotteans will know what I mean!  LOL)  Parking was plentiful and dress was "church casual."  Worship is at 11 am.

REFLECTIONS ON WORSHIP

MOOD

I'm guessing attendance was low today, as it was the weekend bracketing the Fourth.  With only about 25 people present, most of them greeted me and asked my name.   They all invited me back.  The grounds of the church truly set the mood going in.  Nestled in a large grove of hardwoods, the cool shade on a hot day set a welcome and reverential tone.  I parked beside their Labyrinth.  

MUSIC

There was no choir today, however a visiting violinist from the Charlotte Symphony, Tatiana Karpova, provided special music along with the pianist. Her prelude, Bach's Air in G was especially beautiful and set a worshipful tone.  The music leader chose the first hymn and then asked members of the congregation to suggest others.  Altogether about 4 very traditional hymns were sung ( We only sang the first verse of those "called out".)

MESSAGE

During the month of July, the worship team had decided to vary from the lectionary and use traditional Bible stories that we all learned in VBS or Sunday School, but are rarely used in the pulpit.  Today, it was the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Daniel 3:1-20).  In this familiar story, the 3 Israelites under the captivity of Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon refuse to bow down to a golden idol the king had made and were thrown in the furnace.  God's angel protects them and as a result, Nebuchadnezzar declares that the Hebrew God should be respected by all.  Rev. Bob Stillerman read the story both from the NRSV and from Shine On!, a children's Bible.  In a modern context, he played a version of the story as a country music song by Johnny Cash. In his homily he stressed that sometimes we get so caught up in the miracles of the Bible, that we "miss the forest for the miracle."  He stressed that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were "Covenant People" and were strong in their convictions to keep God's Promises.  They never professed to know if God would save them (and in their captivity, I'm sure they had seen many of their fellow Israelites abused and not saved by God), but they were strong in their convictions and knew that bowing down to idols was against God's Covenant.  Reverend Bob called on us to keep our covenant from the New Testament to protect the marginalized,  be a prophetic voice, and to love the Lord with all of our heart, soul, and mind.  The miracle we should take away from this is the love God has for us  brings us into relationship with Him and other people.

He ended the service with a terrific benediction.  I asked him to send it to me:

May God's spirit swirl all around you 

And leave you with a grin. 

And may that grin turn into a smile. 

And may that smile turn into an act of kindness. 

And together, we will be a chorus of love 

Empowered to be the hands of Christ in our community. 

Go now with God's blessing, and in God's peace! 

OUTREACH AND OBSERVATIONS

• One of the first things I noticed when I sat down were the rhythm instruments in the hymnal holders.  I figured it was just a "kid friendly" touch.  But after the Benediction, the congregation's Choral Response was "Halle, halle, halle, Hallelujah" and everyone used the instruments.  It was very joyful.
• The only outreach mentioned was an upcoming school supply collection to begin the school year.  I have now come full circle, as that was the outreach at the first church I visited.  I noticed on their Facebook page that they participate in Room in the Inn.
• They will conclude the Bible Story sermon series with the shortest VBS I've ever heard of where they will retell the stories in 90 minutes, sort of like  The Complete Works of Shakespeare, Abridged!!
• When entering the grounds from Sardis Rd., they have a sign (too small to read in passing, but I caught it at the stop sign).  I didn't write it down, so I'm paraphrasing, but it said we welcome everyone here, for we are all neighbors.  The sign was written in Spanish, English, and Arabic.  I like it... just wish it were larger to truly make a statement.

 THIS WEEK'S EXTRA

    
I've been trying to find a week to use these videos from John Crist.  I discovered them when I  used one of his on Easter Sunday.  These are too good to miss.  In the first one, 2 millennials search for a church with a guide on "Church Hunters" (a la House Hunters).  And in the second one the "Bible verse lady" goes on a tour of the mall and has a verse for everything she sees.  They are hilarious!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT70cA-7qMk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzEL4h1vq7o


THE BULLETIN