I often wonder what other people think about when they're in church, especially those that have been going to church for a while. These are my thoughts while in church - what are yours?
Entering the Sanctuary: "What do those colors mean?" We go to a Lutheran church, and there are certain colors that correspond with certain...holidays? I'm still not sure. Sometimes there isn't a color, and I'm not sure what that means either. But I know there's red, which I think has something to do with Pentecost maybe? Green is in the summer, because it was green when I got married. White...maybe Easter? You can see these colors have had a profound effect on me. I know they are important and ritualistic for reasons that are important to other people, but they don't mean much to me. They're not normally talked about. I usually ask Greg what they mean (he attended a Lutheran church all his life and went to Lutheran school) and he can help me out. But that's usually my normal first thought.
Greeting one another: I'm not going to sugarcoat it: I HATE THIS PART. Honestly, the worst part of church. Greeting one another - really? Shaking the hands of the people around me - is that supposed to make me feel welcome? It's never enough time to get a conversation going because everyone is always moving on to the next person, and honestly, I don't know if I would want to strike up a conversation with some random stranger that happens to be sitting next to me at church. There's no point. Even if you know everyone around you and can say "good morning" to them, that's all you get. Again, no meaningful conversation here. And we used to do this at His House too, where I DID know everyone around me, and I still hated it. Ugh. This is what's called a "cringe factor" to me - something that is uncomfortable enough to make a newcomer cringe or never come back. Yikes.
Opening Music: We sing 3-4 songs to open the service. I honestly love the music part. I normally listen to Air1, a Christian rock radio station, and music speaks to me (wow, cliche much?). Sometimes they play old school songs that we used to play at His House, and those really mean a lot to me, because those were the first Christian songs I heard. Give me a good "Open the Eyes of my Heart" or "Breathe" or "Amazing Love" and I'm happy. There are a couple of songs that are honestly really overdone, but I muscle through those and just pray that wasn't the last song they are doing. :)
The Message: I normally like the message. Both of our pastors are excellent speakers that talk about relevant topics. I bring a little journal with me and write down verses that speak to me or something the pastor said that was profound.
The Offering: I don't mind this part; however, we give online (because our church offers that option) and I still feel weird not putting anything in there. I want to let the people know around me "We give online!" I think that might just be me being insecure.
The Lord's Prayer: This is the one part of our service that we say in unison as a church. Sometimes it's difficult to not just say it and not really think about it. I try to focus on the "Give us this day our daily bread" part because it reminds me that God will provide, even if it's a day at a time. And really, that's all we need, is just today's worries. We don't need to borrow tomorrow's.
Communion: We do communion every week at our church, and I think it might be one of my favorite parts (and not just because the wine is really good). I told myself that if I survived my depression and cutting, I would thank Jesus for how many times he rescued me as a teenager. because he did - over and over and over. So every week when I take the wine, I look up at the cross over the altar and thank Jesus - over and over and over. Thank him for saving my life, for believing in me, for loving me enough to not leave me where I was, but help me to be more centered in Him. Communion is a time that helps me remember my relationship with Christ's origins, and how far I've come. It encourages me to keep on going and live the life He wanted for me. It reminds me of how truly truly loved I am.
I'd love to hear your favorite/least favorite parts of church :)
