Daily Archives: April 9, 2004

Good Friday interdenominational service this morning.  I guess there were 7 or so churches of the “evangelical” sort that participated.  It was a good service.  It is different worshiping with churches that do things in slightly different ways than we do. 

Our worship team led the music.  That was a bit scary – different sanctuary, different and much more sophisticated sound equipment, different keyboard – Janet having to stand and sing and lead us.  She had the hardest job of the worship team.  And I didn’t mess up too many times – mostly just little bits. 

It was also gratifying to have people thank us afterwards for the music and for the choice of songs.  So Janet you led us well. 

But I miss the more intimate fellowship we have in our own church.  Maybe that is not how one is supposed to feel but there it is anyway – how I feel.  I guess it is partly the friends and the style of worship, the songs we are familiar with, our own particular “non-liturgical” sort of rituals that make our church feel like home.  And I think we are very blessed to have a pastor who is not afraid to shepherd us along towards a deeper faith in God, pointing us(or trying to) in the direction that God shows to him, challenging us and feeding us and just being an example.  I think he loves us, like a reflection of God’s love that we can see, and he’s helping us to learn to love each other.  Maybe that is why it feels like home.

Tonight we gathered for worship and to share in communion.  It was Maundy Thursday — Holy Thursday.  We have a little tradition now of two years duration.  This is the night we gather around God’s table and serve each other. 

When I got home from work tonight, my daughters asked if this was the night we would be serving each other communion so I guess it was a significant enough event for them last year that they remembered it and wanted to do it again.  They wanted to go tonight – absolutely no arm twisting needed. It is interesting how my teenagers will attend and participate in an event like this but do not like going to Youth Group events.

Tonight I thought there were some very significant things going on.  Children were serving each other, their parents and their youth leaders.  I was moved as an adult daughter served her parents and siblings.  Because I know her and we have shared stories, I am a little aware of just how significant this act was.

I was also just aware of God’s presence uniting this diverse group of people somehow by the simple act of serving one another. 

And following this, I took my daughters out for something to eat.  It was fun and we had a chance to talk again about some important things together.  We talked about God answering our prayers and how sometimes it seems like he answers right away and other times it seems to take a long time.   So I read them a bit of a quote from Anne Lamott in Bird By Bird where she says “Still one of the most annoying things about God is that he never just touches you with his majic wand, like Glinda the Good, and gives you what you want…”  It gave us a good chance to talk and those are always good times.