Sorry. Haven't been blogging much in the past days. Maybe it's because I'm thinking about:
My sermon for Sunday on Jesus calling the first disciples (John 1:29-42).
A church sign I saw going east on our main artery. The sign said, "Support Right to Life by Buying a Right to Life Car Tag." Yeah, right. Why doesn't that church do something to stop abortion like making the world a place where every pregnancy is planned and wanted? I'm sick of abortion being the "key" issue for Christians while they do nothing to change their own behavior and values.
Why it grey days are upsetting to me when other people enjoy the change-of-sky and look forward to no sunshine? We did have a sunny day yesterday and today so my spirits are better.
Camellias are called the "rose of winter" with good reason. Our camellia bushes are lovely this year.
Small congregations who feel ashamed that they aren't a large sized church. Why not celebrate the strengths and victories of small church life?
The joys of having a very old man cat.
Going to chaperone a seventh grade dance and enjoying it actually.
What's going on with you?
4 comments:
Hi, St. Casserole! (Love the name!)
I, too, have been thinking about a sermon on John 1:29-42.
I, too, wonder why small churches so frequently have an inferiority complex.
And while I haven't chaperoned a 7th grade dance recently, I do have a 7th grader who is lots of fun!
Oh, and I, too, am glad to find you!
I wonder also about the "inferiority complex" I see in small churches. I don't think that big churches are doing the right thing. We are supposed to be small groups based on a family (at least that's my take on it). I feel stuck in this huge church, but I sure would be so much more comfortable in a much smaller one. I'm here because 1) it's where my children have grown up 2 )it's the only church close to my home that I can find an appointment. I am weary of the amount of work around here and the lack of "community" we used to have.
Hmmm... maybe it's about us stretching beyond our comfort zone....
Oh, another preaching mom. Yay!
And what an awesome handle you have.
Why do small churches feel inferior? How can they help it in this super-sized world? At my church, I am the pastor, but I also fill in the gap where an office manager or secretary might be. I have an inexperienced musician, so I spend a lot of time on tasks that might be hers if she were more knowledgeable. There is no sexton, but I have managed to avoid cleaning bathrooms...
This morning I spent half-an-hour calling the copier company about our misbehaving Konica, looking for glass cleaner, and trying to find the practically invisible icky places that were causing big parallel lines across our bulletins the past two Sundays. Why two Sundays? Because I forgot about the copier last week, and there was no one else whose job it was to take care of it.
But all that aside, I love small church life. I'd rather be the one to do everything (except the bathrooms), if that means we all get to know each other well and notice when someone is missing and wrestle and wrangle over issues that matter and still show up on a Sunday morning because we know we're needed in a way we would never be in a huge church.
Martha,
I like the exact things you enjoy about the small church. I don't do bathrooms but I would if it got dreadful and I had to do it...I love knowing my people and having them know one another. Some problems for sure but problems of intimacy not unfamiliarity. Thanks for your comments.
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