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The sermon series on children’s lit began on Sunday with Because of Winn-Dixie. I ended up using three clips, but none of them in the sermon itself. We begin our worship with silence, which I prefaced with the scene in which Opal prays in church that she would find friends in her new town. Between the prayer of confession and the assurance of forgiveness, I played the clip with Gloria’s bottle tree which she uses to keep the ghosts away of everything she’s done wrong. I had asked the flower guild to arrange some different colored bottles on the communion table, which I referred to during the words of assurance. Then before communion I played the clip from the party, when people join hands around the table and Gloria prays, “We’ve got pickes, we’ve got egg salad, we’ve got good friends. Teach us to love each other.” It made for a great invitation to the table.
This weekend: Holes. I’m trying to decide whether to have the flower guild decorate the table with a shovel and a basket of onions… (non-sequitur unless you know the story)
As part of my evangelism/hospitality work at the church, I’ve started calling first-time visitors. I just say thanks for visiting and ask whether they have any questions. Last night one woman said, “Yes, actually… what is that thing you all did on Sunday when everybody went to the table?”
Oh, wow.
I know we get non-churched and non-Presbyterian people all the time, but she really had no idea what communion was.
Let’s see, what else…
SBJ is eating more stuff, and can actually get finger food into his mouth successfully. He is adoring the cheese. He’s got a tooth coming and is slooooooooowly getting accustomed to sleeping flat instead of in a car seat. He is mobile in the sense that he can lurch forward while sitting, and he rocks back and forth on all fours.
I took J and M to the pool the other day and we had a wonderful time.
I am doing a memorial service on Friday for a lovely family that has visited our church from time to time.
That’s about it!
8 Responses to “wednesday wandomness”
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Asides
» I have been remiss in posting SBJ’s latest stats: 23 pounds and 27 inches at six months. Yes, I’ve got the big mama biceps.
» Aaaaaand little she-who-is lost another tooth this week!
» SBJ is four months old, 19 pounds 5 ounces, and 26 inches tall. GIGANTOR!
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Oh wow indeed to the inquiry about the table - made me think of Sara Mile’s book and experiences. Bet it gave you plenty of food for thought as/after you responded.
I’d love to hear how you explained communion to the woman you called. I can’t think of any way to do it without sounding slightly cannabalistic.
argh! I can’t spell!! cannibalistic. Maybe.
Cannabalistic would be pot-related.
Speaking for the heathens, it’s weird to me that her not knowing what communion is was weird to you.
We’re all weird.
Indeed.
Though… are you saying you do not know what communion is?
I am sure that there are aspects of Christian worship that are befuddling to a visitor. I just assumed (clearly erroneously) that Christianity has had such prominence in culture that people would know communion when they saw it, even if they didn’t “get” it. Just from seeing it in a movie or something.
Mind you, it is good for me to have that illusion shattered.
An added wrinkle to this is that she actually grew up in a church. I didn’t recognize the denomination; it must have been one that didn’t do communion, or not often.
Reminds me of a colleague who had a visitor ask him, “Now you asked us all to open the book of Luke, but all that I had at my seat was a bible . . .”
Sure, we all see people doing some sort of wine-and-cookie thing in mafia movies, but the word COMMUNION doesn’t appear in the subtitles. However, your take on this is probably much more mainstream than mine. I’ve been in a church maybe a couple dozen times, and have actively avoided them for most of my life.
There’s knowing what communion is, and then there’s knowing what communion is. I’ve known it’s something that happens in a church service for a long time, and that it was something Jews shun, along with all the other things that happen there. Somewhere in my early thirties or so, I sussed out that it’s a metaphor for taking Christ into yourself, and probably within seconds learned people believe it literally, and think this belief should be respected. I don’t respect it. I do respect that old traditions have meaning for a lot of people.
That’s what I know. As for what communion really is… if you have a clear, non-waffling explanation besides “a tradition and a metaphor,” it’ll be the first I’ve ever heard.