Missing Church

We missed church again yesterday. Another migraine. Honestly, we only make it once or twice a month these days. Sometimes, it hardly seems worth the trouble to get up and dressed on a Sunday morning. But it is.

I miss the people. We've only been at this church for a little more than a year, so we don't know the people well, but I feel loved. When we "pass the peace", the entire church (I know, it's only about 40 of us) gets out of their pews and goes up and down the aisles to greet everyone else in the church. It's truly beautiful.

I miss the singing. The singing in this church is not qualitatively good (sorry, guys). We sing hymns, not worship choruses, and there are not enough of us to make them sound majestic and glorious. It's just 40-60 people in a room singing our hearts out to God. And it works.

I miss Communion. I did not grow up in a sacramental church. In our Evangelical church, communion was with a small "c", it was just a symbol. In our current church, we don't believe in transubstantiation, but Communion is a sacrament. It's more than a symbol. There is something real about it. And I miss it.

I miss the sermon. I like that the sermon in our current church is short. It's not that I don't have the attention span for a longer sermon. I did 12 years of post-high school education - I can listen to an hour-long lecture. But, I appreciate that he can get a point out of the scripture lesson in less time.

I miss the pastoral blessing. Our pastor is always upbeat and encouraging and that comes through during the readings and especially during the blessing. I miss having that right before we start our week.

The weekly church service is not just a routine that we do because we're supposed to. It is an special hour of communion with God and others, an hour when we pray with our friends, an hour when we meditate on God's word. And it's not to be taken lightly.

I miss church.

Catherine