Arenzville and Concord UME
Aug 2006
The human element of church.
Assisi.. tapestry, Israeli women
I’ve been blessed to see some of the most spectacular sights in the world.. When you tour Europe, you see as many as 3 or 4 famous cathedrals every day. Moscow ..We toured a church..I don’t remember it. …BUT ladies in line Canterbury.. the organist …bowed. Tossed a flower.
Great cathedrals that have left me speechless, but with no real hint of God.. Notre Dame in Paris.. been there many times…never felt the presence of the Lord. Westminster Abbey in London…nothing What was missing? The human element…at least for me on that day.
For example: Argument between St. Paul’s in London and St. Peter’s in Rome. (Sign engraved in the floor: “St. Paul’s would start here.) The two largest and most famous churches in the world.. One I felt God. One I did not. The difference? When you enter St. Paul’s.. a souvenir shop. Princess Di’s wedding. When you enter St. Peter’s, just on your right.. Michelangelo’s “Pieta”.. The Pity. A marble statue of Mary holding her crucified son in her arms. People cry when they see it. The human touch.
Dublin.. St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The glory of Ireland. I spent two hours there and I couldn’t tell you a thing about it. But.. Brother Larry in the bar of our hotel.. “Amazing Grace”.. the human element.
Why do we have church? You’ve heard people say, “I don’t need church. I can worship God on my own. I don’t need a building.” Yes…but what’s missing… when we’re not with other people? Other people. The human element.
We’ve been through weak ministers and strong.. we’ve had to set up chairs to accommodate our crowds, and we’ve have times when we wondered how we’d pay our bills.. We have lost good ministers, we have driven some away, we have welcomed others.
But it’s been God working through the human factor that has made our church a survivor. When I think of our church, do I think of the minister? Not much. ---The human element… God’s love in human form. ---I think of Maxine Crawford, all alone down here most Wednesday evenings, at the altar, praying for our church. ---I think of Adelle Burrus and her simple gift of these flowers on the pulpit every Sunday, even when she’s in China. ---Fred. Arriving first. Checking the microphones and fixing the temperature. ---Faye carefully advising the minister which hymns we like to sing. ---Tim Huey adjusting the temperature 4 times during the service. ---Tom Burrus keeping a headcount. ---I think of Marge shouting across the church to ask if it’s time to start praying for the play. ---I think of Dave Beard and Brenda faithfully preparing the communion elements… ---I think of the panicked look on some faces when they come in late and the back section is already filled. ---I think of the carloads of casseroles that roll in the back door whenever there’s a funeral crowd to feed…even when our numbers of cooking ladies gets very low. ---Most importantly, I think of the multitudes of young people who’ve told me that even though they may not be pleased with the particular minister, they keep coming because we have very nice people here.
Concord: I think of Bob Nickel, always at the back door to greet me. Dean and Emily & family usually filling the back row. Helen Schall would often talk to the minister while he preached. .. I remember her once correcting Dave Hutton on a scripture reference. I remember the very moving and memorable Lenton suppers in your church basement. I remember Luke Crawford singing at his Grandmother’s funeral. Mary Rayburn…teaching class after Sunday School class Harold and Juanita, so dedicated to getting the place open and comfortable Paul … always showing the funeral directors where to put the casket Carol Nickel..the eternal communion steward The human element … God’s love in human form.
… You can pray in your car. You can read your Bible at home. You can watch ministers on television.. But the thing that only a church can provide is the Human Element.
In Europe, you spend a lot of time viewing their monuments and statues and cathedrals.. In America, our national monument is the small country church.. Because someday we’ll meet a host in heaven who are there because of that human element in God’s love.
When Christ met with the 12 in the upper room or the 5000 by the seashore, I don’t think he did it because he enjoyed drawing a crowd. I think he knew the importance of the human element in worship.
Tour group in Switzerland.. churches closed on Sunday night… prayer meeting in my room.. Henk: Dutch bus driver, agnostic. Richard: British tour guide, atheist. Craig. The human touch. It’s God’s greatest gift to our congregation and as long as we have that, we will have God with us.
Pray
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