I am enjoying the excitement I am having going to a different church each week. Meeting different people, and celebrating with them their God. I get to share in their experience of their prayers, their values and their beliefs. I get to listen to the stories of their faith, of their way. I find it fascinating the similarities of every religion, and how much we are the same with one another yet we are so far apart in our daily going ons. This Sunday led me to Thorndale United Methodist Church. I cannot even tell you the countless amounts of times I had passed by this church. Heard the bells and the music, and yet never stopped to look and marvel at this establishment’s beauty. I had always passed it and thought of it as just a building. Now, it seems holier to me and filled with spirit. Funny how you may not even see something exists that is right in front of you, until allowing yourself to be open to the experience. I think the same could be said for our own relationships with people. Sometimes our thoughts blind us to the people that we are brought into contact with daily. We judge to quickly, and by passing judgment we miss out on a beautiful experience. One should always be open to that which is all around them. The possibilities are endless…
I like looking at the architecture structure of churches. From their sturdy stone foundation and the faith that resides within the walls. When we arrived we were greeted by a beautiful little woman who I immediately just wanted to hug. Barbara welcomed us as she would any friend walking into her home. She directed us to the Fellowship Café located upstairs where we could meet other parishioners and enjoy in a little fellowship. The coffee and fellowship prior to service was a welcoming experience. I have been to churches where the fellowship is after the service, and that works nicely as well. I liked the open space, for it was very welcoming. The space allowed me to breath, and the church had windows all around and it allowed me to see out, into the city to the hustle and bustle along the streets. It was funny though, because inside I felt calm. The wooden cross adorned in the front of church was breathtaking. Above me perched in front of an open window where I could see the blue sky and the clouds. It was so beautiful and so pure. It wasn’t lit up, or drew attention to any old way, rather than just perched up there in front of the window. It was very plain and simple, very modest. Yet this is the thing that is so prominent in my mind. This wooden cross that is perched above my head that lingers in my mind with all of its simplicity.
We began by saying a prayer for the day that we may be receptive of our spirit and of God. Thanking God for our blessings that we have in our life. We sang some very beautiful songs of faith. I am really enjoying the music I am learning from each of the churches I visit. It is different, yet it is the same and I can’t help but sing along with them. They played a song as they passed the offering basket around for parishioners to give of themselves. They announced a few things that were happening within the church. They talked about their mission that will be journeying to Malawi Africa to help provide them with solar lights and clean up their community center there. Malawi is one of the poorest cities in Africa. They were having a talent show to raise money for their mission to Malawi. I like the idea of churches coming together outside of the normal Sunday. It was going to be the following Saturday night, and it included the kids and the adults within the church. I thought this was so special, and gave me a very warm loving feeling towards all of them sharing their Saturday together. The children are then led back to Sunday school, where my son decided to join with the kids on this journey. They were making cookies, and putting their problems into them to share with God and ask for guidance. What kid doesn’t like freshly baked cookies?
They then introduced the guest speaker, Rev. Sue Worrell. The regular pastor was away this Sunday. Rev. Sue had mentioned keeping with the theme of reading the passage for this Sunday’s sermon. It was Matthew 5 21:24. We stood and read the words aloud in unison. I had never done this before in a church, and I like all these new experiences I am have having with different rituals that are done.
Rev. Sue is an ordained deacon who counsels those with addiction. She doesn’t reside in any church, but she is a ministry leader to United Methodist Church of the Open Door in West Chester and is a ministry director at the Hope Christian Counseling and Retreat Ministries, also in West Chester. She began by stating that we have to clean up our messes in our lives. Why do we have sermons? It’s not just because Jesus says so. Why do we bother? What’s the result? She touches upon Eugene Peterson’s interpretation of the Matthew 5 21:24. She states the old adage sticks and stones will break my bones, but adds that words can be even more hurtful and they can kill. They can reach into your soul and kill your spirit.
She begins talking about the popular Disney movie Wall-E. Wall-E was about a robot being the only inhabitant on the planet earth after humans had trashed it and it was in total decay. Nothing living found on the planet, just garbage and debris. The Humans had left the planet earth years ago for a life of self indulgence and pure full fledge gluttony. Wall-E is left to clean up the mess that the humans had left behind. Mounds and mounds of trash everywhere, with no signs of life. Eve comes to inspect the planet, to see if there is any visible life on Earth. Wall-E falls head over heels in love with Eve. Wall-E gives to Eve a plant, and the ship that had sent her comes to retrieve her and Wall-E wants to protect her and follows her to rescue her. She is taken to where the humans are. Wall-E witnesses the humans all in hover chairs. They are constantly given food to drink, and are plugged into technology not seeing what is all around them. The people are fat and lazy, and living a life of self indulgence. These individuals were not living there true authentic life.
The relationships in the film were messy. Rev. Worrell asked us to look at our lives, to look at those relationships that were broken, those relationships that held anger, frustration, judgment and shattered trust. She quoted the passage again, “I’m telling you anyone who is angry is a murderer. When we are angry the possibility of love is dead to us, that person is dead to us, are efforts to work things out are rebuffed. We walk around in our life with dead bodies in our wake. She again quoted the passage, “carelessly call your brother an idiot, and you have killed your brother, words kill.” Sticks and stones do kill, words do hurt, and they can leave everlasting scars of your heart, your soul. Words that kill are talking to someone or talking about someone like you are better. She discussed political discourse from the past and the present. How it used to be when the politicians would debate and how it is now. How those commit slander and say hurtful things just to get ahead in the polls. Respectfully if we are talking bad about someone to them or to someone else, we are wrong in doing so. She then discussed something that I had been struggling with for some time. Traffic and the good old road rage. She talked about how someone would cut you off, or drive faster than yourself. She said when you call this person names or when you are angry at that person you are murdering that person. You are creating a judgment. How are you to know that this person wasn’t talking on the phone due to an emergency, how are we to know if this person friend or family member had just passed. It made me think of all the nasty things I think about when someone doesn’t use their turn signal, doesn’t allow someone to merge, drives erratically. I know there is a basis to think they should slow down, but anger is generated within me and I can’t help but think bad things about these people that drive like they do. She said what gives us the right to act superior, like we are better than them. What gives us the right to say things about people we don’t know and for that matter if we would do it against people we don’t know what are we saying about the people we do know? How are we treating our relationships in our lives? We are so used to living in a life where if there is garbage we just pick up and move somewhere else, without ever taking care of the garbage that is around us. The garbage we have created for ourselves. She goes on to say that her counseling utilizes the 12 step program from Alcohol Anonymous. She said a lot of people within the programs will try to escape life and think they can go about it with the “Geographical Cure.” But she says wherever we go we will take ourselves with us. Until we deal with the mess, whether it be addictions, anger, gambling, porn etc etc we will continue to create a mess out of our life. We will be traveling down that road from the movie Wall-E, a life of self indulgence. We need to become more counter cultured, more like Christ. Live within the world not of the world. It is the path of repentance. Those humans in the movies trashed the planet that sustained them. They could merely exist with artificial freedom. They were in an indulgent prison with no place to go. Until Eve shows up in Wall-E’s life, and this adds as a powerful metaphor. We are cutting ourselves off by life. Our materilistaic nature with food, alcohol, porn, gambling workaholic compulsive exercisers lead us to a life not worth living. We medicate ourselves from failed relationships and we continually sever our relationship with God. We need to find that connection to God’s presence in our lives. There is a God shaped vessel inside of us, which can only be filled with God. We walk around all the time searching for something to fill our void. We try to fill it with all things, and the only thing that it can be filled with is God. We need to acknowledge our garbage in our lives we need to recognize it and identify it and learn to release it and let it go. We need to become alive with God, hope that our lives are filled with vitality. She quotes the passage again, that we need to “abandon our offerings” that our vertical relationship with God depends on our horizontal relationships with one another, with all of those that walk beside us on this earth. We are all in control of our actions and our words and our emotions. Just like the prayer-“forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”. We need to focus on dedication and humility; this is what it takes for a blessing of reconciliation. God’s grace needs to fall down on us so that we can have a spiritual amnesia an emotional punch where we can be released from our grudge, anger, sorrow and judgment. She asked us, “what kind of life do you want to live?’ A right relationship with God filled with generosity fruits of the spirit. An authentic love shared between God and your neighbors, a life worth living. She asked for us to make a list, a list of all of those that we have wronged. That God is there to guide us and to help us repair our messes, and that we can clear the garbage that surrounds us and begin living life anew. A list of all the people I have hurt, this list is always with me I feel. As by those around me, I can tell they too have a list also. This left me imagining all those people in my life that I have lost due to petty things, and at times much more serious things.
Tim, the band leader, began to speak. His voice so powerful, yet he looked like a very young man. You can see his faith so strong, and vibrant. When Tim spoke his voice seemed to resonate throughout the church, and not just because of the microphone. Each time he would sing, or he would say prayers it was like an angelic feeling was present. He is very inspirational. He said after Rev. Worrell was done speaking that before you can bring it to God make it right with your brother first. I’ve thought about that phrase a lot.
We silently prayed for those close to us, and for those we may have just met or we have not met yet. We did some closing songs and the service closed with a beautiful phrase. “Love and serve the lord by loving and serving your neighbor.” My son and I received a guest packet from United Methodist, and I just have to say there was so much information and kindness in this welcoming packet. We truly felt blessed.
My son joined me in the church after service with the most amazing tasting cookies. I commented to him, that we should always put our problems into baking, because it tastes so good and I am sure God would like that too. After this last journey with my son we decided to take our dog for a walk. On our walk we began to collect the trash we found lying about in the grass, along the streets, half buried within the roots of the trees. My son is on this journey with me, maybe not every week and each place of faith I visit, but he is with me. We share our thoughts about the services we have been to so far. We talk about their beliefs and their practices. We try to look at their similarities and their differences. My son proposed an idea to me after this last service. He said that the last one, the last service we attend this year should be one that we do ourselves. He said we would begin by prayers and blessings and a time we could share with one another, and then we would all go out and collect trash off of the grassy fields, and off the streets. Then we would all come back and join together in a big feast where each of us would bring something. I am a big fan of potlucks and sharing my food with others, so I am all for this idea. The big day that ends with a feast will be in honor of the earth, the sky and all the other elements. And so it is, and so it has begun…
Thank you Thorndale United Methodist for your hospitality. You are no longer that invisible building on my path; you are an inspirational vessel which has made a beautiful memory for me.
Things to reflect on:
Thorndale United Methodist Church
Methodism
Come is the time to worship
Amazed
Give us clean hands
Malawi
Matthew 5:21-24
Rev.Susan Worrell-Guest Speaker
Wall-E
How can I keep from Singing
Eugene Peterson
Rachel Held Evans on Eugene Peterson
I Will Follow You
How Can I Keep From Singing
