Interfaith Worship

It is no secret we tend to visit a lot of different houses of worship during the year.Christmas time alone it is not uncommon for us to attend worship in four different churches. Often when we go on vacation we'll attend a local worship service. Sometimes these lead to anecdotal stories (such as the time we stopped by the Crystal Cathedral and their way of trying to lure us to worship with them was by telling us they seat visitors in the area most likely to appear on TV; we did not return for worship).

We have attended numerous services at St. Ann's Church, and will continue to at least until Ashley's graduation.

Of course we do lean towards Presbyterian services. We are members at Lawrence Road Presbyterian Church, but tend to worship Sunday evenings at the Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville's 5 PM service called WiNK: Worship in a New Key. I could write much about this service, perhaps this deserves its own blog post. The "key" for me is that while each service focuses on the same scriptures I have heard preached on many times (especially around Christmas and Easter), worship leaders always manage to put a new perspective on it so it feels fresh. That is hard to do. I'm the lay person on the committee for this service. One of the unspoken goals is to have different people preach. One of my personal goals is to spread word about this service to worship leaders who need a chance to sit down and worship in order to feel rejuvenated. They also do an amazing job with finding area musicians to lead the worship, often drawing from members of the congregation. They even alternate between three different hymnals to really shake up the experience. Often the pastor will ask the congregation a question invoking the feel of a bible study to worship.

Unfortunately WiNK is on hiatus from June through September. They will start up again in October with fresh ideas.

With WiNK on break, this was the perfect weekend to try a different worship experience. As luck would have it, this was also the weekend that Temple Micah meets for the month. Temple Micah? That doesn't sound very Presbyterian? Well, it isn't.

According to their website, Temple Micah is:

 an unaffiliated, egalitarian congregation in Lawrenceville, New Jersey serving the Jewish community of Central New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania since 1969. Temple Micah’s mission is to provide a warm and comfortable atmosphere where all individuals and their families and friends are welcome and can realize their own connection to Judaism, without financial burden.

We met their rabbi last November when Temple Micah hosted Lawrenceville's Interfaith Thanksgiving service. Rabbi Vicki is warm and inviting. When I asked about attending one of their worship services she was most encouraging. In fact, she said she likes to attend worship services of different faiths, so I invited her to WiNK, which she has yet to attend.

Temple Micah meets once a month in the Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville. Okay, that helps with the comfort zone right there -- we already know our way around that building. It still took a while before their meeting schedule meshed with our complicated schedule. Yesterday they highlighted a Klezmer band. This was a huge draw as they moved their service from the chapel to the sanctuary to accommodate everyone.

When we walked in were handed a prayer book. Don's version of the book was in the Hebrew style -- from what us Westerners would say from back to front. Ashley and I came in later and were handed Western version of the same book (from from to back). Same page numbers, but on opposite pages. The books had words in Hebrew letters, Hebrew pronunciations, and English translations. 

Rabbi Vicki was great at explaining things to the congregation (is that the right term?) at each transition. The music was their normal prayers set to Klezmer-style music. Not nearly as much standing and sitting as in a Presbyterian service, but this had the added twists of facing the door to welcome the Sabbath bride and facing East (I don't remember why). 

In many ways, this service reminded me of a regular WiNK service -- the traditional words of scripture were made fresh, the non-traditional worship music added a spark of life, the building was the same and the congregation was very warm and inviting. There were some notable differences -- people actually danced in the aisle (though i suspect that only happened because the Klezmer band was that good), the lack of Jesus (of course), and (again, of course) the addition of Hebrew. 

The language barrier was a bit of a challenge. If we focused on the pronunciation of the words, we lost the meaning. If we read the meaning to ourselves, we lost speaking our faith with other believers. I thought about how the Catholic church only had services in Latin. A former co-worker loved this tradition because it meant she (who understood Latin) could worship anywhere in the world and always understand the priest. In the 1960s that changed to preaching in the language of the people, which might mean Polish in the Polish-section of Trenton, or Italian, or English. There are some who still offer mass in Latin. 

Back to Temple Micah. I wonder if there is a movement to change from worshipping in Hebrew to worshipping in the local language. What would be the pros and cons of such a move? Yes, it would be more inclusive, but it would further sever ties with Israel. Are there any Jewish services doing this now? 

I would feel comfortable enough discussing this with Rabbi Vicki, but last night was not the night. After worship we gathered for snacks. When we finally tore ourselves away (did I mention how friendly everyone was -- we were surprised how many people we knew from other parts of our lives) I was shocked to see over 2 hours had passed. Nothing felt long, but it was 9:30.

Speaking of the congregation, the trickiest question I had to answer was "do you worship here?" The technical answer is "yes" because we worship there on Sunday nights with WiNK, but the implied answer was "no" because we are not Jewish and do not worship with Temple Micah. People were still welcoming even after explaining we were not Jewish. Reminded me of times we have visited churches out of state and people come up to greet us, though in those case they fade away once we say we are not planning on moving close enough to worship there on a regular basis.

Summer is here. Time to explore new places and ways to worship and glorify God.

A modern translation 

of Psalm 150:

 

Hallelujah!

 

Praise God in God's sanctuary;

Praise God in the world around us.

Praise our Source of Life for mighty acts;

Praise the Divine presence 

for being a part of our life's greatness.

Praise with blasts of horn;

Praise with harp and lyre.

Praise with timbrel and dance;

Praise with lute and pipe.

Praise with resounding cymbals;

Praise with loud-clashing cymbals.

 

Let all that breathes 

praise that which is divine in our lives.

 

Hallelujah!

Quebec: St. Andrews Presbyterian Church

Conveniently located next door to the Morrin Center, and across the street from our hotel was St. Andrews Presbyterian Church -- an English speaking Presbyterian Church. Had we been in Quebec City on a Sunday, it would have been the perfect place for us to worship. Ahh... next time. 

The church is laid out in a semi-circle. Pastor Katherine told us from the top of the pulpit, she can see everyone. No one is safe from her on a Sunday morning! A typical service only has about 40 people, so today they sit a lot closer together than in past years.

The church has a museum, which Pastor Katherine insisted on showing us. They are very proud of their Scottish heritage. Bagpipers meet there on Thursday for rehearsals (not sure how we missed hearing that from our hotel room!). 


The church, and the Morrin Center were both featured in Louise Penny's book "Bury Your Dead." The book is on my to read list. I'm looking forward to reading the book after having visited the places cited in it.

Easter 2012 -- He is Risen!

Easter 2012 was celebrated more than usual. It felt great!


Some parts were spirit-filled. Some were just fun. It is good in life to have a combination of the two.


For me, Easter is not complete without spending part of the day in church. 


Palm Sunday:
Taize Service at WINK. The focus was on the Passion story, instead of Palm Sunday (the church calendar allows for either scripture to be used on Palm Sunday). I still have troubles letting go and embracing the Taize style. 


We visited Miss Patti's church in Levittown, PA where their Signing Hands Praise Choir re-enacted the Passion Story using sign language interpreted contemporary Christian music. It was very moving and spirit-filled service.






Maundy Thursday:
For the first time, I attended a Maundy Thursday service and I am so glad that I did. We walked down to the Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville. The service started at 8 PM. The music included a cellist, whose melodic tones enhanced the choir's singing. As the scripture readings get closer to the crucifixion, the lights become dimmer. The service is sometimes referred to as "the service of the shadows." Hopefully we'll go again next year.


Good Friday:
Again we returned to the Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville. We were blessed to hear storyteller and pastor the Rev. Joanne Epply-Schmidt perform the Passion story. Despite hearing the same parts of scripture 3 other times that week, she brought new insights to it and made it come alive.


Easter:
It was hard, but we made it to the 6:15 sunrise service. The benefit to having Easter in March is that the sunrise service is later. It is a short service where the few gather in the cemetery around a fire pit and hope the neighbors don't call the fire department. The assortment of dress styles is always interesting to study. It ranges from traditional Easter attire to PJs (or so it seems). We were doing good to wear clothes and not PJs and hope it was too dark for anyone to notice.

After a nap, we went to the 11 AM service at Lawrence Road Presbyterian Church. Ashley sang with the children's choir as the new piano was debuted. It was great seeing the church packed and the flowers filling the apse filled with flowers. We changed for this service.

Colonial Ball

I love Patriot's Week in Trenton. I wish the activities of Patriot's Week continued throughout the year. I also wish Patriot's Week could be celebrated in July instead of in December, but Washington crossed the Delaware in December so the reenactments take place in December. Patriot's Week is a wonderful celebration of the turning point in the Revolutionary War.

The group always puts together an amazing collection of events. This year I only participated in three program: "Janice Meredith" (a silent film that takes place in Trenton), a worship service at the First Presbyterian Church of Trenton, and the Colonial Ball.

We love the Colonial Ball.

This year Patti and Neil Burd joined us at the ball. We loved having someone with us to laugh as we tried to learn the steps. The caller makes the steps sound so easy. That confidence lasts until we try to follow the calls. Having a good sense of humor is key. Laughing helps a lot.

On February 25, the First Presbyterian Church of Trenton will host Washington's Ball. We are all hoping to put our dancing skills to use again at that event. Please join us!

Christmas Church Services

Looking back over the years, my favorite church services have taken place at Christmastime. Growing up we always participated in the Christmas Pageant at the Reformed Church of Oradell, NJ. My two sisters and I were most often angels. Every time I hear the song "Oh Holy Night!" I still have an urge to "fall on my knees" and raise my arms on cue.

The year Ashley was born, we were cast as Mary, Joseph and (9-month-old) baby Jesus. Two years later when Hayden was born, Ashley and I were again in the cast as a sheep with her shepherd.  Then my parents moved to Robbinsville, NJ and found a church closer to home.

Living down here we have created our own traditions of attending Christmastime services. My favorite service is always "The Carol of Many Nations" at Princeton Theological Seminary.

The familiar Advent and Christmas scriptures are read by PTS students, staff and faculty in their native tongues. Each of the three services has a different group of people reading the scriptures. This year there was a Deaf performing artist (Noah Buchholz) who encouraged the crowd to help him present his scripture verse. Hymns are sung from all over the globe and in many different languages.The service concludes with the reading of Matthew 5:14 ("You are the light of the World.") said in each of the languages, and the passing of the light as the student choir sings "Peace, Peace." It humbles me to be reminded that God and Jesus are in every corner of the globe.

On Christmas Eve we normally attend two, if not three, services. As in the past few years, we attend the 7 PM service at Lawrence Road Presbyterian Church. This year Ashley sang with the Children's Choir. My favorite part of the service is when the children go up and decorate the Nativity Scene with any tiny plastic animal they have -- even rhinos. As our church has two services, and we go to the earlier of the two, we often catch up with friends from the other service at this one.

Ideally after a nap, we attend the 11 PM service at The First Presbyterian Church of Hamilton Square. Due to the late time, the candlelight service is not a kid-friendly. That's fine by us, though, as Ashley tends to sleep while Pastor Doug preaches.

We drive home past Woodlane Avenue, which always sets up a runway for Santa.

Like magic, Ashley always wakes up when we come home. Thanks to NORAD, she knows Santa arrives in Lawrenceville about the time we are at church. Sure enough, when she opens the front door -- the gifts are waiting to be opened and the stocking is full. Yes, we do stay awake and open presents. This also means, we have the chance to sleep in late on Christmas morning.

A final picture of a church service from a few years ago. The Pennington Presbyterian Church was undergoing renovations, so they held their early evening service in a local barn. The message of the babe being born in a stable seemed to come to life as we were in a barn.

Merry Christmas, and a Happy, Healthy New Year!