Stating the Obvious or the Not so Obvious
On Sunday mornings you awaken…and maybe you decide to attend church. That decision, whether you realize it or not, is a call to a ministry. You come to church to worship at your spiritual home, Shepherd of the Hills.
You come to church… you are welcomed at the door…you greet others…you enter the sanctuary…and then you sit in YOUR pew…YOUR spot. That is when the ministry of the pews begins. You may not realize it – that is also when you become a minister of the pews.
Yes, some of you come weekly, and yes some of you come occasionally, and yes some of you come for special occasions. And some of you even come via the Internet. Regardless of how you attend or how frequently you attend, you are in your spot, your pew. It is YOUR place to worship:
–Your faith with others who are near
–Your faith with your spiritual ancestors who sat in pews
–Your faith, knowing others will follow you.
By sitting in your spot, you sit where you can establish connections and even relationships. You have become a part of a spiritual community. “You” have now become a part of “we.”
But why do we sit in our spot, our pew? We sit in our pew because it is familiar. We know our neighbors. We know the ones who have been with us for many years and some we have not known as long. And maybe – just maybe – if we reach out, we will meet and come to know new persons sitting near us. All of this is a part of that ministry of the pews because you have made a connection – a relationship is formed. You have become a minister of the pews.
However, the ministry of the pews is not limited to those actual pews within the sanctuary. The ministry of the pews also carries an engagement with those who worship with us on the Internet:
–Visitors worship with us, perhaps eventually coming to our physical worship place.
–Travelers tune in to worship with us as they take time for rest, reflection, and “homeness.”
–The homebound watch and worship to feed their souls.
All of this has become our current, modern-day ministry of the pews. They have become connected and engaged.
You have now met/ greeted your pew neighbors. You will see them the next time you are all here. That’s great! That’s familiar…they are familiar. You are more than neighbors now…you are members of a family. You are part of God’s family.
But…why do we do this? Because of our leader. Our leader is not our pastor(s), nor our staff and not even our committees. We are united by our one true leader, God, our heavenly Father, who gave His Son, Jesus Christ, to show us the way to live in Love. You came to church as an individual, you became a part of a “we”, and …then… we all became One in His Spirit. We are united in our various pews all across this sanctuary by God, our Father, who has given His Son, Jesus, the one who shows us how to live in Love.
The neat thing is that every Sunday we rejoice with music. Music that touches our hearts and reaches our souls. Music that comes to us in various ways so that we feel its intent to enhance the spoken word and to enhance our spirits with renewed hearts.
We rejoice each Sunday because of the teachings we hear, the reflections in our minds, the meditations in our hearts, and the assurance our prayers are heard. We know that God is with us.
We rejoice because there are young ones who worship at the PrayGround. Connections.
We rejoice there is a prayer minister who prays with those in need of prayer. Connections.
Oh, and by the way, we even rejoice with Lutheran “calisthenics” as we show our reverence throughout the service.
ALL of this is a part of the ministry of the pews. Our souls are fed.
But there is more!!! We stop to have dedicated times:
–to offer peace, and love to our pew neighbors
–to share our gifts of time, talents, and, yes, money.
–to live refreshed by affirming our beliefs
And we CELEBRATE. How? By having a feast…a feast whereby we come together at the Communion Table to celebrate God’s Profound Love that sustains us. Connections are made with Christ and others at this table.
ALL of this is the ministry of the pews. You are an active participant in all of this. You are a minister of the pews.
As we leave…we are commissioned to “Go and Serve the Lord.” We proclaim that “We WILL.” We say goodbye and venture into the broader world equipped, indeed, to serve our Lord according to our opportunities.
Some tarry and some come early prior to the next service. They wander into the Activity Room where the modern-day Lutheran potluck breakfast is served, i.e. usually tacos, fruit, doughnuts, and beverages. It is always good food and good fellowship. Connections.
The Spiritual Life of Shepherd of the Hills emanates from all of this – the ministry of the pews. You are a participant. You engage. You are a minister of the pews.
We hope to see you next Sunday in YOUR spot, YOUR pew. And now we know why. It is your place to do your ministry of the pews.
Joan Vorkoper