The Orthodox Church
Covenant Stories: The Blanket
Story #22 in the Covenant series
On the blanket in 1995. The girl who hugs me at the end is my daughter, Reiley, who is now 20
Kenny came up with the idea for the blanket years before he and the others started our church. He used to talk about it with his friends and say, “If I ever start a church I want a blanket for the kids to sit on with me during worship.” Kenny didn’t like children’s sermons, as they are called, and I’m inclined to agree with him. Our blanket time has been a more informal thing. Sometimes I have something to tell the kids. Sometimes I listen to what they have to say. Most of the time I have no idea what is going to happen until we sit down, which makes the blanket time perhaps the most unpredictable element of our worship. It also makes the blanket very difficult to explain to the sort of person who needs every part of worship to have a theological justification....
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Sabbatical Sundays: Becoming a Child
I’ve been in the mountains of Colorado for the last two Sundays. There is no Orthodox church in Creede. I’ve been worshipping at a little UCC church here that I love. And I’ve been reflecting on the Sundays of my sabbatical.
I don't think it was an accident that I felt drawn to the Orthodox Church in this short season. And I think I understand why these Sundays have been so meaningful to me. When I walk into an Orthodox Church, I don't know anything. I don’t know the theology. I don’t know the language. I don’t know the practice. I don’t know the deep meanings behind the symbols, icons, and worship movements. It’s like being a child again. A few weeks ago I asked the nice lady at the back if I could light a candle too. I didn’t know if it was permitted for visitors to light candles, and I wouldn’t have been insulted if I hadn’t been allowed, so deep into my child-like state was I. Children are always being told that they can’t do things. We’re used to it. So when she said, “Yes,” I was thrilled.
Yay for me! I get to light a candle.
You know how kids are with candles; we love to light them. So I lit my candle and put it in the plate of sand with the others. I felt proud to have done it, and I looked around to see if anyone was watching me. Kids always think people are watching them. I was a small part of the worship service that day. Just a tiny part of it. My candle was one among many in a service where the candles themselves are just a small part of the whole. I kept looking at my candle, watching it slowly burn down. Another man lit one at the same time and our candles burned at the same rate, remaining the same height throughout the service. He had reddish hair and was skinny and had friendly eyes and he said hi to me after the service. I felt like we were candle buddies, our candles having been
This Sunday - Saint Joseph in Houston
I was trying to think about where I would go to church this Sunday - Sunday #6 in my 13 sabbatical Sundays. Then I remembered that we're going to Houston for a wedding on Saturday evening. We'll stay with my sister on the west side of Houston Saturday night. Sunday morning we're going to worship at Saint Joseph Orthodox Church in Houston.
I am rather intrigued by the Orthodox Church now, so yeah, I'm going again.
Saint Joseph Orthodox Church in Houston
This is Pentecost Sunday on the Orthodox calendar, so I'm looking forward to celebrating with brothers and sisters of a different tradition. I have no idea what to expect for Pentecost Sunday. As deeply symbolic as the Orthodox Church is, I'm sure it will be challenging, thoughtful, and full of rich meaning.
By a strange coincidence, this church is only a few blocks from where I lived when I was in Junior High. We lived on Ivyridge, just south of the church.
rlp
Saint Anthony the Great part 2
Sunday I went back to Saint Anthony the Great. Jeanene and the girls did other things, which was fine with me because I was wanting to keep my thoughts tuned to my experience and prayer. I love my children, but when they are with me there is always a piece of me that is keeping tabs on them.
I was so excited too. Really very happy to be there and hopeful that perhaps the Eternal Creator might have something for his imperfect child to learn that day. Saint Anthony the Great has a coffee and conversation hour after the service, so I planned to stay for that as well.
The first week I was very interested in the candles that the faithful lit and put in boxes of sand near several of the icons. These were little tapered candles that burned down, conveniently, about the time the service was over. I asked the greeter if I might light a candle. She was surprised and seemed very happy. “Yes, of course,” she said. She told me that the candles represented the light of Christ coming into the world. I feel that piece of faith is held in common with our church as well. We light candles for the same reason.
I took my candle down front and prayed that I would
Not for Lightweights
Last Sunday was the 4th of 13 in my sabbatical time. Each of them is precious to me. Each week I am choosing a place and a way to worship. I’m not a church tourist, hoping to see new things. I’m seeking spiritual experiences. I want to worship. Saturday night Jeanene and I still hadn’t decided where to go. I experienced something common to our culture but new to me. The “Where do you want to go to church - I don’t know where do YOU want to go to church” conversation. I found the Saint Anthony the Great website. It's an Orthodox church that has beautiful Byzantine art in the sanctuary. We decided to go there.
Shelby and Lillian went with us. On the way we warned them that this was going to be different. “They might not have changed their worship service much in a thousand years or so,” I told the girls.
That was an understatement.
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