New Church: Week 1

I have been here at my new church appointment for exactly one week. And what a week it has been! In some ways, I feel as if I have been here forever…it has been one heck of a week. And yet when I look around my house that is still littered with boxes and random piles of stuff that I have yet to find the right place for, I realize how short a time it has been.

Salem is my new home, and it is an area that I do not know at all, which is both fun and challenging at the same time. I was invited over for lunch on Monday at the home of a church family. As the person gave me directions over the phone, they said, “Well, from 419 you take a left on…” and I had to say, “Wait, where is 419?” (419, by the way, is a pretty major thoroughfare in the Salem/Roanoke area.) I know the 1.5 mile stretch from my house to the church, I know the grocery store, the gym, and Target…beyond these, I need the GPS, which may or may not know where he is going.

One thing that I love about being new is the chance to ask church people why and how they do the things that they do. Most of us humans are creatures of habit, and we quickly tend to assume that the way we do things is the right way and the obvious way. But even a lifelong Methodist can be confused upon going to a church that is not his/her own and trying to figure out the way things are done. Imagine leading a worship service for the first time when you have never attended the church before. It’s such a fascinating feat.

For example, most churches have a usual way of collecting the tithes and offerings. In the bulletin, it usually just says something like “Celebration of Tithes and Offerings.” But here was my question as I walked through the service in the sanctuary on Saturday afternoon: Where are the offering plates??? They definitely were not on the altar or up in the front area. Don’t worry, I didn’t lose them! (Sigh of relief). It turns out that the ushers bring them up at the beginning of the “Celebration of Tithes and Offerings.”

The next question is, to pray before the offering is collected or after? My last church prayed after, the church before that prayed before. Anyone want to guess the way that this church goes??? Before AND after. I was glad to have asked this question earlier in the week to the lay leader and then have discussed it with the head usher before the service.

My point is that every church seems to think that their traditions and unwritten rules, the routine of their worship service, is completely self-explanatory and understood by all who walk in the door, and the reality is that it is NOT. I think that a new pastor helps the church to realize this, providing a speedbump so that we ask why and how we do the things that we do, especially in worship.

And now, imagine that you are not well-versed in the church. Imagine that you did not grow up going to church or that you have been away for a long time. Imagine that you can count on one hand the number of times you have been inside a church, and most of those were for a wedding or funeral. Imagine how strange it all must be, how bizarre.

It is good for us to remember this as well, and clergy are as guilty of forgetting as lay people: there will be people who walk into our churches who do not know the traditions, the unwritten rules, the seating charts, the taboos, the expectations. We HOPE that persons who have no idea what is going on will, by the grace of God and the invitation of a friend or family member, show up at the church and attempt to join the community worshipping God.

It’s a good question for each of us to examine and reflect on: do you know why you do the things you do when you go to worship at your church? Why do you do them in that certain order, or that specific way? If not, how can you find out?