Well, I had planned to worship with a local congregation today. I had made up my mind where I would go, and then...we lost power at about 1:30 am during a series of storms. In the cottage, that means no lights, which isn't a deal-killer. But it also means no water, because we depend on a pump for it.
So, unable to get cleaned up, I worshiped by singing Morning Prayer quietly alongside the lapping waves of the lake's shore at about 7:30 am. It was peaceful, yet truly invigorating. I prayed and meditated with joy, and knew a deep and satisfying communion with God this morning.
I recently read a post by the lead pastor from Granger Community Church in Indiana, that noted that we pastors place a lot of guilt on our people about worshiping weekly as a spiritual discipline. He noted that people today find many different ways of experiencing God's presence, and that we pastors need to discover ways to help people grow in faith that aren't dependent on having their butts in the pew each week.
I love corporate worship, but after this morning's experience, I'm giving his post more thought.
3 comments:
It's a complicated question, isn't it? How much of our emphasis on that particular practice is about numbers and their ancillary, dollars? I'm glad you had that experience today.
this goes along with posts from cheese, kim and innerdorothy - maybe we need a whole discussion on the rgbp page?
I have, for years, been one who prefers to worship solo when on vacation and not in church...so I understand way to well the pull...but I also know that solo worship, over time, is not enough...we need community. So, it really is a both-and.
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