Church #42. The Studio Church.

Another Sunday, another church. I actually almost didn't get to church, and when I did arrive, I was late. I contribute this to the L.R.T. line was shut down AGAIN. Thanks, City of Edmonton. Thanks. 

While taking my detour root, I got to thinking. A lot of people show up late. So much so that a lot of my numbers I publish in terms of the amount of people that attend the service is most likely off. The average church service will have 10-40% more people it at the end of the service vs. the beginning. I always take my numbers at the start. However there are some pastors out there that have found creative ways to deal with this late-coming issue. RIP Robin Williams. May the Lord rest your soul in your red nosed, clown shooed glory!!

While on my alternative transportation route, I found I was not the only person heading to this church. I ended up walking with a young fellow that told me he was from Belize. Having a lot of international friends, I know a pressing issue at the moment is visas, since the Harper government changed the law recently. He told me that he has been in Canada for 1 year and 7 months now. He said he would like to stay but he has no choice but to go home to Belize.

I was pretty excited to see the inside of this place #1. Because it is the Alberta Film Studios building. #2 What would a church look like set up inside such a place? I am happy to say I have many pictures! 

So besides all the pictures of old movie stars, this is what greets you when you enter the door. 

This is what the seating area for the service looks like. With a full set up for the worship team band drums, guitars and the whole nine yards. All made up of young people in their 20's. Ps. The triangles actually have nothing to do with the trinity. The designers just thought they looked cool. 

Like a lot of modern services, the practice has change from just taking one piece of scripture  and breaking it down, to taking a Concept and going thru the bible and understanding more about it! Examples of these concepts would be things such as Love, Forgiveness, Hope, Healing, etc. 

The pastor was a middle aged man with what I am assuming to be some kind of American accent?  Regardless guy had some great quotes. No shortage of entrainment here. 

"We do not need to get our brownie points in on Sunday to be forgiven. Jesus has done that for us."

"Put my vision in-front and I will give you everything else that is behind you."

 -he spoke of how we get so focused on our own live that we put gods vision on the back burner, and say we don't have time for it. He said don't be afraid to put god in-front, the rest of your life will still fallow, and  be just as good, if not better then you envisioned.

"You belong here with the same right to the name 'christian' as anyone!"

"He wants us to celebrate, dance, and shout!"

 * no the church did not get up and dance and shout, as awesome as that would have been.

Book of Ephesians 2:20-22.

This was one part of the scripture looked at today. 

there was a talk on how Christ may be the head of the church, but we are his body and all of us serve a function, down to the smallest, but equally vital need.  From the eyes and ears to the small toe.We can not have just Christ as the head.

"A body needs every part to function."

"No one is going to just walk around with a decapitated head!!" 

"Christ needs us to be the body!".  

"We are special, we are Dynamite! Every single one of us!"  

 

This one is for you Aunty. 

"They are to train us to do Christs work!"

 - It was explained to us that walking in the way of Christ  and glorifying god on earth is not just for the pastor. Simply put, it is not a one man job. The actually function of a church leader is to train his congregation on how to continue acting to complete Christ's vision of a better world here on earth.

"god wants us to gown to know the whole truth in love!" 

"Our hatred of god has been forgiven!" 

"If we keep to ourselves lives will not be changed."

"Some people don't wanna take action."

List of reasons why people don't want to take action. 

1#. They are too afraid.

2#. they feel insignificant

3#. They feel they are not qualified. 

4#. They are afraid of interacting with peoples lives. 

5#. They don't think they are really able to change someones life. 

The pastor made it clear that theses are not real excuses and very easy to surpass and overcome. I believe this is a matter of stop looking at the problem, and start looking at the solution. Another one of my favorite Robin Williams scenes.

Allow me to testify my experience. 

I am a woman of may gifts. However most of them have no value towards sustaining employ-ability. So I do them for fun. And a lot of that is sewing fun, funky, and odd clothing for myself. 70% of those clothes I make myself  I decide against keeping. To recoup my costs, I sell of the bulk of them at a local shop. I figure that if I don't love it, there is still likely someone else out there that will.  

My products sell, but I have rarely met or heard from anyone who has bought them. Until a month ago. Everything changed.

I  received a phone call from a lady who had quite the story for me. She was walking down 124st, and something intrigued her mind to enter one of the little shops she passed. She was looking for clothes. Which was not as much of a fun and casual experience as it sounds. This lady in her 50's had undergone some extensive surgery, and had just recovered. However, some of you may know, some of the the effects of surgery, and staying in a bed of an extended period of time, is weight gain. And worse so,  this weight normally shows up in unusual parts of the body. So you can only Imagine this woman's dismay, to finally get out of the operation, recover, get home, only to find out that NONE of her wardrobe fits anymore. Ouch. If that doesn't put a damper on your spirit, I don't know what will. 

So when I get this call form this woman, she is overwhelmed with joy. She explains to me that my dresses (which I personally consider my sewing room rejects) , have made her so happy! Because for the first time since her surgery, she has clothes that finally fit her! Not only that, she describes how she has never had garments that fit her so well, and the fun colours and designs, remind her of child hood years in the 1960's/1970's. She pretty much told me that I lifted her depression, and she wants me to make her more! LOL. She also mentioned that her daughter, who has a nutritiously snooty fashon sense, might actually approve of these garments. I wont argue, in my mind this is all a Win Win. 

Your not as useless as you think. Trust me. 

Ps. this is also a church were you can give your offering via debit machine.

"lets have a SUPERNATURAL week! " 

And post-service right behind you you will find this lovely cafe set-up.

Over to your left hand side you will find Chef and his creation of the day. $7 a piece for these sandwiches. Pricy, yes, worth it? TOTALLY!!!! even on my budget the smell alone sold me. That was a piece of GODS LOVE ON A BUN!  Hats off to you Chef!

There were a verity of different seating options. Including a large array of leather sofas?

And if you prefer an actual table they have those too. I highly enjoyed the fresh tulips adorning them.

But in-total this place just works real hard to make everyone comfy. there is a little bit of everything here. Including a hipster hang out corner. I kid you not. They even have a plaque.

Ad for the musically creative types there is also a piano at the disposal of anyone who wishes to play it. 

Plus a old style free standing popcorn machine, and deer antlers, and Christmas lights just every other odd thing you could imagine! Just a really cool environment!

I hoped to have a word with the actual pastor however he was a busy man, so I ended up taking with one of there pastors-in-training. A charming 20 year old man named Rock. No that is not a typo. That is actually the guys name.

Since I had the opportunity I thought I would ask him a very specific question. Men, especially of his general age group and noticeably absent when it comes to church. So I asked him what his thoughts were on why this is ?

In the end there was 4 clear points we determined.

1#. Men have a lot of pride. 
-I personally think this to be true. 

2#. Men think they can figure it out on their own.
- All i can visualize right now is the guy assembling something, and throwing the instruction manual in the garbage, only to have a BBQ that falls to shambles after he opens the lid for the fist time.  

3# Content is not relevant. 
-I can strongly agree with this.I have seen first hand that There is little to no relative content in most church services for young people. Rock tells me that he believes that this can be answered by having separate "Youth church" services that are tailored to the needs and understanding of teens/20somethings.

4# Don't want to look weak.
 As Rock stated "Christianity is a religion of surrender" Which sounds less then appealing to a lot of men. As far as I can perceive, the big thing they are missing is that when you surrender to God, he in tern, puts the world in your hands. The few young christian men I know and They are some of the most free and powerful people I know! They tend to be optimistic, confident, emotionally confident and over all empowered to do anything and everything they want, and live life to the fullest!

Who Wouldn't want that? Common now!

The best thing I like abou this place is that it is a "No guilt kind of Church" environment. I had an old boss who once told me that he had a very pour view of church. He spent his youth attend a Catholic church where the priest spent an excessive amount of time warning people about all of the thing that they would be sent to hell for. The bright side of this story is that now latter in his adult years, he has casually attended some modern services, of no defined denomination, He told me that he now sees thing in a different light and is now slowly being drawn back.

This a great church, approx 50 people at this service. This place is like a spice wrack, there is literately a little bit of everything here, all with its own unique flavor. I highly recommend this place, good for young people, old people, families, people cultural diversity. Love this place! Highly recommended! main service is at 10:30 am on Sundays.

5305 Allard Way NW, Edmonton, AB T6H 5X8

Phone: (780) 777-7778)

 BE THERE!!!!