So if you’re like me and ride the #9 bus thru down town. You know this Church, and you have probably
seen it more times than you can count. Well today I decided to walk into it.
Ps. I went with the bill-board and decided to “like” them.
Truth is that I have been here a few times;
it was just my casual go-to church for a while.
And still is in some ways.
I walked in to discover that one of
things I was hoping for most was gone. Someone drank all the tea. * darnit! The crowd was slightly bigger here, about 70 people, but like most churches, a lot of seniors. The
service was started in song then immediately after fallowed by greeting the
people around you. There was a senior fellow that went up to the front to make
some church announcements. He mentioned that the next Sunday service would be
outside and he also informed us that there was large qualities of rhubarb
sitting on the “sharing table” note* this is one of the few churches I have
ever seen with a sharing table. I got a good chuckle out of the tall and slim
75 year old man that stood at the front of the church giving these announcements
while waving one of the giant rhubarb leaves he brought with him. It made my
day. Remember stewed rhubarb is the breakfast of champions :P
Today was a special day. Father’s Day
to be exact. I am not going to lie, but my family like most is guilty of highly
under celebrating Father’s day, so it was kind of a cool thing to watch. A prayer
was said for all the fathers in the room, past, present, and future. Then a few
of children were given baskets full of small gifts that they took around the
church that the fathers in the room were allowed to pick from. From what I could see the packets had many items
like packs of nails, hammers, flashlights and BBQ scrappers.
Some good points were made that day. A
few quotes I grabbed included “Masculinity is valuable and Important”, And “it
is not unmanly to come to church.” Near the end of the service there was also
a moment where people were invited to come up and light candles in memory of past
father and father type figures that have passed away. I did so for my 2
grandfathers that have fallen asleep in the lord.
One thing I have never actually seen
happen in Sunday service was a baptism. And
that happened today. I myself am baptized, but I am sure that was not part of a
regular Sunday service, and I can’t be sure but I think it was done at night???
All I know is that the background of the pictures is supper dark. But I digress.
There was a aprox 45 year old lady who
walked to the front of the church ( her husband came too for moral support). The pastor leading the service explained that
this woman has never been baptized and wished to do that today. So the pastor
went ahead with the ceremony and used the “baptismal font” and the holly water
in it.
With her land she took the water and
touched it to the ladies forehead. I know there are different forms that will
be used to put the water on a person being baptized. The first baptisms were
done by, ya, you guessed it. John the Baptist. Our crazy half-dressed nature
boy that lived out in the wilderness, and dunked people in the Jordan river to cleanse
them from sin and to let them start anew.
I
have heard of a verity of method to achieve this, with babies and adults. With some it involves dunking the whole
person in the river, or the baby in the font, or just simply have some of it drizzled
over their forehead. (I think that was mostly likely done with me…) and then some will take it too some pretty
crazy extents.This one makes me laugh every time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89wRDIIuSw0
But after it was all said and done
there was a roaring applause and the crowd all raised their hands to do a group
prayer for the newly baptized church member. She was also given an official baptism
certificate and a large candle.
The scripture reading form the day was
all the way back at the beginning of the bible in Genesis talking about
creation. I know very well That there is quite a few people out there that can’t
stand the idea of creation and that everything in the universe just magically came
about in 6 days. Well thankfully this church leader didn’t think so either. I picker
he brain on this concept after the service. She explained to me that her
perspective on this was that all of the days should be looked at al long era’s
of time that each more specifically focused on each part of the development of the world as
we know it.
If you have read my previous articles
on united churches you would know that many of them have now become “affirming
churches” meaning they fully accept and welcome the gay community and even allow
them to be leaders in the church.
I bring up this point because the pastor attempted
to tackle a heard question. What is Gods gender? Is god a man? This was the result. The ancient Israelites of
the time needed to view god as a man to help lead them into war because the opponents
they were going up against were pagans who viewed their god as being female. That’s
what I got told. However I was also told that in the bible it says that God
made humanity in god’s likeness. God made both men and women equally. So therefore
in my mind, and the mind of this church leader, God’s being likely holds a
balance of both genders. Male and Female.
She also spoke to the idea that since
god carries aspects of both, so do we and we all just live on a spectrum of
different degrees of each gender. Hence why some men can be attracted to other
men, and how some women can be attracted to other women.
There was one thing I heard today that I
didn’t quite understand was the phrase “ set people free at the Pentecost”. So apparently
the Pentecost was a time exactly 50 days after Jesus ascended and the holly spirit
comes down over the people. Cool stuff.
HAPPY FATHERS DAY EVERYONE!
