We entered just as church was starting and were greeted at the door with friendly handshakes and exclamations of welcome. To be completely honest, the entry was a bit confusing as it opened directly into a corridor with options to the left and right. After a moment of confusion, I exclaimed, "We have no idea where to go!", and our friend at the door happily pointed us in the right direction. We walked into the sanctuary and seated ourselves near the back as announcements and the music being started and I suddenly wished I'd been a little more quiet at the door as I'm sure everyone heard my loud exclamations and knew we were coming before we even reached the sanctuary. (It's hard to be inconspicuous when you're naturally loud and awkward and travel with an equally loud and awkward entourage. Oh well...we are who we are. I'm sure this probably embarrasses my husband more often than it does me since it's rarely him making all the noise.)
The music playing as we got settled in was a combination of piano and organ and was just lovely. It was very soothing and helped erase the craziness of a White house Sunday morning and usher in what we hoped would be a bit of peace in an hour of worship. The organist (or possibly pianist, I'm not certain now which was which.) was the pastor's wife who I had the privilege of teaching elementary school with when I was first getting started, and she and Pastor McKinney were called forward after the opening songs to be honored for their role in pastoring this congregation. The pastor and his wife gave 37 years to this congregation before retiring, and then after a year or two were persuaded to come out of retirement to serve as interim pastor over the past year. The congregation took the opportunity during Pastor Appreciation Month to express their gratitude and present a gift to the couple that morning.
Afterwards, we entered into worship with a combination of a praise chorus sung to recorded music and traditional hymns such as Beulah Land and Living for Jesus played on the piano and organ. We were extremely blessed to be present for the special music that morning which consisted of a trio of women (the two pianists and the song leader) lifting their voices up with the most beautiful harmony. The congregational music was projected onto a screen at the front of the church which when lifted revealed a beautiful baptismal area with a wooden cross hanging above. The entire sanctuary was just beautiful with a lovely high arched ceiling and lots of gleaming wood that made me feel as if I was in the ark itself. (Except that there weren't any animals...unless you count my children.)
After the music, the congregation was encouraged to greet one another, and we were made to feel very welcome. We were even invited to have a potluck dinner with the congregation after church (Which you know always makes me feel uncomfortable when I haven't brought anything to contribute, but they used my children against me, joking about how hungry my growing girls must be and getting me to agree as they all grinned up at me nodding their heads and rubbing their empty bellies.)
We very much enjoyed the sermon by Pastor McKinney who has a deep James Earl Jonesish voice that just drew us in and practically hypnotized us into listening. And how very glad we were that we did. The sermon was taken from the first chapter of Romans and was entitled The Consequences of Unbelief. It was a calling to turn from our sinful natures and our worshipping of ourselves and money and things, and to return to God and accept the peace and forgiveness that he offers us out of his unmerited love for us. Pastor McKinney's easy, "sit on a stool and talk to his children" style of delivery made me feel cared for and guided and loved.
When the sermon ended so did the service, and we were ushered into the fellowship hall where the tables were laden with an abundance amazing looking food and we were encouraged to start the line. We had such a lovely time eating and visiting and spending time with members of the congregation, that I completely forgot to take any pictures at all. I didn't even think to grab my camera when the kids got a ball stuck in a tree and my husband lifted one of the boys up into the branches to get it. (Probably because I was too busy praying he didn't drop him!)
We had a fantastic morning worshiping with the Fairview Church of the Nazarene and are so fortunate that our Steeple Chase includes so many wonderful bodies of Christ right here in our own community. Thank God for the faithfulness of his believers! And thank God for the chance we've had to get to know so many this year!
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