Church at the Crossroads: Kingfisher UMC

                                      

    I remember sitting in the backseat of my parent's vehicle on the way home from a trip to the city, starting out the window as we turned the corner towards home, and seeing this church. Giant and ancient with incredible stained glass windows, it was far different from our little country church, and I truly can't remember a time when I didn't dream of worshiping there. In fact, it was this very church that I was driving by in December, and once again thinking of how I wanted to go inside, when God began to place in me this desire to Steeple Chase this year. It was a few weeks later when the plan fully developed within me, but it was the Kingfisher United Methodist Church that first sparked the flame.

    So to say I was excited about visiting on July 12th would be something of an understatement.

     According to the website, worship starts at 9:55, so we got there in plenty of time to look around a little and take some pictures. The parking lot is located behind the church with an obvious entrance there, but wanting to get the girls' weekly sign picture and use the original entrance, we decided to walk around to the front. Unfortunately, after walking up the numerous stairs to the front doors, we discovered that we would have been smarter to use the more obviously used modern entrances as the old double doors were locked and we later found that the original entrance has been converted to a storage area. We walked backed down the stairs, took the side door at the bottom of the stairs, and entered into an empty foyer which provided both elevator and stair access to the sanctuary.  As we stood there debating where to go, an elderly woman and a young lady walked down the hallway, greeted us warmly, and the youth member offered to show us around. We excitedly followed her down the hallway as she pointed out parts of the church.

        The building dates back to 1917 and has some of the most beautiful windows I've ever seen. It's two stories tall with an exposed basement and an addition which houses the church offices and Sunday School rooms. The hallways and rooms in the educational wing are painted with the most incredible murals that we were told were done by a college student. We discovered that we had arrived the day the youth group had left for their mission trip, so many of the classrooms were empty and we were able to peek them. My girls absolutely loved the paintings!

     Still having plenty of time before worship (which we found out doesn't actually begin until 10:05), we followed our guide to a morning fellowship area located inside the back door (which we should have taken in the first place) where coffee and snacks were provided and friendly members greeted us and one another.  Our girls, who always seem to be hungry, really enjoyed plates of fruit and cookie bars and the sweet ladies who were serving helped make us feel right at home.

     As worship time grew closer, more and more of the congregation began to enter (including some dear friends who we had invited to join us at the last minute and were thrilled to get to worship with), and we all threaded our way down the hallway to the historic sanctuary. The gorgeous round sanctuary is located on the upper floor of the building so both the stairs and the elevator are put to good use.

     Some of the members told us that the congregation is in the process of raising funds to build a new sanctuary that doesn't require an elevator with expensive maintenance fees and outdated electrical wiring, which I can completely understand, but in all honesty it breaks my heart to think of replacing this amazing building where faithful followers have worshiped for nearly a hundred years. The woodwork, and the pipe organ, and the brass-railed balcony, and the windows....oh, be still my little history-loving heart. I'm pretty sure I will cry big buffalo tears when I drive by and find it all modern and updated and yes, probably more user-friendly.

     We took our seats (which of course ended up being someone else's seats, but they were kind enough to give them over with a smile), and the service began. Due to the mission trip, the regular pastor and youth pastor were gone, so guest speaker, Reverend Dane Lemmons lead the service which was a mix of the traditional and modern. A praise band lead us in both hymns and modern worship songs and the Chancel Choir shared special music. We joined together for the Affirmation of Faith, Lord's Prayer, and giving of our tithes and offerings, and listened attentively (except for my youngest, who drew pictures and played on my phone) to the sermon entitled "Sheep and Goats."  We were inspired to reach out to the "least of these" and blessed with this opportunity to worship God in  this beautiful sanctuary with this faithful body of believers. I am so grateful that God lead us on this Steeple Chase this year and that I finally to the opportunity to visit this historic church. It was truly a blessing and morning to be cherished.

   

Isabella Church of the Nazarene

  

      Our July 5th Sunday Steeple Chase was almost the opposite of the week before. We decided to stay close to home and headed to the community of Isabella and the only church in town- the Isabella Church of the Nazarene.
   
     This small but active church was started in December of 1948 and currently houses not only a Sunday morning worship service led by Pastor Nathan Twyman but a Sunday evening service called Isabella Espanol led by Martin and Irene Pizano. In addition, the church provides a weekly meeting place for Celebrate Recovery led by Rick and Ashley Chance. I was excited to see that unlike some small rural churches, this church has a very nice, informational website, and I would encourage you to visit to learn more about their beliefs and activities at www.isabellanaz.org.

    The worship service started at 10:45 and somehow even with a car full of cranky, July 4th walking dead kids (and parents) we managed to get there on time. The first person we saw happened to be our sweet friend who had invited us to attend, and we were pleased to walk in with her and let her show us where to go. 


Well, some of us were pleased anyway.

     The first glimpse of the sanctuary brought me back to my childhood at the original Lenora UMC with a stage at the front flanked by rooms on each side, and suddenly my mind flashed to a feather painted Sunday School classroom where I first learned of God's everlasting love for me. Sometimes it's the little things that make you feel at home.

    Church started with celebrating birthdays and anniversaries of the congregation by placing money in the offering plate and singing. Then the pastor made announcements with his sweet toddler girl (also suffering from the effects of too many late night fireworks) clinging to his leg or wrapped around his neck as he addressed the congregation. It was real and casual and endearing, and I could tell this Body of Christ is definitely a family of God.

    A teenage member who will soon be off to a church leadership camp read the morning's scriptures and then we began to worship with song. Having just celebrated the birthday of our nation, we appropriately sang God Bless America and America the Beautiful along with praise verse Step by Step and Great is Thy Faithfulness. We were accompanied by a piano, guitar, and drums and had several beautiful voices leading the way. We were also blessed with special music by a soloist singing a lovely song about being doubly blessed by God.

    The message came from the book of Ruth, and while the story was familiar, Pastor Skippy (as the website says he's called) brought to light several elements I did not know. For instance, did you realize that Boaz was the son of Rahab who helped Joshua's spies escape from Jerico by lowering them from a basket out her window?  And did you know that Boaz is in the ancestral line of  David that eventually begets Jesus the Nazarene? (Well I didn't! I love learning new things!)

     The message was enlightening, the people were friendly and welcoming, the music was uplifting, and we were feeling pretty complete when God went ahead pushed the service over the edge into fantastic with a beautiful, heartfelt testimony at the end of the service. We felt so blessed to be a part of this man's miracle morning has he shared with us how he had drifted away from God, become involved in a lifestyle of sin, and finally through the love and support of his mother and his church family has come back to a God who never turned away from him. I, along with most of the room, couldn't help but shed a tear as he proclaimed the love of Jesus and his new found life in Him.

     THIS is what church is all about! May God continue to bless this man, this church, and our family as we continue to seek to know the people within the walls of His Holy Sanctuaries and to discover Him beneath the Steeples that we Chase. Thank you, Readers, for taking this journey with us. God bless you as well!

Enormously Blessed: Crossings Community Church

     I have to admit I'm still a little bit in shock over our experience at Crossings Community Church in Oklahoma City this past Sunday morning. Nothing crazy or abnormal happened, even for my slightly abnormal family, but the shear enormity of the church complex itself continues to blow my mind!

    Let me recap: Small town girl. Grew up in small, small ghost-town church. Traveling from church to church each Sunday this year to experience worship of God in a variety of ways in a variety of settings. This church was WAY out of my element! I'm pretty sure it is actually bigger than my entire hometown. Literally! (As our oldest would say.)


   According to their website, the church offers 5 different opportunites for worship on Sunday mornings. There's a liturgical service in the chapel (which is approximately the size of a "normal" church back home), 2 blended services in the Sanctuary, and 2 contemporary services in The Venue (a more modern sanctuary setting with chairs instead of pews and a lighted stage, etc.).  I read the girls the introductions of each service actually thinking they would want the more contemporary style and was surprised when they chose the Sanctuary, primarily due to its mix of choir, symphony, and praise team for the music.

   We arrived about 20 minutes early because we knew we'd need a little time to find our way around and discovered that 20 minites was not nearly early enough. We planned to attend the 10:45 service and couldn't believe the number of cars in the parking lot when we arrived. We drove around and around searching for a spot to park, and finally as people started exiting from the previous service we pulled into a place as I joked that we were going to need a tour guide to find our way around. Turns out that was no joke!

                                              
   


















        Our tour guide came in the form of a sweet teenager who rather than attempt to explain where to take our youngest (who insisted once again on going to children's church) offered to lead us there herself. Thank goodness! So off we went across the city, uhm church. Our perky guide click-clicking her way quickly in front while I huffed and puffed and half drug our six year old in an attempt to keep up and my husband and older girls walked somewhere behind us refusing to be rushed. After passing by the Sanctuary and a huge Atrium, a Coffee Bar to rival any Starbucks, and a Library and Bookstore, our guide showed us to a children's hallway, shrugged her shoulders and apologized for not knowing exactly where we were supposed to go, and disappeared.

                                    

   Oh, well, no problem. We're adults. We can surely figure this out.


    So we continued down a long hall with a vast number of doors until I found one labeled "Kindergarten" and got in line behind some other kids and parents. However, when we reached the front of the line, we found out that we were not in fact in the right place yet, and were instructed to go to the main check in desk....down the hall, around the corner, up the stairs, and to the left? right?  We eventually found it and went through all the necessary paperwork to check our child into a classroom for one Sunday....including the entire family's birthdays and medical history. Whew! At last, we had a barcode for our child and another for ourselves and we went back from whence we came. Waited in line at the same door as before and discovered again that we were in the wrong place. Fortunately the new room was just two doors down because to be honest by this point, I was about to load everyone up and head home.


   We finally reached the sanctuary a couple songs into the service, entered from a side door, sat down, and breathed. Holy COW!! This place was incredible! Beautiful! Huge! (I know I keep saying that but really!) At the top of the stage was a choir loft a large choir, below them was an orchestra of instruments and their players, and in front of them about 10 men and women made up a group of worship music leaders. Screens all around displayed the words of the songs, and the music was astounding. There's was a mixture of contemporary music and hymns. Most we knew and the ones we didn't were easy to catch on to.

                                   

                                   



   When the music was complete, there was a time to greet those around us, and a few people shook our hands, but no one introduced themselves or asked who we were and I realized that in a church that size it would be next to impossible to know if someone was there for the first time. The bulletin provided a form for visitors and members to fill out and recommended that we turn in our questions, comments, and prayer requests and that we visit the information and welcoming centers throughout the church. We didn't, but I'm sure that if we weren't simply visiting we would have very much appreciated the opportunities to connect.

    Around this time, our middle daughter decided she absolutely couldn't wait to go to the restroom, so I slipped out the back with her and walked a block (slight exaggeration alert) to the nearest, returning in time to the hear the last of a beautiful song by a very talented vocalist and see a large screen lower in the center and a talking head come on. Jason and I looked at each other in surprise. We had been expecting a flesh and blood pastor, but it made since that with more than one service going at once, this was the only way he could be two places at once.

 

     The Senior Pastor at Crossings is Dr. Marty Grubbs who began his ministry with this church way back in 1981 when it was Westridge Hills Church as their youth and music minister. A few years later, he was named senior pastor of the church and had a congregation of about 100 people. By 1999, with Pastor Grubbs continuing to lead, the church changed it's name to Crossings Community Church and held their first service at their new location with 3,100 people in attendance. From that point on, the church has simply expanded and expanded to reach the needs of its growing congregation.

     This particular morning, Pastor Grubbs chose to preach from the book of Jonah, and our entire family listened and laughed and learned throughout the message. It was a truly great sermon about a God of Second Chances, and I'd encourage you to watch it at http://crossingsokc.org/mci/a-god-of-second-chances/.

    The service ended with an invitation to pray at the alter or light a candle at one of the many stations throughout the room, and mostly to consider our Nineveh's and ask God for a second chance to love them.

 

     We left feeling better than when we arrived and began our journey with a throng of followers across the vast complex to find our youngest and depart. She greeted us with a giant smile and completely marker-green hands and arms and we caught the nearest luxury golf cart to our vehicle somewhere on the horizon. And as our Steeple Chase came to a close this week, our hearts felt a little lighter knowing that while other parts of the world seem to be turning to the dark, there are masses of believers still flocking to the church to worship the Light. Praise God for his Bride. May we continue to draw ever closer to Him.

A Fond Fairwell: Fairview First Baptist Church

   
      We were a little intimidated when we drove up to the First Baptist Church in Fairview, Ok this past Sunday and saw the massive amount of vehicles parked around it. In fact, my husband's exact words were, "What's going on? Is there a funeral or something?" I assured him that surely there wasn't on a Sunday morning, but I soon discovered that while no one was being laid to rest, the loving congregation at this church was most definitely celebrating an important life within their church and mourning the end of an era.

      The Fairview FBC is a large and lovely building located on Broadway just west of the Major County Court House.  The congregation first started worshiping together over 117 years ago in the very earliest days of the Fairview community.  The church building has expanded over the years and now houses a large and lovely modern sanctuary and fellowship hall attached to the original design. 


     Worship started at 9:45 and we arrived pretty much on the dot to discover a bustling crowd of people, many of which we recognized from other congregations, and we soon realized that we had arrived on Pastor David Mendenhall's final day in the pulpit.  This beloved church leader and influential member of the community had been pastor to this church family for the past 23 years and his retirement was an occasion of both sorrow and joy, loss and hope for the future, and we were blessed to get to experience this worship service with his flock.

     The sanctuary was quickly filling up, but we found five seats together, only to discover we only needed two as our girls moved forward to sit with their friends. Since this was also this sweet families final Sunday before moving to another community, we felt it was appropriate that our girls get to sit together and worship together on this momentous day, and from a few rows behind them, I wiped away tears of sadness that these wonderful people would no longer be living in our town and blessing us on a regular basis.


     The music that morning was incredible. Guitar and drums and piano and vocals invited us to praise God through music. There was a mix of contemporary and traditional hymns as they shared with us the favorite songs of their pastor that morning. We were blessed by special music by a quartet of men who had reunited after 10 years to commemorate this special occasion, and even the pastor's lovely wife shared her gift of music in a song that surely brought tears even to the most toughened hearts. (Personally, I don't know how she made it through, but I am touched by her willingness to please her husband and her Lord and blessed by the beauty of her voice and her bravery.)

     We were also privileged to get to be a part of a baptism that morning. Once again tears ran down my face as a boy my daughter's age publically professed his love and belief in Jesus Christ and was immersed in the baptismal pool signifying the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus and a new life with Him as Lord and Savior.



      The final sermon of Pastor Mendenhall was full of memories from the past years together and urgings to move forward in God's will. He encouraged the Body to be in prayer for the new pastor that God has in store for them and to carry on with plans already in place for building at Falls Creek and other ministries.  His words were smooth and caring and full of love, and you could just feel the connection in the room between these people who had spent so many years worshiping and working for the Kingdom together. The combination of tears and smiles on the faces surrounding us were beautiful to behold, and the feeling that God was in our midst impossible to ignore.
   
    It wasn't a typical day at the Fairview First Baptist Church, but it was beautiful and blessed. Though the days ahead will never look quite the same for this church family, I'm sure that they will have a long and fruitful future as they continue to seek God's will and serve others through the body of Christ. We are so grateful that God guided us to this congregation on this special day, and we will continue to look to Him for guidance as we Steeple Chase in the days ahead.

 
     

 

 

 

 

 

Natural Worship Centers: No Steeple Required

   

Gloss Mountain State Park

     This week has been a little different and very full of worship. Week by week this year, we've sought out churches to worship in and people to connect with in buildings new and old, large and small across our great state. We've marveled at the gorgeous artwork and architecture and reveled in both the ancient and the contemporary houses of worship built to honor and bring praise to our Lord. However, this week, we've taken our worship opportunities in grand cathedrals built by none other than our amazing God himself.

   Sunday morning we accepted an invitation from friends and members of the Saron Mennonite Church (see previous blog post) to attend a worship service with them at the Gloss Mountain State Park just northwest of Fairview. We brought along food to contribute to a picnic lunch, loaded our lawn chairs, put on our "play clothes", and drove the 20 minutes to "church". 

    The congregation welcomed us just as we've come to expect, with open arms and friendly faces, and we couldn't help but be inspired by the breathtaking views surrounding us. The Gloss Mountains are an impressive rise of red dirt hills in the midst of the desert-like flatlands of the Cheyenne Valley that gleam and sparkle in the sun due to deposits of gypsum throughout.

     The Saron Church chooses to meet in this natural treasure once a year for Children's Sunday, and we were thrilled to be a part of this special service this year. After a simple sermon with visual effects to bring understanding to kids and adults alike, some acapella singing, and heartfelt prayer, we shared a meal together and bonded over potato salad and deviled eggs and homemade ice cream as generations of down-home church families have done before us. Then, we grabbed some bottles of water and headed up the trail...and I do mean up!

    The trail to the top of the Gloss Mountains has built-in stairs to assist with the assent, and I for one was very thankful for the help. We climbed and climbed and chased lizards and pointed out cloud shapes and rejoiced together in the creation of our Father. The kids asked questions and pointed out discoveries, and climbed into underground tunnels, and despite the heat and the exertion, their joy far outweighed their complaints. It was a day of beauty and belief and friendship and worship, and I am very happy to say that God chose to continue our experience in many ways in the days to come.

    On Wednesday of this week, my middle daughter and I arrived at another of God's majestic sanctuaries at Canyon Camp at Red Rock Canyon State Park.  Here our camp theme was Partnering with God in His creation, and we had many opportunities to enjoy his handiwork in the sparkling stars, enchanting trees and plant life, and beautiful canyon walls. The climb to the cross at the top of the canyon gave us breathtaking views and reminded us repeatedly of the creativity and skill of our Creator.

     We spent three days in this incredible natural habitat with our focus on our God, and my heart is so full from praising my Lord that I wonder why I don't take the opportunity more often to worship both with others and alone in the wondrous beauty of the Creator's temple. What a wonderful world He has provided for us, and while we should all continue with our Chase, there is absolutely no Steeple required.

Prairie Jewel: Elm Grove Community Church

   We thought we were going to a little country church on our way to Vici to visit family. We thought there would be a piano and maybe an organ and a single song leader and possibly a small choir singing slightly off key. We thought there would be a country pastor with a good sound bible lesson and a handful of members who were friendly and anxious to get to know newcomers in their church.

  Boy, did we think wrong! (Except for the friendly members. We weren't wrong about that one.)

  We drove for miles on country roads with wheat fields and pasture land as far as the eye can see until we reached what was once the Elm Grove Community and consists now of mostly just the Elm Grove Community Church.  As we turned the corner and drove up a small hill, we were shocked by the enormity of this "little country church."  We had no idea that such a large church existed in the middle of this prairie land. I had always heard people talk about Elm Grove. My dad has cattle in the area, and my mom has attended weddings and conferences there, and my past principal raved about the rib dinner there at least once a month during my last couple years of teaching, I had never been there, and all in all, I was surprised! Pleasantly surprised! Not only did the church appear to go on and on, it was architecturally gorgeous and looked brand new. We couldn't wait to get inside!

    We walked in the door and into a modern "city church" type setting. A beautiful, well-stocked coffee and snack bar were placed conveniently in the large foyer with a fountain backdrop and big TV screens overhead counting down the time until service. (We had 3 minutes to go! Go us!) My kids immediately started asking if they could get chocolate muffins (big, ugly disaster waiting to happen), but I was unsure about whether or not they wanted the food and drinks inside the sanctuary (and I had a feeling I'd never get that chocolate out of their dresses), so as much as I REALLY wanted a cup of coffee, I decided to herd my three now whining daughters into a pew near the back. We were feeling a little lost and unsure until we spotted a few familiar faces, and the people around us begin introducing themselves and we started to relax.

I did cave in and let them pick something out after the service...
and Middle Daughter did manage to get chocolate on her dress. (Big Sigh.)

    2.34 minutes later (give or take a second or two), the service began. The full praise band and worship team were another surprise and quite different than the piano we were expecting (Don't get me wrong. I'm not dissing (does anyone even use that term anymore) piano music. I actually love that style of worship too. It was just different that what we were expecting.) The worship was heartfelt and the words were displayed on not one, but three screens, at the front of the absolutely amazing sanctuary. During this worship time, members of the praise team also gave testimonies which were very touching and kept my girls glued to their every word. They concluded with a beautiful song based on the Lord's Prayer in which one of the members blessed us by signing along with the words.

    When they concluded, the younger girls followed the crowd of kids to children's church, and the service continued with the usual welcome and announcements and tithes and offerings. The only part of the service that was somewhat unusual for us was the prayer time. When the leader said, "Let us pray",  we bowed our heads, ready to pray together as the leader lead, but were surprised when most of the congregation began to pray out loud, saying different things, but at the same time. The prayer leader, remained on the microphone as the main prayer was said, but everyone else contributed as well either silently or aloud.  We had never been to a service where this takes place, and while it was different, we didn't find it at all offensive or frightening. It was just people praying, and what could possibly be wrong with that?!

    Another unusual thing that took place this Sunday morning is that the Pastor Orville White had chosen that day to allow another pastor to present the message. I have heard from several people that Pastor White is an excellent preacher, and while I'm sorry to have missed hearing him, I cannot complain because the message we heard was incredible. Pastor White explained that he had been praying about how to present a message that would truly explain the meaning of God's Grace when he came across a sermon by Robert Morris, the Senior Pastor of Gateway Church that he felt said it all. So, Pastor White chose to show us the video of this sermon, and I for one am so very glad he did. (It is very much worth watching, and you can do so by following this link > http://gatewaypeople.com/ministries/life/events/amazing-grace/service/2014/09/27/whats-so-amazing-about-grace.)

  After the sermon, the elders and wives were asked to come forward and make themselves available for prayer, and the congregation was invited to the front as they felt led. Once again words of prayer were lifted up across the room by a variety of congregational members and leaders. As the service came to a close, new members were introduced and brought forward to be welcomed by the other members, and we made our way around the church in search of our little ones.

     We very much enjoyed our visit to Elm Grove Community Church and are so pleased that our Steeple Chase took us there this week. If you're ever in the Chester, Oklahoma area on a Sunday morning, I highly recommend you take the time to worship with the wonderful people of Elm Grove. We were blessed, and I know you will be too!

Choosing Trinity: Trinity Episcopal Church Guthrie, OK

     I love Guthrie, Oklahoma. I love the history and the historical buildings and the antique stores and THE CHURCHES! So I was very excited when we decided to head east Sunday morning to attend church there.

   We hadn't fully decided which church we wanted to attend, we just knew we wanted one of those big old churches on Church Row, so we left early enough to be able to drive around and let the girls pick the church they wanted to attend. We stopped at Braums for breakfast, and said a prayer asking God to guide our decision and lead us to the church He wanted for us that morning. Then we went Steeple Chasing!

    We drove by every church we could find, checking out starting times and looking at websites. In addition we took in the beautiful architecture of the churches, houses, and businesses in the area as well as the extremely impressive Scottish Rites Temple. There were several buildings my girls wanted to move back to the farm to live in.

    Eventually, we narrowed our choices to the 1st United Methodist Church and the Trinity Episcopal Church which sat side by side. My somewhat cautious husband voted for the known, but as we pulled into an empty parking lot only moments before starting time, we realized something strange was going on. After a quick trip to the churches website, we discover that they were having their service at the park that morning, so our oldest daughter got her choice of Trinity Episcopal (for obvious reasons if you know her well.)

The Trinity Episcopal Church was founded in 1889 after the territory was settled by land run. The original church building was built that same year and the next on another lot entirely. Within a few years it was moved to its current location, and attached to the rectory (which I understand had to be rotated to face the proper direction). The current cathedral was started in 1910 but took a few years before its completion in 1914. The cathedral is absolutely gorgeous, and the original portion of the church complex is hailed as the "first building erected for the permanent use of a congregation in the State". 

 

 

 

 

 

    The building was very impressive from the outside, but we had never attended an Episcopal church and had pretty much no idea what was going to take place inside. I quickly looked up their website and was relieved to find an explanation of the service for visitors. It explained the formal dress of the priest as well as the traditional service which came mostly from the Book of Common Prayers. It explained that the bulletin would indicate what words to say and whether to stand, sit, or kneel at specific times. 

    This set my mind at ease, but caused my husband to whimper (at least half-way jokingly), "I'm scared," as we got out of the car. I told him and my now nervous daughters to conquer their social anxieties, and we headed inside, taking numerous pictures along the way. 

 

   It turned out any nervousness was entirely unnecessary. The people of Trinity welcomed us with open arms. They were so kind to guide us through our first visit, pointing out particulars in the bulletin, offering to take the little ones to children's church (even though their own children were all old enough to participate in the entire service), and taking the time to learn our names and visit with us afterwards, answering numerous questions about both the church and the denomination as a whole. 
 

 

 

 

   The episcopal denomination and worship service is something of a cross between a Roman Catholic and Protestant worship service. The service started with music as the supply priest, Rev. Mike Jasper entered from the back, followed by the deacon, Rev. Karen Hansen who carried a book containing the mornings scriptures, and a young lady in a white robe carrying a large ornate cross over her head. The remainder of the service was mostly a series of scriptures and prayers that the congregation members heard and responded to or read aloud in unison. I was pleased with the way the service allowed the members to be participants rather than just spectators and kept even my girls (minus the youngest who hasn't yet learned to read) very actively involved. In addition, there were traditional hymns as well as communion, offering, announcements, and prayer for joys and concerns in the community just as you would see in most any Protestant congregation on Sunday morning. (If you're interested in learning more about the episcopal church as a whole, I found some very useful information at epicenter.org.) 
   

 

    We were very interested to discover that many of the creeds and thanksgivings used in the Episcopal service were the same as those used in traditional Methodist services and that both come from the Book of Common Prayer. One member laughingly told us that they say Methodists are Episcopals who forgot their history, but the wonderful thing we're discovering on our Steeple Chase is that regardless of our history and traditions, God is very present in our places of worship. We were so blessed by our journey to Trinity Episcopal in Guthrie this week, and I just have to believe He's enjoying the similarities and diversity of our worship just as much as we are!

We had never attended a church with a kneeling rail.

 

 

A fount for holy water at the back was new to us as well.