Church Outside the Walls
This past Sunday, we celebrated Pentecost where we were reminded that the Holy Spirit is not bound by our human limitations. The Spirit is not bound to our worship space, or our building, or to those we deem “worthy.” God’s Spirit goes where it goes, regardless of what we think and feel.
That is both a comfort and a challenge. I find it comforting because I know how small my world can be and knowing that God is bigger, helps put perspective on my problems, concerns and life. However, the challenge comes in that the Spirit may go places I am not comfortable following or speak through those I wish to ignore for one reason or another.
This summer, we are going to spend time remembering that what we do on Sunday morning is not “church.” (how often have you said, “Church is starting.”) What we do on Sunday mornings is worship together. Church is bigger than our 1 hour on Sunday morning.
Church is gathering for Bible study, grief support group, serving others, praying together, and/or simply being together.
We will be Church while we worship through service. We will gather at 9:00 am for a song or two, sharing joys and concerns, and gathering at the Lord’s Table, then we will serve. Our own building serves as such a huge outreach, making a great impact on people’s lives in many ways. We will have one crew cleaning up the kitchen and another crew working in the nursery. Another crew will go take communion to the Knights, catch up with Jackie and Violet, and pull weeds to clean up their flower beds. If you need a project that does not involve a lot of movement, have no fear! We will have grocery sacks to double bag for the Atlantic Food Pantry- did you know that they use over 600 grocery sacks each week!
We will also gather each Thursday in June at Produce in the Park. This is an opportunity to be together, and show our neighbors what community life is like at Atlantic UCC. We have the chance to share the radical hospitality God extends to us and maybe even invite someone to join us for worship or Bible study.
How else can we be church outside the walls? Let’s get creative this summer!
