Our annual beach vacation always includes a visit to what our family refers to as "Beach Church." "Beach Church" isn't actually church on the beach. In fact, it's a regular ELCA congregation much like ours with a sanctuary, Sunday School classrooms, playground and parking lot. It's located a few blocks from the beach on the main highway. The service, which takes place in their sanctuary, is much like ours. The only thing that is actually "beachy" about it is that we go when we are at the beach!  

As we walked into the main doors, we were warmly welcomed by the greeter, much like I hope guests at Abiding Presence are welcomed. Once inside the sanctuary, we received several more smiles, hellos and welcomes as it was clear that we were not part of the normal crowd who gathered for their Saturday evening service. After the children's sermon, which the pastor added to the beginning of the service just for my two girls as they were the only kids there, we received a bag of microwaveable popcorn. "Thanks for popping by for worship," the kind woman who gave it to us whispered as we made our way back to our seats.  

This popcorn made a HUGE impression on my four year old. In fact, she spent the rest of the service informing me she was hungry and not understanding why we wouldn't eat the not yet microwaved bag of popcorn during the sermon. We've been home a couple of weeks and Nadia still is talking about her "church popcorn," which we finally let her eat this week. 

"Beach Church" made us feel welcome and part of their community in a way that has stuck with us. While we don't have popcorn at Abiding Presence, we do have candy bags. If you haven't seen them, check them out in the back of the sanctuary. They are a fun way for people to learn more about Abiding Presence. 

Above all, smile at people. Say, "Hello!" Tell people you are glad that they are there, especially families with children. Trust me, as a mom I will tell you that getting out the door to church is rarely easy or fun! It take effort. It also takes an equal amount of effort to show up by yourself to church. So, if you see someone sitting alone, make a special point to go over and say hello and welcome to them, too. 

You never know, it could be your smile or welcome that sticks with someone for weeks to come!

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As I shared with you a few weeks ago, our brothers and sisters at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Fairfax were recently vandalized. Their sanctuary was desecrated with racial slurs, swastikas and the bold statement, "You are all going to Hell." The cushions on their pews were slashed - every single pew. Glass was broken. Cords to their sound system were cut. Just a year prior similar instances occurred at their neighboring religious institutions the Jewish Community Center and Little River United Church of Christ. All of these religious groups share in common a message to the community of welcome for all people. 

On Wednesday evening Pastor Eickstadt and I participated in the event "United Against Hate: an Interfaith Response to the Words and Actions of toward Bethlehem Lutheran Church." We gathered with members of Bethlehem, religious leaders of numerous faith communities, elected officials and a variety of people from the Fairfax area moved by what had happened. Together we sang, prayed, lit candles and showed a unified front against hate in our community. We prayed for our community and for the perpetrators of the vandalism because, after all, Jesus is clear that we are to pray for our enemies. 

Earlier in the day, I had been talking to someone about my evening plans who remarked, "Really? That kind of hate happens here?" Unfortunately, the answer is that it is does. Further, it is up to us to stand up against it. 

Each worship service before Holy Communion is distributed you hear the invitation, "This is the Lord's Table and all are welcome here." When we say "all" we mean all. All people are welcome to gather around the Lord's Table. All people are welcome to be part of the faith community of Abiding Presence. We are not gatekeepers, but witnesses to a God whose love knows no bounds. Together, let us be a church united against hate so that we can build a community around the church that is united against hate as well. 

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My 7th grade math teacher had a large banner hanging in her classroom that read, "Math is not a spectator sport!" While math was not necessarily a "sport" in which I loved to participate as a middle school age kid, the sign made quite an impression on me. I often think of that sign and wonder if I can get one for our narthex that reads, "Church is not a spectator sport!" 

The word "liturgy" is the formal name for our worship. It originally comes from two Greek words - work and people. Liturgy is, therefore, the work of the people! It is the work of everyone who gathers together to form the faith community. Because of this meaning, church, especially worship, cannot be a spectator sport! 

As we head into the fall, Pastor Heidi and I are working on ways to engage more people in our worship. As you might recall from our stewardship campaign, this was one of the goals our congregation lifted up heading into 2018. At the moment, we need more people to sign up to volunteer to be ushers, greeters, lay readers, communion assistants and altar guild members. All of these positions are things that are done during the worship service and simply require you to come a few minutes early or stay a few minutes late. At the bottom of this article, you'll find a brief description as to what each job involves. If you're willing to get involved, simply send me an email and I'll get you connected. 

I am especially looking for someone to step up into the volunteer role of "Worship Scheduler." Quarterly, the Worship Scheduler would put together and send out a schedule of volunteers. Weekly, they would look over the schedule prior to Wednesday to make sure that all of our volunteers have agreed to serve and are in place. The time commitment would be about an hour a week with it taking a bit more time once a quarter to get the schedule out. You could do everything at home from the comfort of your computer with an occasional email or phone call back and forth with me and the office staff. If you're reading this thinking, "That's something I could do!" then I'd love to hear from you!

Thank you for jumping all in at Abiding Presence to make our worship and liturgy the work of our entire faith community!

Usher 
Time commitment in addition to worship: 15 minutes before and after service
Job: Greet worshipers at sanctuary doors, pass out bulletins prior to the service, collect offering, dismiss people to communion and make sure sanctuary is picked up following service
Who Can Volunteer:  Senior High through Adults; Families with young children are encouraged to sign up as a family so parents and kids can serve together

Greeter
Time commitment in addition to worship: 15 minutes before service
Job: Greet worshipers at the main church doors
Who Can Volunteer: Anyone with a smile! Families with young children are encouraged to sign up as a family so parents and kids can serve together

Lay Reader
Time commitment in addition to worship: None
Job: Read the assigned lesson which is emailed to you in advance
Who Can Volunteer: Senior High through Adults

Communion Assistant
Time commitment in addition to worship: None
Job: Distribute either the pouring chalice or common cup at the time of communion
Who Can Volunteer: Senior High through Adults

Altar Guild
Time commitment in addition to worship: Approximately 20 minutes before or after the service
Job: Set up or clean up the altar from Holy Communion
Who Can Volunteer: Senior High through Adults; Families with young children are encouraged to sign up as a family so parents and kids can serve together

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What do you get when you put nearly 31,000 Lutheran high school youth and their adult leaders together in a stadium for worship? The answer is a whole lot of communion stations with thousands of communion assistants!

What impacted me the most about our experience last week at the ELCA Youth Gathering, however, wasn't the 31,000 people. Instead, it was the 12 youth and one young adult from Abiding Presence in whose company I was privileged to travel. Here's what I can tell you about the young people of Abiding Presence:

First, we have good youth! We have youth who are passionate, energetic and faithful. The youth of Abiding Presence are funny, compassionate, respectful and kind - to one another, strangers they encounter, new friends they meet while standing in line and to their adult leaders. I genuinely enjoyed being around our youth, even when we were standing outside in a line for over an hour in the sweltering Houston heat. 

Second, we have youth who aren't easily discouraged! When I was tired, our youth were still going strong. When I was hot, our youth weren't complaining one bit. When the food trucks all ran out of food the first night of the gathering, we had no snacks and we didn't think we were going to be able to find food until much later that evening, our youth said, "Don't worry! We'll be fine!" and kept on going. More than that, though, when faced with the current problems and challenges of our world, our youth are energized to make a difference. We learned a new phrase, "God has grace for that!" In the midst of our mistakes, failures, hurt and pain, God has grace. The youth of Abiding Presence embody that grace. 

Finally, we have youth in whom we should invest! I believe that among our current Senior High youth we have the future pastors, bishops, church council presidents, Sunday School teachers, ushers,  youth ministers and musicians of the church. They may not serve at our church as adults, but they will serve at a church somewhere and make a difference in that community because of the way their faith was formed here at Abiding Presence. 

We're not just investing in our youth for the future of the church, though. We are investing in them because they have gifts and skills that we need today. I learned so much from our young people while traveling with them. I know they can mold and shape our church today. 

I encourage you to take a few moments to chat with some of our youth who attend the ELCA Youth Gathering to learn more about their experiences. I also invite you to give a big "Thank You" to Matt and Sara Dyson for accompanying the youth to the gathering with me. The theme was "This Changes Everything" and we have all come back believing this to be true!

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